TrustedHouseSitters Review 2026: Honest After 20 Sits and 3 Years

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Quick Facts

TrustedHouseSitters is the best global house sitting platform with 12,000+ listings across 140+ countries. Sitter membership costs $97-194/year with our 25% discount. After 20 sits across 12 countries and €24,000+ in saved accommodation, it remains the platform we use and recommend for international house sitting.

July 2026 Update

We have updated this review to reflect our 20th completed sit and our current six-month stay in Portugal. The pricing information reflects THS's current structure. The platform has not changed significantly since our last update. The booking fee introduced in late 2025 remains in place, the 2026 app update improved navigation noticeably, there is now a report listing and sitter feature, and our overall assessment remains the same: THS is the best global platform for house sitting and we have no intention of leaving it.

It was our first sit together. Bochum, Germany. Two cats, two weeks. On the second day one of the cats started limping, her paw visibly swollen. The homeowner was travelling and unreachable. We had no idea whether this was serious.

We used the THS 24/7 vet line. Within minutes a vet called back, asked for photos, assessed the paw remotely, and walked us through what to monitor. Bee sting. Watch it. Go in person if it worsened. It did not worsen.

Two things happened in that moment. The cat was fine. And by the time the homeowner replied to our message, we were already able to tell her we had spoken with a vet, sent photos, received a diagnosis, and had a plan. That is the kind of professionalism that turns a nervous first sit into a five-star review.

That was three years ago. Since then we have completed 20 sits across 12 countries, documented over €24,000 in accommodation savings, and never seriously considered leaving the platform.

We are currently 3 weeks into a six month sit in Portugal caring for one cat and four chickens — our longest sit yet and the clearest proof yet that the platform works.

You can join TrustedHouseSitters with 25% off using our discount link — the same membership that has covered our last 20 sits

Here is the full picture: costs, the new pricing structure, and where THS is not the right answer.

Why We Use a Paid Platform at All

When we were house sitting in Australia we were also watching the free Facebook groups and classifieds. Some listings looked appealing. But there is no way to verify whether anything in a free listing is accurate, and more importantly no way to verify whether the person posting it is who they say they are.

On a paid platform you still encounter listings that misrepresent the situation, as we covered in our unpaid labour article. On a free group, with no vetting, no review system, and no accountability, it happens more and there is nothing to protect you when it does.

The fee filters out people who are not serious. ID verification confirms the person you are communicating with is real. The review system means both sides have a public track record to protect. These three things together change the nature of the exchange from a leap of faith into something with actual structure behind it.

Our background checks guide covers what THS verifies.

The Actual Costs in 2026

THS introduced a per-sit booking fee in late 2025, which changed the value calculation depending on which plan you are on. All prices below are in USD and current as of June 2026.

Our booking fee article covers the mechanics in full.

Sitter Plans

Combined Plans (Sitter + Pet Parent in One Membership)

Add-Ons

For the full tier breakdown our TrustedHouseSitters pricing guide covers every plan.

Use our 25% discount link to apply the discount at checkout.

On the Duo Sitter add-on: an honest take. When Caro and I joined THS three years ago, we both had verified profiles on the same account at no extra cost. At some point in late 2025, Caro's verification disappeared and an advertisement for the Duo Sitter add-on appeared in its place. That transition was frustrating. It felt like a feature we already had being repackaged and resold to us.

Three years on and 20 sits later, we have not noticed any reduction in confirmed sits since Duo was introduced. We have three sits lined up right now without the add-on. Our assessment: for couples starting out, do not over-think this. Create one account, include both people in the profile with photos and a description, mention you sit together in every application message, and present clearly as a couple. Most homeowners are not looking at verification badges. They are reading your profile and your message. The Duo add-on may be worth it for couples who want to sit separately and manage back-to-back sits. For couples who always sit together, a strong joint profile is enough.

What Is Included in Each Sitter Plan

The decision logic: under 7 sits per year, Standard with our discount code is the value choice. Full-time or close to it, Premium pays for itself. The booking fees on Basic and Standard exceed the upgrade cost at that frequency.

How We Ended Up on Premium

We started on Standard. During a promotional period we saw the Premium upgrade at a reduced price. For full-time travellers planning to use the platform heavily, the no-booking-fees structure and the Sit Cancellation Plan made it a practical choice rather than a luxury one.

We also carry N26 travel insurance alongside the THS Premium coverage. The THS plans cover liability for the home and pets. N26 covers everything else. Together they give us complete coverage for the kind of properties we have looked after.

It is worth understanding what the THS protection plans actually are. As we cover in our subscriptions and insurance guide, all THS plans are discretionary rather than regulated insurance. THS may pay out when conditions are met. They are not legally obligated in the way a conventional insurer is. Your own travel insurance remains the most reliable backstop.

What €24,000 in Savings Actually Looks Like

We calculate our savings conservatively at €100 per night, which is below the market rate for most of what we have stayed in. The real figure is higher.

We are currently three weeks into a six-month sit in Portugal caring for one cat and four chickens. For most people that trip would cost tens of thousands in accommodation. For us it is covered by a $259 annual membership we are already holding.

Our membership paid for itself in the first two nights of our very first sit in Bochum. Every sit since has been compounding returns on that original investment.

What THS Is Good At

Listing volume. At any given time there are typically over 12,000 active sits available globally, which means genuine choice of location, pet type, sit length, and timing. For full-time nomads or people with flexible schedules, that breadth is what makes THS the anchor platform rather than a secondary one. No other platform comes close for international sits. Our house sitting sites comparison shows how the listing numbers stack up.

The review system. Both sides review each other after every sit and the reviews are verified. You can read a homeowner's full history before applying. They can read yours. A strong review record opens significantly better sits over time, and the simultaneous review submission (neither side sees the other's review until both are submitted) prevents the retaliatory review problem that plagues less structured platforms.

The vet line. The 24/7 vet access via video or phone is available on Standard and Premium memberships. Basic does not include it. The Bochum moment described above is why this matters in practice. Having a real vet assessment on record within the first hour of a pet health concern changed how that sit ended. We have used it three times in three years. If you are planning to sit with animals and want the safety net, this feature alone is a reason to choose Standard over Basic.

The mobile app. The updated 2026 app is noticeably more responsive than the previous version. Browsing listings, communicating with homeowners, and managing upcoming sits is functional and fast. Not perfect, but significantly better than it was.

The community. The THS forum is an underused resource that experienced sitters treat as a knowledge base. Questions about specific countries, specific pet types, managing difficult homeowners, and everything else the articles do not cover are answered by people who have done it.

That community resource is part of what led to building this site. The honest answers to house sitting questions often live in Reddit threads and forum posts rather than official platform documentation. Platform blogs have a vested interest in presenting house sitting positively. Forum regulars do not. We spend a significant amount of time searching Reddit and the THS community forum to surface real questions from real sitters and homeowners, because that is where the unfiltered version of house sitting experience actually lives.

Housesittersguide.com exists to collect that knowledge in one place that is easier to navigate than a five-year Reddit thread. The goal is to give anyone new to house sitting access to the same information that experienced sitters have accumulated over years, without having to find it piecemeal across a dozen different forums.

What THS Is Not Good At

Support quality is inconsistent. In 2026, THS has moved toward AI-first support, which means the Live Chat routes you through a bot before reaching a human. In simple situations this is fine. In an urgent Level 3 or Level 4 situation (undisclosed dangerous animal, no running water, safety concerns), typing "Agent" or "Human" in the chat is the fastest way to get a real person. The wait times for email support can be significant. Our conflict resolution guide covers how to navigate the process effectively.

The protection plans have conditions. The $1,000 minimum threshold on the Home and Contents Plan means most everyday damage (a broken item, a stain) is handled directly between homeowner and sitter, not through the platform. The Sit Cancellation Plan requires a 24-hour notification and a $150 member contribution. Understanding these conditions before you need them matters.

Regional coverage is uneven. THS is the dominant platform for international sits and for English-speaking countries. For France, we are excited to explore Nomador properly during a longer stay there. Our Nomador pricing guide covers the plan options. 

For Australia, we recommend Aussie House Sitters (code HSG15) to family and friends over THS for domestic sits Our Aussie House Sitters review covers it in detail. It is more affordable, has more Australian listings, and the competition for sits is less intense. THS works best as the international anchor, not a replacement for regional specialists. Our best platforms guide covers the full comparison.

For more information about European house sitting platforms check out our guide on House sitting in Europe

The practical response is to use the saved search alert feature, which is available on Standard and Premium only. Set up alerts for the locations and dates you want and the app will notify you the moment a matching listing appears. Without alerts, you are browsing the platform whenever you remember to check it. With alerts, you see new sits the moment they go live. In competitive markets, that difference is the difference between applying and missing out entirely.

Per-sit booking fees on Basic and Standard add up. For sitters doing many short sits on Standard, the $12 per confirmed sit becomes a material cost. The break-even point where Premium is the better value option is around 7 confirmed sits per year.

TrustedHouseSitters vs Other Platforms

THS wins on volume, verification, support infrastructure, and global reach. It loses on price-to-value in specific regions and the booking fee is a genuine cost for frequent sitters. Use THS as your primary platform and add a regional specialist for whichever country dominates your travel plans. Our international platforms comparison and TrustedHouseSitters alternatives guide cover every option in detail.

The Honest Verdict

TrustedHouseSitters is the platform we use and the one we recommend to almost everyone asking where to start with international house sitting. The listing volume is irreplaceable, the review system is reliable, the vet line has been useful in real situations, and the return on the annual fee is clear even from the first sit.

There is one thing about THS that most reviews do not acknowledge openly: the price actively filters the community. The higher annual fee means the people on THS, both sitters and homeowners, are more likely to be serious about the arrangement. The community actively reports homeowners who try to exploit sitters. Sitters who leave properties in poor condition or behave unprofessionally accumulate low reviews and tend to leave the platform. The result is that the quality of interactions is meaningfully higher than on free platforms or very cheap paid ones.

We both hate the high price and appreciate it. It is a genuine tension. But when you consider what international accommodation actually costs, a $259 membership that covers unlimited stays worldwide is not expensive at all. It only feels expensive when you compare it to other platforms rather than to what it replaces.

It is not perfect. The booking fee structure rewards heavier users over lighter ones. The protection plans have conditions that require reading before you need them.

Our strategy is simple: THS as the main platform because a single profile with 20 verified reviews is worth far more than three separate accounts with five each. Building one strong profile with a long review history opens the best sits. Splitting that effort across platforms dilutes it.

But three years, 20 sits, 12 countries, and €24,000 in accommodation savings later, the question has never been whether THS is worth it. The question has been how to use it well.

Use our 25% discount to join TrustedHouseSitters at reduced cost. Start with Standard if you are not sure how often you will sit. Upgrade to Premium when the booking fees start adding up.

Have a question about TrustedHouseSitters or want to share your experience? Drop it in the comments below. I read every one.

Caro and I have completed 20 house sits across 12 countries, driven 19,000km across Europe in our 1998 VW T4, and saved over $26,500 in accommodation costs over three years of house sitting. If you have questions about which THS tier is right for you, send us a message on Instagram, we read every DM.

Get 25% Off TrustedHouseSitters

Use our verified discount link to join TrustedHouseSitters at 25% off the standard price. This drops the Standard plan to around $127 per year and Basic to around $97. The discount applies to new memberships and is the best current offer available.

Claim your 25% discount here

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is TrustedHouseSitters worth it?

  Yes, for almost everyone interested in international house sitting. The listing volume, the review system, and the 24/7 vet line alone justify the annual fee within the first one or two sits. The annual cost recovers in full within the first two nights of free accommodation. With our 25% discount the Standard plan is around $97 per year.

• What is the difference between Standard and Premium on TrustedHouseSitters?

  Standard ($169, ~$127 with discount) includes the core platform, the vet line, the Home and Contents Plan, and a $12 booking fee per confirmed sit. Premium ($259, no booking fees) adds the Sit Cancellation Plan (up to $1,500 per sit), higher liability coverage, and no per-sit fees. Premium pays for itself at around 7+ confirmed sits per year. Below that, Standard with the discount is the better value.

• Does TrustedHouseSitters have insurance?

  THS offers discretionary protection plans, not regulated insurance. The Home and Contents Plan covers property damage up to $1,000,000 but requires a $1,000 minimum claim threshold and the homeowner to exhaust their own insurance first. The Sit Cancellation Plan (Premium only) covers up to $1,500 in alternative accommodation if a homeowner cancels. Neither plan is a replacement for your own travel insurance. Our full insurance guide explains the conditions of each plan.

• How do I get a TrustedHouseSitters discount?

  Use our 25% discount link. This drops the Standard plan from $169 to around $127 and Premium from $259 to around $194. The discount applies to new memberships.

• Is TrustedHouseSitters safe?

  The platform has meaningful safety features: ID verification for all members, a verified review system, and a 24/7 vet line. It is significantly safer than free classifieds or unverified Facebook groups. The review system gives both sides a public track record to protect, which changes the accountability dynamic materially. No platform eliminates all risk, but THS reduces the main categories of it systematically.

• Is TrustedHouseSitters worth renewing at full price?

  For active sitters, yes. The renewal returns to full price, the 25% discount applies to first-year memberships only. At $169/year Standard or $259/year Premium, the platform pays for itself in a single sit for almost everyone who uses it regularly. If you did two or more sits in your first year, renewal is straightforward. If you only did one sit, consider whether your travel plans justify continuing or whether a regional platform at $29 to $89/year serves you better for the next year. Our TrustedHouseSitters pricing guide covers the full cost comparison.

• What is the TrustedHouseSitters minimum age?

  21 years old. THS requires all sitters to be at least 21, which is higher than most platforms. Nomador, MindMyHouse, and most regional platforms typically allow sitters from 18. Our full guide to house sitting age requirements covers every platform's minimum age.

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