Otter Childcare (withotter.com) has a 4.8 out of 5 rating on OK.one, based on 18 user reviews collected here. It is listed under Public & Local Services and its reputation is excellent. Praise is nearly unanimous, with 94% rating it 4 stars or higher. Last updated 2026-08-10.
It’s very easy and convenient to search sitters. Good communication with sitters and parents.No annual fee is perfect for parents that something came out!
Hi Joyce! Thanks so much for using Otter and sharing about your experience! We’re honored to be a part of your family’s childcare community!
We've only had one sitter but so far so good. This was our first time having a sitter at all. We got our 2yo bathed and into her PJs, then said bye to our sitter (Marleane) and our baby. Our sitter was great at playing with our kid. We didn't prescribe our typical bedtime routine -- instead they played for a while and then somehow our sitter got her to go to bed without crying! After we got home our baby stayed asleep and slept through the night. Total interaction time with the baby wasn't all that long, but it was a pretty excellent experience and we're hoping a few more times will make this an easier thing to do regularly.
Hi Sam! Thanks so much for using Otter and we're so glad to hear you had such a great first experience. We look forward to finding you more wonderful sitters!
The platform is easy to use. The babysitters we have had have been great. Only positive things to share so far!
Hi Karyn! Thanks so much for choosing to use Otter and for sharing about your Otter experience!
Otter is such an excellent service. Saved us so much time finding and vetting a babysitter. Plus I love that payment is all handled through the app and not awkward!
Hi Annie! Thanks so much for using Otter and sharing about your experience! We’re honored to be a part of your family’s childcare community!
As a 5 star provider, I should be booking/ offered more jobs then i currently am.
Hi Fethiya! Thanks so much for the feedback. Someone from our team will reach out to talk about improving your experience.
Great families & easy platform to work with.
Hi Caragh! Thanks so much for sharing your Otter experience! We’re so happy you’re part of our sitter community!
Thus far I've enjoyed my experience working for Otter. I've met some great families and kids. I like the ease of use and not having to find the variety of jobs. Love it!
Hi Anastasia! Thanks so much for sharing your Otter experience! Your feedback is incredibly helpful!
It’s very easy to book and find care. The payment process is easy as well.
Hi Jill! Thanks so much for using Otter and sharing about your experience! We’re honored to be a part of your family’s childcare community!
There is a lot that I like about Otter as a parent. The payment system is very convenient. It's nice that I don't have to deal with getting cash or writing out a check to someone like in a normal babysitting transaction. The other thing that I appreciate about this platform is that there are no monthly fees. I remember finding someone on care.com that looked like a good fit for my family but I didn't want to pay the costly membership. What has prevented me from using Otter on several occasions is the mileage fee. For someone to come to my home, it would cost an extra $50. I think this makes sense given many sitters are students who use Lyft/Uber. However, Otter has several sitters who own their own cars and might not necessarily live that far away. I recently booked someone just to find out that they only lived one town over from me. Maybe the mileage fee should be individualized to specific sitters? I don't know what the solution to that conundrum is, but at the moment that gas fee is a lot higher than what I pay to sitters (non otters) who attend Stanford. I think one downside to Otter is the game theory element of it all. Some sitters understandably want to work gigs that pay the most money, so they might not accept a booking made by a parent right away in the hopes that something better comes along. As a result, it might take a while to hear back on a potential booking. Generally speaking if I text a sitter outside of Otter they are a yes or a no pretty quickly. Otter is a great way to fill in the gaps for me. I am spoiled by in-laws who watch my kids for free. I also use teachers from my children's preschool to help out on the weekends. But in the instances that the grandparents or regular sitters are not available, Otter is a solid alternative.
Hi Kathleen! Thanks so much for using Otter and sharing about your experience; that's very helpful feedback. Transit fees, and how to make them fair for everyone, are something we're thinking about. We’re honored to be a part of your family’s childcare community and please feel free to reach out if you ever have any other feedback.
I really like Otter. We often ask friends to babysit, but it's nice to have other options and to not overload friends with babysitting requests. Our kids have loved the students who come babysit. It's an easy system to use. I wish it cost less, but that's just the Bay Area deal. I'd recommend anyone to use this service.
Hi Sierra! Thanks so much for using Otter and sharing about your experience! We’re honored to be a part of your family’s childcare community!
I sometimes don’t understand the payouts and rates for Otter. Some offers are for $50 an hour due to transit fees or last minute, while others are $22 for long hours and a lot of children. I feel like this makes it so sitters incentivize the bigger payouts so they don’t accept the lower ones anymore or ones in advance that don’t get any bonuses. Also, I’m not sure how the process works for families, but a lot of the families use the platform and then ask sitters to come back for a solid rate (more than what otter offers normally), so maybe some improvements need to be made on that end too.
Thanks for the feedback Nancy! Someone from our team will reach out to learn more about your experience if you have any questions or any additional feedback.Thank you!
Trustworthy service with exceptionally competent and reliable management and customer service staff. The friendliest, most transparent, and easiest-to-use babysitting service I have used. Need a sitter? Click. Need to pay? Click. That's it and everybody is happy: sitter, parents, and kids.
Hi Anna! Thanks so much for using Otter and sharing about your experience - we're so glad it's been such a good one! We’re honored to be a part of your family’s childcare community!
I’ve been a sitter with Otter for over a year now and absolutely love working for them! Although they serve hundreds of families and manage so many sitters, Otter still manages to create the feeling of being a tight-knit, thoughtful community. They truly care about their sitters and make us feel like every one of us is an integral part of the team and that we are very valued. Each time I’ve had a question or concern, Otter has always addressed it quickly and with great regard to what I said. I also love the model of how Otter vets and background checks families first and does all the scheduling for sessions. As a sitter, this not only makes it super easy for me to just accept/decline sessions that work with my schedule, but it also makes me feel really safe going to each session and confident that there will be no hiccups. I truly could not imagine a better childcare company to work for!
Hi Cassy! Thanks so much for sharing about your experience on Otter. It makes us so happy to hear you feel safe and valued as a sitter in the Otter community!
Very easy to work with. System is set up to help you book sitting jobs according to your schedule which makes it easy as a stay at home mom.
Hi Natalia! Thanks so much for sharing your Otter experience! We’re so happy you’re part of our sitter community!
Otter is a great service the sitters they sent were great and they spoke to me about the rigorous screening process they had to go through to get onboarded to Otter.
Hi Joel! Thanks so much for using Otter and sharing about your experience! We’re honored to be a part of your family’s childcare community!
Otter has been a lifesaver for regular "date nights." We have been amazed at how the service has connected us with really high quality babysitters in the area (most often a student at a nearby university) and love how much time it saves us. Most of all, our kids have loved the sitters we've had! Unlike other sites where one has to send a dozen or more inquiries out, Otter provides vetted, reliable babysitting with one 30-second request.
Hi Dom! Thanks so much for using Otter and sharing about your experience. We’re so glad you've loved both our sitters and the convenience of Otter itself!
I’m happy with Otter so far! It’s very easy to use, the sitters have been great, and I love the care team aspect and pricing model! Definitely will keep using them!
Hi Soma! Thanks so much for using Otter and sharing about your experience! We’re honored to be a part of your family’s childcare community!
I have used Otter twice now. Its an easy way to book a trusted sitter. Both our sitters have been amazing with our children. Highly recommended
Hi Zoe! Thank you for taking the time to share about your Otter experience! Glad you've loved both your sitters. We’re honored to be a part of your family’s childcare community!
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