Best Websites to Find Childcare Online

Need a babysitter or nanny? Whether you’re looking for help with a newborn (even overnights!), full-time childcare services or someone to give grandma some time off, searching online is a great way to find care. There are many websites that make it easy for you to connect with caregivers and streamline the hiring process.

You can quickly review candidates’ experience before you interview them over the phone, meet them in person or introduce them to your child. Most sites don’t automatically perform background checks on providers, although many offer to do it for an additional fee. Whether you’re looking for an occasional babysitter, a regular nanny or caregiver or you’re vetting daycare centers, here are the best childcare websites:

Care.com

Care.com has an enormous pool of caregivers which makes it more likely you’ll find good candidates near you. Care.com also offers providers for senior care, pet care and housekeeping. You can browse their database of sitters, sorting by your preference for a babysitter, nanny, childcare center, family daycare or after-school care or, post a job and see who responds. Full caregiver profiles include star ratings and reviews as well as what a caregiver is willing to help out with. Background checks are available for an extra fee.

Pros: The search function on Care.com lets you filter through potential sitters and childcare centers with specific search terms. For example, you could exclude teens from your search or look specifically for caregivers willing to look after sick kids.

Cons: Sifting through the number of responses you get to job postings can be overwhelming. Also, you’ll need to be diligent about canceling your subscription before it auto-renews, otherwise it could be tricky getting a refund.

Pricing: Premium membership is $38.95 per month, $78 for three months or $156 for a year.

Winnie

Winnie is another site that offers a huge selection of daycare and preschool providers. You can search for all kinds of care for infants to school-aged children. When searching for childcare providers in your area you can also sign up for a weekly recommendations email that let you know which daycare centers or schools have openings in your area. There is also a parent community on the website. Once you make an account, you’ll see a feed on the homepage where providers and other parents can post to share openings and ask for advice.

Pros: There are tons of different search filters, so you can find the specific type of provider you’re looking for.

Cons: There are so many options, it can feel overwhelming to sift through them.

Pricing: Winnie is free to use.

Bambino

Bambino is an app that makes it super simple to find local, trusted babysitters. What’s really cool is that the app pulls in your contact list and shows you sitters your friends have used. Everything is done in the app—from booking your sitter to paying them once the job is done. All sitters’ identities are verified, and Bambino even performs a sex offender background check so you can be sure your baby is with someone safe. In order for sitters to even sign up for and use the app, they have to be recommended by another member of the community. They also have an Elite Sitter designation for, those who have passed a full background check and a strict qualification process (in addition to the standard screening).

Pros: Booking a sitter on the app is seamless and you can read reviews and see how many times a particular sitter has been booked.

Cons: Each time you use the app to book a sitter, you’ll have to pay a small booking fee in addition to the sitter’s rate.

Pricing: The app is free to download and there’s a $4.95 booking fee each time you hire a sitter. You will also need to add your credit card information to your account in order to book and pay your sitter’s fee.

UrbanSitter

UrbanSitter lets you read reviews to see how people in your community feel about nearby sitters and nannies. You can search among local parent groups, churches, schools and other local organizations—as well as people you know on Facebook—to see which caregivers are most popular among parents in that group. All sitters are vetted and their profiles are manually reviewed by a member of the UrbanSitter team. Some sitters have already completed background checks and a badge will indicate this on their profile page. But you can always request a background check on other sitters for an additional fee.

Pros: You can see how many families have used a caregiver more than once and you can see when parents you might know have used sitters you’re considering. And, you can pay the sitter through the app for an added convenience factor.

Cons: Although it’s free to search for a caregiver, you’ll have to sign up for a membership in order to actually book one.

Pricing: $34.95 for one month access to site/app; $19.95 for a monthly membership; $99.95 for an annual membership.

Sittercity

Sittercity is another website where you can post jobs and that babysitting candidates can reply to. However, if you’re browsing potential sitters and come across one you’re interested in, you do need to have a premium membership. There is an option to run background checks on potential caregivers and families can leave reviews, which are helpful to look over when searching for someone. Sittercity also has something called Adventures which are fun at-home activities you can add to your babysitting job. There are seven different themes to choose from ranging from arts and crafts to STEM projects.

Pros: Profile pages are easy -to skim and caregiver badges quickly indicate credentials like first aid, CPR and other certifications. Their super-clean website design also makes sifting through candidates a breeze and also walks you through all the steps.

Cons: You’ll need to pay for a premium membership in order to use features like messaging caregivers. There’s no option to pay for childcare services online like there is with UrbanSitter so you’ll have to use cash or services like Venmo or Zelle.

Pricing: $39 for one month, $87 for three months, $180 for a year.

AuPairCare

If live-in childcare sounds ideal, check out AuPairCare. It’s an agency that matches American families with international nannies, or au pairs. Au pairs speak conversational English, work up to 45 hours a week (up to 10 hours a day) and live with you for a year. Through AuPairCare, all au pairs received training in CPR, first aid and child development upon arrival in the U.S. Some even have specialized training in infant care (think: infant massage, baby sign language and infant CPR).

Pros: Besides getting flexible, in-home childcare, an au pair also introduces your little one to a different language and culture.

Cons: Although hiring an au pair is typically less expensive than sending your child to daycare or having a full-time nanny, it may not be feasible for every family since the au pair will have to live in your home.

Pricing: $20,960 for a year.