Wyndy vs Care.com: Vetting, Booking, Payments & Price

Which one fits

Both help you find a babysitter or nanny near you. Care.com is a directory for many kinds of care, where you message caregivers with Premium and settle pay between you. Wyndy is only babysitting and nannies, every sitter is a background-checked college student, grad or experienced caregiver, and booking, paying and tipping all happen in the app.

Pick Wyndy if

You want a background-checked college student or grad, and the check costs you nothing.
You want to book and pay in the app, with your card charged after the job for the hours worked.
You'd like to post a job and book without buying a membership first.

Pick Care.com if

You need senior care, pet care, housekeeping or tutoring as well as child care.
You're hiring a full-time nanny and want payroll and taxes handled through HomePay.
You want to see daycares and camps alongside individual caregivers.

Full comparison

Wyndy and Care.com compared, feature by feature
Feature	Wyndy	Care.com
Who the caregivers are
Caregivers	College students, graduates and experienced caregivers	Independent caregivers, plus care businesses
Kinds of care	Babysitting and nannies	Child, senior, pet and home care, plus tutoring
Minimum caregiver age	18	18
Where it works	US, in the Wyndy app (iPhone and Android)	US and Puerto Rico
Safety and vetting
Criminal background check	Every sitter, before they can take a job	Required for individual caregivers, rerun every year
Who pays for the check	Included. You never pay for it	Caregivers pay a yearly fee, included with their Premium
Caregiver identity check	Identity and SSN trace through Sterling	SSN trace, as part of the background check
Sex offender registry search	Yes	Yes
Listed college verified	Yes	No
You verify your ID	Yes, before messaging or booking	Yes, to contact caregivers
Booking and paying
How you find care	Post a job and pick from sitters who apply, or browse sitters	Post a job or search, then message caregivers
Book in the app	Yes	No. In-app booking ended in February 2026
Pay in the app	Yes	No. You pay caregivers directly
Tip in the app	Yes	No
Ongoing care	Weekly schedules that start with a trial job	Ongoing jobs, with nanny payroll through HomePay
How your sitter gets paid	In the app after each job, then to their bank	By you, directly (cash, payment apps or payroll)
What you pay
Free to join and post a job	Yes	Yes. Search, view profiles and post jobs
Membership	Starts with a 7-day free trial, then $191.99 a year or $40 a month. Cancel anytime and pay per job.	Premium, needed to message caregivers. Price shown after you sign up
Fees on each job	Service fee of 20% up to $20 ($0 for members), plus 2.9% to 3.5% card processing	None. You pay caregivers directly
What you pay for checks	None	Extra checks cost extra (price varies)

Main differences

Booking and paying

Wyndy

You book a sitter in the app, and booking is instant. After the job you check the hours, add a tip and pay in the app, or your card is charged 24 hours after your sitter submits them.

Who the caregivers are

Wyndy

Every Wyndy sitter is 18 or older, with at least a year of childcare experience. Sitters are college students, grads and experienced caregivers, and any college a sitter lists is verified.

Background checks

Wyndy

Every sitter passes a Sterling check before they can take a job: identity and SSN trace, national, state and county criminal records, and the sex offender registry. It's included, so you never pay for one.

What it costs

Wyndy

Joining and posting are free. Without a membership, each job has a service fee of 20%, never more than $20. The membership is $191.99 a year and takes that fee away.

Where Wyndy does more

Booking and paying in the app. Booking is instant, and you pay in the app after the job. Care.com stopped in-app booking in early 2026, so you pay caregivers off Care.com.
Book without paying for a membership. You start with a 7-day free trial. Cancel it and you can still post, book and pay per job, with a service fee. Messaging caregivers on Care.com needs Premium.
Built for college sitters. Wyndy sitters are college students, grads and experienced caregivers, every one has at least a year of childcare experience, and any college a sitter lists is verified.
Childcare only. Wyndy is only babysitting and nannies, so every sitter you see is there for childcare.

Where Care.com does more

More kinds of care. You can find senior care, pet care, housekeeping and tutoring on the same account. Wyndy is only babysitting and nannies.
Care businesses too. You can also find daycares, camps and other care businesses on Care.com. Wyndy lists individual sitters only.
Nanny payroll. If you employ a nanny, HomePay handles payroll and taxes for you. Wyndy doesn't run payroll.
Caregivers of every background. Caregivers don't need to be in college, so you'll also find career nannies and older caregivers.
Continuous checks on some plans. A paid subscription bought since June 2025 can include continuous background checks for up to 3 of your caregivers.

Prices

Wyndy

Pay as you go$0Post jobs, browse and book. Service fee of 20% a job, never more than $20, plus 3.5% card processing.
Annual membership$191.99 a yearNo service fees, 2.9% card processing, and messaging before you book. Starts with a 7-day free trial, or skip it for $100 in Wyndy credit.
Monthly membership$40 a monthThe same perks, with $10 in Wyndy credit every month you pay.

Your sitter keeps 100% of your tip. Every sitter's background check is included, so you never pay for one.

Wyndy pricing

Care.com

Guest AccessFreeSearch, view profiles and post jobs. Messaging and background check requests need Premium.
PremiumShown after sign-upMonthly, quarterly or yearly, billed upfront and renewing automatically. The price is shown after you sign up.
30-Day PassNot on its public pagesMessage up to 5 caregivers. Doesn't renew.
Add-onsFrom $4Feature your job $4 a month, Social Media Check $29.99, Hiring Helper $19.99.

App Store Family Membership purchases range from $39.99 to $209.99, depending on the plan.

As listed on Care.com's public pages on October 15, 2026. Source

Moving from Care.com

Care.com Premium renews until you cancel it in your Care.com account, so cancel there when you're ready.

Get the Wyndy appIt's free to download. Sign up with your phone number, then add your zip code so you see sitters near you.
Post your first jobPick the day, the kids and a rate. Smart Rate suggests one from what other parents nearby pay.
Pick your sitterSitters who apply show up on the job. Open a profile to see their checks, school, experience and reviews.
Book and pay in the appBooking is instant. After the job, check the hours, add a tip and pay, all in the app.

Get the app How Wyndy works

Questions

Is Wyndy a Care.com alternative?

Yes, for babysitting and nannies. Wyndy sitters are background-checked college students, grads and experienced caregivers, and you book and pay them in the app. For senior care, pet care or housekeeping, Wyndy isn't a fit.

Can I still book and pay through Care.com?

No. Care.com ended in-app booking in early 2026, and you now pay caregivers directly. On Wyndy, every job is booked and paid in the app.

Do I need a membership to use Wyndy?

You start one when you sign up, with a 7-day free trial. Cancel before it ends and you aren't charged, and you can keep posting, booking and paying per job. The membership is $191.99 a year or $40 a month. It removes the service fee, which is up to $20 a job, and lets you message sitters before you book.

How do the prices compare?

Care.com charges for Premium to message caregivers and shows the price after you sign up; its App Store listing shows options from $39.99 to $209.99. Wyndy is free to join and charges a service fee per job unless you're a member, at $191.99 a year.

Who pays for background checks?

On Wyndy, every sitter's check is included and you never pay for one. On Care.com, caregivers pay a yearly fee for the required check, and you can buy more detailed checks.

Sources

Checked on October 15, 2026 from Care.com's public website, help center, terms and app store listings. Prices and features change, so check their site before you decide. If something here is out of date, email support@wyndy.com and we'll fix it.

Care.com and the Care.com logo are trademarks of their owner. Wyndy doesn't own them, and isn't affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Care.com. We show the name, the logo and a screenshot from its App Store listing only to identify the service we're comparing.

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