Houndtrust vs Time To Pet: the solo-sitter alternative
Honest comparison · Updated July 2026
Time To Pet is a genuinely good tool: mature, well built, and trusted by pet-care companies with real staff to schedule. But most of what it's built for (staff logins, payroll-adjacent reporting, multi-user permissions) is overhead a one-person operation never touches. Houndtrust is built for exactly one kind of business: yours, alone, with everything a solo pro needs and nothing you have to grow into.
The short version
If you're a solo sitter, boarder, or walker paying for features a team would use, Houndtrust is the cheaper, simpler fit: $24/mo founding price, everything included, no per-booking fee, and clients pay you directly. If you run a company with multiple staff, shared schedules, and payroll needs, Time To Pet is built for that and does it well. Stick with it. This page is for the former: solo pros who feel like they're renting a warehouse to store one box.
Side by side, July 2026
| Feature | Time To Pet | Houndtrust |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $25/mo (Lite, limited) | Free, forever, no card |
| Real solo-operator price | $50/mo + $10/mo SMS = $60/mo | $24/mo, everything included |
| Built for | Teams with staff scheduling | One person, solo-first |
| Staff scheduling / payroll tools | Yes | Not needed, not built |
| Intake: booking + waiver + vet auth | Booking + agreements | One link: booking, e-signed waiver, e-signed emergency-vet authorization |
| Client payments | Processed through the platform | Clients pay you directly (your own Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, or Stripe) |
| Cut of your bookings | None (flat subscription) | None, ever, 0% |
| Client-facing extras | Client portal | Free portal + two-way messaging + GPS walk maps + collectible Stay Cards |
| AI update writing | Not advertised | Pip drafts warm client updates you review and send |
| SMS text alerts | $10/mo add-on | Coming soon - included, not an add-on (email + portal today) |
| Free trial | Limited-feature Lite tier | 7 days full access, plus 30 more free days on activating Solo |
Time To Pet details from its public site, July 2026. “Not advertised” means we couldn't find it there, not a claim it doesn't exist. Check both before you decide.
The price math for a solo
Time To Pet's Lite plan is $25/mo, but it caps out fast. Most solo pros end up needing the $50/mo tier, plus $10/mo for SMS, and that's $60/mo or $720/year for tools built around staff you don't have. Houndtrust's Solo plan is $24/mo with client messaging, Pip AI updates, Stay Cards, and everything else included, no add-ons: $288/year. That's roughly $432 a year back in your pocket, and $24 is the founding rate, with founding status locked for life for the first 300 pros.
What a solo pro actually uses
Time To Pet's depth is real, it's just aimed at a five-person team. Houndtrust puts that same energy into things a solo pro touches every day:
- One intake link that books the job, e-signs the liability waiver and emergency-vet authorization, and shows your month's money.
- Pip turns a quick note into a warm client update, delivered as a collectible Stay Card. Every card rolls a 1-to-99 pull: rare pulls go gold, and the 1-in-500 Best in Show goes full holo, so clients actually open and share them.
- Clients get a free portal with two-way messaging and GPS walk maps. No app to download.
- When they pay, they pay you directly through your own Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, or Stripe. Houndtrust never touches the money, and takes 0% of your bookings.
When Time To Pet is the right choice
If you employ other sitters or walkers, run shared schedules across a team, or need payroll-adjacent reporting, Time To Pet is a mature, well-built tool for exactly that job, and it's earned its category-leader reputation. Houndtrust doesn't do staff scheduling or payroll, on purpose. We'd rather say plainly that a team of five belongs on team software than sell you complexity you'll never use. If that's your business, Time To Pet is the honest recommendation, not us.
Common questions
Is there a cheaper alternative to Time To Pet for solo sitters?
Yes. Time To Pet's realistic solo cost is $50/mo plus $10/mo for SMS, $60/mo total, since the $25 Lite tier is limited. Houndtrust's Solo plan is $24/mo with everything included (no add-ons for client messaging or AI updates), plus a free tier with no card required. It's a founding rate: the first 300 pros lock in founding status for life before the price moves to $49 for later cohorts.
Does Houndtrust take a cut of bookings like a marketplace?
No. Houndtrust is software, not a marketplace, so there's no percentage taken from what your own clients pay you. Clients pay you directly through your own Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, or Stripe payment link. Houndtrust never touches the money and takes no cut on the clients you bring: 0% on your own clients, full stop.
Can I switch from Time To Pet to Houndtrust without retyping everything?
Yes. Houndtrust's calendar import reads a public calendar link or an exported .ics file, pulls out your clients, dogs, and bookings from the event titles, and shows you an editable review screen before anything is created. Most solo pros bring their whole book over in a few minutes instead of an afternoon of retyping.
Is Houndtrust's free tier actually usable, or is it a stripped-down trial?
The free tier is forever, no card required, and keeps the basics: your client list, your services and rates, and the rate calculator. You also get 7 days of full access at signup to try everything (intake links, waivers, Stay Cards, the money dashboard), and then another 30 days free when you activate Solo. So you see the whole toolkit before a card is ever charged.
What happens to Houndtrust pricing after the first 300 customers?
The first 300 pros to activate Solo lock in $24/mo for life, even as the price rises later. After that, Solo moves to its regular price of $49/mo for new customers. Founding customers keep $24 permanently, so signing up early is the only way to get that rate.
Built for a team of one, priced like it too.
Start free in minutes. No card, no per-booking fee.
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Questions? hello@houndtrust.com · (385) 246-2984