Houndtrust vs Time To Pet: the solo-sitter alternative
Honest comparison · Updated August 13, 2026
Time To Pet is mature software for solo operators, teams, and facilities. Its depth is useful when you need staff roles, detailed scheduling, payments, and integrations. Houndtrust is smaller and built around the daily work of a solo home boarder or sitter.
The short version
If you're a solo sitter, boarder, or walker paying for features a team would use, Houndtrust is the simpler solo fit: $0/month Flexible with five manual completions or $24/month founding Solo with unlimited manual completions. Houndtrust card bookings bypass the Flexible allowance, and Solo has no $5 Flexible booking fee. If you run a company with multiple staff, shared schedules, and payroll needs, Time To Pet is built for that and does it well. This comparison focuses on Houndtrust's individual plans. Owner-led walking and drop-in businesses can also apply for the Teams private beta.
Side by side, August 2026
| Feature | Time To Pet | Houndtrust |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $25/mo or $250/year for Lite | $0/month Flexible; booking and card fees may apply |
| Full Solo price | $50/mo or $500/year | $24/mo founding price |
| Built for | One-person companies through large teams | Individual businesses; owner-led Teams private beta |
| Staff scheduling / payroll tools | Yes | Teams scheduling in private beta; payroll not included |
| Intake + agreement + vet auth | Booking + agreements | Trust Link intake, then booking and e-signed care agreement |
| Client payments | Processed through the platform | Houndtrust connected-card checkout (recommended), with manual methods also available |
| Cut of your bookings | None (flat subscription) | No marketplace booking commission |
| Client-facing extras | Client portal | Free portal, two-way messaging, and collectible Stay Cards |
| AI update writing | Not advertised | Pip drafts warm client updates you review and send |
| Text messaging | Listed in the current feature matrix | Email, portal, and optional client updates by text |
| Free trial | 14 days, no credit card | 7 days full access, plus 30 more free days on activating Solo |
Time To Pet details come from its official pricing page as checked August 13, 2026. “Not advertised” means we couldn't find it there, not a claim that the feature does not exist. Check both products before you decide.
The price math for a solo
Time To Pet Lite costs $25 a month or $250 a year. Its full Solo plan costs $50 a month or $500 a year. Houndtrust Solo costs $24 a month at the founding rate, or $288 a year. Against Time To Pet Solo, that saves $312 a year if you compare monthly billing, or $212 against Time To Pet's annual price. Lite is $38 cheaper than Houndtrust Solo when paid annually, so compare the features you need before comparing the totals.
What a solo pro actually uses
Time To Pet spreads its depth across solo, team, and facility plans. Houndtrust focuses on a smaller set of things a solo pro touches every day:
- One Trust Link that gathers the client and dog-care profile, veterinary details, and emergency authorization. Booking dates and the separate care agreement follow.
- Pip drafts a warm client update from your quick note. Send it as a clean Simple Update, or choose a collectible Stay Card with a 1-to-99 pull when you want extra personality.
- Clients get a free portal with two-way messaging and collectible Stay Cards. No app to download.
- When they pay, Houndtrust card checkout is the recommended path: it records payment automatically and can offer an optional after-care tip. Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, and other manual methods remain available. Connected cards use a 1.5% automation fee on the care amount, plus Stripe processing.
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. Houndtrust Teams is testing assignments, worker responses, promised pay, and care proof for owner-led walking and drop-in businesses. It requires private-beta approval and does not include payroll. If you need a generally available team system today, compare the established tools before switching. See the current Teams pilot scope.
Common questions
Is there a cheaper alternative to Time To Pet for solo sitters?
Yes. Time To Pet lists Lite at $25 per month or $250 per year and Solo at $50 per month or $500 per year. Houndtrust Flexible is $0 per month with five manual booking completions; Houndtrust card bookings bypass that allowance and carry one $5 fee when they qualify. Houndtrust Solo is $24 per month at the current founding price with unlimited manual completions and no $5 Flexible fee.
Does Houndtrust take a cut of bookings like a marketplace?
Houndtrust is software, not a marketplace, so it charges no marketplace booking commission on clients you bring. Recommended connected card checkout carries a 1.5% caregiver-paid automation fee on the care amount, plus Stripe processing fees. Manual payment methods remain available without a Houndtrust transaction fee.
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 Flexible actually usable, or is it a stripped-down trial?
Flexible is $0 per month and keeps the core client, pet, service, booking, calendar, agreement, and payment-request workflow. It includes five manual booking completions per month. Houndtrust card bookings bypass that allowance, and a qualifying completed card booking has one $5 Flexible fee.
What happens to Houndtrust pricing after the first 300 customers?
The first 300 pros can activate Solo at the $24 monthly founding price and keep Founding Operator status for life. The published regular price for later customers is $49 per month.
Built for a team of one, priced like it too.
Start free in minutes. No card and no marketplace booking commission.
Start freeOr see the whole toolkit first: open the live demo →
Questions? hello@houndtrust.com · (385) 246-2984