How much should babysitters charge?

Babysitting is priced hourly for standard sessions, with flat day, overnight, or weekend rates for longer bookings — but everything should trace back to a real hourly floor so long bookings don't quietly underpay you.

What moves the rate

• Number of children (add roughly $3-5/hr per additional child)
• Age of children (infants and kids with medical/special needs command a premium)
• Experience, certifications (CPR/First Aid), and background-check status
• Time of day/day of week (late-night, holiday, and last-minute bookings justify a surcharge)
• Additional duties (light housework, meal prep, homework help, driving kids to activities)
• Local cost of living and going rate in your metro vs. rural area

National average direct-booked rate for one child is roughly $19-29/hr depending on metro (2026 data), with $26/hr as a national blended average — this calculator's $22 base sits toward the lower-middle of that range as a starting point for a newer independent sitter, since experienced/certified sitters in expensive metros can reasonably charge the top of the range. Add $3-5/hr per additional child rather than a flat multiplier. For day/overnight/weekend bookings, don't just guess a flat number — divide your target flat rate by realistic hours-on-duty to check it still clears your real hourly floor (a $115 day rate for 10 hours on duty is only $11.50/hr, well under a fair rate, unless most of that time is downtime after kids are asleep). The $700/yr expense default assumes general liability insurance (~$300-500/yr — professional/agency-grade liability runs closer to $1,000/yr but is overkill for most solo direct-booked sitters), CPR/First Aid certification renewal amortized (~$50-75 every 2 years), a background-check renewal (~$40-60/yr), and a scheduling/payment app — one of the lowest-overhead professions on the site since it needs no vehicle or equipment beyond a phone.