Pet Sitter/Boarding Cost Calculator
Compare the cost of a pet sitter against boarding kennels for a trip.
About Pet Sitter/Boarding Cost Calculator
Boarding cost rises with each pet while a sitter charges per visit regardless, so there is a pet count above which sitting is always cheaper. A sitter also covers the house, which has value not captured in the rate. For multiple pets the crossover often falls at two or three animals, which is why households with several pets rarely board them.
Formula
Pet Sitter/Boarding Cost
Boarding scales with pet count; a sitter is a flat daily rate regardless of pets
- additional pet discount
- Kennels often discount subsequent pets sharing accommodation
- break-even pet count
- Where boarding cost overtakes the flat sitter rate
Worked example
With the default values below, Pet Sitter/Boarding Cost Calculator returns Cheaper Option of Boarding kennels. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Days of careminimum 0
- 10
- Number of petsminimum 1
- 2
- Boarding rate per pet per dayminimum 0
- 28
- Sitter rate per dayminimum 0
- 55
- Boarding discount for additional petsaccepts 0–60 %
- 20 %
Results
- Cheaper Option
- Boarding kennels
- Boarding Total
- $504.00
- Sitter Total
- $550.00
- Saving From the Cheaper Option
- $46.00
- Pets at Which Boarding Becomes More Expensive
- 2.21
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Pet Sitter/Boarding Cost
- 3Cheaper Option= Boarding kennels
- 4Boarding Total= 504.00
- 5Sitter Total= 550.00
- 6Saving From the Cheaper Option= 46.00
- 7Pets at Which Boarding Becomes More Expensive= 2.21
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Pet Sitter/Boarding Cost calculated?
Boarding scales with pet count; a sitter is a flat daily rate regardless of pets Boarding cost rises with each pet while a sitter charges per visit regardless, so there is a pet count above which sitting is always cheaper. A sitter also covers the house, which has value not captured in the rate.
Why does Pet Sitter/Boarding Cost matter?
For multiple pets the crossover often falls at two or three animals, which is why households with several pets rarely board them.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 5 inputs: Days of care, Number of pets, Boarding rate per pet per day, Sitter rate per day, Boarding discount for additional pets. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.