PawPals vs Pawshake: a straight comparison
Pawshake is a good platform and works in a lot of countries. PawPals only does Ireland. Here's the honest side-by-side on fees, vetting, insurance and coverage so you can pick on facts rather than ads.
- Sitter commission
- 15%
- Owner booking fee
- €0
- Counties covered
- 32
- Vetting
- Garda, pre-listing
Side by side
Figures for PawPals are our own published terms. The Pawshake column describes how international sitting marketplaces of that type generally operate — check their current terms directly before deciding, since fees and policies change.
| What matters | PawPals | Pawshake / international platforms |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | Ireland only — all 32 counties, with dedicated pages for towns as well as cities. | Operates across many countries, with Irish supply concentrated in the larger cities. |
| Sitter vetting | ID verification plus Garda vetting completed before a listing goes live. | Profile review and owner reviews; national police vetting is not a universal requirement. |
| Owner fees | None. You pay the listing price, VAT included, shown in full before checkout. | Typically a service fee added to the sitter's rate at checkout. |
| Sitter commission | Flat 15% of the booking. No listing fee, no subscription. | A commission per booking, commonly in the high teens to around 20%. |
| Payment protection | Payment held in escrow and released to the sitter after the booking completes. | Payment held by the platform and released after the stay. |
| Insurance | Bookings are covered while the dog is in the sitter's care, including vet costs from an incident during the booking. | Booking cover included, with terms and limits set by the platform's own policy. |
| During the booking | Realtime chat, photo check-ins that post automatically into the thread, and an AI summary of the day's updates. | Messaging and photo updates, depending on the sitter. |
| Support | Irish support team on Irish hours, and an Irish postal address on the contact page. | International support operation covering multiple time zones. |
When another platform is the better call
We'd rather you booked the right care than the wrong platform.
You travel abroad with your dog
If you need a sitter in France in July and Cork in August, an international platform with one account across countries is genuinely more convenient.
You want a cattery-style facility
Neither platform is a kennel. If your dog is happier in a structured commercial facility, or a medical need means supervised boarding, book a licensed kennel instead.
Your area has no PawPals sitters yet
We're honest about coverage: some rural counties are still thin. Search your town first — and if there's nobody near you, tell us and we'll recruit there next.
You already have a sitter you trust
Then keep them. If you want the payment protection, insurance and photo check-ins, ask them to list on PawPals and book through it.
Questions people ask when switching
Is PawPals an alternative to Pawshake in Ireland?
Yes. Both are marketplaces where you book a local sitter rather than a kennel. The practical differences are that PawPals only operates in Ireland, applies Garda vetting to every sitter before a listing goes live, and shows one VAT-inclusive price at checkout with no separate owner booking fee.
What does PawPals charge?
Sitters pay 15% of the booking value. Owners pay the price shown on the listing, VAT included, with no added service fee at checkout. There's no listing fee or subscription for sitters.
Can I use both platforms as a sitter?
Nothing stops you. Many Irish sitters list in more than one place while they build a client base. Just keep one calendar so you don't double-book — a cancellation hurts your rating on either platform.
Which has more sitters in my area?
It varies by county. International platforms tend to be deepest in Dublin; PawPals is built county by county and lists rural towns that bigger platforms often skip. Search your town on both and compare who actually replies.
How do I move my reviews over?
Reviews can't transfer between platforms — they're tied to bookings on that platform. What you can do is mention your experience in your PawPals bio, and ask repeat clients to book their next stay here so you build verified reviews quickly.
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