Questions? We have answers.

zyttle is a neighborhood childcare platform that connects families with trusted sitters — teen sitters whose parent or guardian approves their profile, and adult sitters who are identity-, phone-, and registry-verified. We match by your actual neighborhood, not just your city, and all communication and booking happens securely through the app.

zyttle is growing neighborhood by neighborhood. Sign up now and you'll be among the first to know when we expand — we'll notify you when sitters are available in your area.

Yes. Creating an account is free for everyone. Parents pay a $3.99 booking fee per booking or can upgrade to premium ($9.99/mo) to waive booking fees entirely. Teen sitters are free forever. Adult sitters keep what they earn on each booking minus a small % for payment processing — no upfront subscription.

Head to zyttle.com and create your account. You'll be asked to verify your phone number and confirm your identity before getting access. The whole process takes about five minutes. Parents and sitters each have their own onboarding flow designed for their role.

Yes. zyttle is available on the web at zyttle.com and works on all mobile browsers. Native iOS and Android apps are coming soon — sign up on the web now and you'll have your account ready when the apps launch.

After creating your account, you'll set up profiles for your kids — ages, any special considerations, and what matters to you. Then you can browse sitters in your neighborhood, filtered by availability, age, and rating. Message a sitter through the app to get to know them before booking.

Yes — and it's one of zyttle's best features. Your booking history saves automatically, and you can rebook any previous sitter in two taps. No starting over from scratch every time.

Free plan ($3.99 per booking): Browse and message sitters, book up to 4 weeks ahead, secure in-app messaging, booking history and reminders.

Premium ($9.99/mo): No per-booking fees, book same-day, book up to 12 weeks ahead, and a little extra flexibility on late cancellations.

If you book three or more times a month, premium pays for itself.

Plans change — we get it. zyttle has a flexible cancellation policy with different terms depending on how close to the booking you cancel. The full details are in our Terms of Service. Premium members also get a little extra flexibility built into the plan.

You choose who to work with on zyttle. If you'd prefer not to book a sitter you've used before, you don't have to — they won't reach out, and you'll have a fresh slate every time you book. Sitters have the same flexibility.

Yes. Parents go through identity verification (government ID and live selfie), sex offender registry screening, and phone verification at signup. Sitters deserve to know who they're working for, and that means everyone on the platform is accountable — not just the sitters.

Teen sitters must be at least 13 years old in most states, and 14 in Illinois. Your age is verified against your ID at signup — you can't self-report it.

After you complete your profile, your parent or guardian receives a link to review it. They create their own verified account, look over your full profile — including your bio, rates, and availability — and then approve it. Once they approve, your profile goes live and families can start finding you. The whole process usually takes less than 10 minutes and your guardian can check your booking activity at any time.

Yes — free to join, free to build your profile, free to get bookings. zyttle takes a small percentage of each booking to cover payment processing. There's no monthly fee, no signup cost, and no hidden charges. You keep the vast majority of what you earn.

Absolutely. You accept every booking on your own terms. zyttle is flexible — no minimums, no quotas, and no obligation to take any specific request.

Adult sitters go through identity verification (government ID and live selfie match), sex offender registry screening, and phone verification before their profile goes live. A criminal background check through Checkr is optional. If you choose to complete one, you pay Checkr directly (around $29.99) and we add a "Background Checked" badge to your profile. Parents can filter their search to only show background-checked sitters, so the badge can help you get more bookings.

No upfront fee to join. You can create your profile and complete onboarding at no cost. If you choose to add the optional Checkr "Background Checked" badge, you pay Checkr directly. On each booking, zyttle keeps a small % for payment processing and you keep the rest.

Yes. You set your own hourly rate when you create your profile and can update it at any time. Families see your rate before they message you, so there's no negotiating mid-booking. You're in control of what you charge.

Yes. During profile setup you can indicate that you offer homework help alongside babysitting. Families can filter for this when searching, which means it can help you stand out and get more bookings — especially for after-school slots.

zyttle runs multiple layers of verification on every user — parents and sitters alike. Teen sitters require a parent or guardian to approve their profile before going live. Adult sitters are identity-, phone-, and registry-verified, and can optionally add a Checkr "Background Checked" badge. All users are screened against public sex offender registries at signup. We also help keep coordination on-platform so the protections you signed up for stay in place.

All pre-booking coordination happens inside zyttle. We help keep the conversation on-platform so the protections you signed up for stay in place. Once you confirm a booking, your sitter will get the practical details they need to show up — like your address.

Every report is taken seriously and reviewed by our team. If a safety concern is raised, the account can be suspended while we investigate. All reports are logged so patterns are visible over time, even when no immediate action is taken. We don't share details of who reported what with the other party.

Teen sitters under 18 cannot go through a formal criminal background check by law. However, every teen sitter goes through sex offender registry screening, identity verification, and phone verification — plus their own parent or guardian must review and approve their profile before they ever go live. That guardian approval comes standard with zyttle, and it means a real, verified adult has vouched for them.

Our full safety policy is at zyttle.com/safety. It covers every verification layer, who gets which checks, how messaging is protected, and how our report and review system works. If you have a specific safety question not answered there, email us at hello@zyttle.com.

Parents on the free plan pay a $3.99 booking fee per booking plus the sitter's hourly rate. Premium members ($9.99/mo) pay no per-booking fee — just the sitter's rate. All payments are processed securely through the app. You'll always see a full breakdown before confirming any booking.

Payments are processed securely after each completed booking and typically arrive in a sitter's bank account or debit card within a few business days. Teen sitters who don't yet have their own bank account can use a parent or guardian's account to receive payments.

If you book three or more times a month, premium ($9.99/mo) pays for itself — you'd otherwise pay $11.97 in booking fees alone. On top of that you get same-day booking, 12-week advance scheduling, and a little extra flexibility on late cancellations.

If you earn $600 or more in a calendar year through zyttle, you may receive a 1099-NEC for tax reporting purposes. We recommend speaking with a tax professional if you have questions about how your earnings affect your taxes — especially for teen sitters, since rules can vary based on age and household filing status.

Free plan parents can book up to 4 weeks in advance. Premium members can book up to 12 weeks ahead, and can also book same-day.

After you send a booking request, you can message your sitter through the app to coordinate the details. All messages stay inside zyttle so coordination is on the record and the protections you signed up for stay in place.

Plans change — we get it. zyttle has a flexible cancellation policy with different terms depending on how close to the booking you cancel. The full details are in our Terms of Service. Premium members also get a little extra flexibility built into the plan.

If a sitter cancels a confirmed booking, you won't be charged anything. zyttle will notify you immediately and surface available sitters in your neighborhood so you can rebook quickly.