What’s the Difference Between a Nanny and a Babysitter?

A nanny is a professional who offers childcare services to families, typically consistently and over long periods of time. Nannies do more than look after the child. They contribute to the development and growth of the children under their care.

For instance, in addition to ensuring the child’s safety and well-being, a nanny’s duties may also include providing educational support, mentorship, and assistance reaching developmental milestones (e.g., toilet training or quitting pacifiers).

Essentially, a nanny helps raise and nurture children, acting as an extension of their parents or guardians. In addition, nannies may take on domestic duties, such as preparing meals, cleaning the house, or taking the child to attend extracurricular activities.

Depending on the arrangement, some nannies will reside with the family as a “live-in nanny,” usually having their own living space within the home. This is in contrast to a “live-out nanny,” who resides elsewhere.

In most cases, becoming a nanny is a career goal. These childcare professionals often have degrees in a related field, such as early childhood education, psychology, or behavioral therapy. They may also pursue relevant credentials, like newborn care or pediatric nutrition certifications.

A babysitter is hired by a child’s parent or guardian to take care of their child temporarily on an as-needed basis. Babysitters are mainly there to uphold rules and supervise the child, ensuring they’re safe, happy, and following their usual routine.

As a babysitter, you usually only work for a few hours, often in the evening or on weekends. You fill in for the parents or guardians when they have a date night, need to run errands, or are occupied with something else for a short period of time. Most sitters treat babysitting as a side hustle to make extra money instead of as a full-time career.

Some babysitters may work a full day, but that isn’t the norm. Your clients may request that you care for the child throughout the night, but in this case, you can charge separate overnight babysitting rates rather than hourly daytime sitter rates.

You don’t need to be a childcare professional to become a babysitter, but you should at least have basic childcare skills and a CPR certification. Since babysitting is more casual work, and most states don’t have babysitting minimum age requirements, some sitters begin babysitting at just 13 years old.

In a nutshell, nannies offer more comprehensive and regular care to a child, whereas babysitters provide occasional childcare services with fewer responsibilities. However, there are some other distinguishing characteristics between these two roles, as shown in the table below.

Nanny vs. Babysitter Comparison Chart

Note: Salary figures were taken from Care.com and rounded to the nearest $5 mark.

Babysitters have more flexibility

As babysitters work with families on a one-time or short-term basis, they can arrange to work babysitting gigs as a side hustle that fits in with their other commitments. While some babysitters have long-term ongoing work arrangements with a particular family (e.g., working every Thursday evening or a couple of hours every week night), it’s also possible to only commit to one gig at a time.

For instance, here is one sitter’s example of how much control they had over their schedule, even while working for a family regularly:

“I used to babysit for a family about twice a month always on Saturdays, and it was pretty consistent every month—but they had to ask me every time if that day worked for me. They would email me with a couple months’ worth of proposed dates and I would say yes I’m available.”

Nannies are typically subject to “nanny taxes”

Nanny taxes are what people colloquially call the employment taxes families usually have to pay when they hire a nanny. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a set of criteria for distinguishing between household employees vs. self-employed workers. Nannies usually fit the bill for employee classification, whereas babysitters often do not.

Babysitters are usually considered independent contractors because they can decide their own schedule and aren’t told exactly what to do during each babysitting session. Nannies, however, are often subject to stricter rules from the parents in terms of what work to do and how to execute that work. For this reason, nannies are often considered household employees, which are a type of W-2 employee.

According to IRS Publication 926, families hiring a nanny as an employee must abide by the following rules:

• Withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes when the nanny’s earnings exceed $2,700.
• Pay Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax when the nanny’s earnings in any calendar quarter exceed $1,000.
• Withhold federal income tax only if both parties agree.

Some states also require families to give their nannies certain benefits, such as guaranteed hours, overtime, holiday pay, or paid time off (PTO).

Consider your career outlook and availability when you decide whether you want to become a nanny or a babysitter. If you eventually want to become a full-time childcare provider, then you should become a nanny.

On the other hand, if you’re only looking for a temporary side hustle or haven’t decided if this is a job you want to commit to in the long term, then babysitting would be the better option. You’ll have more control over your schedule, allowing you to manage your other commitments.

Some professional childcare providers split their time between being a nanny and a babysitter. They may take on a few babysitting gigs here and there while nannying full-time for a family. Taking this approach can maximize your earnings and give you more control over your working hours.

Where to find childcare work

Many nannies and sitters break into the industry by providing their services to friends or family and then branch out from there. However, don’t worry if you’re starting from square one. There are many other places where you can find childcare work, even if you don’t have any experience.

Here are just a few options:

• Use childcare apps and sites: There are many nanny and babysitting apps and sites you can register with. Create a profile on one or more platforms to find a match.
• Join an agency: Search on Google for local nanny or babysitting agencies and sign up with them. They’ll connect you with families that need childcare services.
• Browse local neighborhood groups: Check Facebook groups for your town or city or browse sites like Craigslist or Nextdoor for families seeking a babysitter or nanny.
• Promote your services: Consider posting ads for your childcare services on bulletin boards in your neighborhood or telling people in your social circle so that families might find you through word of mouth.

If you plan to use a childcare agency or app, bear in mind that you may need to meet certain requirements. For instance, common requirements include being at least 18 years old, having a Social Security number, and passing a background check.

How to choose a babysitting app

It’s worth understanding the different features of childcare platforms to decide which one to use. To help you gain deeper insight into what each one has to offer, we’ve reviewed some of the leading platforms so you can see how they compare:

• Care.com review
• UrbanSitter review
• Sittercity review
• Bambino review

Some of these platforms also offer opportunities to provide other types of care-related services, such as pet sitting, senior caregiving, and house sitting. These may be of interest to you if you’re still trying to decide on a side hustle and you want to test the waters with a few different types of jobs.