Which is better: Mad Paws, Pawshake, or TruePath?

Depends on your priority. TruePath has the most thorough sitter verification (ACIC police check + reference calls + in-person interview, 35% rejection rate) and GPS tracking on all walks. Mad Paws has the largest sitter pool and widest coverage, including regional areas. Pawshake has the lightest verification of the three but is established across 25+ countries. For dogs with medical needs, anxiety, or reactive behaviour, TruePath's verification depth is the most relevant differentiator.

Is TruePath better than Mad Paws?

For verification depth and GPS-tracked walks: yes. For sitter pool size and regional coverage: Mad Paws is larger. TruePath's three-step verification (National Police Check, direct reference calls, in-person interview) with a 35% applicant rejection rate is more thorough than Mad Paws' process. If you're in a major metro and verification quality matters, TruePath is the better choice. If you're in a regional area or need a service type TruePath doesn't offer, Mad Paws fills that gap.

Does Mad Paws add fees at checkout?

Yes — Mad Paws adds a service fee on top of the sitter's listed rate, disclosed at the checkout stage before payment. The sitter's profile price is not the final price you pay. This is the most common complaint from Mad Paws owners across review platforms. TruePath shows the full cost before the booking confirmation stage.

What commission does Pawshake take?

Pawshake charges sitters approximately 19% commission per booking. This means sitters on Pawshake typically list higher prices to preserve their effective income per booking — so owner-facing prices on Pawshake often appear higher than comparable services on other platforms, even though the sitter is taking home a similar amount.

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Mad Paws vs Pawshake vs TruePath — Head-to-Head Comparison (2026)

Comparing three of Australia's main dog care platforms. Here's how Mad Paws, Pawshake, and TruePath stack up on verification, pricing, insurance, app features, and which suits your dog's needs.

By atticus · 7 min read · Last updated 17 May 2026

Three platforms dominate dog care bookings in Australia: Mad Paws (the market incumbent), Pawshake (the international entrant), and TruePath (the verification-focused newcomer). Choosing between them isn't purely about price — the differences in how sitters are vetted, what happens when something goes wrong, and how the platform is structured affect your dog's experience in real ways.

Here's the full comparison.

Key takeaways

Mad Paws has the largest sitter pool in Australia — widest availability, particularly outside major metros. The trade-off is sitter quality variance and a service fee added at checkout.
Pawshake's 19% commission model means sitters typically set higher listed prices to compensate. The verification is lighter than TruePath — ID and references, not police check + in-person interview.
TruePath's 3-step verification (ACIC National Police Check, direct reference calls, in-person interview) with a 35% applicant rejection rate is the most thorough of the three. GPS tracking on every walk is included by default.
For dogs with medical needs, anxiety, or reactive behaviour, TruePath's deeper vetting provides more reliable matches with carers who've been tested under pressure.
For remote or regional areas where TruePath doesn't yet have sitter coverage, Mad Paws' larger sitter pool fills the gap.

Platform background

Mad Paws launched in Australia in 2014 and built the country's largest pet care marketplace over the following decade. The platform operates across walking, sitting, boarding, daycare, and grooming. In 2021, US-based Rover — the world's largest pet care marketplace — acquired Mad Paws, making it part of a global operation while retaining the Mad Paws brand for the Australian market.

Pawshake was founded in Belgium in 2013 and expanded to 25+ countries including Australia. It focuses primarily on sitting and boarding, with less emphasis on walking. The platform is not Australia-specific — it operates the same model globally, which affects how localised features, verification standards, and customer support operate.

TruePath launched in Australia as an alternative to the incumbent platforms, built specifically around the observation that verification depth on the existing options was insufficient for owners leaving dogs unsupervised with strangers. It operates exclusively in Australia.

The verification comparison

This is the most important dimension for most owners — the quality of sitter screening determines how confident you can be that the person caring for your dog is genuinely competent and trustworthy.

Feature		Mad Paws	Pawshake
Police check	ACIC National Police Check	Not consistently required	ACIC National Police Check
Who runs the check	Platform-initiated	Self-declaration or third party	Platform-initiated (ACIC)
Reference checks	Not standard	Self-submitted references	Platform calls references directly
In-person interview	—	—	✓
Rejection rate (disclosed)	Not disclosed	Not disclosed	35%
GPS tracking (walks)	✓	Limited	✓
Platform insurance	Pet Protection up to $25k	Coverage included	Pet protection framework
Australia-specific	✓	—	✓

Verification model comparison — Mad Paws vs Pawshake vs TruePath

The key differences in practice:

Mad Paws requires a police check for sitters but doesn't add an in-person interview step. References are part of the profile but aren't independently verified by the platform. The result is a larger sitter pool — including many genuinely excellent sitters — but without the filtering layer that a live interview provides.

Pawshake's verification is lighter than the other two. ID verification and references are required, but without a mandatory ACIC National Police Check, the depth of background screening is lower than what Australian law enforcement bodies can surface. For an overseas platform, this reflects a global policy that doesn't specifically account for Australia's verification infrastructure.

TruePath treats the in-person interview as the critical differentiating step — it's the layer where sitter behaviour under pressure, their approach to challenging dogs, and their actual animal handling competence are assessed. The 35% rejection rate is the outcome of this standard, not a target.

Pricing and fee structures

Feature		Mad Paws	Pawshake
Listed price set by	Sitter	Sitter	Sitter
Owner service fee	Added at checkout (varies)	Not disclosed separately	Transparent at booking
Sitter commission	Platform retains portion	~19% per booking	Platform retains portion
Pricing transparency	Fee disclosed at checkout	Full cost shown pre-checkout	Full cost shown pre-checkout
National avg — 30-min walk	$28–35 (before fees)	Not tracked publicly	$32
National avg — overnight sit	$75–95 (before fees)	Not tracked publicly	$88
Peak period surcharges	✓	✓	✓

Pricing and fee structures

Pawshake's 19% commission to the platform means sitters on Pawshake set higher listed prices to preserve their take-home income. The practical effect: listed prices on Pawshake often look higher than Mad Paws or TruePath for equivalent services.

Mad Paws' service fee is added at checkout — the percentage varies but is disclosed before payment is finalised. This "checkout surprise" is the most common owner complaint about the platform: the price you see on a sitter's profile isn't what you pay.

Service availability

Mad Paws: Widest coverage. Available across all Australian capital cities and many regional areas. For suburbs or towns where TruePath doesn't yet have sitter coverage, Mad Paws is the realistic option.

Pawshake: Available in major cities. Coverage outside CBDs and inner suburbs is thinner.

TruePath: Currently focused on major Australian metro areas — Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra. Regional expansion is ongoing. If you're in inner-city or inner-suburban areas of major metros, coverage is strong.

App and booking experience

All three platforms offer iOS and Android apps. The booking flow differences are largely operational — how you message sitters, track walks, and view booking history.

TruePath's GPS tracking is included on all walks as a standard feature: live tracking, a GPS-verified route map sent after the walk, and session duration confirmation. Mad Paws offers GPS tracking but implementation varies by sitter. Pawshake's GPS tracking functionality is limited compared to the other two.

Which platform suits which owner

Choose Mad Paws if: You need the widest sitter pool — particularly if you're in a regional area, or you need a specific service type (grooming, daycare) that TruePath doesn't yet cover. Mad Paws' scale gives you more options on short-notice bookings.

Choose Pawshake if: You've had a good experience with Pawshake internationally, you're comfortable with the lighter verification model, or you're booking sitting (rather than walking) for a relaxed, easy dog.

Choose TruePath if: Verification depth matters to you — particularly for dogs with anxiety, medical needs, reactive behaviour, or any situation where carer competence is specifically important. If GPS-tracked walks and direct reference verification are things you want, TruePath is the right platform.

Find a TruePath walker near you

Background-checked walkers, GPS-tracked walks, and live photo updates. Most owners book their first walk within an hour.

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Frequently asked questions

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