Maple Care vs Care.com

Maple Care and Care.com both help people in Canada find care, but they charge in different ways. Care.com lets families join for free as a guest, then asks them to upgrade to a paid Premium membership to message caregivers. Maple Care has no membership: posting is free, and you pay only for the offers you choose to buy, at a price shown before you buy.

Post a free request →

Free to post. Your contact details stay private.

Join as a care professional →

Free to join. Pay only for the offers you choose.

How does Care.com charge families?

According to the Care.com help centre, joining Care.com as a guest is free, and a guest can post a job and receive applications. To message caregivers or request background checks, a family upgrades to a Premium membership. Care.com says it offers several plans, that not all plans are available in all areas, and that plans can change. Care.com shows the price when you select Upgrade in your account.

Care.com: How much does Care.com membership cost?

How does Maple Care charge?

Maple Care has no membership or subscription. Posting a care request or a professional profile on Maple Care is free. Contact details are unlocked by buying an offer with credits, and one credit is $1, plus tax. The price of each offer is shown before you buy it, and nothing is charged until you confirm.

Bigger credit packs cost less per credit: 5% off 25 credits, 10% off 50 credits and 15% off 100 credits
Many clients pay nothing: care professionals buy the client’s request and reach out
Credits back if an offer’s contact details are fake or unreachable, unless the offer carried a verified badge

How does first contact work on Maple Care?

On Maple Care, names and contact details stay private until someone buys the offer. Each client request has a buyer limit set by the client, with a minimum of 5, so a client is never contacted by dozens of people. Care professionals see the care, city, schedule and pay range before they buy.

Should I use Maple Care or Care.com?

The choice between Maple Care and Care.com mostly depends on how you want to pay. Care.com covers child care, senior care, pet care, housekeeping, tutoring and special needs care, and a membership can make sense if you plan to message many caregivers over several months. Maple Care suits people who would rather not pay a membership: you post for free, pay only for the offers you want, and find elder, child, property and pet care in English and French across Canada.

We checked Care.com’s public pages on September 25, 2026. Plans and prices change, so check Care.com’s site for its current terms. Maple Care is not affiliated with Care.com.

Frequently asked questions

Is Care.com free in Canada?

Joining Care.com as a guest is free. According to the Care.com help centre, messaging caregivers requires upgrading to a paid Premium membership, with plans that vary by area.

Does Maple Care charge a monthly fee?

No. Maple Care has no monthly fee, membership or subscription. You buy credits only when you want them, and one credit is $1, plus tax.

Can care professionals use Maple Care for free?

Yes. Care professionals create a Maple Care profile, get alerts for matching requests and earn verified badges for free, and pay only for the client requests they choose to buy.