How Much Does a Babysitter Cost in BC?
A babysitter through Puffin Services costs $32 an hour in British Columbia, with a 3-hour minimum — so a typical evening out is $96. It is $38/hr when a baby under 12 months is home, and $36/hr for after-school pickup or from 10:00 PM ($42 overnight with a baby). A sitter once a week works out to about $416 a month.
Babysitting rates, by the hour
These are the hourly rates Puffin charges. There is no membership and no minimum number of bookings. Puffin’s hourly care covers 16 municipalities across the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, and the rate is the same in every one of them — Surrey, Vancouver, Chilliwack or Hope.
| Care | Rate |
|---|---|
| Children 12 months and over | $32/hr |
| A baby under 12 months at home | $38/hr |
| After-school pickup and care | $36/hr |
| Overnight, 10:00 PM – 6:00 AM | $36/hr |
| Overnight with a baby under 12 months | $42/hr |
What a babysitter costs per evening, per week and per month
Most families do not book a babysitter once. They book the same evening every week, or every school afternoon, and the number that matters is the monthly one. Each figure below is priced by the same booking engine that charges your card, and a month is counted as 52 weeks divided by twelve — not four weeks, which understates it by about 8%.
| Booking | Schedule | Per visit | Per week | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date night | 6:00–9:00 PM, one evening a week, one child aged 4 | $96 | $96 | about $416 |
| A later night out | 7:00–11:00 PM, one evening a week, one child aged 4 | $132 | $132 | about $572 |
| Evening with a baby | 6:00–9:00 PM, one evening a week, a four-month-old | $114 | $114 | about $494 |
| After-school sitter | Pickup and care, 3:00–6:00 PM, Monday to Friday | $108 | $540 | about $2,340 |
| A full Saturday | 9:00 AM–5:00 PM, one day, one child aged 4 | $256 | — | — |
| Overnight sitter | 10:00 PM–6:00 AM, one night, one child aged 4 | $288 | — | — |
| Overnight, with a baby | 10:00 PM–6:00 AM, one night, a four-month-old | $336 | — | — |
What changes what a babysitter charges — and what does not
A baby in the home changes it. If any child under 12 months is there, the whole booking is billed at the infant rate: $114 for the same three-hour evening that costs $96 with a four-year-old. It applies to the booking, not per baby.
The clock changes it, from 10:00 PM. Hours between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM bill at the overnight rate, and a booking that crosses 10 o’clock is split rather than repriced. A 7:00–11:00 PM night out is $132: three hours at $32 and one at $36.
The number of children does not. One child or four, the rate is the same — there is no per-child fee and no sibling charge.
The day of the week does not. A Saturday, a statutory holiday and a Tuesday cost the same.
Where you live does not. There is no travel surcharge anywhere in the 16 municipalities we serve, including rural addresses.
How much do babysitters charge privately — and why an agency rate is higher
A sitter you find privately will usually quote less per hour than an agency. That gap is not margin. It is the cost of things that have to happen somewhere, and with a private arrangement they either happen at your expense or do not happen at all.
Every Puffin caregiver clears a provincial CRRP vulnerable-sector check before a first shift. They are employees, not contractors: Puffin registers them with WorkSafeBC and pays the premiums, carries commercial liability insurance on every shift, and runs the payroll. You pay one hourly rate and are nobody’s employer.
We do not publish other people’s rates, and we would treat any "average babysitter rate in BC" with caution — it blends teenagers, students and certified caregivers into one number that describes none of them. What we can tell you exactly is what we charge, before you enter a card: the booking flow prices your evening as you build it.
Babysitter or nanny: same rate, different pattern
At Puffin, "babysitter" and "nanny" are the same booking. Families say babysitter for an evening and nanny for something regular, but the caregiver, the clearance, the insurance and the rate are identical. If what you are budgeting is a working week rather than a night out, the nanny cost guide prices part-time and full-time schedules, and compares booking by the hour with employing a nanny directly.
Common questions
- How much does a babysitter cost per hour in BC?
- Through Puffin Services, a babysitter is $32 an hour for children 12 months and over, $38 an hour if a baby under 12 months is home, and $36 an hour for after-school pickup. Hours between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM are $36, or $42 with an infant. There is a 3-hour minimum, so the smallest booking is $96, and the rate does not change with the number of children.
- What does the three-hour minimum actually mean?
- It is the shortest shift Puffin Services books, not a minimum you have to use. A two-hour errand is billed as three hours, so standard childcare works out at $96 and infant care at $114. Anything longer is billed by the hour from there.
- How much does a regular babysitter cost per week or per month?
- A three-hour evening once a week is $96 a week, about $416 a month. An after-school sitter from 3:00 to 6:00 PM every weekday is $540 a week, about $2,340 a month. Each shift is booked individually, so there is no monthly contract or subscription.
- Can I book a babysitter for date night?
- Yes — date-night care is ordinary hourly childcare, booked for the evening you need it. Standard childcare for children 12 months and over is $32/hr with a three-hour minimum, so a 7:00–10:00 PM booking is $96. Hours after 10:00 PM bill at the $36/hr overnight rate, so a 6:00–11:00 PM evening is $164: four hours at $32 plus one at $36.
- How much does an overnight babysitter cost?
- An overnight babysitter from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM is $288 for a child 12 months or older — eight hours at the $36 overnight rate — or $336 with a baby under 12 months, at $42 an hour.
- Do rates change on weekends or holidays?
- No. Puffin Services charges the same rate on a Saturday, a statutory holiday, and a Tuesday. The only things that change an hourly childcare rate are whether an infant under 12 months is present and whether hours fall in the overnight window between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM. There is no weekend premium and no holiday surcharge.
See your exact price before you pay.
The booking form prices your dates and times as you enter them, with the breakdown shown before you enter a card. No phone call needed.