Care.com

• Tutoring Services
• Job Opportunities
• Safety Resources
• Membership Plans
• Easy-to-Use Website

Tutoring Services

To find a tutor, all you need to do is specify what kind of service you are looking for and where. Based on that, Care.com will provide you with a list of potential candidates. 

If you want, you can use Care.com's filter to narrow down your list of tutors further. Here you can choose only to view tutors if they have a background check on file or find a candidate that is willing to tutor you or your family member in your home. You can also look for a tutor specializing in a specific subject such as math, English, foreign language, etc. 

Job Opportunities

Signing up to be a tutor/caregiver on Care.com is incredibly easy. Simply click 'JOIN' and fill out your name, address, and email. 

Care.com will then ask you to list your experience and references. You will also be prompted to provide a background check, proof of certification, and other related documents/information. Keep in mind that Care.com's customer care team will need to approve all the paperwork to ensure there are no fake documents. 

Once your Caregiver profile is complete, you can set your hourly rate and availability. You can even browse through the jobs in your area. 

It doesn't cost anything to sign up and is a great resource to make some extra money.

Safety Resources

Care.com is serious about safety. The company does screen all caregivers, but it's limited. So Care.com encourages users to conduct their own screening process. Look for profiles with the CareCheck badge, conduct additional background searches, interview your candidate, check references, and more. 

If you need a bit more guidance on what to look for on a profile, Care.com has a variety of resources that can help. The company's help center has a detailed FAQ page, and the blog is an excellent place for relevant articles. 

Membership Plans

If you sign up for Care.com's basic membership, you'll be able to try out several services at no cost. You can set up an account, post a job, search and view local caregivers' profiles, and receive applications from local caregivers. 

The Premium membership includes all the basic membership features, but you'll also get contact caregivers and schedule interviews, request background checks and reply to applications and other messages. 

Easy-to-Use Website

Care.com's website is fairly straightforward and does not overwhelm you with too much information up front. Filling out Care.com's short questionnaire is, by far, the easiest way to find a candidate that fits your needs. If you want to be more specific with your search, we recommend using the filter tool to narrow down the candidates. 

Visit Site

• Varying Rates
• Automatic Subscription Renewal
• Possible Scams

Varying Rates

Unfortunately, we can't tell you exactly how much you're going to pay for a tutor every month since Care.com doesn't have set pricing plans. However, we can tell you about the aspects that will factor into your final price. 

Where you live will have a significant impact on how much you pay for a tutor. 

Tutors in large cities (where the cost of living is higher) are likely to charge more. If you live in Los Angeles, California, expect to pay up anywhere from $15 to $150 per hour. 

Whereas tutors in smaller cities (for example, Gardner, Kansas) generally charge $10 to $70 per hour. 

Your location isn't the only thing affecting your final cost. Experience and availability play a major role in the entire process. A tutor with more than 10 years of experience is going to cost more than a tutor with no experience. You can also expect to pay more per hour if you need the tutor multiple times a week. 

But, before you seal the deal with a tutor, we recommend asking about the following cost-related factors:

• Needed materials — Some tutors require you to purchase your own supplies such as books, workbooks, language tapes, etc. 
• Cancellations/missed lessons — You may be required to pay in full for a missed or canceled lesson. Be sure to ask about the expectations for a missed or canceled lesson. 
• Payment frequency — Many tutors will offer a discounted rate for multiple lessons. Ask about a price reduction if you're paying for a full month (or more) in advance.

To ensure you're getting a fair rate, we highly recommend checking out Care.com's Rate Calculators. These calculators are fantastic at helping you find an appropriate rate based on your tutor's service, experience, hours, and zip code. 

Automatic Subscription Renewal

Before diving in and purchasing a premium subscription plan with Care.com, make sure you're up-to-date on the company's policies. One of the most common complaints against Care.com is that customers were billed after they canceled their accounts. This is frustrating because consumers expect the charges to stop once they cancel.

However, Care.com's terms and conditions state:

"If you sign up for a payment plan that allows you to be charged monthly over the subscription period and you decide to cancel your subscription during the subscription period, you acknowledge and agree that you will continue to be billed for the subscription on a monthly basis until its originally scheduled expiration date."

Possible Scams

While Care.com does a decent job providing consumers with various resources to avoid a potential scam, it's not impossible.

If you're not careful and skimp on the background check, you could end up losing your money. We recommend choosing tutors with Care.com's CareCheck badge and running your own background check. 

Although you may run across untrustworthy and dishonest profiles on the site, the company itself is entirely legitimate.