What a dog walk really pays after platform fees and drive time. Free, no signup.
Estimates for planning only. Platform fees are common reported rates and editable. Travel cost covers gas + wear, not your time - the time is counted in the hourly rate.
Start in "The walk" card with six editable starting points: the price you charge per walk ($20), the walk length in minutes (30), how many dogs you walk at once (1), travel time between walks (15), drive miles per walk (4), and your cost per mile ($0.70). Adjust all six to match your route. Next, open the "Platform" card and pick the booking source: Rover at 20%, Wag at a reported 40%, an independent or direct client with no fee, or a custom percentage you type in yourself. Then set "Your bar": the minimum dollars per hour you will work for ($25), plus how many walks you do per day (4) and days per week (5). The "Breakdown" card recalculates instantly as you type, showing the platform fee, drive cost, profit per walk, profit per dog, weekly, and estimated monthly totals, with your true hourly rate after fees and travel as the headline. A verdict badge reads WORTH IT, BORDERLINE (within 15% of your bar), or UNDERPAID, and if the walk falls short the tool shows the exact price needed to hit your target. Estimates are for planning only, and the fee presets are common reported rates you can edit.
Example only, not typical earnings. Say you charge $20 for a 30-minute walk booked on Rover, walk one dog, spend 15 minutes traveling between walks, drive 4 miles at $0.70 per mile, and your minimum rate is $25 an hour.
The tool subtracts a 20% platform fee of $4.00, leaving $16.00, then subtracts $2.80 in drive cost (4 miles x $0.70), for a profit of $13.20 per walk. The walk commits 45 minutes of your time (30 walking + 15 traveling), so the true hourly rate is $13.20 / 0.75 hours = $17.60 per hour.
That is below your $25 bar and below 85% of it ($21.25), so the verdict reads UNDERPAID. The tool works backward to the price you need: ($25 x 0.75 + $2.80) / (1 - 0.20) = $21.55 / 0.80 = $26.94 per walk to hit your target at these costs and times. At 4 walks a day, 5 days a week, the current setup profits $264.00 a week, or about $1,143.12 a month (weekly x 4.33).
How does the tool calculate the true hourly rate?
It takes your walk price, subtracts the platform fee and your drive cost (miles x cost per mile), then divides that profit by the total time committed: walk minutes plus travel minutes, converted to hours. That is why a $20 walk rarely pays $20 an hour, since the fee comes off the top and the unpaid travel minutes go into the denominator.
Which platform fees does it use?
The dropdown presets Rover at 20% and Wag at a reported 40%, plus an independent or direct-client option with no fee and a custom percentage field. These are common reported rates shown as editable starting points, not guaranteed current fees, so update the custom field if your actual cut differs.
What does "To hit your target rate, charge ..." mean?
When your true hourly rate falls below your bar, the tool solves for the price you would need to charge at your current costs and times: (target rate x committed hours + drive cost) divided by (1 - fee rate). Use it to price walks, not to guess - it only appears when the walk is BORDERLINE or UNDERPAID.
Does the drive cost include my travel time?
No. Drive cost covers gas and vehicle wear at your cost-per-mile rate only. Your travel time is counted separately in the hourly rate calculation, which is the point of the tool: unpaid time between walks drags down what each hour is really worth.
Is this financial or tax advice?
No. The tool gives estimates for planning only. It does not cover taxes, insurance, or other business costs, and its platform fees are reported rates you can edit. Check with a qualified professional for decisions about pricing, taxes, or business finances.