Straight answers about how HelpNest works, bookings, safety and becoming a provider. Can’t find what you need? .
HelpNest is a Canadian online marketplace that connects people with independent local service providers. We’re starting in Toronto with babysitting, full-day childcare and tutoring. Senior companionship, pet care, home help and errands are coming later.
You search for the help you need, review provider profiles, and send a request for a specific time. The request is confirmed only when the provider accepts it. You can follow every request in your account.
No. Providers on HelpNest are independent and offer their own services. HelpNest provides the platform for finding, contacting and arranging help; it does not supervise the care itself.
In Toronto, Ontario, for now. We’ll add other cities only when we can support them properly. You can ask to be notified when we open near you.
Search for babysitting in Toronto, then filter by area, rate and screening status. Open a profile to read about the provider and see their rates. If no one suitable is listed yet, you can post what you need or ask to be notified.
Yes. To protect caregivers’ privacy, profiles and availability are shown only to signed-up care seekers. Creating an account with Google is free, and your first two months of membership are free too.
Read the profile, then meet before the first booking, in person or by video. Ask for references and call them, look at original certificates, and talk through routines, allergies and your emergency plan. If something doesn’t feel right, you don’t have to book.
They vary by province. In Ontario, someone providing unlicensed child care can care for at most 5 children under 13, counting their own children under 4, with no more than 3 under age 2, and must tell parents in writing that the care is not licensed. HelpNest currently operates only in Ontario.
Source: Government of Ontario: Number of children allowed in home and unlicensed child care programs · Reviewed 2026-10-24
You choose a service, date and time and send a request. Before you send it, you’ll see the provider’s rate, an estimated total and how payment works. The booking is confirmed only when the provider accepts. Two people can’t book the same provider for overlapping times.
Each provider sets their own hourly rate in Canadian dollars. It’s shown on their profile and before you send a request.
HelpNest doesn’t charge booking fees or take a commission on care. You agree payment for care, and any applicable taxes, directly with the caregiver. Using HelpNest itself needs a membership, which starts with two free months and no card; see Pricing for the monthly price after that.
The booking shows as cancelled in your account, with the reason they gave, and the time becomes available again. You can send a request to another provider. Because payment is arranged directly, any refund is between you and the provider.
The caregiver is responsible for the service they deliver; HelpNest runs the platform and doesn’t supervise care. The Customer Terms and Provider Agreement set out each party’s responsibilities and the limits of HelpNest’s liability under Ontario law. If you have a safety concern, report it straight away; in an emergency, call 911.
Caregivers set their own availability in HelpNest: weekly hours, days off, how much notice they need and breaks between bookings. Families are only offered those times. Caregivers can also connect Google Calendar so times they’re busy are removed. Once a caregiver accepts a booking, it’s added to a separate “HelpNest bookings” calendar for anyone who has connected one, and it’s moved or removed if the booking changes or is cancelled. Connecting a calendar is optional.
Only whether you’re busy or free in your main calendar. HelpNest can’t read your event titles, guests, locations or notes, and it can change only the “HelpNest bookings” calendar it creates. You can disconnect at any time, which also revokes HelpNest’s access.
During a confirmed booking, the care seeker can ask for a message or a short video check-in, up to once an hour. The caregiver decides whether to accept. A Google Meet link is created only when a caregiver accepts a video check-in, and only the two people on the booking can see it.
Short updates a caregiver adds during a booking, such as meals, activities, tasks completed or anything unusual. Only the two people on the booking can see them. Entries can’t be edited or deleted; if something needs fixing, the caregiver adds a correction that appears alongside the original. Care logs are not medical records.
Identity verification confirms that someone is who they say they are, by checking a government photo ID with Stripe. It doesn’t look at criminal records. A police check, including vulnerable sector screening, is a separate document a caregiver can upload; profiles show whether HelpNest has reviewed it and when it expires. Neither is a guarantee of safety, so meet caregivers and ask for references.
Caregivers can upload police checks, first aid and CPR certificates and other qualifications. “Verified” means a person at HelpNest reviewed the document and it was valid on the review date; “Expired” means its date has passed. Families see the status and expiry date, never the document itself. Uploading a document is not the same as verification.
Care seekers and caregivers each have a monthly membership in Canadian dollars. Everyone starts with two free months, with no card required, and you’re never charged unless you choose a paid plan. You can cancel from your account at any time, and your account, agreements, privacy and safety tools stay available whatever your membership status.
Compare experience, services and rates, then look at which credentials HelpNest has reviewed and whether identity is verified. Message or video-call before booking, ask for references, and agree routines, emergency contacts and payment in advance. You decide who is right for your family; HelpNest doesn’t employ or supervise caregivers.
Each profile shows a status for each check, such as identity, a police check with vulnerable sector screening, and first aid and CPR. Only HelpNest can mark a check Verified, after a reviewer examines the document; families see the status and expiry, never the document. Until a check shows Verified, treat it as information from the caregiver.
If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911. Otherwise, use “Report a safety concern” in your account menu or the site footer. In Ontario, anyone who suspects a child is in need of protection must report it directly to a children’s aid society; telling HelpNest does not replace that duty.
Not from your profile or request. Requests show a general area only. You decide when to share your address with a provider, usually after they accept.
Create an account with Google, choose “Offer my services” and accept the provider agreements. Then add your experience, services, rates, general area and availability, submit any screening documents for review, and submit your profile. It’s listed after HelpNest approves it.
Yes. You can offer several services from one profile, each with its own hourly rate.