Compare
Last checked 2026-10-17.
Short answer: If you groom alone from home or a small studio and charge (or want to charge) by time, Pawdmin is the only grooming software built for exactly that: free to start, hourly billing, client tiers, and a client portal that never shows your calendar. If you run a mobile fleet, a staffed salon, or boarding and daycare, one of the tools below is a better fit, and we say which.
Every comparison below is honest about where the other product wins. Prices are from public pricing pages and directories; Pawdmin prices are read live from our pricing configuration.
Not sure which kind of business you are? Read our picks by business type →
| Software | Built for | Free plan | Paid from | Hourly billing | Client tiers | Clients see your calendar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pawdmin | Solo, home-based groomers who charge by time | Yes | $29/month billed yearly ($39 monthly) | Yes | Yes | Never |
| MoeGo | Mobile grooming vans and multi-groomer salons | No | About $49/month per van (mobile) or $79/month per location (salon); higher tiers to about $159 and $239 | Flat or per-breed service menu; durations set per service | Per-pet price overrides, no rate groups | Online booking shows open availability |
| Gingr | Boarding, daycare and grooming facilities with staff | No | About $109/month (or $100/month billed annually) for the grooming "Spa" plan; daycare and boarding plans cost more | Flat service menu with per-size and per-breed pricing | No | Customer portal shows available times for online requests |
| DaySmart Pet | Grooming salons from one user to larger teams | No | About $29/month for one user when you use DaySmart payments (about $39/month without); multi-user tiers from about $69/month | Flat service menu with per-breed and per-size pricing | No | Online booking shows open availability |
| PetExec | Daycare and boarding facilities that also groom | No | Quote-based; directories report starting around $105/month | Flat service menu | No | Customer portal requests against availability |
| Groomer.io | Grooming salons and mobile vans, multi-staff | No | About $99/month per facility or van (a $79/month promotional rate has been advertised); website is a separate plan at a similar price | Flat service menu | No | Online booking shows open availability |
| Pawfinity | Small grooming shops, mobile groomers and small boarding operations | No | About $60/month (or $55/month billed annually) for the grooming plan; top plan about $110/month | Flat service menu with per-breed and per-size pricing | No | Online booking shows open availability |
| Square Appointments | Any appointment business; not pet-specific | Yes | Free plan; paid plans reported from about $29 to $49 per month | Fixed-duration services; no time-based invoice calculation | No | Booking site shows open availability |
MoeGo is the best-known grooming app for mobile vans and multi-groomer salons. It is polished, mobile-first, and priced per van or per location with text-message caps on each tier.
Pick MoeGo if: you run one or more mobile vans and need route optimization every day.
Pick Pawdmin if: you groom alone from home or a small studio and want one price for one groomer.
Gingr is facility software for boarding, daycare and grooming businesses with staff, lodging maps and a customer portal. Its grooming plan is a slice of a much bigger system.
Pick Gingr if: you board or run daycare as well as groom.
Pick Pawdmin if: grooming is the whole business and you work alone.
DaySmart Pet (formerly 123Pet) is long-running salon software with a low entry price for one user and tiers that unlock more users, texting and marketing.
Pick DaySmart Pet if: you run a salon with several groomers and want a mature, inexpensive per-user product.
Pick Pawdmin if: you work alone and want to start free.
PetExec is quote-priced facility software for daycare and boarding operations that also groom. It is deep, configurable and priced for facilities, not for a single groomer.
Pick PetExec if: boarding or daycare is your main business and grooming is a side service.
Pick Pawdmin if: you groom alone from home and want software that fits in your pocket, not a front desk.
Groomer.io is a flat-priced grooming system for salons and mobile vans with unlimited texting and two-way messaging baked in, plus a separately priced website product.
Pick Groomer.io if: two-way texting and automated reminder calls matter more to you than price.
Pick Pawdmin if: you want a free plan, then paid plans from $29/month billed yearly with the website included on Advanced.
Pawfinity is well-reviewed grooming and boarding software with modest plan prices and usage-based text messaging, aimed at small shops and mobile groomers.
Pick Pawfinity if: you run a small shop with a couple of groomers and like per-breed pricing.
Pick Pawdmin if: you groom alone and want unlimited reminders with no per-text fees.
Square Appointments is a free general-purpose booking tool that many solo groomers start on. It handles a calendar, a booking site and card payments, but knows nothing about dogs, coats or grooming workflows.
Pick Square Appointments if: you only need a free calendar and card reader and keep pet notes elsewhere.
Pick Pawdmin if: you want pet profiles, vaccine tracking and grooming-specific estimates in the same place as the calendar, still free to start.
Solo, home-based pet groomers first, plus solo studio groomers and mobile or house-call groomers. It is not built for multi-groomer salons that need payroll or for boarding and daycare facilities.
Pawdmin prices come straight from our live pricing configuration. Competitor prices were taken from their public pricing pages and software directories on 2026-10-17 and can change; confirm on the vendor's site before deciding.
Pawdmin’s Basic plan is free forever, no credit card. Upgrade when reminders, the client portal or the website builder start paying for themselves.
Competitor names are trademarks of their owners. Competitor details were taken from their public pricing pages and software directories on 2026-10-17 and may have changed; confirm on the vendor’s site. Pawdmin prices are read live from our pricing configuration. Spotted an error? Email support@pawdmin.com and we will fix it.