How much should a dog groomer charge per hour?
Updated 2026-10-18. Written with Betty, Pawdmin’s co-founder and a home-based groomer.
Short answer: Enough to cover the income you want plus your business costs, divided by the hours you can actually groom. For most solo groomers that number is far higher than their per-breed menu produces, because a menu pays you the same for a quick dog and a slow one. Work it out from your own numbers below, then check it against what you earn today with the free calculator.
As a reference point, not a rule: Betty grooms doodles from home and charges $210 an hour to new clients and $135 an hour to existing ones. She started at about $8 an hour. The difference was not a better market; it was pricing by time and raising rates in tiers.
The formula
(income you want + yearly business costs) ÷ billable hours per year = your hourly rate
Three honest inputs are all it takes. The mistake most groomers make is in the third one: billable hours are grooming hours, not working hours.
A worked example
| Income you want to take home | $80,000 |
|---|---|
| Yearly costs (supplies, insurance, software, water, power, phone, education) | $12,000 |
| Weeks you will work | 46 |
| Days per week | 5 |
| Billable grooming hours per day (out of an 8-hour day) | 4.5 |
| Billable hours per year | 46 × 5 × 4.5 = 1,035 |
| Hourly rate needed | ($80,000 + $12,000) ÷ 1,035 ≈ $89/hour |
That groomer needs about $89 an hour just to hit the plan, before a single no-show, sick day or slow January. Round up, not down. Now compare it with the rate a typical per-breed menu produces: a $75 full groom that takes an hour and three quarters is $43 an hour. The gap is the raise.
Find out what you earn per hour today
Before you set a new rate, see the old one. Put your current prices and the real time each size takes into the calculator. Almost every groomer finds a big gap between their best-paying size and their worst, which is the same skill being paid two different wages.
Free calculator
What is your real hourly rate?
Enter what you charge and how long each size takes. See your $/hour per dog, the gap between sizes, and what a flat, percentage or target raise would do.
Free calculator
Price list reality check
Paste or upload your current price list. We estimate the time each service takes and show your real rate per service against a premium target.
What changes when you price by time
- ✓Every dog pays the same rate for your hour. The matted doodle costs more than the tidy one, as it should.
- ✓You stop arguing about breed categories. The estimate is built from this dog, this coat, these services and the expected time.
- ✓Clients who brush at home pay less. Clients who do not pay for the extra time. Both are fair, and both encourage the behaviour you want.
- ✓Raising prices becomes a rate change, not a rewrite of a forty-line menu.
How to switch from breed pricing to hourly, step by step →
Questions people ask
What is a good hourly rate for a dog groomer?
The one that covers the income you need plus your costs in the hours you can actually groom. Work it out from your own numbers rather than copying a salon menu. As a reference point, Pawdmin co-founder Betty, a home-based doodle groomer, charges $210 an hour to new clients and $135 an hour to existing clients after starting at about $8 an hour. Your market and skill set your number, but it is almost always higher than a per-breed menu produces.
How do I calculate my hourly grooming rate?
Take the yearly income you want, add your yearly business costs, and divide by the hours you can bill in a year. Billable hours are grooming hours only: a five-day week of eight-hour days is usually four or five billable hours a day once intake, bathing setup, cleanup, messages and admin are counted. Our real-rate calculator does the arithmetic from the prices and times you already have.
Should I charge by the hour or by breed?
By time, if you want your income to reflect the work. A per-breed price pays you the same for a tidy weekly doodle and a matted one that takes twice as long. Hourly billing with a clear estimate up front is fair to both sides and is what Pawdmin is built around.
Do I tell clients my hourly rate?
Yes, with an estimate. Clients do not want a surprise; they want to know what this groom will cost. Pawdmin builds the order from the dog, the services and the expected time, and sends an itemised estimate for approval before anything is scheduled. The hourly rate is the basis, the estimate is what they see.
How often should I review my rate?
Whenever your book is full for more than a few weeks ahead, and at least once a year. A full book at the current rate is the signal to raise the new-client rate, not to add more dogs. See our guide on raising prices without losing clients.
Start free. Charge what you are worth.
Pawdmin’s Basic plan is free forever, no credit card. Upgrade when reminders, the client portal or the website builder start paying for themselves.