How to price dog grooming services in 2026
Price by coat first, size second, then add fees for time you can't predict. Published 2026 US guides put a full groom at about $40–$60 for a small dog and $90–$120+ for a giant, and curly or doodle coats run 20–40% higher because they take 60–90 minutes of clipper work instead of 30–45. Work out what an hour of your table is worth, time each coat type, and write your matting and handling fees down before a client ever asks.
Updated September 17, 2026 · 12 min read · For salon, home-based and mobile groomers
The short version
- Sort breeds into coat types (short, double, curly/doodle, wire, long/silky) and set a price for each size inside each type.
- Price from time, not from the shop down the road. Your hourly rate times the real appointment length, plus products.
- Check yourself against the market. The 2026 ranges below tell you if you are far off.
- Charge for the unpredictable — matting, handling, overdue coats — with fees written into a policy.
- Publish it. A clear price list stops the "why is it more than last time?" conversation at pickup.
Why pricing by weight alone loses you money
A 45 lb doodle and a 45 lb Labrador weigh the same. They are not the same job.
The Lab gets a bath, a blow-dry and a tidy. The doodle needs a full clipper-and-scissor groom and, if the owner has let it go, an hour of mats. Price both off the scale and one of them is paying for the other — usually the easy dog subsidising the hard one, until the easy dog's owner finds a cheaper groomer.
- Weight tells you size, which drives bathing and drying time.
- Coat tells you the work, which drives clipping, scissoring and brushing time.
- Condition tells you the surprise: matting, an overdue coat, a dog that needs breaks.
2026 dog grooming price chart
What published US price guides say a groom costs right now. Use it as a benchmark, not as your price.
Prices by dog size
| Size | Full groom | Bath & tidy |
|---|---|---|
| Smallunder 25 lb | $40–$60 | $25–$35 |
| Medium25–50 lb | $55–$75 | $35–$50 |
| Large50–90 lb | $70–$95 | $50–$70 |
| Giant90 lb and over | $90–$120+ | $70–$95 |
Source: Animalo, Dog Grooming Prices 2026 (updated June 20, 2026). Shop-based guides quote higher top ends in big cities — UseCalcPro lists $40–$80 small and $120–$180 for XL dogs over 100 lb.
Prices by coat type and size
| Coat type | Small | Medium | Large | Giant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short, single coatBeagle, Boxer, Pug | $25–$40 | $35–$50 | $50–$75 | $60–$90 |
| Short, double coatCorgi, Shiba Inu | $25–$45 | $35–$60 | $55–$80 | $65–$100 |
| Long, straight coatShih Tzu, Maltese, Cocker | $40–$90 | $40–$95 | $60–$100 | $75–$125 |
| Curly coatPoodle, Bichon, doodles | $50–$120 | $50–$120 | $70–$145 | $95–$175 |
| Matted, any coat | $100+ | $100+ | $125+ | $150+ |
Source: Dogster, How Much Does Dog Grooming Cost? 2026 Price Guide (updated July 4, 2026). US prices. Your local market, your experience and your costs matter more than any national average.
Examples by breed
| Breed | Coat type | Typical full groom |
|---|---|---|
| Yorkshire Terrier | Long / silky | $50–$70 |
| Golden Retriever | Double | $70–$95 |
| German Shepherd | Double, heavy undercoat | $75–$100 |
| Siberian Husky | Double, heavy undercoat | $80–$100 |
| Goldendoodle / Labradoodle | Curly / doodle | $80–$110+ |
| Standard Poodle | Curly | $80–$120+ |
Source: Animalo, 2026.
The coat types that drive your time
Group every breed into one of these once, and your price list writes itself.
Short / Smooth
Mostly bath, dry, brush and a nail trim. Short-coat grooms typically take 30–45 minutes of straightforward work. Your lowest price per size.
Double Coat
Drying and blowing out undercoat is the job. Price the size up, and sell de-shedding as an add-on in spring and autumn.
Curly / Doodle
Typically 60–90 minutes of clipper and scissor work, and the most likely to arrive matted. Guides show these costing 20–40% more.
Wire / Rough
A clipped wire coat prices like a long coat. Hand-stripping is slow, skilled work — price it by time, separately from the clip.
Long / Silky
Brushing out, face and feet detail, and tangles behind the ears. Small dogs, but rarely quick ones.
Giant breeds
Everything takes longer, including lifting and drying. Many groomers book these as the first or only big dog of the day.
Grooming times: UseCalcPro 2026. Breed examples follow the coat groups BooknBuddy uses to price grooms.
A pricing formula you can actually use
Start from your costs and your time. Then check the answer against the chart.
Price = (table rate × appointment time) + products
Your table rate is what one hour of grooming has to bring in to cover your wages or pay, rent or van costs, insurance, software, equipment and profit. Add up a month of costs and divide by the hours you actually groom — not the hours you are open.
Appointment time is the whole visit: check-in, bath, drying, the groom and clean-up. Time a few dogs of each coat type with a phone timer before you trust a number.
Run the same sum for a medium short-coat dog at 1.25 hours and you get $79 — inside the chart. If your answer lands well below the market, you are underpricing. Well above, and it is worth checking where the time goes.
Add-ons and fees groomers charge
Keep the menu short. A few add-ons people understand beat forty they skip.
| Add-on or fee | Typical 2026 price | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Teeth brushing | $10–$20 | Easy upsell at booking or checkout |
| Nail grinding upgrade | +$5–$15 | Instead of a plain clip |
| Anal gland expression | $15–$30 | On request only |
| De-shedding treatment | $20–$40 | Double coats, heavy shedding seasons |
| Flea & tick or medicated bath | $15–$25 | When needed, with the owner's OK |
| Dematting | $15–$50+ | By severity — see the policy below |
| Special handling | $15–$30 | Anxious, senior or difficult dogs that need extra time or a second pair of hands |
| Late pickup | $10–$20 an hour | Dogs left past the pickup time |
| No-show | 50–100% of the appointment | Missed appointments with no notice |
Sources: Animalo 2026 (add-ons, dematting, handling, late pickup); UseCalcPro 2026 (nail grinding); Groom Haüs (no-show fee).
A deposit does more to stop no-shows than a fee you have to chase afterwards. We covered the whole approach — reminders, deposits and cancellation rules — in how to reduce no-shows at a grooming or boarding business.
Matting fees without the argument at pickup
Matting is where most price disputes start. Fix it before the dog is on the table.
Price matting by severity, not as one flat add-on. 2026 guides put light matting at about $15–$25 and heavy, pelted matting at $35–$50; some groomers simply charge by the minute.
- Check the coat at drop-off, with the owner there, and agree the fee before you start.
- Use time as the warning sign. A doodle not seen in 12+ weeks will usually need extra work.
- Always offer the shave-down. Brushing out severe mats hurts. Short and comfortable beats a long, painful session.
- Sell the fix: a regular rebook every 4–6 weeks is cheaper for them than repeated matting fees.
Sample matting policy you can adapt
Matted Coat Policy
- We check every coat at drop-off. If we find matting, we will tell you the options and the extra cost before we begin.
- Light matting that can be brushed out safely is charged at $[your fee]. Heavy matting is charged at $[your fee] or by the minute at $[your rate].
- If brushing out would be painful or unsafe for your dog, we will recommend a shave-down instead. A short coat grows back; a stressful grooming experience stays with a dog.
- Shaving a heavily matted coat can reveal skin irritation, sores or parasites that were hidden under the mats. We will show you anything we find, and we may suggest a visit to your vet.
- Dogs not groomed in more than [12] weeks may have a matting fee added automatically.
- To avoid matting fees, we recommend brushing at home between visits and booking every [4–6] weeks.
Free printable dog grooming price list
Laid out by coat and size, with add-ons and fees. Type your prices in, then print it or save it as a PDF.
No sign-up, no email gate. Click any line on the sheet to change it — your salon name, your prices, your fees — then print it for the front desk or save a PDF for your website and social posts.
- Full groom grid: 5 coat types across 6 sizes, Tiny to Giant, with weight bands you can change
- Bath & brush, add-ons and a fees section with matting and no-show lines
- Fits one US letter page
Make your price list price itself
A printed list still needs someone to look up the breed, guess the size and remember the matting fee. Software can do that part.
In BooknBuddy's grooming software, you set prices for six coat groups instead of hundreds of breeds. When a client books, the breed picks the coat group, the weight picks the size tier, and the booking shows the right price and blocks the right amount of time on your calendar.
- Breed overrides for the one breed that doesn't fit its group.
- Weight tiers add a size surcharge automatically.
- You can always override the final price at booking.
The fees from this guide become automatic price modifiers: matting, very matted, overdue, first visit, difficult behaviour and sanitary trim. Each adds its fee and its extra minutes, so a matted doodle doesn't quietly eat the next dog's slot.
If the last visit was flagged as matted, the next booking remembers. Your client sees the estimate before they book, and your groomer sees the same number at checkout.
No card needed. $39.99 CAD a month after the trial, no per-booking fees.
Choosing software is its own decision — we compared what to look for in the best dog grooming software for 2026.
Grooming pricing questions
How much should I charge for a dog groom?
Published 2026 US price guides put a full groom at about $40 to $60 for a small dog, $55 to $75 for a medium dog, $70 to $95 for a large dog and $90 to $120 or more for a giant breed, with wider ranges in expensive cities. Use those as a sanity check, not a target: work out what an hour of your table time costs, time each coat type, and price from there.
Should I charge more to groom a doodle?
Yes. Curly and doodle coats typically take 60 to 90 minutes of clipper and scissor work, against 30 to 45 minutes for a short coat, and published guides show them costing roughly 20 to 40 percent more than a short-coated dog of the same size. Price the coat, not just the weight.
How much is a matting fee for dog grooming?
Common 2026 matting fees run about $15 to $25 for light matting and $35 to $50 or more for heavy, pelted matting, and some groomers charge by the minute instead. Write the fee into a policy the client sees before booking, and offer a shave-down as the alternative to dematting.
Should groomers charge by weight or by breed?
Charge by coat type first and size second. Weight alone misprices dogs: a 45 pound doodle and a 45 pound Labrador are completely different jobs. Group breeds into coat types, set a price per coat and size, then add fees for condition such as matting.
How often should dog groomers raise their prices?
Review your prices at least once a year against your costs and your booked-out weeks. If you are fully booked weeks ahead, your price is probably low. Give regular clients notice in writing before a new price applies.
Is there a free dog grooming price list template?
Yes. BooknBuddy's free printable price list is laid out by coat type and size, with add-ons and fees. You type your prices straight into the page and print it or save it as a PDF.
Put your new prices to work.
Set your coat groups, weight tiers and matting fees once, and every booking quotes the right price and books the right amount of time. Thirty days free, no card, then $39.99 CAD a month.
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