Mobile grooming price calculator: what does each dog need to earn?

Most groomers set prices by looking at what others charge. Start from the other end instead: what you want to earn, what the van costs to run and how many dogs a day you can really keep up. The calculator works out the average each groom has to reach.

1 What you want to earn

Insurance, card fees and dogs a day start from published figures, named under each field. Everything else is an example: replace it with your own.

Yearly take-home goal

An example. What you want to keep after costs and taxes.

Set aside for income taxes

An example. Self-employment tax alone is 15.3% (12.4% Social Security + 2.9% Medicare) on 92.35% of net profit, and income tax comes on top. Ask your tax preparer for your rate.

Card and payment fees

Square’s standard in-person rate is 2.6% + 15¢ a payment: about 2.8% on a $90 groom. Keyed-in cards cost more.

2 Yearly business costs

Van or trailer payments

An example. Use your loan or lease statement.

Insurance

Insureon’s median quotes for mobile pet groomers: about $780 a year for general liability and $2,942 for commercial auto. Cover for animals in your care is extra.

Fuel and generator

An example. Your yearly miles ÷ your van’s mpg × fuel price, plus generator fuel.

Shampoo, blades and supplies

An example. Add up your supplier invoices.

Maintenance and repairs

An example. Tires, servicing and the repair nobody plans.

Phone, software, fees and licenses

An example.

Everything else

An example.

3 Your working year

Weeks you work

An example. Leave room for vacation, sick days and van repairs.

Days a week

An example.

Dogs a day you can keep up

Mobile groomer job listings commonly ask for 4 to 6 dogs a day. Use a normal day, not your best one.

Each groom needs $93

Each groom needs to average

$93

before tips, across 1,200 grooms a year.

Yearly costs: $28,900
Profit before taxes: $80,000
Revenue the year needs: $112,037
Per working day: $467

Average price by dogs a day

4 dogs a day$117
5 dogs a day$93
6 dogs a day$78

An average, not a price list: price each dog by size, coat and condition around it. This is not tax advice.

Waitlist · coming soon

Let GroomSolo do this for you.

Your prices are yours. GroomSolo is built to protect the other half of the math: regulars on a steady rhythm (recurring rebooks are already in the app preview) and fewer minutes lost to driving (a calendar that checks the drive is in development).

Coming to iPhone and Android.
Free to join, no card needed.
Only your name and email are required.

How the number is built

Your take-home goal is grossed up for income taxes, because tax is paid on profit, not on what you keep.
Your yearly costs are added on top: that is the revenue the business needs.
Card fees come off every payment, so revenue is grossed up once more.
The total is divided by the grooms you can do in a year: weeks × days a week × dogs a day. That is your average price per groom.

Where the starting numbers come from

Insurance ($3,700): Insureon’s median quotes for mobile pet groomers, about $780 a year for general liability and $2,942 for commercial auto. Cover for animals in your care is extra.
Card fees (2.8%): Square’s standard US in-person rate of 2.6% + 15¢ per payment, worked out on a $90 groom. Keyed-in and online payments cost more.
Dogs a day (5): mobile groomer job listings commonly ask for four to six.
Taxes: self-employment tax is 15.3% (12.4% Social Security and 2.9% Medicare) on 92.35% of net profit; the 25% default is an example that also leaves room for income tax.
Everything else (your goal, van payments, fuel, supplies, upkeep, working weeks) is an invented example. Put in your own numbers, including the boring ones: tires, blades, the phone bill and the software you pay for.

Figures checked in October 2026. Rates and quotes change; use your own when you have them.

Why dogs per day matters more than anything

Look at the small table under the result. One dog more or less a day moves your required price more than any cost line. That is why the honest number to type is a normal day you can repeat for years, not your best Saturday. Our guide on how many dogs a solo mobile groomer can do in a day has a worksheet for it.

From an average to a price list

The result is an average, not a price. A small, brushed, short-coated dog takes less time than a matted doodle, so build your menu around the average: a base price by size and coat, plus clear add-ons for de-matting, de-shedding and difficult handling. The mobile grooming pricing guide walks through it step by step.

This calculator is a planning aid, not tax or financial advice. Your tax preparer can tell you what to set aside.