How Much to Charge for a Dog Grooming Job in 2026

What a dog grooming quote needs to include

A quote that just says "full groom — £50" leaves too much unsaid. Cover these and neither of you is guessing on the day:

1. 1Your business details and, if VAT-registered, your VAT number.
2. 2The dog's size and coat type (and breed, if known) — coat condition changes both the time a groom takes and the price, sometimes more than size does.
3. 3Whether it's a first groom, a regular client on a repeat schedule, or a one-off booking.
4. 4The groom broken down by stage — bath, blow-dry, brush-out, trim or clip, finishing — rather than a single line that just says "full groom".
5. 5Add-ons priced separately: nail trim, ear cleaning, teeth brushing, de-shedding treatment, flea or tick treatment.
6. 6Mobile visit or salon-based, with any travel or parking surcharge for mobile named on the quote.
7. 7Handling notes — a nervous, elderly or reactive dog, or one that needs a muzzle — and what extra time or a second pair of hands adds to the price.
8. 8Your de-matting and welfare policy, so both of you know what happens (and what it costs) if a coat is too matted to brush out safely.
9. 9Payment terms, your cancellation or no-show policy, and notice periods for anyone on a recurring schedule.

Not every dog is the same groom

Size gets you in the right ballpark, but coat type, condition and temperament are what actually decide how long a dog takes on the table.

Size and coat type drive the price, not the breed name

A short-coated Labrador and a double-coated Border Collie of similar size are not the same job — the Collie needs a proper undercoat rake and de-shedding treatment to stop it matting again within a fortnight. Price by size band first, then by coat category (smooth, wire, curly/non-shedding, or double-coated), and treat heavy shedders and curly, matting-prone coats as their own tier rather than an upsell tacked onto a standard price.

Mobile grooming vs a salon visit

A mobile van groom removes the owner's journey and the stress of a waiting room for an anxious dog, but it costs you drive time between jobs, water and power for a self-contained setup, and fewer dogs a day than a salon with two tables running side by side. Price the standard groom the same as your salon rate and add a named mobile surcharge — folding it into one higher number just makes you look pricier without the owner understanding why.

New clients vs regulars on a schedule

A dog you groom every six weeks is a quicker, calmer job than the same dog after four months of growth and a first-time nervous reaction to the dryer. It's fair to quote a first groom at your standard rate (or slightly above it, if the coat clearly hasn't been maintained), then hold a consistent recurring price for a client who keeps to the schedule — and to say so on the quote, so they understand why staying on schedule is worth it for them too.

How to price the work

UK dog grooming pricing varies by region and setup, but these ranges are a fair starting point for 2026:

• A small breed full groom (bath, dry, brush-out, trim) typically runs £35–£50; medium breeds £45–£65.
• Large or double-coated breeds run £55–£85, and giant or heavy-coated breeds (Old English Sheepdog, Bernese Mountain Dog) can fairly reach £90–£130 given the extra drying and brushing time.
• Add-ons are usually priced per item: nail trim £10–£15, ear cleaning £8–£12, teeth brushing £8–£12, and a de-shedding treatment £15–£30 depending on coat length.
• Mobile visits typically carry a £10–£25 surcharge over the equivalent salon price, reflecting travel time and reduced daily capacity.
• De-matting is best priced separately at £15–£20 per 15 minutes, with a stated policy that severe matting is clipped short for the dog's welfare rather than brushed out regardless of time.

A worked example

A mobile groom for a large, double-coated regular client, priced the way described above:

£110 for a six-weekly mobile groom — bath, blow-dry, full brush-out and tidy trim, de-shedding treatment, nail trim and ear clean, groomed at the owner's home. Coat kept to a manageable length between visits, so no de-matting fee applies. 48 hours' notice to reschedule; late cancellations under 24 hours charged at 50%.

Five details that get grooming quotes accepted faster

• Quote the groom stage by stage, not just "full groom". Bath, blow-dry, brush-out and trim listed separately shows an owner exactly what their money buys — and makes it obvious why a heavy-coated dog costs more than a smooth-coated one the same size, rather than looking like an arbitrary number.
• Put your matting and welfare policy in writing before you start clipping. "Coats matted beyond safe brushing will be clipped short, with your consent, at £X" on the quote turns a difficult in-person conversation about a shorter-than-expected dog into something the owner already agreed to.
• Name the mobile surcharge instead of a padded headline price. Owners comparing you to a salon down the road can see exactly what the convenience of a home visit costs, rather than assuming you're simply more expensive.
• Ask about behaviour before the appointment, not on the doorstep. A nervous or reactive dog that needs a muzzle, extra breaks or a second groomer changes your time and your price — flagging it upfront on the quote avoids an awkward renegotiation with the lead already in your hand.
• Make repeat bookings look as professional as new-client ones. A branded, itemised quote for a regular six-weekly groom signals the same reliability as your very first booking with that owner — and makes it easy for them to forward it to a house-sitter or partner without a phone call to you.

The fastest way to do all of this

A one-off quote for a single new client is easy enough to type out. A full book of regulars, each on their own schedule, coat type and add-ons, is a different job entirely — and it's exactly the kind of thing that ends up as a half-remembered price in your head rather than something either of you can point back to.

This is what QuoteRocket is for. Describe the job in plain English — "six-weekly mobile groom, large double-coated dog, de-shedding treatment, nail trim and ear clean" — and it turns that into a branded, itemised PDF quote in under a minute, with a valid-until date and clear pricing. Your client accepts it with one tap on their phone, and an accepted quote becomes an invoice in one click, so you're not chasing payment between appointments.

Whichever way you produce the quote, the principle holds: separate size from coat condition, name your mobile and de-matting surcharges instead of folding them in, and put behaviour notes and cancellation terms in writing so nobody's relying on memory six weeks later.

Frequently asked questions

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