How Much Does Dog Grooming Cost? 2026 Price Guide for Owners and Groomers

• Tahir Abbas
• October 29, 2026

Last updated: October 2026. Prices below are dated by source; Petco’s starting prices were checked on October 26, 2026.

Key takeaways

• Size is the first price driver. Across several cost guides, a basic groom on a small dog starts around $30 and a giant breed can reach $200 or more for a comprehensive groom.
• One chain’s starting prices (Petco, checked October 26, 2026) range from $24 to $51 for a bath and $46 to $97 for a bath plus haircut, by weight. Those are floors, not final prices.
• Matting, thick or curly coats, hand-scissored styling and nervous behavior add time, and time is what you pay for.
• Mobile grooming is commonly quoted at 20% to 40% above salon prices (Vetster, 2024).
• For groomers: price from hours, wages, overhead, supplies and target margin. In our example a 2-hour medium-dog groom comes out at $105, with matting billed separately at $25 per half hour.

How much does dog grooming cost by dog size?

No single national price exists, so we compared several published sources. They use different size bands and different definitions of “basic” and “full,” which is why the numbers do not line up exactly. Treat them as ranges, not quotes.

Ranges from cost guides

Whole Dog Journal’s figures are higher for big dogs than Amenify’s. That gap is normal: it reflects regional pricing, how each source defines the service, and how much extra handling a large dog needs.

Posted starting prices from a national chain

Petco publishes starting prices by weight on its grooming page. The page says prices vary by store, location and breed, and that the final price is confirmed at booking. We checked it on October 26, 2026:

The bath includes shampoo, ear cleaning, blow-dry, a 15-minute brush-out, nail trim and gland expression, per Petco’s page. The X-Large bath and haircut price ($66) is listed lower than Large ($68); we are reporting it as posted. Chain “starting” prices are a floor for a short-coated, well-kept dog and usually rise with coat condition and breed.

What a typical appointment costs overall

ThePricer, in an article updated September 23, 2026, cites Thumbtack data putting a typical professional appointment at $79 to $136, with a benchmark of about $104. This is a blended figure across sizes, so it sits above the chain floors and in line with the full-service ranges above.

What do individual services and add-ons cost?

Add-ons are where a quote moves. Ranges reported by the sources we checked:

The mobile ranges differ by two years of price movement and different definitions of “starting.” Vetster also reports that mobile grooming typically runs 20% to 40% more than a salon visit. As an illustration only: a $100 salon groom would be $120 to $140 as a mobile visit (100 x 1.20 = 120, 100 x 1.40 = 140).

Ear or skin infections are a veterinary matter, not a grooming add-on. If a groomer finds one, expect a referral.

Does breed or coat change the price?

Yes, but sources rarely publish a price per breed, because the coat and the style matter more than the name on the pedigree. What they do say:

• Whole Dog Journal gives $50 to $200 per session for poodles, Shih Tzus, Afghan hounds and similar mixes, often needing monthly visits, and $40 to $50 for basic grooming on short-haired, smooth-coated dogs.
• Seasonal shedders such as huskies, malamutes and German shepherds cost more around coat changes, with no range given.
• ThePricer, citing one mobile franchise’s North Atlanta market, lists doodle full grooms from $145 for dogs under 20 pounds up to $250 for dogs of 81 to 100 pounds. That is one operator in one market, not a national figure, but it shows how far a curly-coated dog can sit above the typical $79 to $136.
• Vetster notes specific haircut styles can cost up to about double the standard price.

What raises the cost of a groom?

• Coat type. Curly, wire, double and heavily feathered coats take more tools and labor. ThePricer cites the American Kennel Club on this.
• Matting. Mats slow brushing and may require clipping short. Most groomers charge by the extra time.
• Size. More shampoo, longer drying and more physical handling.
• Behavior and age. Anxious, reactive or wiggly dogs take longer and some groomers add a handling fee.
• Style. Breed patterns and hand-scissoring add time.
• Location. Urban and high cost-of-living areas charge more because rent and wages are higher.
• Service type. Mobile and in-home grooming cost more because the groomer works on one pet at a time, with travel.
• Groomer experience and demand. Whole Dog Journal quotes a groomer citing a nationwide shortage of experienced groomers, and notes quality scissors and clippers cost hundreds of dollars.

What does grooming cost per year?

ThePricer’s own math multiplies its $79 to $136 typical appointment by six visits a year: 6 x $79 = $474 and 6 x $136 = $816, so about $474 to $816. A dog groomed every four weeks (13 visits) at the same range would be 13 x $79 = $1,027 to 13 x $136 = $1,768. That second range is our arithmetic, not a published figure. Dogs with short coats that only need a bath every couple of months land at the bottom of any range.

Brushing at home, keeping nails short and booking before the coat mats are the three habits most likely to lower your bill, because they reduce the time a groomer needs.

How should a groomer price a groom?

Looking up competitors tells you the market range. It does not tell you whether a price covers your costs. A defensible price starts from your time:

1. Estimate hours per groom for the dog type (bath, dry, cut, finish, plus handling).
2. Add your hourly labor cost.
3. Add an hourly share of overhead (rent, insurance, utilities, software, equipment replacement).
4. Add per-dog supplies.
5. Divide the total cost by (1 minus your target margin) to get the price.

Worked example: medium dog, full groom

These inputs are assumptions for illustration. Replace them with your numbers.

• Groom time: 2 hours
• Labor: $20 per hour (for reference, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median of $35,530 a year, about $17.08 an hour, for all animal care and service workers as of May 2025; see the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook. It does not publish a groomer-only wage on that page, so use it as a rough anchor, not a groomer benchmark.)
• Overhead: $2,400 a month spread over 120 billable grooming hours = $2,400 / 120 = $20 per hour
• Supplies per dog: $4
• Target margin: 20% of the price

Labor: 2 x $20 = $40. Overhead: 2 x $20 = $40. Supplies: $4. Total cost = $40 + $40 + $4 = $84. Price = $84 / (1 – 0.20) = $84 / 0.80 = $105. Check: 20% of $105 is $21, and $105 – $21 = $84, which matches the cost.

That $105 sits inside the $80 to $110 comprehensive range Whole Dog Journal gives for medium dogs and the $79 to $136 typical appointment in ThePricer. If your local competitors charge $70, you now know the gap is either your efficiency (can you finish in 1.5 hours?) or your overhead.

Pricing matting

Labor plus overhead is $40 an hour in this example. An extra half hour of de-matting costs 0.5 x $40 = $20 in labor and overhead, and the price is $20 / 0.80 = $25. Charging by the half hour is easier to explain to an owner than a vague “matting fee,” and it keeps your margin intact on difficult dogs.

Prices should be reviewed whenever your rent, supplies or wages change, not once a year.

Where to go next

If you groom professionally, our free dog grooming price calculator does this math for you. You enter size, coat, service, matting level, add-ons and travel distance, and it returns a price, estimated time, groomer pay and profit, with all settings editable to your local market. It is one of our free pricing and profit calculators, and you can also check your overall hourly target with the service business hourly rate calculator. None of this replaces local market research; use the ranges above as context, not as a price list.

FAQ

How much does it cost to groom a dog?

Typical ranges in the sources we checked are about $30 to $80 for a basic groom on small and medium dogs and $80 to $200 or more for large and giant dogs. ThePricer (September 2026) cites a typical professional appointment of $79 to $136.

How much does Petco charge for grooming?

Petco’s posted starting prices, checked October 26, 2026, run from $24 (bath, 1 to 10 lb) to $51 (bath, 100+ lb) and from $46 to $97 for a bath and haircut. Final prices vary by store, location and breed.

Why is dog grooming so expensive?

It is skilled, physical work done one dog at a time, with equipment that costs hundreds of dollars and, per Whole Dog Journal, a shortage of experienced groomers. Coat condition, size and behavior also add time.

Is mobile dog grooming more expensive than a salon?

Usually. Vetster reports mobile grooming at 20% to 40% above salon prices, and ThePricer lists mobile grooming starting at $89 to $130 or more in 2026.

How often should a dog be groomed?

It depends on coat and lifestyle. Whole Dog Journal notes poodles and similar breeds often need monthly visits, while short-coated dogs may need less. Ask your groomer for a schedule based on your dog’s coat.

How do groomers decide what to charge?

The sound method is to add labor, an hourly share of overhead and supplies for the time a groom takes, then divide by one minus the target margin. The worked example above gives $105 for a two-hour groom under stated assumptions.

Related: how to price service jobs with the cost-plus formula.