2026 Australian Grooming Pricing Guide
Dog Grooming Pricing Guide Australia 2026: What Should You Charge?
Setting grooming prices can be difficult. Charge too little and a full calendar can still leave you struggling to cover your time. Charge too much without understanding your market and clients may look elsewhere.
This guide uses current Australian grooming prices to give salon and mobile groomers a practical starting point for hourly rates, service pricing and common add-ons.
Prices are indicative Australian market ranges only. Your actual pricing should account for your location, experience, operating costs, dog size, coat condition and the time required for each groom.
How much should Australian dog groomers charge in 2026?
There is no single standard grooming rate across Australia, but current published prices provide a useful benchmark.
Typical full-groom pricing in Australia during 2026 is approximately:
| Dog / service | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Small dog full groom | $75–$130 |
| Medium dog full groom | $90–$160 |
| Large dog full groom | $120–$220 |
| Small dog bath/tidy | $45–$90 |
| Nail clipping | $15–$35 |
| Specialist/de-shedding work | Around $90–$115+ per hour |
These are market ranges, not recommended fixed prices. Coat type, matting, behaviour, styling, breed, location and appointment duration can substantially change the final price.
What hourly rate should a dog groomer charge?
Hourly pricing is becoming increasingly useful for grooming businesses because two dogs of a similar size can require completely different amounts of work.
Current published Australian salon pricing gives some useful real-world examples:
- Around $100 per hour for de-shedding and additional grooming time at several Australian grooming businesses.
- $106 per hour for specialist services such as hand stripping and de-shedding on one published 2026 price list.
- $115 per hour including GST at a Melbourne boutique grooming salon using an hourly pricing model.
Based on published pricing, around $100–$115 per billable grooming hour is a useful benchmark to compare against when reviewing your own rates.
Work out your own required hourly rate
A dog groomer hourly rate in Australia only makes sense once it covers the real cost of running the business. Include:
- wages or owner income
- superannuation where applicable
- rent
- utilities
- shampoo and products
- equipment replacement
- insurance
- software
- merchant fees
- cleaning
- laundry
- administration time
- cancellations and empty appointment slots
- GST where applicable
Being booked out does not automatically mean you are profitable.
If a 90-minute groom is being sold for $90, the business is only generating $60 per billable grooming hour before expenses.
Dog grooming price calculator
Enter your target hourly rate and appointment length to see a suggested starting price. Nothing is saved and nothing is sent anywhere — the maths happens in your browser.
Suggested starting price
$175.00
- Labour (90 min)
- $157.50
- Products
- $5.00
- Overhead allocation
- $10.00
- Subtotal
- $172.50
- Complexity allowance (0%)
- $172.50
- Rounded to nearest $5
- $175.00
How it works: labour = hourly rate × duration in hours. Subtotal = labour + products + overhead. Suggested price = subtotal × (1 + complexity allowance), rounded to the nearest $5.
Worked example: an hourly target of $105 over a 90-minute appointment is $157.50 of labour, plus $5 products and $10 overhead — a $172.50 subtotal, or a rounded suggested starting price of $175.
This calculator is a business planning tool only. It does not account for every operating cost, local market condition, tax obligation or individual dog's grooming requirements.
Hourly pricing vs package pricing
Package pricing works well when the service and expected appointment time are predictable. Hourly pricing works particularly well for dogs where coat condition, de-shedding, matting, behaviour or styling can substantially change the amount of work involved.
Many groomers combine both approaches:
"Full groom from $100, based on standard coat condition and appointment time. Additional grooming time charged separately."
Example Australian dog grooming price list
This is an example dog grooming price list built from current Australian market pricing — it is not BarkSuite prescribing what your salon must charge.
Wash & Blow Dry
- Small: from $50
- Medium: from $60
- Large: from $75
Typical inclusions:
- shampoo
- conditioner
- blow dry
- brush
- basic ear clean
- nail trim
Bath & Tidy
- Small: from $70
- Medium: from $85
- Large: from $100
Everything in Wash & Blow Dry plus:
- face tidy
- feet tidy
- hygiene trim
Full Groom
- Small: from $95
- Medium: from $115
- Large: from $145
Typical inclusions:
- bath
- blow dry
- brush
- body clip or trim
- face styling
- feet
- hygiene area
- nails
- ears
"From" pricing works best when your terms clearly explain what can cause the final price to increase.
Dog grooming add-ons and additional time
| Extra service | Example pricing |
|---|---|
| Nail trim only | $15–$35 |
| Matting | $15–$30 per additional 15 minutes |
| Extra grooming time | $25–$30 per additional 15 minutes |
| Specialist shampoo | $10–$20 |
| Flea treatment | $15–$25 |
| De-shedding | $90–$115+ per hour |
| Mobile/call-out premium | Commonly $15–$30+ |
The important part is not simply charging an extra fee. Clients should know before the appointment what situations may result in additional charges. Avoid unexpected fees wherever possible.
Why breed, coat and time matter more than weight alone
A 10 kg dog requiring a straightforward clip may take considerably less time than a 10 kg oodle with a long coat, matting and detailed scissor work.
A better pricing structure considers:
- size
- breed
- coat type
- coat condition
- requested style
- expected grooming time
- behaviour and handling requirements
This is where grooming-specific booking software becomes useful.
Turn your grooming price list into real bookings
Once you have decided what to charge, the next problem is making sure the correct service, price and appointment duration actually reach your calendar.
BarkSuite is Australian-built dog grooming software designed around the way groomers work.
Breed and size-based pricing
Set services and pricing around different dog sizes and grooming requirements rather than forcing every dog into the same appointment.
Appropriate booking duration
A small maintenance groom should not block the same amount of calendar time as a large or complex groom. BarkSuite service and breed settings let appointments be allocated appropriate time.
Online bookings
Clients can book through your online booking link instead of relying on phone calls, Facebook messages or DMs.
Recurring bookings
Regular grooming clients can be booked into repeat grooming cycles, helping maintain a predictable forward calendar.
Automated reminders
Appointment reminders reduce the amount of manual follow-up required before each groom.
Pet profiles
Keep grooming information against the pet rather than relying on memory or scattered notes.
Calendar invitations
Booking confirmations can provide calendar links for common calendar platforms.
You've worked out what to charge. Now make it easy to book.
Set your services, appointment times and grooming workflow in BarkSuite and let clients book online.
BarkSuite starts from $9 AUD per month. 14-day free trial. No credit card required.
How often should groomers review their prices?
Review your pricing at least annually, and sooner if your operating costs or demand change significantly. Look at:
- average appointment time
- revenue per grooming hour
- product costs
- wages
- rent and utilities
- cancellations
- how far ahead the salon is booked
- which breeds or services regularly run overtime
Do not automatically copy the salon down the road. Their rent, staffing, experience and business costs may be completely different from yours.
Dog grooming pricing FAQs
How much should I charge for a dog groom in Australia?
Current Australian full-groom prices vary substantially. As a broad 2026 guide, small dogs commonly sit around $75–$130, medium dogs around $90–$160 and large dogs around $120–$220. Your own price should reflect the time and costs involved in providing the service.
What is a reasonable hourly rate for dog grooming?
Published Australian grooming businesses currently show hourly rates around $100–$115 for a range of standard, specialist and additional grooming work. This is a benchmark rather than an industry-set rate.
Should dog groomers charge by the hour?
Hourly charging can work particularly well for matting, de-shedding, large breeds, difficult coats and jobs where the required time is unpredictable. Many salons use fixed or “from” package pricing for standard services and hourly charges for extra work.
Should I charge more for matted dogs?
Additional coat work takes additional time. Australian salons commonly either apply a matting surcharge or charge for additional grooming time. Make your policy clear before starting the groom.
How much should I charge for a Cavoodle groom?
There is no single Cavoodle price because size, coat length, matting, styling and grooming frequency all affect appointment time. Price the service based on the expected work rather than breed name alone.
How often should I increase my grooming prices?
Review prices at least annually and whenever wages, rent, products, utilities or other operating costs materially change.
Can grooming software handle different prices for different dogs?
BarkSuite supports grooming-specific service configuration including breed and size-based pricing and timing, helping salons allocate the right amount of calendar time for different appointments.
How much does BarkSuite cost?
BarkSuite starts from $9 AUD per month with flat Australian pricing and no per-stylist pricing. A 14-day free trial is available without a credit card.
Keep reading
Spend less time managing bookings and more time grooming
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