Pay guide

Mobile Dog Groomer Pay: How It Works and What It Costs

Fewer dogs, higher prices, and a van to pay for. How mobile grooming pay really compares with working in a salon.

Mobile grooming changes the shape of a groomer's day. Drive time between clients means fewer dogs, but customers pay extra for the convenience, and a one-to-one appointment with no kennel time is easier on many dogs. Whether that adds up to more money depends heavily on whether you drive someone else's van or your own.

Two very different jobs

Employed mobile groomer. You work for a company that owns the van, books the route and pays you, usually by commission, sometimes with an hourly floor. The company covers the vehicle, fuel, maintenance and insurance.

Owner-operator. You own or lease the van, set your prices, build your own client list and keep all the revenue. You also pay for everything that keeps the van on the road.

Fewer dogs, higher prices

Mobile prices are typically higher than salon prices for the same service, because the customer is paying for the groomer to come to them. That higher price per dog is what makes a shorter list of dogs work.

An illustrative comparison: a salon groomer doing 7 dogs a day at $70 on 50 percent commission earns $245. A mobile groomer doing 5 dogs a day at $110 on 45 percent commission earns $247.50. Two fewer dogs, a lower rate, and about the same day's pay. These figures are examples, not market rates. Prices vary a great deal by area, so check what mobile groomers near you actually charge.

What changes the math for employed mobile groomers

Drive time. Is time between appointments paid? On hourly or whichever-is-higher pay, it should count as hours worked. On pure commission it earns nothing, so route density matters a lot.
Who builds the route. A tight route with clients close together is worth more than a higher rate with long drives.
Cancellations. A cancelled stop on a route is harder to fill than a gap in a salon book.
Van problems. If the van is in the shop, are you paid?

What owner-operators pay for

Keeping 100 percent of revenue is only part of the picture. The van comes with its own running costs, and most of them do not stop in a slow week:

The van or trailer itself, financed or leased, and its build-out
Fuel for driving and, in many setups, for a generator
Vehicle and business liability insurance
Maintenance on the vehicle, water system, tub and dryers
Supplies, booking software and card processing fees
Self-employment tax and estimated tax payments

The sensible way to compare is to estimate a full month of those costs, divide by the number of dogs you realistically groom in a month, and subtract that per-dog cost from your price. What is left per dog is your real earnings, and it is the number to compare against a salon or employed mobile job.

Tips on mobile appointments

Mobile customers are paying for a premium service at their door, and many tip accordingly. Tips are still taxable income, and groomers fall under the occupations listed for the federal tip deduction. The guide to how groomer tips are taxed covers the details.

Track it before you decide

If you are weighing a mobile job against a salon, or thinking about buying a van, log your actual dog counts, prices and tips for a few weeks first. The commission only calculator works for employed mobile groomers on straight commission, and the hourly vs. commission calculator handles routes with an hourly floor.