One of the most common questions we hear from dog daycare owners evaluating software is a simple one: what does it actually cost?
The honest answer is: it varies enormously, and the advertised price is rarely the whole story. This guide breaks down how dog daycare and boarding software is typically priced, what you can expect to pay at different business sizes, and the hidden costs that catch people out.
The main pricing models
Dog care software generally falls into one of three pricing structures. Understanding the difference matters, because the same platform can cost very different amounts depending on your business size and how you grow.
Flat monthly subscription
You pay a fixed monthly or annual fee regardless of how many bookings you take, how many clients you have, or how many staff use the system. This is the most predictable model and tends to suit growing businesses well — your costs do not balloon as you get busier.
Typical range: £30–£200/month depending on features and whether you are on a basic or full-featured plan.
Best for: Businesses that want predictable costs and are focused on growth.
Per-client or per-booking pricing
You pay based on the number of active clients or bookings processed through the platform. In principle this sounds fair — you only pay for what you use. In practice, it can become expensive quickly as your business grows, and some operators find themselves paying more on a busy month than they would on a flat subscription.
Typical range: £1–£5 per active client per month, or a small percentage of each booking value.
Best for: Very small or seasonal businesses with a low, stable client count.
Percentage of transactions
Some platforms take a cut of every payment processed through them — typically 1–3% on top of any payment processing fees. On low volumes this barely registers. On a busy daycare turning over £15,000 a month, a 2% platform fee is £300 a month before you have paid for anything else.
Typical range: 1–3% of transaction value.
Best for: No one, frankly. This model benefits the software company more than the business owner.
What does a typical dog daycare actually pay?
Based on publicly available pricing from the main platforms in the market as of early 2025, here is what you can broadly expect at different business sizes:
Solo operator or micro daycare (under 10 dogs per day)
At this size, even basic software is transformative — but you do not need enterprise features. Expect to pay £30–£60/month for a solid platform with online booking, vaccination tracking, and automated payments.
Some platforms offer a free tier for very small operations, though these are usually limited enough that you will hit the ceiling quickly.
Small-to-medium daycare (10–40 dogs per day)
This is where most independent dog daycares sit. You need staff scheduling, route management if you offer collection, solid reporting, and a platform robust enough to handle daily volume without errors. Expect to pay £80–£160/month for a platform that covers all of this properly.
Be cautious of platforms at the lower end of this range — they often lack key features (vaccination enforcement, route planning, multi-staff scheduling) or bundle them into a higher tier.
Larger daycare or multi-location business (40+ dogs per day)
At this scale, software is not a nice-to-have — it is fundamental to operations. You may need multi-location support, more sophisticated reporting, dedicated onboarding support, and potentially custom integrations with accounting software. Expect to pay £150–£300+/month, though some platforms negotiate on price at this scale.
The hidden costs nobody talks about in demos
The monthly subscription fee is rarely the total cost. Here are the additional charges that are worth asking about explicitly before you sign up.
Payment processing fees
Almost every platform uses a payment processor (Stripe, Square, or similar) to handle client payments. The processing fee — typically 1.4–2.9% plus a small flat fee per transaction — is usually separate from the platform subscription. This is industry standard and not a red flag in itself, but make sure you understand what rate applies.
Some platforms add their own margin on top of the processor's rate. Ask for the all-in payment processing cost, not just the headline platform fee.
Setup and onboarding fees
Some platforms charge a one-time setup fee, data migration fee, or onboarding fee to get your account configured. These range from nothing to over £500 depending on the platform. Ask whether setup is included, and whether you are expected to do it yourself or whether the team helps you.
Per-user fees
Some software charges per staff member login. At two or three staff this is fine. At ten it adds up. Check whether the price includes unlimited staff accounts or whether you will be paying extra as your team grows.
Support tiers
Basic email support is usually included. Phone or live chat support — or a dedicated account manager — is often reserved for higher pricing tiers. Consider what level of support you actually need, particularly in the early weeks of using new software.
Annual vs monthly billing
Most platforms offer a discount of 10–20% for paying annually rather than monthly. If you are confident in your choice, annual billing is usually worth it. But do not commit annually to a platform you have not properly tested.
What you should not pay for
Some platforms charge separately for features that should be standard. If any of the following are listed as premium add-ons rather than included features, treat that as a yellow flag:
- Vaccination tracking and expiry alerts
- Automated booking reminders to clients
- Basic financial reporting
- Digital check-in
- More than a handful of client records
These are not luxury features — they are table stakes for running a dog daycare in 2025.
How to evaluate the real cost
Before comparing platforms on price, get clear on your actual numbers:
- How many dogs do you have per day on average, and at peak?
- How many client families are in your database?
- How many staff need access to the system?
- What is your approximate monthly revenue from daycare and boarding?
- Do you offer collection and drop-off?
With those numbers in hand, you can ask any platform for an accurate quote based on your actual usage — rather than relying on a pricing page that may not reflect your situation.
The Genera approach
We built Genera because we were frustrated by software that either did not do what we needed or charged in ways that felt opaque. Our pricing is transparent, our core features are not locked behind premium tiers, and we do not take a percentage of your bookings.
If you want to know exactly what Genera would cost for your specific business, talk to us. We would rather give you an honest answer than a number that looks good until you read the small print.