In most UK towns, daycare rates run £25–£35 per dog per day; in London and the South East, £40–£65 is typical. What you can actually charge depends on your local competition, your overheads, and what you offer — here's how to work it out properly.
What are dog daycare prices across the UK right now?
Rates in 2026, based on owner surveys and local market research:
- North of England, Wales, Scotland: £22–£30/day
- Midlands, South West, East of England: £28–£38/day
- Home Counties, outer London: £35–£50/day
- Inner London: £45–£65/day
Weekly bookers typically get 5–10% off. Monthly memberships — a fixed number of days per month billed in advance — are becoming more common and usually sit at the equivalent of 18–20 individual days compressed into a monthly fee.
How do you work out the right price for your daycare?
Start with costs, not competition. Take your monthly outgoings — rent or mortgage allocation, staff wages, insurance, licensing fees, food, cleaning, software, your own salary — and divide by the number of dog days you run at a realistic occupancy (most well-run daycares average 70–85%).
That gives you your floor. If it's £26 and you're charging £24, you're losing money. A practical starting formula:
(Monthly fixed costs + monthly variable costs + your monthly salary) ÷ average dog days per month = minimum viable day rate
Add at least 20–25% on top for profit and reinvestment. If the number you land on feels high for your area, that's a conversation about your capacity, not a reason to undercut your costs.
What should your prices actually cover?
The costs owners most often forget to include:
- Your own wages. Many small daycare owners pay themselves last, or not at all. If you're working 50-hour weeks and not paying yourself at least minimum wage, you don't have a business — you have a job that's losing money.
- Holiday cover and sickness. If you can't take a day off without losing income, build a buffer into your pricing.
- Replacement equipment. Crates, fencing, cleaning kit, vehicles if you collect dogs — these wear out. Amortise the cost.
- Licence renewals and inspections. Animal activity licences need renewing annually. Budget £150–£400 depending on your council and star rating.
Should you charge differently for different services?
Yes, and most owners don't do this enough.
- Half days: 60–70% of the full day rate (not 50% — you still have to be there)
- Collection and drop-off: £5–£12 per dog on top, depending on distance
- Administering medication: a small premium is reasonable and defensible
- Bank holidays: many daycares charge 1.5x — if you're open, you deserve it
How do you know if you're undercharging?
If your waiting list is more than 4–6 weeks and fewer than one in ten enquiries mentions price, you are almost certainly undercharging. A useful test: raise your price for new enquiries only. Watch whether your conversion rate changes. If it doesn't, raise it for existing customers too.
How much notice should you give before raising prices?
Four to six weeks minimum. Send a personal message — not a group broadcast — explaining what's changed and why. Most daycare owners who raise prices sensibly lose fewer than 5% of their customers.
If you're reviewing your pricing, Genera's service settings let you update your rates and have them flow automatically into new invoices and booking confirmations — no manual updating needed.