Best Kennel Management Software in 2026 (Grooming, Boarding & Hybrid)
"Kennel management software" gets used to mean different things — boarding-only platforms, full pet-resort suites, and grooming software that happens to handle a few kennels. This guide cuts through the noise. We list the six platforms most pet-care operators evaluate in 2026, what they actually cost, and which one fits your facility.
How to Choose Kennel Management Software (Quick Framework)
Before you compare features, answer one question: what services do you actually run?
- Boarding only → kennel-first platforms (Gingr, Kennel Connection)
- Grooming only → grooming-first platforms (GroomBoard, MoeGo) — skip the kennel tax
- Boarding + grooming + daycare → full-facility platforms (Gingr, Kennel Connection)
- Mobile grooming or van-based → MoeGo or GroomBoard (route awareness varies)
The biggest pricing trap is buying a kennel platform when you only need grooming software. You can pay 3-10x more for unused modules.
Top 6 Kennel Management Software Platforms in 2026
1. Gingr — Best for Full Boarding + Daycare Facilities
Pricing: ~$105/mo (Spa) to $175/mo (Pro), enterprise by quote. SMS is an add-on.
Gingr is the household name in pet resort management. Kennel assignments, daycare capacity, retail POS, customer report cards, and an entire owner-facing portal. If you run a multi-service facility with overnight stays, Gingr's depth justifies the price.
Weakness: overkill for grooming-only operations. UI is built for receptionists juggling a 50-dog facility, not a solo groomer doing 6 appointments a day. See our Gingr pricing breakdown.
2. Kennel Connection — Best Legacy Boarding Platform
Pricing: Tiered, typically $100-250/mo. Custom quotes for multi-location.
Kennel Connection has been in the boarding space for decades and runs deep operations for traditional kennels. Strong reservation workflows, kennel layout management, and reporting. The interface feels older than newer competitors.
Weakness: dated UX, weaker grooming module, slower mobile experience.
3. MoeGo — Best for High-Volume Grooming and Mobile Routes
Pricing: $49-159/mo per van (mobile) or $79-239/mo per location (salon) as of June 2026, with SMS capped per tier. See the MoeGo pricing breakdown.
MoeGo is grooming-first with strong route optimization for mobile vans, marketing automation, and multi-location support. Some facilities use it for grooming alongside light boarding.
Weakness: not a true kennel platform — limited boarding/daycare depth, and per-van/per-location billing scales the bill quickly.
4. GroomBoard — Best for Grooming-Only Operations (Solo to Small Salons)
Pricing: $19/mo (Solo) or $39/mo (Salon). SMS included. 14-day free trial, no credit card.
GroomBoard skips the kennel/daycare modules entirely and focuses on the four things grooming businesses actually do every day: booking, SMS reminders, client management, and payments. Setup takes ~30 minutes. No contracts, no add-ons.
Weakness: no boarding, no daycare, no route optimization. If you run overnight stays, this is not the platform for you.
5. DaySmart Pet — Decent All-Rounder, Older Stack
Pricing: Tiered around $39-99/mo + payment processing.
DaySmart Pet handles grooming, boarding, and daycare in a single interface. Owner-friendly client portal and tracker. Often chosen by smaller multi-service facilities.
Weakness: jack-of-all-trades feel; some modules feel bolted on. See our DaySmart vs GroomBoard comparison.
6. Groomsoft — Long-Running Grooming Platform
Pricing: Around $35-65/mo depending on tier.
Groomsoft has been in the grooming software market for a long time. It works, but feels generations behind newer cloud-first platforms in mobile experience and integrations.
Weakness: older UX, weaker SMS/payment flows. See Groomsoft vs GroomBoard.
Quick Comparison Table
| Platform | Starting price | SMS | Boarding | Grooming | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gingr | $105/mo | Add-on | Yes | Yes | Full pet resorts |
| Kennel Connection | ~$100+/mo | Add-on | Yes | Limited | Traditional kennels |
| MoeGo | $49+/mo per van | Capped per tier | Limited | Yes | Mobile + multi-location grooming |
| GroomBoard | $19/mo | Included | No | Yes | Solo/small grooming |
| DaySmart Pet | ~$39/mo | Add-on | Yes | Yes | Mixed small facilities |
| Groomsoft | ~$35/mo | Add-on | Limited | Yes | Established grooming |
Kennel Connection vs Gingr: Head-to-Head
If you run a true boarding facility, your shortlist usually comes down to these two. Here is how they stack up:
| Factor | Gingr | Kennel Connection |
|---|---|---|
| Typical price | $105-175/mo | ~$100-250/mo |
| Interface | Modern cloud UI | Older, legacy-style |
| Boarding depth | Deep (capacity, report cards) | Deep (kennel layouts, reservations) |
| Grooming module | Solid | Limited |
| SMS | Add-on | Add-on |
| Owner-facing portal | Strong (app + report cards) | Weaker |
Choose Kennel Connection if you run a long-established kennel with traditional workflows — its decades of reservation management and kennel-layout depth still serve classic boarding operations well.
Choose Gingr if you want a modern interface your staff picks up quickly, an owner-facing portal with report cards that clients love, and smoother daycare check-in/check-out workflows. If grooming is actually your core service, see how it stacks up in our GroomBoard vs Gingr comparison.
One honest note: GroomBoard is not in this fight — we are grooming-only software. If you run boarding, these two are the platforms to compare. If you are grooming-only, neither is the right buy (see the 80% rule below).
The Kennel Management Software Market in 2026
The market splits into three camps. Boarding-first platforms (Gingr, Kennel Connection) are built around overnight stays — kennel assignments, capacity planning, daily activity logs — with grooming as a secondary module. Grooming-first platforms (GroomBoard, MoeGo) unbundle the grooming workflow and skip kennel features entirely, which is why they cost a fraction of the price. All-in-one suites (DaySmart Pet, PetExec) try to cover every service under one roof, trading depth for breadth.
Pricing follows the same split: grooming-first tools run $19-159/month, boarding-first and all-in-one platforms $100-300/month once add-ons are counted. The two line items that move the bill most are boarding modules and SMS handling — texting is an add-on or tier-gated on nearly every platform in the space.
The consolidation trend is worth knowing before you commit: Gingr has been private-equity owned since 2022, and DaySmart absorbed the long-running 123Pet. In practice that means pricing and support models can change after acquisition — one more reason to favor month-to-month terms over annual contracts.
The 80% Rule: Don't Overbuy Kennel Software for a Grooming Business
The single most common mistake we see independent groomers make: signing up for full kennel software when 80% of the platform's features go unused. If your business is grooming and your dogs go home at the end of the appointment, you do not need kennel layouts, daily activity logs, or daycare capacity dashboards. You need:
- Online booking page
- Automated SMS reminders (no-show prevention)
- Client + pet profiles with grooming history
- Stripe or similar payments
- A calendar that prevents double-booking
That is exactly what GroomBoard ships, for $19-39/month total. Compare that to $1,400+/year on a kennel platform. Over five years, the difference funds a new pet clipper, a website redesign, and a vacation.
How to Decide in Under 10 Minutes
- Do you offer overnight boarding? If yes, you need true kennel software (Gingr, Kennel Connection).
- Do you offer daycare? If yes, kennel software still wins.
- Grooming only, with home pickup/dropoff? Grooming-first software is right (GroomBoard, MoeGo).
- Mobile grooming with 6+ stops a day across a wide area? MoeGo's route optimization may be worth its higher price.
- Mobile grooming with 3-5 stops? GroomBoard plus Google Maps handles routing fine at 1/5 the cost.
The Verdict
Run a full boarding facility? Pay for Gingr or Kennel Connection. Their kennel modules earn their keep.
Run grooming only? Try GroomBoard's free 14-day trial. Sign up takes 60 seconds. If it does not fit, you have lost nothing.
Last updated: June 10, 2026. Pricing verified against public vendor pages (MoeGo re-checked June 10, 2026). Custom quotes may differ.