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ShakeYourTail has a free tier. Here is when that is the right call.

ShakeYourTail vs GroomBoard

Updated

In short

ShakeYourTail has a genuinely free plan, then £15/month for Core and £35/month for Business — it is a UK product billed in pounds. Nothing we sell beats free. It covers client records and scheduling. GroomBoard costs more at entry because every paid plan includes automated SMS reminders, a public booking page, and online payments. If you only need a digital appointment book, the cheaper tool is the better buy.

Most comparison pages exist to tell you the other product is worse. This one does not — it tells you which of the two fits the way you actually work.

Start 7-Day Free Trial Which One Fits Me?

What the Price Difference Actually Buys

GroomBoard Solo costs $19/month against a free tier that costs nothing. Three things account for that gap.

SMS Reminders Included

Included on every paid GroomBoard plan, 250 texts a month on Solo and 600 on Salon. One recovered no-show a month more than covers the price difference.

A Booking Page Clients Use

A public link clients book from themselves, 24/7, with online payment. Not an internal calendar you fill in on their behalf.

Room to Hire

Salon at $39/mo covers up to five groomers with separate calendars. Budget tools generally stop at one.

Which One Fits You?

Stay with ShakeYourTail if…

  • • You want the lowest monthly cost, full stop
  • • You book every client yourself by phone or text
  • • You are the only groomer and plan to stay that way
  • • No-shows are not costing you meaningful money

That is a legitimate setup. Cheaper software is not worse software when it covers what you need.

Move to GroomBoard if…

  • • No-shows and last-minute cancellations are hurting
  • • You want clients booking themselves from Instagram
  • • You are taking deposits or payment up front
  • • You might add a second groomer this year

Starter is $9/mo and includes the AI import that reads your paper book.

Feature-by-Feature

FeatureGroomBoardShakeYourTail
Client & Pet Records
Appointment Scheduling
Runs on Phone / Tablet / Desktop
Entry Price$9/mo StarterFree tier, then £15/mo
Automated SMS Reminders Included250 to 600 a month, includedCheck current plan
Public Online Booking PageLimited
Online Payments (Stripe)Limited
Multi-Groomer CalendarsUp to 5 on SalonLimited
Multi-Pet Booking (3 dogs, 1 owner)
AI Paper-Book Photo Import
Free Migration SupportN/A

ShakeYourTail plan contents change; verify current inclusions at shakeyourtail.com before switching either way.

How much does ShakeYourTail cost compared with GroomBoard?

ShakeYourTail is a UK product priced in pounds: free for up to 100 clients with email reminders only, then Core at £15 a month with SMS and deposits, Business at £35, and Enterprise at £45, with up to 10 percent off annual billing, as published in August 2026. GroomBoard is $9, $19, or $39 a month in US dollars with 100 to 600 texts included. Above the free tier the two land in the same territory; below it, ShakeYourTail is free and GroomBoard is not.

Which groomers choose ShakeYourTail, and which choose GroomBoard?

UK groomers, and groomers anywhere with under 100 clients who are happy sending reminders by email, choose ShakeYourTail. US and Canadian groomers who want reminders by text from a carrier registered number, and a client book that does not cap at 100, choose GroomBoard.

How do I move my clients from ShakeYourTail to GroomBoard?

Export clients and pets from ShakeYourTail as CSV and import during the GroomBoard trial, mapping the columns on screen. Rebuild services and hours and share the new booking link.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ShakeYourTail?▼
ShakeYourTail is cloud-based dog grooming software covering client records, appointment scheduling, and document management, running on PC, laptop, iPad, tablet, or mobile. It sits at the budget end of the market and is one of the cheapest entry points available for a groomer moving off paper.
How much does ShakeYourTail cost?▼
As of August 2026 ShakeYourTail lists four tiers on its own site, priced in pounds sterling: a Free plan at £0, Core at £15/month, Business at £35/month, and Enterprise at £45/month, with up to 10% off for annual billing. The free tier is a real free plan, not a trial. Note that it is a UK product billed in GBP, so what you actually pay in dollars moves with the exchange rate. Because budget tools change plans frequently, check shakeyourtail.com for the current tiers and what each one includes before deciding.
Is GroomBoard cheaper than ShakeYourTail?▼
At the entry point, no — ShakeYourTail has a free tier and we do not, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Above that the picture flips: its Core plan is £15/month and Business is £35/month, which land in the same territory as GroomBoard's $19 Solo and $39 Salon once converted. So the honest answer is that ShakeYourTail wins on the free plan and the two are broadly comparable on paid tiers. If the lowest possible monthly cost is your deciding factor, ShakeYourTail wins on that number. The question worth asking is what each price actually covers.
So why would I pay more for GroomBoard?▼
Three things, and they only matter if you actually need them. First, SMS reminders are included on every GroomBoard paid plan, 100 texts a month on Starter, 250 on Solo and 600 on Salon — reminders are the single feature that most reliably cuts no-shows, and a recovered no-show is worth more than the price difference. Second, a public online booking page your clients use themselves, with online payments. Third, multi-groomer calendars if you ever hire. If none of those apply to you, the cheaper tool is the right tool.
Which one should a solo groomer just leaving paper choose?▼
If you want the cheapest possible digital appointment book and nothing else, ShakeYourTail is a reasonable landing spot. If you want the book plus automatic client reminders and a booking link you can put on Instagram, GroomBoard Starter at $9/month is the closer fit — it includes an AI photo import that reads your existing paper book and enters the appointments for you.
Can I migrate my data from ShakeYourTail to GroomBoard?▼
Yes. Export your client and pet list as CSV and we will import it during your free trial. If your records are still partly on paper, GroomBoard's photo import can read pages of your appointment book directly. Most groomers finish the switch in under 30 minutes.

Try it before you decide

7 days free, no credit card. If reminders and a booking page do not change anything for your business, stay where you are — we would rather you kept the money.

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