Gingr Alternative · Honest Comparison
Built for groomers — not boarding facilities.
Gingr is a powerful boarding-and-daycare platform — and even its grooming plan (Spa) starts around $100/month per location, with no free tier and SMS as a paid add-on. ThePetsMonk is grooming-first: the workflows you actually use, unlimited staff at a flat $41/month, free for solo groomers, SMS included. Free migration.
Free migration on every plan. No card required to start.
Built for grooming, every step
Solo to 5 groomers — on software built for the chair, not the kennel.
Started solo on the free plan — every dollar mattered when I was building. Two years in, I've got 5 groomers and we run 300+ appointments a month. Same software the whole way — and I never paid for kennel features I don't use.
Logan
Love Your Doggo · Ohio
The honest truth about Gingr.
Gingr is genuinely excellent — one of the most capable platforms in pet care. Real depth in boarding, daycare, and kennel management: lodging calendars, capacity controls, a polished pet-parent app with report cards, and multi-facility tooling. If you board or run daycare, Gingr is often the right call.
But that depth is the point — and the price. Gingr is built boarding-and-daycare-first and priced for that market. Even its grooming-focused Spa plan starts around $100/month per location, with no free tier and SMS as a paid add-on — steep for a solo groomer or small salon that just needs a great booking calendar and the tools around it.
We built ThePetsMonk grooming-first. Flat $41/month annual, unlimited staff, free for solo groomers — the grooming workflows you actually use, at a fraction of Gingr's price.
Below, the honest comparison.
Why grooming-first salons look past Gingr.
We talk to switchers. Four patterns come up over and over.
No free tier — $100+/mo just to start.
Gingr's grooming plan (Spa) is about $100/month per location billed annually. There's no free plan to test on your own clients first — ThePetsMonk is free forever for solo groomers.
More than double the price.
Spa runs ~$100/month per location; ThePetsMonk Pro is $41/month flat with unlimited staff. The same grooming workflows for less than half the cost — and solo groomers pay nothing.
Per-location pricing, and texts cost extra.
Gingr bills per facility, and SMS is a paid add-on (2-Way SMS / Messaging Bundle) on top of the plan. ThePetsMonk includes SMS automations in Pro at one flat price.
Boarding-and-daycare first.
Gingr's product and roadmap center on lodging, daycare, and kennel operations. If grooming is your whole business, a grooming-native tool tends to fit the day-to-day better.
ThePetsMonk vs Gingr, feature by feature.
Where we win, where Gingr wins, where we're tied. Honest read — focused on the grooming workflows.
Foundations
Booking & scheduling
Communication
Get paid & grow
Reporting
Staff & operations
Run a team
Support
Where Gingr wins
ThePetsMonk column reflects features available across our paid plans (from $41/month). Gingr column reflects Gingr's published Spa/Play/Stay plans; “Add-on” means a paid extra. Features verified from each vendor's public product pages as of 2026.
What Gingr actually costs a grooming salon.
Gingr's grooming plan is Spa, priced per location. Below is the apples-to-apples cost for a salon that grooms (annual billing).
| Your business | ThePetsMonk | Gingr | Annual savings |
|---|---|---|---|
Solo groomer 1 staff, 1 location | Free $0 forever | ~$100/mo Spa (annual), per location | $1,200/yr |
Multi-groomer salon Single location, grooming-only | $41/mo Pro (annual), unlimited staff | ~$100/mo Spa (annual), per location | $708/yr |
Salon + daycare / boarding Overnight & capacity needs | Grooming-only We don't do lodging | $142–154/mo Play / Stay (annual) | Gingr fits |
Pricing sourced from Gingr's public pricing page, accurate as of 2026. Gingr bills per location, billed annually; Spa is the grooming plan, Play and Stay add daycare and boarding. SMS is a paid add-on on Gingr — including its 2-Way SMS / messaging bundle. ThePetsMonk Pro includes unlimited staff with no per-seat fee, and Scale includes unlimited two-way SMS with no extra texting charge.
When Gingr is the right choice.
We'd rather lose a prospect than overpromise. Four scenarios where Gingr genuinely beats us:
- You board or run daycare.Gingr's lodging calendars, kennel-run assignment, and capacity management are purpose-built for overnight and daycare operations. ThePetsMonk is grooming-only — we don't do lodging.
- You want a mature pet-parent app with report cards.Gingr's pet-parent app and daily report cards (photos and updates of pets playing) are a real daycare strength and very polished. If that experience is central to your offer, Gingr is deeper here.
- You run multi-service or multi-facility.If you combine grooming + boarding + daycare under one roof, or run several facilities, Gingr's Enterprise tooling is built for that breadth in one system.
- Reservation & capacity logic is core to your business.Deep deposit rules, capacity caps, add-on services for overnight stays — Gingr's reservation engine is genuinely strong. A grooming-only calendar (ours) is simpler by design.
If none of those describe you — you only groom, solo or as a salon team — keep reading.
When ThePetsMonk is the right choice.
- •You only groom — solo or as a salon team. You want grooming-native booking, pet records, payments, and reminders, built for the chair rather than the kennel.
- •You're solo and don't want to pay $100/month per location to start. Our free plan is free forever. No card, no trial expiry, no quote call.
- •You want unlimited staff at a flat $41/month. No per-location pricing, no SMS add-on — automations and texting are included in Pro.
- •You want self-serve evaluation, not a quote. Sign up free, try the product on your own appointments, decide later. No sales call required.
Other Gingr alternatives worth knowing.
If ThePetsMonk isn't the fit, here are the other names that come up in Gingr-alternative searches. Honest one-liners on each.
MoeGo
Best for: Mobile & salon grooming, mid-sizeGrooming-first with strong mobile/van support and a polished modern app. No free tier; Growth runs $149/month per location.
DaySmart Pet
Best for: Owners wanting a long-established systemEstablished legacy all-rounder covering grooming, boarding, and daycare. Deep feature set, dated UI.
Pawfinity
Best for: Cost-conscious grooming salonsGrooming-focused at a lower price point. Decent workflows, less polish on mobile and reporting.
Kennel Connection
Best for: Boarding & kennel-first operationsLong-standing boarding, daycare, and kennel software. If lodging is your core and Gingr isn't the fit, it's a boarding-first alternative.
Switching from Gingr to ThePetsMonk.
We handle migration for free on every plan. Typical timeline: 1–2 weeks end-to-end. Most salons run both systems in parallel for ~3 days before flipping over.
What we move for you:
- •Client list (names, emails, phone numbers, addresses)
- •Pet records (breed, coat, allergies, medical notes, vaccination expirations)
- •Appointment history and service notes
- •Recurring booking rules where applicable
- •Package and membership balances if exportable
What we can't move (and we'll be upfront about this):
- •Stored card-on-file tokens (processors don't allow cross-processor token migration). Clients re-enter their card on first visit.
- •Boarding / daycare reservation data — ThePetsMonk is grooming-only, so lodging records don't carry over.
Book a 20-minute migration call and we'll walk you through the process, give you the Gingr export steps, and set a go-live date.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best Gingr alternatives in 2026?
The most-cited alternatives are ThePetsMonk, MoeGo, DaySmart Pet, and Pawfinity. ThePetsMonk is the grooming-first pick — free for solo groomers and $41/month flat (annual Pro, unlimited staff) — versus Gingr's $100+/month-per-location pricing with no free tier. MoeGo is strong for mobile grooming; DaySmart Pet is a legacy all-rounder; Pawfinity is a closer price match with thinner workflows.
Is there a free alternative to Gingr?
Yes. ThePetsMonk's free plan is free forever for solo groomers (1 staff). Gingr has no free plan — its lowest tier is the Spa plan at $100/month per location billed annually ($109 month-to-month).
How much does Gingr cost per month?
Gingr is priced per location. The Spa plan (for groomers) is $109/month, or $100/month billed annually. Play (daycare) is $169 / $142 annual, and Stay (boarding) is $209 / $154 annual. Enterprise (multi-facility) is custom-quoted. SMS texting is a paid add-on.
Does Gingr charge per staff or per location?
Per location. Each facility is its own subscription and team members are included — but there's no free tier, so even a solo groomer pays the full Spa-plan price for one location.
What's a cheaper Gingr alternative for a grooming salon?
For a grooming-only salon, ThePetsMonk Pro is $41/month annual ($492/year) with unlimited staff — versus Gingr's Spa plan at about $100/month per location ($1,200/year). Solo groomers use ThePetsMonk free. You skip the boarding and daycare tooling you don't need.
Can I switch from Gingr without losing data?
Yes. ThePetsMonk offers free migration on every paid plan — we import your client list, pet records, vaccination history, and appointment history before you go live. Stored card-on-file tokens can't transfer between processors, so clients re-enter their card on first visit.
Is Gingr good for a grooming-only salon?
Gingr is excellent software, but it's built boarding- and daycare-first and priced for that market. Its grooming plan (Spa) still starts around $100/month per location with no free tier and SMS as a paid add-on. If you only groom, a grooming-native tool typically costs less and fits the daily workflow better.
Does ThePetsMonk do everything Gingr does for grooming?
For grooming workflows — online booking, pet records, reminders, payments, packages, intake forms, commissions and reporting — yes. Gingr goes deeper on boarding, daycare, kennel capacity, and its pet-parent app. For a grooming-first salon, ThePetsMonk covers what you use day-to-day at a fraction of the price.
Does Gingr have a free trial?
Gingr doesn't offer a free-forever plan; you choose a paid plan (Spa, Play, or Stay) or request an Enterprise quote. ThePetsMonk's free plan lets solo groomers start with no card and no sales call.
Still comparing? Let's walk through your salon.
Book a 20-minute demo. We'll show you the grooming workflows you use today, side by side. No sales pressure.