Gingr vs DaySmart: Grooming Software [2026]

Gingr vs DaySmart: Complete Comparison for Pet Groomers [2026]

Choosing the right software can make or break your pet grooming business. If you're weighing Gingr vs DaySmart, you're looking at two well-known platforms that take very different approaches to managing grooming, boarding, and daycare operations. Both have loyal followings, but they serve different types of businesses best.

In this comparison, we'll break down pricing, features, ease of use, and ideal use cases so you can make the right call for your shop. No fluff, no bias — just a practical look at what each platform actually delivers.

Quick Comparison: Gingr vs DaySmart at a Glance

Before we dive into the details, here's a high-level snapshot of how these two platforms stack up:

• Starting Price: ~$99/mo — ~$29/mo
• Best For: Boarding, daycare, and multi-service facilities — Traditional grooming salons
• Scheduling: Online booking with pet parent app — Appointment book with online booking
• Client Management: Detailed pet profiles and parent portal — Comprehensive client and pet records
• Boarding/Daycare: Built-in, robust — Available but less specialized
• SMS Messaging: Included in plans — Additional cost
• Mobile Experience: Pet parent app + staff mobile tools — Desktop-first; mobile improving
• Reporting: Strong analytics and dashboards — Solid reporting suite
• Contract Terms: Annual contracts common — Monthly and annual options
• Industry Experience: Founded 2013 — 20+ years (as 123Pet/DaySmart)
• Interface Feel: Feature-rich, learning curve — Familiar but dated design

Now let's get into the specifics.

Gingr: Overview

Gingr positions itself as an all-in-one platform for pet care businesses that offer grooming, boarding, daycare, or any combination of the three. Founded in 2013, the company has built a solid reputation among multi-service pet care facilities that need robust operations management.

The platform's standout strength is its boarding and daycare management. If you run a facility where dogs are staying overnight or spending the day, Gingr offers purpose-built tools for managing kennels, tracking feedings, logging activities, and keeping pet parents informed through a dedicated app.

For grooming specifically, Gingr provides appointment scheduling, online booking, pet profiles, and integrated payment processing. The reporting suite is one of the more detailed in the industry, giving you visibility into revenue, staff productivity, and client retention trends.

Where Gingr shines:

• Purpose-built boarding and daycare management
• Pet parent app that clients actually use
• Detailed reporting and business analytics
• Online booking portal with real-time availability
• Strong reputation and established user community

Where Gingr falls short:

• Premium pricing that starts around $99/month and scales up quickly
• Annual contracts are the norm, limiting flexibility
• The interface can feel cluttered with features you may not need
• Overkill for solo groomers or small grooming-only shops
• Steeper learning curve due to feature density

DaySmart: Overview

DaySmart Pet (formerly known as 123Pet) is one of the longest-running names in pet grooming software. With over 20 years in the industry, the platform has been a staple in grooming salons across the country. The rebrand from 123Pet to DaySmart happened as part of a broader company strategy, though it did cause some confusion among longtime users.

DaySmart's strength is its proven, comprehensive feature set for traditional grooming operations. The platform covers appointment scheduling, client management, point-of-sale, marketing tools, and business reporting. It's a reliable workhorse that thousands of groomers have built their businesses on.

The more affordable entry point (starting around $29/month) makes DaySmart accessible to independent groomers and small shops that need professional software without a hefty price tag.

Where DaySmart shines:

• Two decades of industry experience and refinement
• More affordable starting price point
• Comprehensive feature set for grooming operations
• Large existing user base with community knowledge
• Proven track record with traditional salon setups

Where DaySmart falls short:

• The interface feels dated compared to modern software
• Desktop-first design means the mobile and web experience lags behind
• SMS messaging comes at an extra cost per message
• The 123Pet to DaySmart rebrand created user confusion
• Setup and onboarding can take more time than expected
• Slower to adopt modern UX patterns and design trends

Pricing Comparison

Pricing is often the first thing groomers look at, and these two platforms sit at very different price points.

Gingr Pricing

Gingr's pricing starts around $99/month and scales based on the size of your operation and the features you need. For larger facilities with boarding and daycare, expect to pay significantly more. Annual contracts are standard, so you're committing for the year.

The higher price point reflects Gingr's positioning as a premium, full-service platform. If you're running a multi-service facility with boarding kennels and a daycare floor alongside your grooming stations, that investment may pay for itself. But if you're a solo groomer working out of a single room, that monthly cost can feel steep for features you'll never touch.

DaySmart Pricing

DaySmart starts at approximately $29/month, making it one of the more budget-friendly options in the market. Higher tiers unlock additional features like advanced marketing tools and more robust reporting.

The catch is that certain features you might assume are included — like SMS messaging — carry additional per-message fees. Those costs can add up, especially if you rely on text reminders and client communication. Still, the base price makes DaySmart a more accessible entry point for independent groomers watching their expenses.

The Verdict on Price

If budget is a primary concern, DaySmart is the clear winner on sticker price. But factor in the add-on costs for things like SMS, and the gap narrows somewhat. Gingr's higher price makes more sense if you're actively using boarding and daycare features — you're paying for a bigger platform, but you're also getting one.

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Scheduling and Appointments

Gingr offers a visual scheduling interface with online booking that connects to a pet parent-facing app. Clients can request appointments, check availability, and manage their bookings from their phone. For multi-service facilities, the scheduler handles grooming, daycare, and boarding slots in a unified view.

DaySmart provides a traditional appointment book that's been refined over years of use. Online booking is available, and the system supports recurring appointments and waitlists. The scheduling interface is functional and reliable, though it lacks the modern visual polish of newer platforms.

Edge: Gingr for online booking experience; DaySmart for straightforward appointment management.

Client and Pet Management

Both platforms offer solid client management, but with different strengths.

Gingr provides detailed pet profiles with vaccination tracking, behavioral notes, feeding instructions, and medical history. The pet parent portal lets clients update their own information and keep records current, which reduces your administrative load.

DaySmart delivers comprehensive client records with pet profiles, service history, and notes. The system is thorough and has been built out over 20 years of groomer feedback. It handles the essentials well, though the interface for navigating client records feels more utilitarian than intuitive.

Edge: Gingr for the self-service parent portal; DaySmart for depth of historical data and proven workflows.

Boarding and Daycare

This is where the two platforms diverge most significantly.

Gingr was designed with boarding and daycare in mind. Kennel management, feeding schedules, activity logs, medication tracking, and real-time report cards sent to pet parents are all built into the platform. If you run (or plan to run) a facility that offers overnight stays or daycare alongside grooming, Gingr's tools are genuinely purpose-built for that workflow.

DaySmart supports boarding and daycare, but it's clearly not the platform's primary focus. The tools exist, but they don't have the same depth or polish as Gingr's. For a grooming salon that occasionally boards a few dogs, DaySmart's boarding features may be sufficient. For a dedicated boarding and daycare facility, they'll likely feel limited.

Edge: Gingr, decisively. This is the platform's core strength.

Reporting and Analytics

Gingr offers a strong reporting suite with dashboards covering revenue, staff performance, client retention, and service trends. The analytics are detailed enough to inform real business decisions, not just show you how much you made last month.

DaySmart provides solid reporting with standard business metrics. You get revenue reports, appointment summaries, and client data. The reporting is reliable and covers the basics well, though it doesn't go quite as deep as Gingr's analytics.

Edge: Gingr for depth; DaySmart for simplicity and accessibility.

Communication and SMS

Gingr includes messaging features within its platform, with appointment reminders and notifications built into the system. Communication tools are integrated with the pet parent app, creating a more connected experience.

DaySmart offers SMS messaging, but it comes at an additional per-message cost. For groomers who rely heavily on text confirmations, reminders, and follow-ups, those per-message fees become a real line item in your monthly expenses. This is one of the more common complaints from DaySmart users who feel that texting should be a standard inclusion in 2026.

Edge: Gingr for included messaging; DaySmart's add-on cost is a frustration point.

Ease of Use

Gingr's interface is feature-rich, which is both its strength and weakness. There's a lot there, and for a multi-service facility, that depth is valuable. But for a solo groomer, the interface can feel overwhelming and cluttered with options you don't need. Expect a meaningful onboarding period.

DaySmart benefits from familiarity — many groomers have used 123Pet for years and know the workflows. But "familiar" sometimes means "dated." The desktop-first approach shows its age, and the mobile experience still feels like an afterthought compared to platforms built mobile-first. New users may find the interface less intuitive than they'd expect from modern software.

Edge: Neither wins cleanly. DaySmart is simpler but dated; Gingr is powerful but complex.

Who Should Choose Gingr?

Gingr is the better choice if:

• You run a multi-service facility with boarding, daycare, and grooming under one roof
• Boarding and daycare are a significant part of your revenue and you need robust tools for managing kennels, activities, and parent communication
• You want a pet parent-facing app that keeps clients engaged and informed
• Detailed analytics matter to you and you make data-driven business decisions
• You have the budget for a premium platform and will actually use the full feature set
• You're a growing operation planning to expand beyond grooming into boarding or daycare

Who Should Choose DaySmart?

DaySmart is the better choice if:

• You run a traditional grooming salon where grooming is the primary (or only) service
• Budget is a key consideration and you need reliable software without a premium price tag
• You value proven stability and prefer a platform with 20 years of refinement over newer alternatives
• Your team already knows 123Pet/DaySmart and switching costs outweigh the benefits of a new platform
• You need solid fundamentals — scheduling, client management, POS — without the complexity of boarding management tools
• You prefer a straightforward setup and want to get running without a steep learning curve

Consider Teddy If...

If you've read this far and feel like neither platform is quite right — maybe Gingr is more than you need and DaySmart feels a bit behind the times — there's a newer option worth looking at.

Teddy is a modern scheduling and business management platform built specifically for independent pet groomers and small grooming teams. A few things that set it apart:

• Unlimited SMS messaging included — no per-message fees, no add-on charges. Text your clients as much as you need to.
• Clean, intuitive interface designed for how groomers actually work. No cluttered dashboards or features you'll never use.
• More affordable than Gingr, more modern than DaySmart — built for independent groomers who want professional tools without enterprise pricing or legacy software design.
• Fast onboarding — most groomers are up and running quickly, not spending weeks on setup.

Teddy includes online booking, automated reminders, digital intake forms, client CRM with pet profiles, and Square POS integration. If you're an independent groomer or small team looking for something that feels current without the overhead, it's worth a look at tryteddy.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Gingr or DaySmart better for a solo groomer?

For a solo groomer, DaySmart is generally the more practical choice. Its lower price point and simpler feature set align better with the needs of a one-person operation. Gingr's strength is in multi-service facility management, and much of what you'd be paying for — boarding tools, daycare management, multi-staff scheduling — won't apply to a solo setup.

Does DaySmart still go by 123Pet?

DaySmart Pet was formerly known as 123Pet. The rebranding happened as part of the DaySmart Software family of products. The core software carries forward much of what 123Pet users know, but the name change has caused some confusion in the market. If you search for "123Pet," you'll be directed to the DaySmart Pet product.

Can I switch from one platform to the other easily?

Switching between pet grooming software platforms involves migrating client data, pet records, and appointment history. Both Gingr and DaySmart offer some onboarding support for new customers, but expect the transition to take time regardless of direction. Export your data before committing to a switch, and plan for a transition period where you may need to reference both systems.

Are there newer alternatives to both Gingr and DaySmart?

Yes. The pet grooming software market has seen several newer entrants that address common frustrations with established platforms. These newer options tend to offer more modern interfaces, mobile-first design, and inclusive pricing (features like SMS included rather than charged as add-ons). It's worth evaluating the current landscape rather than assuming the legacy options are your only choices.

Last updated: March 3, 2026. Pricing and features are based on publicly available information and may change. Always verify current pricing directly with each provider.