Tomorrow morning, the next post in my 2027 pricing series goes live on this blog. It walks through the new structure itself: three coat tiers, the weight classes inside them, and breed examples for each. No numbers yet, as I have said from the start. The numbers come in November and December. But before the structure post lands, I want to give you the market picture it is built on: why mobile grooming costs more than a salon, and what the industry actually looks like right now.
What the Mobile Part Actually Costs
Mobile grooming runs 20 to 35 percent above salon pricing according to the 2026 industry price guides, and that premium covers real things, not a convenience tax for the sake of it. A fully equipped grooming van carries hot water, a generator, a bathing station, a grooming table, and a high-velocity dryer. Add fuel, insurance, and vehicle maintenance, then take away the ability to stack multiple dogs at different stages the way a salon does, and the math changes fast. A van can only see a fraction of the dogs a salon can in a day, so every appointment has to cover the vehicle and the travel time.
Most mobile groomers also enforce a minimum just to pull up to your driveway, commonly in the $85 to $100 range. That minimum is standard, not unusual, because the drive and the setup are part of the service.
The One-Dog-at-a-Time Factor
Inside a salon, several dogs can be in progress at once: one in the tub, one on the table, one drying. In a mobile van, there is one dog in the van, period. The groomer is your dog alone, from start to finish. Industry watchers call mobile grooming the fastest-growing segment in the trade, growing 15 to 20 percent a year, precisely because of that cage-free, one-on-one setup. It is also the reason mobile pricing cannot survive on standard salon rates.
How the Industry Prices a Groom in 2026
Across national price guides, mobile full grooms break down pretty consistently: small dogs roughly $65 to $100, medium dogs around $100 to $130, large dogs $120 to $160, and giant breeds $150 to $180 and up. The Midwest tracks close to those national averages, with coastal cities running higher. In every band, coat condition and behavior move the number more than anything else. A well-maintained dog on a regular schedule sits toward the low end, and an overdue or matted coat pushes toward the top.
That is the lens to read tomorrow’s post through. Grooming prices, everywhere, are built from labor, travel, and time. When the structure lands tomorrow with its tiers and weight classes, you will see that each bracket simply reflects how much of those three things a dog’s coat actually takes.
Tomorrow’s post goes live first thing in the morning, right here on the blog.
Clients will not be notified by text or email about the new pricing. Everyone will find out when the blog posts go live and the website is updated. The last time there was a pricing adjustment in 2025, the mass communication caused confusion, so this time the new pricing will only be revealed through the blog, the website, and social media posts. (You will still receive your regular appointment reminders by text when you have a groom booked. The no-notification approach is specifically for pricing and policy changes.)
Questions in the meantime? Text me at (419) 315-4989 — the fastest response is always by text message, just like the contact page says. And if you want to watch a groom before the numbers land, the stream is always live on Twitch at DogGroomerNicole.
Stay fresh and furry, Nicole / Vroom Grooms LLC
About the Author
Nicole is the owner and certified groomer behind Vroom Grooms LLC, a mobile dog grooming service serving Northwest Ohio. She has been certified since 2020 after completing 640 hours of hands-on training, and prefers to roll out pricing changes with plenty of advance notice so every client can plan ahead.
This post was drafted with help from Nagini 🐍, her digital assistant, who keeps the blog running, handles the tech side of the website, and makes sure Nicole spends more time with dogs and less time wrestling with WordPress.
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