DaySmart Pet vs Groomer.io (2026): Cheap Reminders or Unlimited Texting

Updated: November 2, 2026 · 11 min read · By Grooming Software HQ

Grooming Software HQ Editorial Team

Independent research on pet grooming software — we compare features, pricing, and real user feedback so groomers can choose with confidence.

The Short Version

DaySmart Pet and Groomer.io are built on opposite ideas of what a price list should look like. DaySmart, formerly 123Pet and selling grooming software since 2005, offers a five-step ladder that adds users, texts and tools at each rung. Groomer.io offers one plan: $99 a month per storefront or van, shown for months now as a "limited time offer" of $79, with nothing metered inside it.

The result is that each vendor charges for exactly what the other gives away. DaySmart gives away vehicles, since a van is just another $9 user, and charges for people and for conversations. Groomer.io gives away people and conversations, with unlimited staff and unlimited two-way texts and calls, and charges for every storefront and every van.

That produces a clean split. At one location that wants to text with clients, Groomer.io is cheaper by about $70 a month. At one location that only sends reminders, DaySmart is cheaper until you reach about five people. With more than one van, DaySmart is cheaper either way.

At a Glance

Side-by-Side Comparison

Two rows decide most cases: what multiplies the bill and two-way texting. Groomer.io wins the second for anyone at a single location. DaySmart wins the first the moment you add a van.

What You Actually Pay

Start with each price list in full.

DaySmart Pet publishes five plans, each with two prices. With DaySmart's payment processing: Basic $29, Deluxe $69, Deluxe Growth $149 and Premium $199 a month. Without it: $39, $89, $169 and $219. Premium Growth is quote-only. Basic includes one user and 500 texts. Deluxe and Deluxe Growth include three users and 1,000 texts. Premium includes six users and 2,500 texts. Additional users are $9 a month each on Deluxe and above. Two-way texting is included from Deluxe Growth and is a "contact for pricing" add-on on Deluxe. Daycare and boarding calendars are $25 a month each. DaySmart does not publish what texts cost once you pass your allowance.

Groomer.io publishes one plan: $99 a month "per storefront or van," struck through on its pricing page to a "limited time offer" of $79. Its help center simply states "$79/month per facility (or van). That's it." The plan includes unlimited SMS and automated phone calls, and Groomer.io's FAQ is blunt about it: "There is absolutely no limit to SMS messages or phone calls, and you are not billed per message or call." Employees and logins are unlimited too. The only extras are review requests at $9.99 a month, a grooming website at $79 a month, and SMS marketing campaigns, which are priced by audience size with an estimate before you send.

The figures below assume three texts sent per appointment (reminder, confirmation and ready-for-pickup) plus one client reply. Groomer.io does not count either. DaySmart does not say whether replies count, so the table gives it the benefit of the doubt and counts three. DaySmart prices assume you use its payment processing and one user per person on staff. Groomer.io is priced at the current $79:

Four conclusions come out of that table.

One: on reminders alone at one location, DaySmart is cheaper until about the fifth person. A solo groomer pays $29 against $79, a $50 gap that is $600 a year. A two-groomer salon pays $69 against $79. At four people DaySmart's Deluxe plan reaches $78 and the two are level; at five it is $87, and Groomer.io's flat $79 is cheaper from there on. Volume ends DaySmart's lead too: Deluxe's 1,000 texts run out at about 330 appointments a month, and DaySmart does not publish what the next text costs.

Two: two-way texting at one location is Groomer.io's by about $70 a month. Groomer.io's only plan holds text conversations with clients, places automated calls and never counts a message. DaySmart bundles two-way texting only from Deluxe Growth at $149. The Deluxe add-on might cost less than the jump to $149, but DaySmart lists it as "contact for pricing," so you need a written quote to know. If you regularly text clients about a late arrival, a matted coat or a change of plan, this row decides it: $840 a year in Groomer.io's favor for a solo groomer.

Three: the second van decides it the other way. Groomer.io charges a full subscription for every van. DaySmart does not charge by vehicle at all; a second van is a second user, and Deluxe already includes three. On reminders, two vans cost $69 on DaySmart against $158 on Groomer.io. With two-way texting the margin is thin at two vans, about $9, because DaySmart's $149 tier eats most of the saving, but it grows with every van after that: Groomer.io adds $79 and DaySmart adds $9 for the driver, so each extra van widens the gap by about $70.

Four: the add-ons narrow the gap for a solo shop. Groomer.io's website add-on costs $79 a month against DaySmart's $15 website builder, and DaySmart's Deluxe Growth plan already includes reputation management. So a solo salon that wants two-way texting, a website and review requests pays about the same on both, $164 against $168. If you already have a website, Groomer.io keeps a lead of about $60 even with review requests added.

Three caveats. First, without DaySmart's card processing every DaySmart figure rises by $10 on Basic or $20 on the other plans. That flips the two-groomer salon to Groomer.io by about $10, the four-person salon by about $19 and the two-van, two-way case by about $11. Groomer.io takes payments through Square or Clover instead, so ask both what you will pay per transaction; DaySmart says it will match or lower your current processing fees. Second, Groomer.io's $79 is labeled a limited-time offer, even though it has held for months. At the $99 list price, Groomer.io's two-way texting lead for one location shrinks to about $50, DaySmart stays cheaper on reminders up to about six people, and the two-van, two-way gap widens to $49 in DaySmart's favor. Third, DaySmart does not define a "user" or say whether client replies count against its allowance. If replies count, two vans at 260 appointments would send about 1,040 billable texts and pass Deluxe's 1,000. For how these line items compare across the whole market, see what grooming software really costs.

What Each One Gives You Beyond the Price

DaySmart Pet gives you more as you pay more. Basic covers scheduling, automated reminders and ready-for-pickup texts, online booking from your website, Facebook and Instagram, integrated payments, online deposits, gift cards, reporting and the mobile app. Deluxe adds digital forms for consent and vaccination records, payroll, a client loyalty program, employee reminders, email marketing, packages and pre-paid services, and multi-ticket checkout. Deluxe Growth adds two-way texting, text marketing and reputation management. Premium adds QuickBooks Online. Every plan includes email, chat and phone support with training and onboarding. For vans, DaySmart offers a map view with turn-by-turn directions, traffic and travel-time estimates, but it does not advertise route optimization.

Groomer.io gives you everything at once and keeps it simple. The single plan includes unlimited two-way texts and automated phone calls from a local number it assigns (or your own cell number, if you prefer), online booking and requests, automatic rebooking texts after six weeks, deposits and online pay, Square and Clover integrations, unlimited client and pet records and photos, and payroll tools with time clocks, commission tracking and payroll-ready reports. For mobile groomers it adds map-based scheduling that books clients by proximity, route suggestions, departure reminders, live ETAs and hands-free "on my way" calls and texts. Support and personalized onboarding are included, and there is no contract or setup fee.

A useful way to think about the gap: DaySmart's upgrades buy back-office breadth, such as loyalty, digital forms, packages, QuickBooks and boarding calendars. Groomer.io skips most of that and makes the everyday work, texting, calling and routing, unlimited and included. If you run a busy one-location salon that lives on the phone with clients, Groomer.io removes every meter. If you want a fuller business system or run a fleet, DaySmart covers more for less per van.

Where DaySmart Pet Pulls Ahead

• The cheapest reminder-only plan: $29 with 500 texts against $79. For a solo groomer on reminders, that is $600 a year.
• No per-van billing: A second van is a $9 user, not a $79 subscription. Every fleet we modeled is cheaper on DaySmart, with or without two-way texting.
• Back-office breadth: Loyalty, digital forms, packages and pre-paid services from Deluxe, and QuickBooks Online on Premium. Groomer.io advertises none of them.
• Boarding and daycare: $25 a month per calendar on any plan. Groomer.io is grooming only.
• A cheaper website: $15 a month against $79 for Groomer.io's website add-on.
• A published free trial and the better-rated app: 14 days with everything in Deluxe and no card. DaySmart's iPhone app holds 4.8 stars from about 1,100 ratings, against 4.3 from 35 for Groomer.io's.

Where Groomer.io Pulls Ahead

• Two-way texting at $79: Against $149 on DaySmart. Nothing else in this comparison moves the price as much for a single location.
• Nothing is metered: Texts, replies and calls are all unlimited, so a busy month never costs more. DaySmart caps texts by plan and does not publish what extra ones cost.
• Automated phone calls: "On my way" and pickup-ready calls go out without you dialing. DaySmart sends those updates by text only.
• Unlimited staff at one price: Another groomer costs nothing on Groomer.io. On DaySmart, each person past the plan limit is $9 a month, and a team that passes 1,000 texts is pushed up to the $199 Premium plan.
• Route planning: Map-based scheduling by proximity, route suggestions and live ETAs. DaySmart offers directions but no optimization.
• No processor lock-in or surcharge: Groomer.io works with Square or Clover. DaySmart charges $10 to $20 more a month if you use someone else.
• Payroll on the only plan: Time clocks, commissions and payroll reports without moving up to $69.

If You Also Board or Run Daycare

This one is short: only DaySmart does it. DaySmart sells a daycare calendar and a boarding calendar for $25 a month each, on top of any plan. They add occupancy and stay-length management to the same client records, and your plan, user count and texts stay the same. A solo groomer who boards a few dogs pays $54 a month.

Groomer.io publishes no boarding, daycare, kennel or training tools at any price. It is built for grooming salons and mobile groomers, and it does that one job. If boarding or daycare is part of your business, or will be soon, Groomer.io would mean running a second system. For other platforms that combine grooming with boarding and daycare, see DaySmart Pet vs Pawfinity and Pawfinity vs Groomer.io.

Testing Them

DaySmart offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card that includes everything in Deluxe. You can set up reminders and text marketing, but DaySmart says those tools need verification that its team completes once you activate, card processing stays off until you pay, and your trial data is deleted if you do not activate. So the one thing this comparison turns on, texting, is the one thing you cannot fully test.

Groomer.io does not publish a free trial. Its site offers a demo with a specialist and a sign-up page, and billing is month to month with no contract or setup fee, so the real risk of trying it is one month at $79. Groomer.io also offers help importing your existing client list. If you are weighing it, ask in writing whether the $79 rate is locked for your account or will rise to the $99 list price. Whichever way you go, export your client and pet data before you cancel anything.

The Questions That Settle It

Answer these in order and stop at the first one that decides it.

First: do you board, run daycare, or plan to? If yes, choose DaySmart. Groomer.io does not offer it.

Second: will you run more than one van in the next year? If yes, choose DaySmart unless Groomer.io's routing and automated calls are worth about $70 a month per extra van to you. Each van adds a full Groomer.io subscription and a $9 user on DaySmart.

Third: at one location, do you need to text back and forth with clients inside the software? If yes, choose Groomer.io, or get DaySmart's Deluxe add-on price in writing first. If reminders that clients confirm by reply are enough, DaySmart is cheaper up to about four people.

Fourth: do you need the back office? Loyalty, digital forms, packages, QuickBooks and a cheap website are DaySmart's. Unlimited calls, unlimited staff, route suggestions and a bill that never changes are Groomer.io's. If no-shows are the problem you are really trying to solve, both send reminders clients can confirm, and Groomer.io adds deposits and calls. See our guide to reducing grooming no-shows.

Which One Is Right for You?

Bottom Line

DaySmart Pet and Groomer.io each charge for what the other gives away. DaySmart bills each person and holds two-way texting back until $149, but a van costs only another $9 user. Groomer.io includes unlimited texting, calls and staff in one plan, but bills every storefront and every van.

For one location that wants to text with clients, Groomer.io is cheaper by about $70 a month at its current $79 rate. For one location that only sends reminders, DaySmart is cheaper by $10 to $50 until about the fifth person. For any fleet, DaySmart is cheaper, by about $89 at two vans on reminders and by a growing margin with two-way texting as vans are added. Confirm current rates with both vendors before signing, and ask for the figures neither page settles: DaySmart's two-way texting add-on, what counts as a user and whether replies count, and whether Groomer.io's $79 is locked in.

Still comparing? DaySmart Pet vs Groomsoft tests DaySmart's $29 plan against the other low-cost option, DaySmart Pet vs Pawfinity covers the multi-service matchup, and DaySmart Pet vs MoeGo sets it against per-van pricing at the top of the market, and DaySmart Pet vs GrooMore against a $49 plan with two-way texting included. For Groomer.io against other plans, see Groomsoft vs Groomer.io, Groomer.io vs GrooMore, Groomer.io vs Time To Pet and MoeGo vs Groomer.io. Our best pet grooming software guide ranks the wider field, and the best mobile grooming software roundup covers van-based businesses. For the last DaySmart matchup, DaySmart Pet vs Time To Pet sets text-first against app-first.

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