Gingr has been the go-to pet care software for years, and for good reason — it's reliable, feature-rich, and well-established. But a growing number of pet care operators are looking for alternatives, and the reasons are consistent: price, complexity, and flexibility.
Why People Leave Gingr
- Price: Gingr starts around $125/month and scales up quickly with additional features, locations, and users. For a single-location groomer doing $8,000/month in revenue, that's over 1.5% of gross revenue going to software.
- Complexity: Gingr was built to handle large multi-location operations. If you're a 2-3 person grooming shop, 60% of the features are irrelevant to you — but you're paying for all of them.
- Payment processing lock-in: Gingr pushes their integrated payment processing. If you already have a Clover terminal or a Square account, switching processors is a headache.
- Contract commitments: Some plans require annual commitments. If the software doesn't fit, you're stuck paying for months.
- Interface age: Gingr's core interface hasn't changed dramatically in years. Newer tools feel faster and more intuitive.
What to Look for in a Gingr Alternative
The right alternative should cost less WITHOUT cutting the features you actually use:
- Grooming, boarding, AND daycare calendars (not just one)
- Full client/pet CRM with vaccination tracking
- Automated SMS reminders (this alone is worth $500+/month in saved no-shows)
- Staff scheduling and timeclock
- Online booking page for clients
- Payment processing with YOUR merchant — not theirs
- No annual contracts — month-to-month, cancel anytime
- Mobile-friendly so you're not chained to a desktop
Animal Friends OS: $45/Month, No Contracts, Your Merchant
Animal Friends OS includes everything in the list above at $45/month flat. No annual contracts. No payment processing lock-in. No features hidden behind higher tiers. Built by a pet care operator with 11+ years of experience and 574+ Google reviews — not a software company that studied the pet industry from the outside.
The biggest difference? At $45/month versus $125+/month, you save $960+/year. That's a new set of grooming shears, a dryer upgrade, or a quarter of a new employee's monthly salary. The software should work for your business, not eat it.