ZibaDesk vs MoeGo for Mobile Grooming: Pricing, Route Optimisation and Features Compared

MoeGo is one of the best known names in pet grooming software, and it has a pricing page built just for mobile groomers. If you run a van or a trailer and you are weighing it up, this is an honest look at how ZibaDesk compares to MoeGo for mobile grooming: what each costs, where route optimisation sits in each price list, and the cases where MoeGo is the better choice.

The short answer

Choose ZibaDesk if you are a mobile groomer, or a small team of groomers, who wants route optimisation, booking that fits the drive, pricing by dog size and a travel fee by distance without paying for a top tier. All of that is in ZibaDesk Pro at US$19.99 a month (A$19.99 in Australia).

Choose MoeGo if you also run daycare, boarding or training, want your card readers from your software company, or need franchise tools. MoeGo is built as a whole pet business platform, and its higher tiers carry extras ZibaDesk does not have, such as a waitlist and a branded phone number.

Pricing at a glance

The gap that matters most to a mobile groomer is route optimisation. On MoeGo's list, Basic includes its Smart Schedule (fewer kilometres between appointments when clients book), while the one-click route optimization and multi-van scheduling start at Growth, US$99 a month. On ZibaDesk both are in Pro, at US$19.99.

A solo groomer on MoeGo Growth pays US$1,188 a year on list price. ZibaDesk Pro is US$239.88 a year. Even with a few hundred SMS reminders a month added on, the difference pays for a lot of shampoo.

Route planning and optimisation

Both products are built around the fact that a mobile groomer sells hours, and every wasted kilometre is an hour that earns nothing.

In ZibaDesk, you give each mobile location a start and finish address for the day and, if you like, the areas you cover on each weekday (say, the northern suburbs on Tuesdays). The online booking page then asks for the client's address first, hides days when you are not in their area, and only offers times where the drive from the previous client and on to the next fits in the gap, plus your buffer.

On the day, the Route view lists the stops in order with the drive between each and draws them on a map. Optimise route proposes the shortest visiting order and the start times that follow from it. Nothing moves until you tap Apply, and each client whose time changed gets a new confirmation. Then one tap sends the whole day to Google Maps as a single trip, or one stop at a time to Apple Maps or Waze. With several groomers, each has their own route.

Pricing by dog size and travel fees

Every groomer prices by size, and most booking tools make you fake it with a copy of every service per size. In ZibaDesk a groom (Full Groom, Bath and Blow Dry, Deshed) has its own price and time for each size band, from tiny to giant. The client tells the booking page their dog's name, breed and size once, and every groom shows the price and time for that dog. A household with two or three dogs books them together in one visit.

The travel fee is set as tiers by driving distance from your base, for example free up to 10 km, $15 up to 25 km and $30 up to 40 km. The client sees the fee before choosing a time, and anyone beyond your furthest tier is told politely that you do not travel that far. MoeGo lists extra service charges under its Custom price model on the Growth plan.

Pet records, questionnaires and photos

MoeGo's Basic plan includes digital agreements that clients sign by text, in person or during online booking. ZibaDesk's equivalent is the pet questionnaire: vaccinations, flea and worm treatment, allergies, temperament, any history of biting, the vet and an emergency contact, plus your own terms and conditions to agree to, with the date and time kept. Answers that need attention are flagged before the groom.

Each pet has its own record with breed, size, coat notes and before and after photos, filed by pet so a household with two dogs stays tidy. That photo record is useful for socials, with the owner's say-so, and it protects you if matting or a skin issue found on arrival is ever questioned.

Deposits, cancellations and no-show fees

No-shows are the mobile groomer's tax: you drive to a driveway, nobody answers, and the slot is gone. Both products take this seriously. MoeGo's Basic plan lists no-show protection through reminders, a card on file, prepayment and pre-authorization.

ZibaDesk does the same from Pro, through your own Stripe account. For online bookings you choose one of three:

• A deposit, say $20, taken when the client books and taken off the bill on the day.
• Full payment up front, for grooms you would rather not chase.
• A card saved on file without charging it, so you can charge a no-show fee from the appointment if nobody is home, or the balance at checkout.

Your cancellation policy sits right above the confirm button with the actual cut-off for that booking filled in ("changes before Friday 6:00 pm"), and the client ticks that they have read it. Confirmations and reminders go out by SMS, WhatsApp or email with a link to confirm, reschedule or cancel, and online changes close at your cut-off; inside it, the client can only message you. A client who replies Y to a reminder text is marked confirmed.

Payments and packages

MoeGo has its own built-in card processing, with readers and terminals for taking payment on the spot. With ZibaDesk the money lands in your own Stripe account, and your Stripe dashboard shows every payment. In Australia, Tyro EFTPOS terminals work at the till too.

ZibaDesk also sells prepaid packages, such as a three-visit puppy introduction, on the booking page and at the till, and ticks each visit off as it is used. Our mobile dog grooming software guide walks through a full puppy package setup screen by screen.

Shop plus van, or several vans

If you groom from a shop or a home studio on some days and a van on others, ZibaDesk treats them as two locations on one booking page. Each has its own hours, services and prices, the client picks where they want the groom first, and route planning applies to the van only. Two or more locations need Ultra at US$39.99 a month, which also lifts the staff limit. MoeGo lists multi-location sync and multi-van scheduling on Growth at US$99.

Where MoeGo wins

• Daycare, boarding and training. MoeGo is built for the whole pet care industry. ZibaDesk is built for grooming and appointment businesses only.
• Waitlist and unfinished bookings. MoeGo Growth has an intelligent waitlist and tracks online bookings that were started but not finished. ZibaDesk has neither today.
• Branded phone number and review requests. MoeGo Ultimate gives you a phone number with your own area code and a review booster.
• Hardware from one supplier. MoeGo sells card readers and terminals that work with its own payments.
• Franchises. MoeGo Enterprise adds franchise management, an API platform and a custom pet parent portal.

Where ZibaDesk wins

• Price. Route optimisation, several groomers, size pricing, travel fees, deposits and reminders from US$19.99 a month, with a Free plan to start.
• Booking that fits the drive, with service areas by weekday and a travel fee by distance shown before the client picks a time.
• Before and after photos and prepaid packages on every pet's record.
• Deposits, a written cancellation policy and no-show fees on online bookings from Pro, with the money in your own Stripe account.
• Confirmations that do the chasing, with WhatsApp, SMS and email confirmations and one inbox for replies.
• Your team's language. The app runs in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, French, German, Arabic, Persian, Filipino and Turkish, so groomers and staff can work in their own.
• Australian built and supported, with GST worked out for you, and billing in US dollars, Australian dollars, pounds or euros.

Switching from MoeGo to ZibaDesk

ZibaDesk imports clients and services from a spreadsheet file. If you can export your client list from your current software, import it in Settings (the client import guide shows what comes across), then add your grooms and size bands, set your base and the areas you cover, connect Stripe and share your new booking link. Most groomers run both side by side for a week or two while existing bookings play out.