If you're just starting out, or your current system is a paper diary that works most of the time, it's reasonable to ask whether you can avoid paying for software at all. You can, for a while. Free has its own costs in time, missed bookings and risk, and at some point paying becomes the cheaper option.
Option 1: paper diary and phone
Plenty of established kennels still run on a paper diary. It's free, it never crashes and everyone understands it. The problems show up as you grow:
- Only one person can see it at a time, and only in the office.
- Every booking comes in by phone or message, often while you're out with the dogs.
- Vaccination dates, feeding notes and medication live somewhere else, or nowhere.
- There's no backup. A spilled coffee or a fire is a very bad day.
- Licensed kennels have to produce records for an inspector, and paper registers take a long time to keep properly.
Option 2: spreadsheets and a shared calendar
The step up most people take is Google Calendar or Outlook for bookings, a spreadsheet for customers and pets, and an online form for new clients. All free, all available on a phone, and several people can use them at once.
It works well up to a point. What it can't do without a lot of manual effort:
- Show live availability by run or daycare space, so you can't safely let clients book themselves.
- Take deposits at the point of booking.
- Send reminders automatically.
- Warn you when a dog's vaccinations have expired.
- Apply peak pricing, multi-dog discounts or package credits.
There's also data protection to think about. A spreadsheet of names, addresses and phone numbers shared around staff phones is personal data, and under GDPR you're responsible for keeping it secure.
Option 3: free plans from pet software companies
A few pet software companies offer a free plan. They're usually limited by the number of pets or clients, so they suit very small businesses or trying things out. DoggieDashboard, for example, publishes a free plan covering up to 10 pet profiles, with a paid plan at $40 a month beyond that. Its pricing page says that if you cancel the paid plan you drop back to the free one, and it doesn't process card payments itself.
With any free plan, check three things: how many pets or clients it allows, whether you can take payments, and how you get your data out if you leave.
Option 4: free trials
Free trials aren't free software, but they're the best free tool you have for choosing well. Most systems let you test with real data for two weeks or more, without a card:
| Software | Free trial (from vendor pages, October 2026) |
|---|---|
| KennelBooker | 14 days, no card |
| Revelation Pets | Free trial, no card |
| DaySmart Pet | 14 days, no card |
| Time To Pet (walkers and sitters) | 14 days, no card |
| Pet Sitter Plus (walkers and sitters) | 30 days, no card |
Use a trial properly: enter a real week of bookings, including a busy weekend, and test the things that cost you time now.
Cheap rather than free
If budget is the main concern, some paid plans cost less than a single overnight stay each month. Published prices in October 2026 include Time To Pet's Lite plan at $25 a month and Pet Sitter Plus at $30 (£24) for solo walkers and sitters, and DaySmart Pet from $29 for a single user. Look at what's included: some low-cost plans add fees elsewhere. PetPocketbook, for example, is $25 a month but adds a 5% service fee to payments taken through the platform, charged to pet owners by default.
KennelBooker starts at $49.99 a month for up to 10 boarding rooms and 10 daycare spaces, with every service, the client portal and online payments included in every plan. Card processing has its own published rate, which we show you before you switch payments on.
When paying is cheaper than free
A rough way to decide: add up what the free setup costs you each month.
- Hours spent answering booking calls and messages, confirming, and sending reminders, multiplied by what your time is worth.
- Nights lost to no-shows that a deposit would have covered.
- Bookings lost because nobody answered the phone.
For most boarding kennels, one no-show at peak covers a month of software. If you'd like to put numbers on the no-show side, our guide to reducing no-shows walks through it.
Our suggestion
If you have a handful of clients, use a shared calendar and a spreadsheet, and keep vaccination dates in it from day one. Once you're answering booking messages every evening, or a no-show costs you a peak night, start two or three free trials and see which system saves the most time. Our comparison of the main kennel management systems is a good place to build a shortlist.
Frequently asked questions
Is there any free software for dog boarding?
There are free tools you can use, such as spreadsheets, shared calendars and online forms, and a few pet software companies have small free plans. DoggieDashboard, for example, has a free plan for up to 10 pet profiles. Free tools rarely take online bookings with deposits or check vaccinations for you, which is where most of the time and money goes.
What is the best free pet management app?
For a very small business, a well-organised shared calendar plus a spreadsheet of pets and vaccination dates is hard to beat for free. If you want a proper pet management app, use free trials to test paid systems with your real bookings before you pay anything.
What is the best free dog grooming booking software?
Free grooming booking options are usually general appointment tools or limited free plans, and they tend to leave out SMS reminders and deposits, the two features that cut no-shows. For a busy groomer, a low-cost paid plan often pays for itself in the first saved appointment each month.
Does KennelBooker have a free plan?
No. KennelBooker has a 14-day free trial with no card needed, then paid plans from $49.99 a month with every service included.