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This page provides independent, editorially reviewed information on pet-care business software. Compare Kennel Connection vs KennelSoft: pricing, features, pros, cons, and which is right for your business.

Kennel Connection vs KennelSoft

Updated October 2026 · Pet Boarding & Kennel Software software comparison

Kennel Connection

Kennel Connection

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Boarding & daycare platform with rare offline/desktop deployment, from $69/mo

★ 4.4 80 reviews from $69.00/month (Hello-Groom)
KennelSoft

KennelSoft

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Windows desktop boarding/grooming/daycare software — one-time license from $299

from $299.00 one-time (Avalon single-user)

At a Glance

Criteria Kennel Connection KennelSoft
Overall Rating ★ 4.4
80 reviews
No data
Starting Price $69.00 /month (Hello-Groom) $299.00 one-time (Avalon single-user)
Pricing Model Paid Paid
Free Trial No No
Deployment cloud, on prem, hybrid on prem
Best For Smb, Mid Market, Enterprise Freelancer, Smb

Strengths & Weaknesses

Kennel Connection
KennelSoft
Pros
✓Roughly 30 years in the pet-care niche — an unusually long, stable track record
✓One-time perpetual license — no mandatory monthly SaaS fee (Avalon from $299, Atlantis from $695)
✓Rare offline/desktop and hybrid builds keep the front desk running through internet outages
✓Purpose-built for boarding, grooming, daycare and training on one platform with unified scheduling
✓All-in-one across boarding, daycare, grooming, training, and retail on one platform
✓Built-in POS/retail — credit card processing, cash drawer, barcode scanner and retail printers included
✓Unlimited modules on the flat $149/month Cloud and Hybrid tiers
✓Works offline, independent of internet uptime — useful where connectivity is unreliable
✓VIP onboarding and support included on every plan
✓Direct human phone support, long-tenured vendor, and a paid database-conversion service to migrate in
✓Strong SMS add-on: two-way texting, Text-To-Pay, reminders, and review requests
✓Loyalty rewards, texting/email confirmations and online booking (AWR) available for a small annual fee
Cons
✗Some long-tenured users report runtime errors and crashes when completing payments (Capterra VoC)
✗Desktop/Windows-only and not cloud-native — remote access needs VPN or Remote Desktop
✗The web version does not have full feature parity with the desktop build (Capterra VoC)
✗No verified first-party iOS/Android app for daily management
✗Two-way texting is a $50/month add-on, not bundled into the base plans
✗Dated technology and tab-based UI, with legacy OS references
✗Cheapest $89/mo Desktop tier is offline-only — no online booking or Pet Parent Portal
✗Multi-user/network pricing is quote-only, so budgeting a multi-workstation setup is opaque
✗No free trial; evaluation is demo-only, and Corporate/VoIP pricing is quote-only
✗Ongoing support/upgrade fees ($375/yr Atlantis, $200/yr Avalon) plus AWR despite the "one-time" framing
✗Cannot view deleted invoices, which limits financial auditing (Capterra VoC)
✗Very thin, conflicting third-party ratings (Capterra 4.0 vs G2 2.7, three reviews each)

Who uses pet care software — and what each person does with it

🧑‍💼 Business owner

Watches bookings, revenue, retention and no-shows by service and by staff member on one dashboard — sees which services and repeat clients actually make money.

📞 Front-desk / reception

Books appointments, checks pets in and out, takes deposits and payments, and sends automated reminders so slots stay full and clients show up on time.

✂️ Groomer / walker / sitter

Runs the day from a mobile app — sees the schedule, logs services and notes, tracks GPS check-ins on walks, and sends report cards and photos to owners.

🐾 Pet parent / client

Books online, uploads vaccination records, pays and tips, and self-serves rebooking from a client portal — then gets an automatic reminder and review request.

The flow the software runs end to end: client books online → vaccination and intake collected → appointment scheduled and staff assigned → check-in → service delivered with notes and photos → payment and tip → automatic rebooking and review request. Each stage hands off to the next without re-keying.

Who Should Choose Which?

Choose Kennel Connection if…
  • Your team fits the smb or mid market or enterprise profile
  • Budget matters — Kennel Connection starts $230 cheaper per month
  • Your preferred deployment is cloud or on prem or hybrid
  • Roughly 30 years in the pet-care niche — an unusually long, stable track record
Choose KennelSoft if…
  • Your team fits the freelancer or smb profile
  • Your preferred deployment is on prem
  • One-time perpetual license — no mandatory monthly SaaS fee (Avalon from $299, Atlantis from $695)

Our Verdict

Kennel Connection
Kennel Connection edges ahead with a higher overall rating (★ 4.4 vs ★ ) .

Kennel Connection targets smb/mid_market/enterprise businesses with paid pricing starting at $69.00/month (Hello-Groom). Its strongest selling points include roughly 30 years in the pet-care niche — an unusually long, stable track record and rare offline/desktop and hybrid builds keep the front desk running through internet outages.

KennelSoft targets freelancer/smb businesses with paid pricing starting at $299.00 one-time (Avalon single-user). Its key advantages include one-time perpetual license — no mandatory monthly saas fee (avalon from $299, atlantis from $695) and purpose-built for boarding, grooming, daycare and training on one platform with unified scheduling.

Both tools are reviewed independently — see the full reviews below to dig into integrations, implementation timelines, and user sentiment.

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