Kossin LabsHow to price a local service
Guessing your rate is easy. Checking what nearby competitors actually post is better. Here is a plain way to do it before you raise, lower, or hold your price.
1. Prefer posted prices over guesses
A posted price on a booking page, Google Business Profile, or the business site is a real signal. A friend's "about $150" is not. Collect what is public, date it, and keep the link so you can re-check later.
2. Where to search
- Google Maps / Business Profile for businesses near your service area.
- Each business website and its booking or services page.
- Published rate sheets or "starting at" lines, when they exist.
Skip forums, old screenshots, and prices with no date. Write down the date you found each price.
3. Compare apples to apples
Match the same job: same service scope, same size or pet type, same visit length. A "standard clean" is not a deep clean. A small-dog full groom is not a bath-only. If a listing is hourly and you sell flat, note it separately or leave it out of the range.
4. Turn the list into a range
With at least a few posted prices, mark the low, the high, and the middle. Then place your own price in that range. If you sit above everyone without a clear difference, say why. If you sit far below, decide whether that is a strategy or a mistake.
5. When a one-page report helps
If you do not have time to chase links, or you want a clean page to share with a partner, a sourced report does the lookup for you. Our samples (not client work) show the format:
- Boise house cleaning: six cleaners, $120–$180, median about $145.
- Spokane small-dog groom: six groomers, $48–$80, median about $67.
Want us to do the check?
Local Price Check is $99: up to 10 local competitors, each price linked and dated, where you sit in the range, and three labeled suggestions. PDF plus spreadsheet, usually within 48 hours. Only public prices; if fewer than three posted prices show up, full refund; 30-day money-back either way.