TL;DR
- Pet care apps simplify daily responsibilities for pet owners through services, health management, tracking, and e-commerce.
- The market is growing rapidly due to rising pet ownership, digital adoption, and demand for convenience.
- Businesses benefit from recurring revenue via subscriptions, service bookings, and e-commerce.
- Apps offer opportunities for personalization, engagement, and stronger customer loyalty.
- An App Cost Calculator can help plan your app by estimating requirements based on features and complexity.
Introduction
Pet care apps are revolutionizing how pet owners manage daily responsibilities, from booking services and tracking health to monitoring activity and ordering essentials online. With rising pet ownership and growing digital adoption, these apps offer convenience, better pet well-being, and opportunities for businesses to engage users. If you’re planning to develop your own app, using an App Development Cost Calculator can help you get a ballpark estimate of expenses based on features and platform, allowing you to plan efficiently and make informed decisions before starting development.
What are Pet Care Apps?
Pet care apps are mobile applications designed to simplify the daily responsibilities of pet owners by combining essential services into one platform. They cover a wide range of functions such as:
- Service booking: Easily connect with pet walkers, sitters, groomers, or trainers.
- Health & wellness management: Store medical records, track vaccinations, set reminders, and access telehealth support.
- Activity & GPS tracking: Monitor walks, exercise, and real-time location using smart devices.
- Training & tips: Access behavioral guides, training modules, and professional advice.
- E-commerce: Order food, medicines, and accessories with home delivery or subscriptions.
In essence, these apps enhance convenience for owners, ensure better pet well-being, and create new digital opportunities in the fast-growing pet care industry.
Pet Care Apps Latest Market Statistics
The pet care app space is gaining serious traction, with market reports projecting both strong current valuations and sustained growth in the coming years. Below are some key figures and forecasts:
- The global pet care app market was estimated to be worth about USD 2.015 billion in 2024, and it is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 18% through 2031.
- Another projection suggests the market will expand from USD 3.23 billion in 2025 to approximately USD 6 billion by 2033, implying a CAGR of 7.7%.
- In a narrower “mobile pet care” concept, the global market was valued at USD 722.7 million in 2024, and it is forecast to reach about USD 1.4 billion by 2034 — a CAGR of roughly 7.1%.
- In the “pet wellness apps” segment (focusing more on health, tracking, and preventive care), the market size in 2023 was ~USD 587.7 million, with projections reaching USD 2,508.9 million by 2032, reflecting a CAGR of around 17.5%.
Why Businesses Choose to Invest in Pet Care Apps?
The pet care industry has become one of the most lucrative spaces for digital innovation, and mobile apps are at the center of this growth. Businesses are increasingly investing in pet care apps for several reasons:
- Growing pet ownership: Pet adoption rates are climbing worldwide, with more households treating pets as family members. This shift has created higher demand for premium services like grooming, training, and healthcare — all of which can be efficiently delivered through apps.
- Recurring revenue opportunities: Pet care apps open doors for steady income streams via subscription models, in-app purchases, e-commerce sales (food, medicines, accessories), and commission-based bookings. These recurring revenues make the business model sustainable and scalable.
- Rising digital adoption: Modern pet parents prefer mobile-first solutions that save time and provide convenience. Whether it’s booking a groomer, scheduling a vet visit, or ordering pet food, apps deliver everything at their fingertips, making them the preferred choice.
- Personalization & engagement: Apps can leverage data to recommend personalized products, health reminders, and training content, ensuring stronger customer engagement. This personalization improves user experience and builds brand loyalty over time.
In short, businesses see pet care apps as a way to tap into a rapidly growing market, secure recurring revenues, and build long-term customer relationships through digital innovation.
4 Different Types of Pet Care Mobile Apps Development
Pet care apps can be built in several forms, each catering to the specific needs of pet owners:
- On-Demand Service Apps: These apps let users book services such as pet walking, grooming, boarding, or sitting with just a few taps. They save time while ensuring pets get reliable care.
- Health & Telehealth Apps: Focused on pet wellness, these apps store medical histories, send vaccination reminders, and enable online veterinary consultations — making healthcare more accessible and organized.
- Tracking & IoT Apps: Using GPS and wearable devices, these apps allow owners to track their pet’s real-time location, daily activities, and fitness levels, ensuring safety and well-being.
- E-commerce & Subscription Apps: These platforms provide a one-stop shop for pet food, medicines, and accessories, often with subscription models for automatic deliveries, ensuring convenience for owners and recurring revenue for businesses.
Factors that Influence the Cost of Developing a Pet Care App
The cost of building a pet care app depends on several critical factors:
- Feature Complexity: The more advanced features you include — such as telehealth consultations, AI-driven recommendations, GPS tracking, or in-app messaging — the higher the development cost.
- Platform Choice: Building for iOS, Android, or both impacts cost. Cross-platform development can save money but may have slight performance limitations compared to fully native apps.
- Design & User Experience (UX): A custom, polished interface with smooth animations and intuitive navigation requires more time and investment than a standard template design.
- Third-Party Integrations: Adding payment gateways, mapping services, telehealth SDKs, or push notifications increases both initial development and ongoing maintenance costs.
- Backend Infrastructure & Scalability: Apps with real-time features like GPS tracking, video calls, or large user databases require robust backend systems, which can significantly impact the budget.
- Maintenance & Support: After launch, apps need regular updates, bug fixes, and server maintenance. Typically, this costs around 15–25% of the initial development budget annually.
- Development Team Location: The region where your developers are based affects cost. Teams in the US or Europe typically charge more than offshore teams, though quality, communication, and expertise must also be considered.
Top 3 Pet Care Apps in the USA
- Rover: Rover is one of the largest pet care marketplaces in the U.S., connecting pet owners with trusted sitters, walkers, and boarders. The app provides features such as real-time updates, reviews, and secure payment processing, making it convenient for pet parents to find reliable care.
- Wag!: Wag! specializes in on-demand pet walking and other services, offering fast and easy booking through its mobile platform. Users can track walks in real-time, communicate with service providers, and schedule recurring appointments, making it a popular choice for busy pet owners.
- PetDesk: PetDesk focuses on pet health management, allowing owners to store medical records, schedule appointments, and receive reminders for vaccinations or medications. It also offers telehealth integration in some cases, helping owners stay proactive about their pets’ wellness.
These apps illustrate the diversity of the U.S. pet care market, from service marketplaces to health management solutions, highlighting the opportunities for businesses to innovate and meet different pet owner needs.
How Much Does it Cost to Build a Pet Care App?
The cost of developing a pet care app depends on the app’s complexity, features, and platform. Below are typical cost ranges and what each type usually includes:
1) Basic MVP – $25K to $60K
A basic Minimum Viable Product (MVP) includes essential features such as:
- User and pet profiles
- A booking system for services like walking or grooming
- Payment processing
- Push notifications
- A basic admin panel for managing users and services
Purpose: Ideal for testing the market, validating the business idea, and onboarding initial users or service providers.
2) Mid-Level App – $60,000 to $140,000
A mid-level app includes everything in the MVP plus:
- Ratings and reviews for service providers
- Calendar synchronization for appointments
- GPS tracking for walks or deliveries
- Subscription plans or recurring services
- Enhanced UI/UX with smoother navigation and visual polish
Purpose: Suitable for startups aiming for regional or national launches with a more complete feature set and improved user experience.
3) Advanced / Feature-Rich App – $140,000 to $300,000+
Advanced apps target large-scale adoption and may include:
- Real-time GPS and geofencing
- Telehealth and video consultation features
- E-commerce integration for pet products
- AI-driven recommendations and personalized services
- Multi-language support
- Enterprise-grade security for payments and medical data
Purpose: Perfect for large-scale apps seeking to integrate with IoT devices, offer complex services, and operate in multiple markets.
Conclusion
The cost of developing a pet care app varies based on features and scale, from a basic MVP to advanced apps with AI, telehealth, and e-commerce. Starting with essential features allows you to test your idea and expand based on user feedback. Understanding potential costs is easier with an App Cost Calculator, which provides free ballpark estimates based on your chosen features and platform. Careful planning ensures your app meets growing pet owner demand while staying within budget. With the right approach, a pet care app can deliver both convenience and long-term growth opportunities.
FAQs
1. How much does the Time to Pet app cost?
A. Time To Pet charges monthly fees starting around $25 for small businesses, with higher plans for larger teams.
2. What is the best app for taking care of dogs?
A. It depends on your needs: Rover and Wag! for services, PetDesk for health management, and Fi or Tractive for GPS tracking.
3. How profitable is the pet care industry?
A. The pet care industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry, strong and growing rapidly. Apps generate profit through subscriptions, commissions, and repeat commerce.
4. What is the demand for pet care?
A. Demand is at an all-time high due to rising pet ownership, digital convenience, and the humanization of pets. Owners are seeking smarter, tech-enabled solutions for pet well-being.