How we estimate what a pet costs

How a yearly cost is built

• Food: daily calories from the standard veterinary formula, 70 × (weight in kg)^0.75, times an activity factor of 1.4 for low, 1.6 for moderate, 1.7 for high, 1.8 for very high energy breeds. Weight is the average of the breed's male and female ranges. Calories are priced at the dollars-per-calorie of real products in each food tier. Treats add 20%.
• Routine vet care: a wellness exam, vaccines, heartworm test and fecal test every year. Dental cleanings start in year 3: every year for small and flat-faced dogs, every 1.5 years for medium dogs and every 2 years for large and giant dogs.
• Prevention: monthly heartworm plus flea and tick protection priced by size.
• Grooming: breeds that need clipping see a groomer on the schedule in their breed profile; double-coated breeds get a bath and deshed on theirs; short coats need only home tools. The do-it-yourself option replaces groomer visits with tools.
• Illness and injury: an average uninsured amount, scaled by size and by each breed's insurance risk tier (×0.7, ×0.85, ×1, ×1.3, ×1.7 for tiers 1 to 5). With insurance on, this is replaced by premiums (tier factors ×0.8, ×0.9, ×1, ×1.2, ×1.5) plus 30% of the average illness cost for deductibles and co-pays. Puppies insured in year one get the 32% younger-dog discount. Premiums are held flat after that, which understates insurance cost for older dogs.
• Senior years: extra checkups and bloodwork from year 9 for small dogs, 8 for medium, 7 for large and 6 for giant breeds.
• Where you live: vet care, grooming, insurance and services are multiplied by 0.85 in lower-cost areas and 1.35 in big expensive cities. Food and supplies are priced nationally.

First year and lifetime

The first year adds the purchase price (the midpoint of the breed's reputable-breeder range, or its adoption fee), gear, a basic obedience class, and for breeder puppies the puppy vaccine series, spay or neuter and a microchip. Adoption fees usually cover those. Lifetime cost is the first year plus each later year up to the middle of the breed's life expectancy, in today's dollars with no inflation added.

What it leaves out

Daycare, dog walking and boarding are off by default because many owners don't use them; switch them on in the calculator. The model also leaves out fences, pet deposits and pet rent, travel, end-of-life care, and the cost of one big illness beyond the yearly average. Real dogs vary: treat these as planning numbers, not quotes.

The cost baselines

Typical US figures for October 14, 2026, in 2026 dollars. Older source figures were adjusted with the relevant consumer price index.

Cats, small pets, birds, reptiles and fish

Every pet other than dogs uses a line-item model. Each pet's page lists every item: setup (enclosure, tank, lighting, litter box and so on), one-time first-year vet costs, and everything that recurs, from food and litter to UVB bulbs and filter cartridges. Each item has a typical figure plus a thrifty and a generous one, with its source. Items replaced on a cycle are spread across the years. Vet items use the same regional adjustment as dogs, and insurance (where insurers offer it) replaces the average illness cost with premiums plus 30% of that cost for deductibles and co-pays. Lifetime cost runs to the middle of the pet's life expectancy.

Cats, Rabbits, Budgies, Bearded dragons, Betta fish: each page's "How this estimate is built" table shows every figure and source.

Dog breed data

Each breed profile records size and lifespan from the AKC standard or parent club, grooming needs, reputable-breeder and rescue prices, and the health conditions that most affect cost, with treatment price ranges. Every figure links to its source on the breed's page. Where a source was thin, the breed's data notes it, and we revise as better data appears.

Spotted a figure that's wrong or out of date? Email contact@petpricetag.com with a source and we'll fix it.