Dog vs cat cost calculator
The monthly figures usually favour a cat by a wide margin. Over a lifetime the gap narrows, because cats live longer. Both are shown.
How this is calculated
Each animal is costed independently on the same structure: a one-off setup cost, monthly costs for food and insurance, and annual costs for vet care and everything else.
The lifetime figure multiplies the annual cost by the expected life and adds the setup. Because cats commonly live several years longer, a lower annual cost is spread over more years.
Boarding is where the two diverge most. Kennels typically cost two to three times a cattery, and a dog walker is a cost that has no feline equivalent.
Emergency treatment is excluded on both sides, because it is unpredictable rather than budgetable. Insurance is the line that covers it and it is included.
Rates used · 2026/27
| Typical dog life | 10 to 13 years |
| Typical cat life | 14 to 16 years |
| Kennels | usually two to three times a cattery |
| Emergency treatment | excluded, insure for it |
Last checked July 2026. Source: HMRC and gov.uk.
Worked example
A dog at £77 a month plus £750 a year of vet, grooming and boarding costs £1,674 a year, or £21,338 over twelve years including setup. A cat at £46 a month plus £380 a year costs £932 a year, or £14,430 over fifteen. The cat is £62 a month cheaper and £6,908 cheaper across a lifetime, despite living three years longer.
Common questions
Which is genuinely cheaper?
A cat, on almost every line and over a lifetime, mostly because of boarding, walking and grooming rather than food. The gap is narrower than the monthly figures suggest because cats live longer.
Does breed change things?
Enormously. Insurance on a large or brachycephalic breed can be several times that of a moggy, and grooming on a long-coated dog is a standing monthly cost.
What about two cats?
Food and insurance roughly double, but the cattery often discounts a shared pen and the setup costs partly carry over. Run it twice and compare.
Should I include lost flexibility?
Not as a number, but it is worth thinking about. A dog constrains holidays and working patterns in a way a cat generally does not.