How much do we spend on our pets?

Over £2.4 billion is spent each month on pets in the UK.

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By

Danny Butler

Updated

Fact checked

You can’t put a price on the pleasure of owning a pet. That said, you could be committing to spending thousands on unexpected vet bills that may arise if you haven’t taken out pet insurance. To find out how much our beloved pets are really costing us we compared costs of looking after common pets to find which would set you back the most per month and over the pet’s lifetime.

Dogs, by far, are the most expensive, costing £178 a month on average to look after. Cats and rabbits cost the same per month at £94, but the rabbit’s shorter lifespan makes it a cheaper pet in total.

Pet Lifetime cost
Dog £26,438
Cat £15,590
Bunny £8,308

Monthly spend per pet

Pet Avg monthly cost
Dogs £178
Cats £94
Rabbits £94
Combining these figures with the total population of each pet gets us the total amount of money being spent on pets in the UK: a shocking £2.36 billion each month in 2019.

£2.36 billion

Spent on cats, dogs and rabbits each month in the UK in 2019.
Pet Total monthly spend - 2018/19 Total monthly spend - 2017/18
Dogs £1,598,000,000 £1,598,000,000
Cats £708,000,000 £755,000,000
Rabbits £56,000,000 £84,000,000
Total £2,362,000,000 £2,437,000,000

How does this vary by breed?

The cost of keeping a dog can vary a lot between breeds, and is most affected by the dog’s size. If you love dogs, but love frugality too, you might want to consider getting a smaller dog, as this could save you up to £65 a month.

Dog size Monthly cost
Small £144
Medium £164
Large £209

See the stats by breed

Breed Avg. life span (years) Avg. monthly cost
Chinchilla 8.5 £93
English Angora 8.5 £93
Himalayan 8.5 £93
Lionhead 8 £93
Netherland Dwarf 8 £93
Dutch 7.5 £93
Dwarf Lop 7 £94
English Spot 7 £94
French Lop 7 £94
Rex 7 £94
British Giant 6.5 £95
Flemish Giant 6.5 £95
English Lop 6 £95
Breed Average lifespan (years) Average monthly cost
British Longhair 16 £93
British Shorthair 16 £93
Cornish Rex 15 £94
Domestic long/medium/short-hair 13.5 £104
Norwegian Forest 15 £94
Sphynx 15 £94
Tonkinese 15 £94
Burmese 14.5 £94
Bengal 14 £94
Birman 14 £94
Devon Rex 14 £94
Abyssinian 13.5 £94
Maine Coon 13.5 £94
Persian 13.5 £94
Oriental 13.5 £91
Egyptian Mau 13 £94
Siamese 13 £94
Turkish Van 13 £94
Ragdoll 12 £94
Balinese 11 £95
Manx 11 £95
Breed Size Avg. life span (years) Avg. monthly spend
Afghan Hound Large 12 £201
Akita Large 12.5 £193
Alaskan Malamute Large 12 £201
Australian Cattle Dog Medium 12.5 £168
Australian Shepherd Large 12.5 £193
Basenji Medium 11.5 £182
Basset Hound Large 13 £185
Beagle Medium 13.5 £155
Bearded Collie Large 15 £159
Bedlington Terrier Medium 14 £150
Bernese Mountain Dog Large 8 £302
Bichon Frise Small 13.5 £144
Bloodhound Large 8.5 £284
Border Collie Medium 13.5 £155
Border Terrier Small 13.5 £144
Borzoi Large 11 £219
Boston Terrier Small 12 £162
Boxer Large 9 £268
Bulldog Medium 9 £233
Cairn Terrier Small 13 £149
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Small 13.5 £144
Chihuahua Small 16 £121
Chow Chow Medium 11 £219
Cocker Spaniel Medium 13 £161
Coton De Tulear Small 13 £149
Dachshund Medium 13 £161
Dalmatian Large 13 £186
Dandie Dinmont Terrier Medium 12 £175
Deerhound Large 11 £219
Dobermann Large 11 £219
Dogue de Bordeaux Large 10 £241
English Bull Terrier Medium 13 £161
English Setter Large 13 £186
English Springer Spaniel Medium 13 £161
Fox Terrier Medium 13 £161
Foxhound Large 11.5 £210
French Bulldog Small 11 £177
German Pointer Large 13 £186
German Shepherd Large 11 £219
German Spitz Small 16.5 £118
Giant Schnauzer Large 11 £219
Golden Retriever Large 13.5 £179
Gordon Setter Large 11.5 £210
Great Dane Large 8.5 £284
Greyhound Large 11.5 £210
Havanese Small 13 £149
Hungarian Vizsla Large 13 £186
Irish Setter Large 13 £186
Irish Terrier Medium 13 £161
Irish Wolfhound Large 8 £302
Italian Greyhound Small 13.5 £144
Italian Spinone Large 13 £186
Jack Russell Terrier Small 13.5 £144
Japanese Spitz Medium 13 £161
Keeshond Medium 13 £161
Komondor Large 11 £219
Labrador Retriever Large 13 £186
Lakeland Terrier Medium 15 £140
Leonberger Large 11 £219
Lhasa Apso Small 13 £149
Maltese Small 13 £149
Manchester Terrier Medium 15 £140
Mastiff Large 10.5 £230
Miniature Pinscher Small 13 £149
Miniature Schnauzer Small 13 £149
Neapolitan Mastiff Large 9 £268
Newfoundland Large 9 £268
Norfolk Terrier Small 14 £139
Old English Sheepdog Large 12.5 £193
Papillon Small 14 £139
Parson Russell Terrier Small 13.5 £144
Pekingese Small 13.5 £144
Pointer Large 13 £186
Pomeranian Small 13.5 £144
Poodle Large 13 £186
Portuguese Water Dog Large 13 £186
Pug Small 13.5 £144
Pyrenean Mountain Dog Large 11.5 £210
Rhodesian Ridgeback Large 11 £219
Rottweiler Large 11 £219
Saint Bernard Large 9 £268
Saluki Large 13 £186
Samoyed Large 11 £219
Schnauzer Medium 13 £161
Scottish Terrier Medium 13 £161
Shar Pei Medium 11 £191
Shetland Sheepdog Medium 13 £161
Shih Tzu Small 13 £149
Siberian Husky Large 13 £186
Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier Medium 13 £161
Spanish Water Dog Medium 13 £161
Staffordshire Bull Terrier Medium 13 £161
Tibetan Mastiff Large 13 £186
Tibetan Spaniel Small 14 £139
Tibetan Terrier Medium 13.5 £155
Weimaraner Large 12.5 £193
Welsh Corgi Medium 13 £161
Welsh Terrier Medium 13 £161
West Highland White Terrier Small 13 £149
Whippet Medium 13.5 £155
Yorkshire Terrier Small 14.5 £134

Sources

PDSA

Lifetime costs were divided by each pet’s average lifespan to get the average costs per month. This was then multiplied by the population of each species, as reported by the pet food manufacturer’s association, to find the total amount spent on these pets each month in the UK.

Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact:

Matt Mckenna
UK Communications Manager
M: +44 747 921 7816
T: +44 20 8191 8806
matt.mckenna@finder.com@MichHutchison/in/matthewmckenna2

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