# petexpenses.com

Pet cost calculator and financial research for US dog and cat owners. Get personalized annual expense breakdowns — food, vet, insurance, grooming, supplies — adjusted by breed, weight, age, activity level, and diet.

## Quick Answer

- Average dog ownership cost (USA, 2026): $1,500–$3,500/year ($125–$292/month)
- Average cat ownership cost: $900–$2,000/year ($75–$167/month)
- Average Golden Retriever cost: $1,800–$3,600/year ($150–$300/month)
- National average per owner: $4,272/year (NY Post / Healthy Paws 2026)
- Most expensive categories: food (27–35%) and vet care (20–28%)
- Sources: APPA 2026, AVMA 2026, NAPHIA 2026, BLS Veterinary CPI Feb 2026

## Pages

- [Pet Cost Calculator](https://petexpenses.com/) — Calculate your pet's annual expenses. Choose breed, weight, age, activity, diet. Free, no signup.
- [Breed Cost Comparison](https://petexpenses.com/compare) — Compare annual costs across breeds side by side.
- [About — Pet Financial Research](https://petexpenses.com/about) — Mission, data sources (APPA, AVMA, NAPHIA, BLS), niche focus on pet finances and budget transparency.
- [Contact](https://petexpenses.com/contact) — Email hello@petexpenses.com, GitHub, partnership inquiries.
- [Data Sources & Methodology](https://petexpenses.com/sources) — Full source list with citations.
- [Privacy Policy](https://petexpenses.com/privacy) — No data sales, PostHog EU analytics, localStorage only.
- [Terms of Service](https://petexpenses.com/terms) — Terms, affiliate disclosure, disclaimers.

## Blog / Research

- [The $4,272 Question: Where Does Your Pet Budget Really Go?](https://petexpenses.com/blog/understanding-pet-costs) — Line-by-line breakdown of average US pet ownership costs across five categories.
- [Is Pet Insurance Worth It?](https://petexpenses.com/blog/pet-insurance-worth-it) — Breakeven analysis, breed-specific premiums, and when insurance makes financial sense.
- [Kibble vs Fresh vs Raw: What Actually Costs Less?](https://petexpenses.com/blog/kibble-vs-fresh-vs-raw) — Cost comparison across three feeding methods for different dog sizes.
- [Self-Cleaning Litter Box Cost vs Traditional](https://petexpenses.com/blog/self-cleaning-litter-box-cost) — 5-year cost comparison of self-cleaning vs traditional litter boxes.
- [10 Cheapest Dog Breeds to Own](https://petexpenses.com/blog/cheapest-dog-breeds-to-own) — Annual cost breakdown of the cheapest dog breeds: Rat Terrier, Italian Greyhound, Jack Russell, and more.
- [New Puppy First Year Cost](https://petexpenses.com/blog/new-puppy-first-year-cost) — Complete $3,000-$8,000 breakdown of all first-year puppy expenses.
- [Dog Vet Visit Costs by Procedure](https://petexpenses.com/blog/dog-vet-visit-costs) — Average US prices for routine exams, vaccines, dental cleaning, emergency surgery, and more.

## Breed Pages

Breed-specific annual cost breakdowns with full JSON-LD structured data (WebPage + speakable, Dataset, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList):
- https://petexpenses.com/breeds/golden-retriever-cost
- https://petexpenses.com/breeds/labrador-retriever-cost
- https://petexpenses.com/breeds/french-bulldog-cost
- https://petexpenses.com/breeds/german-shepherd-cost
- And 70+ more breed pages at /breeds/ directory

## Data Sources

- APPA — American Pet Products Association (2025–2026)
- AVMA — American Veterinary Medical Association (2022–2026)
- NAPHIA — Pet Insurance Report (2025–2026)
- BLS — Veterinary Services CPI (Monthly 2026)
- MarketWatch — Pet Debt Survey (2025–2026)

## Technical

- Static site hosted on Cloudflare Pages. Vanilla JS SPA (no framework). Deploys from GitHub on push to main.
- Analytics: PostHog (EU-hosted, IP anonymised).
- Monetization: CJ Affiliate (Raw Paws Pet Food), Awin (Petcube, MeoWant).

For full site content in a single document, see [llms-full.txt](https://petexpenses.com/llms-full.txt).

For AI-structured summary, see [ai-summary.json](https://petexpenses.com/ai-summary.json).