About PetCostly – Why We Build Pet Cost Calculators

What this site is

PetCostly is a free collection of pet cost calculators for the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Every calculator runs in your browser and produces a monthly, annual and — where it matters — first-year estimate, built from the numbers you enter rather than from a figure we made up.

The tools cover the full picture of pet ownership: total dog and cat costs, the first year with a puppy, food portions and food spend, grooming routines, boarding and daycare, pet insurance premiums over time, and a straightforward household pet budget.

Why we built it

Most people meet the cost of a pet in instalments. The first bill is the pet itself. Then food. Then a vaccination booster that arrives in a letter. Then an insurance renewal that is higher than last year. Then, at some point, a bill nobody planned for. By the time the shape of the commitment is clear, it is already part of the household budget.

We think that information should arrive before the decision, not after it. A calculator will not tell you whether to get a pet — that is a question about your life, not your spreadsheet — but it can show you the shape of the numbers while you still have time to plan for them.

How we handle numbers

We do not publish statistics we cannot source, and we do not present figure as a market average when it is not. On this site you will find three kinds of number:

Numbers calculated from your input. These are the totals, monthly figures and projections produced by the calculators from what you type in.
Suggested starting values. These are adjustable defaults that make a calculator usable before you have your own figures. They are clearly labelled as suggestions and can be overwritten.
Labelled examples. Worked examples on each page show how a calculation comes together. They are described as examples every time they appear.

There are no invented averages, no fabricated percentages and no claim that a particular number is what a typical household spends. Where costs genuinely vary — and pet costs vary a great deal — we say so instead of averaging it away.

What this site is not

PetCostly is not a veterinary service and does not provide veterinary advice, diagnosis or treatment instructions. If you have a question about your pet's health, nutrition or medication, please speak to your veterinary practice. Nothing here replaces professional advice.

Nor is it a financial advisory service, an insurance broker or a price comparison site. We do not sell insurance, we do not take commission on anything shown in the calculators, and we do not rank providers.

Who it is for

Anyone considering a pet who wants to understand the commitment first.
Owners whose circumstances have changed and who need to rebuild a budget.
Families comparing the cost of different pets, sizes or lifestyles before deciding.
Anyone who wants a straightforward estimate without handing over an email address or creating an account.

How the site is funded

PetCostly is free to use and is supported by advertising, including display advertising through networks such as Google AdSense. Advertising is kept separate from the calculators and never placed in a way that mimics a button or a result. When we introduce commercial relationships, product recommendations or affiliate links, they will be labelled clearly as such. Read the editorial policy for the full rules we follow.

Get in touch

If you spot something that is wrong, unclear or out of date, we would like to know. Use the contact formand choose “Correction to a page”. Corrections to numbers and wording are the most useful messages we receive.