Cost

The cheapest dog breeds to own

Every breed in the dataset, ranked from least to most expensive per year — and the reason the top of that list changes completely when you count a whole lifetime.

Igor Zagorodnyi
Builds the dataset behind this site
UPDATED September 21, 2026
7 MIN · 8 SOURCES
On this page
  1. All 205 ranked
  2. What drives the gap
  3. Per year vs. per lifetime
  4. Cheapest by size
  5. What is not in this
  6. Sources

Lists of "cheap" dog breeds usually rank on the price of the puppy. That number is paid once. The one that matters is what the dog costs every year for the rest of its life, and on that measure the spread across the 205 breeds in this dataset is $2,302 a year — Chihuahua at $2,137, the Black Russian Terrier at $4,439. Both figures are the same model: an adult dog in Texas on mid-tier kibble, insured, groomed the way that coat normally has to be groomed.

All 205 breeds, cheapest first

Per-year cost covers food and treats, routine vet care and preventives, grooming, insurance, gear and the training-and-boarding line. Type a breed to jump to it; open any row for the full breakdown and to switch the state, the food tier and the grooming assumption.

#BreedPer yearLifetime
1 Chihuahua · 4 lb · 11.8 years $2,137 $27,000
2 Russian Toy · 7 lb · 13.4 years $2,180 $31,293
3 Toy Fox Terrier · 7 lb · 12.9 years $2,201 $30,353
4 Italian Greyhound · 11 lb · 14 years $2,250 $33,765
5 Miniature Pinscher · 9 lb · 13.7 years $2,274 $33,062
6 Tibetan Spaniel · 12 lb · 15.2 years $2,276 $37,094
7 Schipperke · 13 lb · 14.2 years $2,292 $34,824
8 Manchester Terrier (Toy) · 12 lb · 13 years $2,309 $31,878
9 Norwegian Lundehund · 15 lb · 13.5 years $2,325 $33,564
10 Lancashire Heeler · 13 lb · 15.4 years $2,328 $38,119
11 Pug · 16 lb · 11.6 years $2,340 $28,844
12 Manchester Terrier (Standard) · 17 lb · 13.5 years $2,400 $34,313
13 Smooth Fox Terrier · 17 lb · 13.5 years $2,400 $34,313
14 American Hairless Terrier · 20 lb · 13.5 years $2,401 $34,543
15 Shiba Inu · 20 lb · 14.6 years $2,401 $37,326
16 Parson Russell Terrier · 15 lb · 13.8 years $2,404 $34,880
17 Danish-Swedish Farmdog · 18 lb · 13.5 years $2,408 $34,416
18 Rat Terrier · 18 lb · 13.5 years $2,408 $34,416
19 Pomeranian · 5 lb · 12.2 years $2,420 $31,449
20 Boston Terrier · 19 lb · 11.8 years $2,425 $30,159
21 Cirneco dell’Etna · 23 lb · 13.5 years $2,465 $35,375
22 Dachshund · 24 lb · 13.2 years $2,479 $34,672
23 Affenpinscher · 9 lb · 9.3 years $2,487 $24,371
24 French Bulldog · 25 lb · 9.8 years $2,491 $25,708
25 Nederlandse Kooikerhondje · 25 lb · 12.7 years $2,495 $33,265
26 Brussels Griffon · 9 lb · 13.3 years $2,497 $35,338
27 Beagle · 23 lb · 12.5 years $2,511 $32,978
28 Basenji · 23 lb · 12.1 years $2,519 $32,005
29 Miniature Bull Terrier · 23 lb · 12.2 years $2,519 $32,271
30 Pembroke Welsh Corgi · 26 lb · 13.2 years $2,521 $34,911
31 Coton de Tulear · 11 lb · 14.2 years $2,541 $38,379
32 Icelandic Sheepdog · 28 lb · 12.7 years $2,552 $33,946
33 Swedish Vallhund · 28 lb · 14 years $2,552 $37,425
34 Shih Tzu · 13 lb · 12.8 years $2,561 $34,759
35 Biewer Terrier · 6 lb · 13.4 years $2,567 $36,474
36 Portuguese Podengo Pequeno · 11 lb · 13.4 years $2,567 $36,243
37 Yorkshire Terrier (Yorkie) · 6 lb · 13.3 years $2,569 $36,242
38 Norfolk Terrier · 12 lb · 13.5 years $2,577 $36,753
39 Border Terrier · 14 lb · 14.2 years $2,578 $38,873
40 Cairn Terrier · 14 lb · 14 years $2,578 $38,315
41 Maltese · 7 lb · 13.1 years $2,586 $35,985
42 Norwich Terrier · 12 lb · 14 years $2,586 $38,247
43 Pekingese · 14 lb · 13.3 years $2,586 $36,463
44 Finnish Spitz · 27 lb · 12.7 years $2,598 $34,258
45 Miniature Schnauzer · 16 lb · 13.3 years $2,610 $36,766
46 Cardigan Welsh Corgi · 32 lb · 13.1 years $2,617 $35,792
47 Japanese Chin · 9 lb · 12.5 years $2,617 $34,663
48 Toy Poodle · 5 lb · 14 years $2,619 $38,901
49 Papillon · 8 lb · 14.5 years $2,620 $40,248
50 Russell Terrier · 12 lb · 13.3 years $2,620 $36,581
51 Whippet · 33 lb · 13.4 years $2,627 $36,733
52 Lakeland Terrier · 17 lb · 14.2 years $2,633 $39,611
53 Chinese Crested · 10 lb · 13.4 years $2,634 $37,435
54 Havanese · 10 lb · 14.5 years $2,634 $40,574
55 Silky Terrier · 10 lb · 13.3 years $2,634 $37,149
56 Norwegian Buhund · 33 lb · 12.7 years $2,635 $34,911
57 Australian Terrier · 18 lb · 13.5 years $2,641 $37,812
58 English Toy Spaniel · 11 lb · 13.4 years $2,656 $37,598
59 Staffordshire Bull Terrier · 31 lb · 12 years $2,673 $33,205
60 Wire Fox Terrier · 17 lb · 13.5 years $2,677 $37,976
61 Scottish Terrier · 20 lb · 12.7 years $2,678 $35,902
62 West Highland White Terrier · 18 lb · 13.4 years $2,685 $37,794
63 Finnish Lapphund · 43 lb · 13.8 years $2,689 $38,995
64 Dandie Dinmont Terrier · 21 lb · 12.8 years $2,693 $36,372
65 Azawakh · 44 lb · 12.7 years $2,701 $36,008
66 Basset Hound · 53 lb · 12.5 years $2,713 $36,031
67 Bulldog · 45 lb · 9.8 years $2,718 $27,876
68 Canaan Dog · 45 lb · 12 years $2,718 $34,205
69 Lhasa Apso · 15 lb · 14 years $2,722 $40,313
70 Löwchen · 15 lb · 13.9 years $2,722 $40,020
71 Shetland Sheepdog · 20 lb · 13.4 years $2,727 $38,308
72 Welsh Terrier · 20 lb · 13.8 years $2,727 $39,459
73 Cavalier King Charles Spaniel · 16 lb · 11.8 years $2,730 $33,955
74 Brittany · 35 lb · 11.1 years $2,739 $31,430
75 German Pinscher · 35 lb · 12.7 years $2,739 $35,851
76 Sealyham Terrier · 24 lb · 13.1 years $2,749 $37,947
77 Xoloitzcuintli · 43 lb · 12.7 years $2,770 $36,485
78 Miniature Poodle · 13 lb · 14 years $2,777 $40,903
79 Cesky Terrier · 19 lb · 13.5 years $2,783 $39,722
80 English Springer Spaniel · 45 lb · 13.5 years $2,809 $39,249
81 Welsh Springer Spaniel · 45 lb · 14 years $2,809 $40,687
82 Tibetan Terrier · 24 lb · 13.8 years $2,812 $40,545
83 Chinese Shar-Pei · 53 lb · 10.6 years $2,815 $31,219
84 Irish Terrier · 26 lb · 13.5 years $2,819 $40,049
85 Bichon Frise · 15 lb · 12.5 years $2,822 $36,991
86 Pyrenean Shepherd · 23 lb · 13.5 years $2,842 $39,890
87 American Staffordshire Terrier · 55 lb · 12.5 years $2,844 $37,196
88 Australian Cattle Dog · 43 lb · 14 years $2,856 $40,871
89 Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever · 43 lb · 13.2 years $2,856 $38,595
90 Redbone Coonhound · 58 lb · 11.5 years $2,872 $34,550
91 English Cocker Spaniel · 30 lb · 13.3 years $2,873 $40,134
92 Pharaoh Hound · 50 lb · 10 years $2,876 $29,864
93 Plott Hound · 51 lb · 11.5 years $2,901 $34,561
94 Norwegian Elkhound · 52 lb · 12.9 years $2,903 $38,687
95 Bedlington Terrier · 20 lb · 13.7 years $2,908 $41,651
96 Harrier · 53 lb · 11.5 years $2,917 $34,731
97 Saluki · 53 lb · 13.3 years $2,917 $40,033
98 Sloughi · 53 lb · 11.5 years $2,917 $34,731
99 Siberian Husky · 48 lb · 11.9 years $2,937 $35,771
100 American Eskimo Dog · 30 lb · 11.3 years $2,940 $34,558
101 American English Coonhound · 55 lb · 11.5 years $2,949 $35,078
102 Glen of Imaal Terrier · 36 lb · 12.1 years $2,952 $37,377
103 Chinook · 65 lb · 11.5 years $2,956 $35,478
104 Golden Retriever · 65 lb · 13.2 years $2,956 $40,693
105 Boykin Spaniel · 33 lb · 12.7 years $2,977 $39,264
106 Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen · 33 lb · 13.7 years $2,977 $42,348
107 Dalmatian · 58 lb · 13.2 years $2,981 $40,514
108 Cocker Spaniel · 25 lb · 13.3 years $2,994 $41,478
109 Belgian Sheepdog · 59 lb · 11.5 years $2,998 $35,600
110 Belgian Tervuren · 59 lb · 13.8 years $2,998 $42,527
111 Polish Lowland Sheepdog · 40 lb · 13.2 years $3,002 $41,443
112 Skye Terrier · 40 lb · 12.4 years $3,002 $38,908
113 Standard Schnauzer · 40 lb · 13 years $3,002 $40,809
114 Sussex Spaniel · 40 lb · 13.5 years $3,002 $42,393
115 Miniature American Shepherd · 30 lb · 12.7 years $3,007 $39,372
116 Belgian Malinois · 60 lb · 12 years $3,013 $37,250
117 Bull Terrier · 60 lb · 12 years $3,013 $37,250
118 Pointer · 60 lb · 11.5 years $3,013 $35,762
119 Australian Shepherd · 53 lb · 13.7 years $3,018 $42,025
120 Entlebucher Mountain Dog · 53 lb · 11.5 years $3,018 $35,539
121 Bluetick Coonhound · 61 lb · 11.5 years $3,029 $35,936
122 Vizsla · 54 lb · 13.5 years $3,033 $41,608
123 Mudi · 24 lb · 13.5 years $3,041 $42,549
124 American Foxhound · 65 lb · 13 years $3,075 $41,028
125 Boxer · 65 lb · 11.3 years $3,075 $35,782
126 Greyhound · 65 lb · 11.5 years $3,075 $36,399
127 Keeshond · 40 lb · 12.3 years $3,085 $39,255
128 German Shorthaired Pointer · 58 lb · 13.4 years $3,090 $41,988
129 Rhodesian Ridgeback · 78 lb · 12 years $3,091 $38,542
130 Puli · 30 lb · 13.3 years $3,097 $43,113
131 English Foxhound · 68 lb · 13 years $3,106 $41,396
132 Treeing Walker Coonhound · 60 lb · 11.5 years $3,125 $36,658
133 Pumi · 26 lb · 12.7 years $3,154 $41,347
134 Lagotto Romagnolo · 30 lb · 12.7 years $3,158 $41,610
135 Gordon Setter · 63 lb · 12.4 years $3,160 $39,751
136 American Water Spaniel · 35 lb · 12.7 years $3,163 $41,941
137 Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier · 35 lb · 13.7 years $3,163 $44,850
138 Bracco Italiano · 73 lb · 13.8 years $3,167 $44,645
139 Field Spaniel · 43 lb · 13.1 years $3,182 $43,463
140 Kerry Blue Terrier · 37 lb · 12.4 years $3,184 $40,853
141 Black and Tan Coonhound · 88 lb · 11.5 years $3,194 $38,112
142 Flat-Coated Retriever · 65 lb · 11.7 years $3,195 $37,976
143 Border Collie · 43 lb · 13.1 years $3,206 $42,896
144 Grand Basset Griffon Vendéen · 43 lb · 12.7 years $3,206 $41,618
145 Samoyed · 49 lb · 13.1 years $3,210 $43,290
146 Labrador Retriever · 68 lb · 13.1 years $3,229 $42,691
147 German Shepherd Dog · 69 lb · 11.3 years $3,247 $37,277
148 Great Pyrenees · 93 lb · 10.9 years $3,250 $36,721
149 Kuvasz · 94 lb · 9.5 years $3,263 $32,193
150 Bloodhound · 95 lb · 9.3 years $3,275 $31,599
151 Ibizan Hound · 48 lb · 12.7 years $3,287 $42,538
152 Weimaraner · 73 lb · 12.8 years $3,296 $42,520
153 Chow Chow · 58 lb · 12.1 years $3,309 $41,615
154 Spanish Water Dog · 40 lb · 13.7 years $3,309 $46,759
155 Rottweiler · 103 lb · 10.6 years $3,336 $36,595
156 Airedale Terrier · 60 lb · 12 years $3,338 $41,598
157 Dogue de Bordeaux · 105 lb · 11.1 years $3,355 $38,508
158 Collie · 63 lb · 13.3 years $3,366 $46,471
159 Neapolitan Mastiff · 130 lb · 9.3 years $3,397 $32,939
160 Doberman Pinscher · 81 lb · 11.2 years $3,413 $38,664
161 Irish Red and White Setter · 47 lb · 12.7 years $3,425 $44,310
162 Great Dane · 141 lb · 10.6 years $3,435 $36,971
163 Wirehaired Pointing Griffon · 51 lb · 11.5 years $3,438 $40,390
164 Belgian Laekenois · 60 lb · 11.5 years $3,450 $40,792
165 Berger Picard · 60 lb · 11.5 years $3,450 $40,792
166 Spinone Italiano · 70 lb · 11.9 years $3,451 $42,541
167 Anatolian Shepherd Dog · 115 lb · 10.1 years $3,457 $36,077
168 Mastiff · 170 lb · 9 years $3,475 $32,302
169 Cane Corso · 99 lb · 8.1 years $3,479 $29,195
170 Wirehaired Vizsla · 55 lb · 11.5 years $3,491 $40,948
171 Barbet · 50 lb · 11.5 years $3,492 $41,721
172 Bearded Collie · 50 lb · 13.9 years $3,498 $49,933
173 Portuguese Water Dog · 47 lb · 13 years $3,500 $46,303
174 Boerboel · 175 lb · 9.5 years $3,518 $34,478
175 Briard · 78 lb · 12.6 years $3,528 $45,971
176 Beauceron · 90 lb · 9.5 years $3,529 $34,271
177 Dogo Argentino · 90 lb · 9.5 years $3,529 $34,271
178 English Setter · 61 lb · 13.1 years $3,537 $48,021
179 Chesapeake Bay Retriever · 68 lb · 11.6 years $3,543 $42,111
180 Newfoundland - American Kennel Club · 125 lb · 11 years $3,551 $40,246
181 Old English Sheepdog · 80 lb · 12.1 years $3,554 $44,452
182 German Wirehaired Pointer · 60 lb · 13 years $3,562 $46,864
183 Afghan Hound · 55 lb · 11.1 years $3,571 $40,757
184 Irish Water Spaniel · 57 lb · 10.8 years $3,575 $40,006
185 Greater Swiss Mountain Dog · 113 lb · 9.5 years $3,613 $35,215
186 Clumber Spaniel · 70 lb · 12.3 years $3,633 $46,213
187 Bullmastiff · 115 lb · 10.2 years $3,640 $37,894
188 Standard Poodle · 55 lb · 14 years $3,663 $52,514
189 Alaskan Malamute · 80 lb · 11.3 years $3,693 $42,633
190 Bergamasco Sheepdog · 71 lb · 11.5 years $3,730 $44,359
191 Giant Schnauzer · 76 lb · 12.1 years $3,784 $46,153
192 Scottish Deerhound · 91 lb · 10.5 years $3,796 $41,119
193 Saint Bernard · 145 lb · 9.3 years $3,813 $36,524
194 Irish Setter · 65 lb · 12.9 years $3,817 $49,703
195 Otterhound · 98 lb · 9.5 years $3,858 $37,845
196 Bernese Mountain Dog · 90 lb · 10.1 years $3,935 $40,651
197 Bouvier des Flandres · 90 lb · 11.3 years $3,935 $45,307
198 Curly-Coated Retriever · 78 lb · 12.2 years $3,941 $48,982
199 Tibetan Mastiff · 108 lb · 13.3 years $3,943 $53,862
200 Borzoi · 81 lb · 12 years $3,986 $48,694
201 Irish Wolfhound · 113 lb · 9.9 years $3,991 $40,665
202 Akita · 100 lb · 11.4 years $4,048 $46,895
203 Leonberger · 128 lb · 10 years $4,132 $42,447
204 Komondor · 90 lb · 9.5 years $4,133 $40,474
205 Black Russian Terrier · 105 lb · 10.9 years $4,439 $49,138

Average across all 205: $3,000 a year (median $2,956). Lifetime is the per-year figure carried across the breed's median lifespan, with the higher senior-age vet schedule applied from age 8.

What actually drives the gap

Three things, and the puppy price is not one of them. Weight sets the food bill and the dose band for flea, tick and heartworm preventives, so it moves two categories at once: Chihuahua eats about $133 of food a year, Black Russian Terrier about $1,538.

Coat is the one that surprises people. A coat that has to be clipped or professionally de-shedded puts a breed on a salon schedule — 105 of the 205 breeds here default to one — and that single line is worth $932 a year on the Black Russian Terrier against $24 on a smooth-coated Chihuahua. It is why a 65 lb Irish Setter runs $3,817 a year while a 170 lb Mastiff runs $3,475 — 2.6 times the dog for $342 a year less.

Lifespan does nothing to the yearly figure and everything to the total, which is the next section.

Cheapest per year

$2,137

Chihuahua · $4,439 for the Black Russian Terrier at the other end

Cheapest per year is not cheapest per lifetime

Re-rank the same 205 breeds by what they cost from puppy to the end of a median life and the list turns over. Chihuahua is first by the year and only #3 by the lifetime. Lancashire Heeler is #10 per year and #105 per lifetime — it drops 95 places purely because it lives 15.4 years. In the other direction, Cane Corso is #169 per year and #6 per lifetime.

That is worth saying plainly, because the arithmetic is bleak: the breeds at the top of the lifetime-cost ranking are cheap largely because they do not live very long. Affenpinscher comes out lowest overall at $24,371, on a median lifespan of 9.3 years. A short lifespan is not a feature, and no one should pick a breed to save money that way. The useful reading runs the other direction — if you are choosing between two breeds you would be equally happy with, the per-year figure is the one that tells you whether you can carry the dog, and the lifetime figure tells you the size of the commitment you are making.

BreedRank, per yearRank, lifetimeMedian lifespan
Chihuahua #1 #3 11.8 years
Lancashire Heeler #10 #105 15.4 years
Cane Corso #169 #6 8.1 years
Affenpinscher #23 #1 9.3 years

The cheapest breed in each size class

If a size is already settled — a flat, a family, a hiking habit — this is the floor within it. Average per-year cost climbs steadily with size, but the ranges overlap: the most expensive small breed costs more than the cheapest large one, because coat beats weight more often than people expect.

SizeBreedsAverage / yrCheapest
Toy · under 12 lb 21 $2,489 Chihuahua $2,137
Small · 12–25 lb 46 $2,578 Tibetan Spaniel $2,276
Medium · 25–50 lb 48 $2,927 Nederlandse Kooikerhondje $2,495
Large · 50–90 lb 63 $3,247 Basset Hound $2,713
Giant · over 90 lb 27 $3,671 Great Pyrenees $3,250

What this ranking does not include

  • The price of the dog. Breeder prices are not published in any form we can cite, and adoption fees vary by shelter. Nothing on this page is a purchase price.
  • Emergencies and chronic illness. The vet line is routine care and preventives on a normal schedule. A cruciate repair or a lifelong medication does not appear here; that risk is what the insurance line is for.
  • Your own labour. Every breed on the salon schedule gets cheaper if you learn to clip it yourself — that switch is on each breed page.
  • Where you live. These figures are Texas. Vet and grooming prices move with the state's services price level, so the ranking is stable but the amounts are not.

The order of this table is fixed by the model, not by opinion, and it changes when the underlying prices change. Every number is recomputed on each build from the same sources the breed pages use.

Sources

SOURCE · PetSmart.com regular (non-promotional) list prices — hand-recorded SKU sample — PetSmart (recorded by pawdget), 2026 data · accessed 2026-09-21
SOURCE · Nutritional Requirements of Small Animals (RER = 70 × kg^0.75, MER factors) — Merck Veterinary Manual, 2024 data · accessed 2026-09-21
SOURCE · Veterinary Exam and Procedure Costs (ASQ360° research, 50 states + DC) — CareCredit / Synchrony, 2025 data · accessed 2026-09-21
SOURCE · pawdget methodology — our own schedules, rubrics and formulas — pawdget.com, 2026 data · accessed 2026-09-21
SOURCE · Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (table SARPP) — U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024 data · accessed 2026-09-21
SOURCE · State of the Industry Report 2026 — highlights (2025 data) — North American Pet Health Insurance Association, 2025 data · accessed 2026-09-21
SOURCE · National Pet Owners Survey 2025 — dog spending (press release) — American Pet Products Association, 2025 data · accessed 2026-09-21
SOURCE · Dog grooming price guides 2025–26 (Bark.com, QC Pet Studies, MoeGo) — Industry price guides, 2026 data · accessed 2026-09-21
UPDATED 2026-09-21 · METHOD: estimate · View methodology

Informational only — not veterinary advice. See your veterinarian.