Cheapest Dog Breeds to Own in 2026

In our data the Chihuahua and the Toy Fox Terrier, at $600-$1,200 a year each, followed by the Dachshund and the Bolognese at $700-$1,200. All four are small, so they eat little, and three of them have short coats that never need a groomer. The Bolognese is the exception: its fluffy white coat needs a lot of brushing, but its yearly range in our data is still among the lowest.

In our data the yearly cost of a healthy dog runs from $600-$1,200 for the smallest breeds to $2,000-$3,500 for giants like the Great Dane and Mastiff, and up to $2,500-$4,500 for the Boerboel. Those figures cover food, routine vet care, grooming and supplies. The first year adds one-off costs on top: crate, leash, training classes, spay or neuter. Emergencies and chronic illness come on top of all of it.

Among the breeds we track, the lowest puppy prices start around $400 for the Beagle, Chihuahua and Treeing Walker Coonhound, and around $500 for the Dachshund, Shih Tzu and Miniature Schnauzer. Adopting from a shelter is usually cheaper still: PetMD puts typical adoption fees between $50 and $500, often with vaccines, a microchip and spay or neuter included. A very cheap puppy from an unscreened litter can cost far more in vet bills later.

Partly the price, $1,500-$3,000 for a puppy in our data, and partly health. Their short faces and narrow airways cause breathing, eye, skin and spine problems, and many are born by C-section. A 2019 UK comparison of insurance premiums found French and English Bulldogs cost more than four times as much to insure as the cheapest breeds. That is why our yearly range for the Frenchie, $1,000-$2,500, is much wider than its size suggests.

In our data the large breeds with the lowest yearly cost start around $1,000, among them the Greyhound, Saluki and several coonhounds, with the Plott Hound at $1,000-$1,600. Short coats keep grooming free, and lean hounds eat less than heavy guardian breeds. The Greyhound is also widely available for adoption as a retired racer. Giants like the Mastiff and Great Dane are the opposite end, at $2,000-$3,500 a year.

Mostly, because food is the biggest cost that scales with size. But coat changes the picture. A Yorkshire Terrier or Maltese weighs 4 to 7 lbs, yet scores 5 out of 5 for grooming and needs a professional cut every few weeks, so its yearly range of $800-$1,500 is above the Chihuahua and close to a short-coated medium dog like the Whippet at $800-$1,400. Health matters too: a small short-nosed breed can cost more than a healthy larger one.