Cheapest Pet Insurance Companies (2025)
Healthy Paws, Lemonade, and Pets Best are among the best cheap pet insurance companies. Monthly pet insurance rates start at $29 for dogs and $17 for cats.
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Written byCassie Sheets
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9 years writing data-driven content
Lifestyle contributor to 30+ local news sites
Cassie Sheets has a background in home and garden and real estate content. At Insurify, she translates industry jargon into insights that empower insurance buyers.
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Edited byEvelyn Pimplaskar
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10+ years in insurance and personal finance content
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Evelyn leads Insurify’s content team. She’s passionate about creating empowering content to help people transform their financial lives and make sound insurance-buying decisions.
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Reviewed byMark Friedlander
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Corporate communications director for Insurance Information Institute
20+ years in insurance and communications
As Director, Corporate Communications for Triple-I, Mark serves as the non-profit’s national spokesperson, sharing information and education on a wide array of insurance issues.
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If you worry about unexpected veterinarian bills, you should consider buying a pet insurance policy, which is like health insurance for your pet. The cost of pet insurance depends on your pet, where you live, and the type of coverage you choose.
The average annual cost of pet insurance in the U.S. is $516 for dogs and $276 for cats, according to Insurify’s analysis of 250,000 pet insurance quotes from more than 10 partnering companies.
Every insurer rates your pet’s risk differently, so pet insurance costs can vary widely. For example, the average monthly cost of dog insurance is $29 from Lemonade, $41 from Spot, and $47 from ASPCA. It’s a good idea to compare pet insurance quotes to find the policy and price that best fit your needs.
Read more to learn which companies offer the best cheap pet insurance policies for dogs and cats at every life stage.
Quick Facts
Accident and illness coverage excludes preventive care like vaccines. But many pet insurers offer wellness coverage add-ons for these procedures.
Some insurers won’t cover pets over a certain age, so owners of older pets should look for policies without an upper age limit.
Most pet insurance companies have a 14-day waiting period to file a claim for any illnesses after you purchase coverage.
Best cheap pet insurance companies
The following insurers offer some of the cheapest pet insurance policies on the market. When comparing your options, you should consider both cost and coverage specifics.
ASPCA: Best for covering alternative therapies
ASPCA
ASPCA pet insurance offers various policies, from affordable accident-only plans to complete coverage for accidents, illness, dental work, hereditary conditions, alternative therapies, and behavioral issues. You can visit any licensed veterinarian in the U.S. or Canada for care. With ASPCA insurance, you can choose your deductible, reimbursement rate, and coverage limits to fit your monthly budget.
Pros
Covers alternative therapies like acupuncture and hydrotherapy
Provides a 10% discount for multiple pets
Includes coverage for hereditary and congenital issues
Cons
Requires a 14-day waiting period before coverage starts
Must call to get a quote for unlimited coverage
No coverage for prescription pet food
Healthy Paws: Best for unexpected veterinary care
Healthy Paws
Healthy Paws offers a simple accident and illness pet insurance plan. The coverage includes veterinary treatments for injuries and illnesses without a limit on reimbursements. Healthy Paws policies exclude pre-existing conditions, wellness visits, and preventative care, so this coverage works best for young, healthy pets who may need occasional emergency care.
Pros
Claim processing typically takes two days
Unlimited annual and lifetime payouts
Covers hereditary and congenital conditions
Cons
No optional add-ons or wellness plan
Has an age limit of 13 years for new policies
Premiums increase significantly for older pets
Lemonade: Best for bundling
Lemonade
Lemonade is an AI-powered insurer that offers customizable pet insurance policies. Lemonade’s illness and accident coverage reimburses for diagnostic tests, procedures, and medications for acute events.
Pet owners can add on packages for wellness exams, vaccines, dental cleanings, and preventative prescription coverage. Lemonade also offers a preventive care package specifically for puppies and kittens. You can also bundle Lemonade’s other coverage, like homeowners or renters insurance, with your pet insurance policy for discounts.
Pros
User-friendly app for streamlined claim filing
Offers preventive care add-ons
Up to 10% discount for bundling policies and multiple pets
Cons
Doesn’t cover alternative therapies
Unavailable in 11 states
Must buy an add-on to get behavioral treatment coverage
Pets Best: Best for customizable coverage
Pets Best
Pets Best offers customizable pet insurance coverage across the U.S. The pet insurance company offers accident-only coverage, accident and illness plans, and two tiers of add-on routine care coverage, so you can customize your policy for your pet’s needs. Pet owners can also choose a deductible and a reimbursement rate that fit their budget.
Pros
Coverage in all 50 states
Option for unlimited coverage plan
No upper age restrictions for enrollment
Cons
Two-week waiting period for accident and illness coverage
No 100% reimbursement option
No direct payments to veterinarians
Spot: Best for all life stages
Spot
Spot Pet Insurance offers coverage for accidents and illness with an optional add-on for preventive care. Spot coverage may be a good choice for senior pets since the insurer doesn’t have an upper age limit on enrollment and provides dental illness coverage at no extra cost. Most pet insurance companies don’t cover pre-existing conditions, including Spot, but after 180 days, most cured and symptom-free injuries or illnesses are eligible for coverage.
Pros
No lifetime cap on reimbursement for illnesses or accidents
Doesn’t require a vet exam to enroll
Access to a 24/7 telehealth line
Cons
Two-week waiting period for accident and illness coverage
No 100% reimbursement option
No direct payments to veterinarians
How to find cheap pet insurance
As much as you love your pet, you also probably have a budget that you need to stick to. Having pet insurance can help you save money on vet expenses, but you can also utilize some tips to save on premium payments. Consider the following ways to earn cheaper premiums:
Choose basic coverage
You typically have two main options for the type of pet insurance you can buy: basic coverage and comprehensive coverage. If you want the most coverage, you need to go with comprehensive, which can pay for lab fees, prescriptions, and office visits. However, you can expect to spend more for comprehensive coverage.[1]
Choosing a basic coverage plan and skipping add-ons like well-care protection can help you keep pet insurance costs low. However, basic coverage may not include certain types of care, like emergency treatment, alternative therapies, or hip dysplasia treatments.
Compare pet insurance quotes
No pet insurance company is the same, and how they price their policies can vary significantly. A variety of factors can affect insurance costs, including your pet’s age, your chosen coverage, and your animal’s current health status.
Spend some time comparing pet insurance quotes to make sure you get the most coverage for the best price. Alongside cost, you’ll want to pay attention to details like annual limits, surgery coverage, upper age limits, and annual deductibles to find the best coverage fit for your pet’s needs.
Choose a higher deductible
Like with other insurance products, the pet insurance deductible you choose can affect how much you end up spending on your premium. If you want to lower your premium, you can choose a higher deductible amount.
Be careful here — you shouldn’t pick a high deductible if you can’t afford to pay it out of pocket when the time comes to file a claim, even if doing so saves you a lot of money up front.
Buy a policy early
Pet insurance companies charge more for older pets that are more likely to need extensive medical care. If you can, buy your pet an insurance policy while it’s young to help keep your premium low. Some companies even have age limits, so you might find it hard to secure coverage if you wait too long.
Average cost of pet insurance
Insurers consider multiple factors when pricing pet insurance policies, including species, breed, age, and location. Cats are typically cheaper to insure than dogs, as their average vet bills are less expensive.
Dog breed influences the cost of pet insurance, too. For example, flat-faced brachycephalic breeds, like pugs and Boston terriers, are prone to overheating and breathing problems. They typically have higher insurance rates than dogs without this congenital issue.
The type of coverage you choose, your reimbursement level, annual payout limits, and your deductible also factor into the cost of pet insurance.
Every insurer rates risk differently, so comparing multiple policies can help you find the best insurance for your pet.
The below rates are estimated rates current as of: Monday, June 16 at 12:00 PM PDT.
Insurance Company | Cats | Dogs |
|---|---|---|
| Lemonade | $17 | $29 |
| Pets Best | $19 | $39 |
| Spot | $20 | $41 |
| Healthy Paws | $21 | $41 |
| Fetch Pet | $24 | $70 |
| ASPCA | $25 | $47 |
| Figo | $28 | $68 |
| Prudent Pet | $37 | $63 |
| Pumpkin | $40 | $98 |
Cheap pet insurance FAQs
Buying pet insurance can save you money on routine and unexpected vet bills. The following information should help answer any of your remaining questions about finding cheap pet insurance.
What is the cheapest pet insurance?
Lemonade offers the cheapest pet insurance for dogs and cats, with an average monthly premium of $29 for dogs. Its national average cost for cats is $17 per month.
What is the average monthly cost of insuring a dog?
Dog insurance costs an average of $43 monthly. Premiums vary by breed, age, and state, so comparing quotes from multiple insurers can help you find your dog’s best price.
Does pet insurance cover pre-existing conditions?
Typically, no — but it’s worth asking about. Pet insurance often excludes coverage for pre-existing conditions. But some plans may cover the condition your pet suffers from, so it’s always worth confirming what the policy will and won’t cover before deciding which to buy.
Is pet insurance worth it?
Veterinary emergencies can easily add up to thousands of dollars, and pet insurance can protect against significant, unexpected expenses. Consider premium affordability, policy highlights, coverage limits, and exclusions when selecting a policy to ensure pet insurance is worth it for your pet.
What is the typical monthly cost of pet insurance?
Pet insurance costs an average of $43 per month for dogs and $23 for cats. The cost of pet insurance varies depending on your pet’s breed, age, existing health conditions, and other factors.
Is there any free pet insurance?
Unfortunately, free pet insurance doesn’t exist. But some employers now offer pet coverage as an employee benefit. If you’re unable to afford pet insurance, many vet offices will offer payment plans or deferred payments.
Methodology
Insurify data scientists analyzed more than 250,000 pet insurance quotes from our proprietary database — sourced by Fletch Insurance Services LLC (“Fletch”) — to determine the premium prices displayed on this page. These quotes come directly from Insurify’s 10+ partner insurance companies across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., reflecting monthly pet insurance costs for both dogs and cats.
Unless otherwise specified, premium prices represent one-year rolling medians to account for market volatility driven by factors such as rising veterinary care costs and increased pet ownership.
Breed-level prices incorporate both mixed and purebred pets. To ensure reliability, a minimum of 8 quotes is required for dogs and 4 quotes for cats. Breeds with significant price deviations from the average are noted explicitly; other breeds are estimated based on average costs for all purebred pets.
Pets are grouped into three age brackets:
Young: under 12 months
Adult: 12 months to 7 years
Senior: over 7 years
Coverage Limits
Dog premium averages reflect policies with annual coverage limits of $2,500, $5,000, $10,000, or unlimited.
Cat premium averages reflect policies with annual coverage limits of $2,500, $5,000, $7,000, $10,000, or unlimited.
For both dogs and cats, monthly premiums are segmented by:
Deductible options: $250, $500, $1,000
Reimbursement options: 70%, 80%, 90%
For a comprehensive look at historical trends, visit Insurify’s Pet Insurance Data Center, which houses data dating back to 2021 and provides median monthly cost information for both dogs and cats.
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Sources
- Insurance Information Institute. "Facts about pet insurance."
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Cassie SheetsData Journalist
Cassie Sheets has more than nine years of experience creating compelling content for clients, brands, and local news sites. She started her career at Movoto Real Estate, where she transformed dry data into interesting insights for potential homebuyers. She’s since covered a wide range of topics, from pop culture news to home and garden trends.
Before joining Insurify, Cassie wrote engaging landing pages and blog posts for medical practices at MyAdvice. Now, she uses her knack for diving into the latest data and pulling out key details to empower insurance buyers.
Cassie holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Columbia College Chicago. In her free time, you can find her exploring the city with her dog, trying not to fall over in yoga classes, and petting cats at the shelter.
10+ years in insurance and personal finance content
30+ years in media, PR, and content creation
Evelyn leads Insurify’s content team. She’s passionate about creating empowering content to help people transform their financial lives and make sound insurance-buying decisions.
Featured in
Corporate communications director for Insurance Information Institute
20+ years in insurance and communications
As Director, Corporate Communications for Triple-I, Mark serves as the non-profit’s national spokesperson, sharing information and education on a wide array of insurance issues.
