Across our October 2026 surveys of 75 cat and 56 dog teeth cleaning prices, cleaning a cat’s teeth costs the same as cleaning a small dog’s at the same clinic, or less. None of the 37 providers in both surveys, 30 of them Banfield hospitals, charges more for a cat. Yet the cat median, $432, is above the dog median, $409, because each survey reaches a different set of clinics.
Cat vs dog teeth cleaning: the short answer
- Same clinic: a cat costs the same as the smallest dog at 35 of 37 providers, and less at the other 2
- Across all clinics: cat median $432, dog median $409
- Why the gap: the clinics that publish a cat price are a different, pricier set, and more of them include x-rays
- Big dogs: where price goes by weight, a cat is priced like the lightest dog band
From 75 cat prices and 56 dog prices published by US providers on their own pages, read in October 2026.
Prices vary by clinic, by region and by what the fee covers. This is cost research, not veterinary advice. Ask your own vet for a written estimate before you book, and ask what it includes.
Is it cheaper to clean a cat’s teeth than a dog’s?
Sometimes, but usually not: at the same clinic, 35 of the 37 providers in both surveys charge a cat what they charge their smallest dog, 2 charge a cat less, and none charges more.
Thirty of those providers are Banfield Pet Hospital, which lists the same dental cleaning price for cats and dogs at every hospital we checked, from $380.95 in Bossier City, Louisiana, to $491.95 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Brooklyn, New York, and Bellevue, Washington. The other seven are below.
| Provider | State | Cat | Dog |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low Cost Spay & Neuter Clinic | IN | $125 | $125 to $165 by weight |
| CSNIP | MI | $225 | $225 under 50 lb, $300 over |
| Humane Society of Utah, St. George Clinic | UT | $250 | $250 |
| Quick Fix Veterinary Clinic | MI | $400 | $400 under 50 lb, $500 for 50 to 85 lb |
| Pet Dental Clinic | CO | $450 | $500 |
| Humane Society of Manatee County | FL | $500 | $575 |
| The Pet Advocate Vet | CA | $700 | $700 |
Humane Society of Utah’s St. George price list is not split by species; the clinic books dental appointments for dogs and cats at the same levels.
Two others say outright that the cat price is the small dog price. CSNIP lists “all cats and dogs weighing 49lbs or less” at $225, and Quick Fix lists “cats and dogs under 50 lbs” at $400. Pet Dental Clinic in Colorado is one of the two providers that charge a cat less: $450 for cats and ferrets against $500 for dogs, with bloodwork and full-mouth x-rays in both.
Why is the median cat teeth cleaning price higher than the dog median?
Because the two surveys mostly reach different clinics, and the clinics that publish a cat price charge more: outside Banfield, the cat median is $432 from 45 prices and the dog median is $288 from 26.
The gap shows up within both independent provider types. The 14 nonprofit cat prices have a median of $350 against $225 for 13 nonprofit dog prices, and the 31 private clinic cat prices $450 against $370 for 13 dog prices. Banfield is the exception, at $433 for both, because it is the same 30 hospitals in each survey.
The mix matters too. Private clinics are 41% of the cat prices and 23% of the dog prices, while Banfield is 40% and 54%. A median drawn from more private clinics sits higher, even when no single clinic charges a cat more.
So the like-for-like answer is the table above, not the two headline medians. Comparing $432 with $409 compares two sets of clinics, not two species.
Do cat dental cleaning prices include more than dog prices?
For x-rays, yes: 23 of the 75 cat providers include dental x-rays in the published price, one of them only when teeth are extracted, against 6 of the 45 dog providers. For bloodwork it runs the other way.
The 56 dog prices come from 45 providers, because some list a price per weight band. Outside Banfield, whose pricing pages do not mention x-rays, that is 23 of 45 cat providers and 6 of 15 dog providers. Among those cat providers, the 23 prices that include x-rays have a median of $450, and the 22 that do not mention them $400.
Bloodwork runs the other way: 34 of the 45 dog providers include it, against 42 of the 75 cat providers, most of them Banfield hospitals, whose pages say all anesthetic procedures include routine bloodwork, an IV catheter and fluids. Extractions are rarely in either price: 8 cat providers and 3 dog providers list any, and one of those, CSNIP, also says extractions are a separate procedure.
A cat quote that includes full-mouth x-rays is a different product from a dog quote that does not. Before comparing two quotes, line them up item by item; the method is in what a dental cleaning quote should include.
Does my dog’s weight change the comparison?
Only for bigger dogs: where a clinic prices dental cleaning by weight, a cat pays the lightest band, and a large dog pays more.
Low Cost Spay & Neuter Clinic in Brownsburg, Indiana, charges $125 for a cat and for a dog of up to 25 lb, then $130, $135 and $140 as dogs get heavier, and $165 for a dog over 100 lb. At Quick Fix in Michigan, a cat is $400 and a dog of 50 to 85 lb is $500.
Most providers in both surveys do not price by weight at all. Banfield and 4 of the 7 private clinics in the dog survey publish one dental price for any dog, so a cat and a 90 lb dog pay the same there. For dog prices by provider type, see the dog teeth cleaning cost survey.
Is a cheaper cat price at a different clinic a better deal?
Not on the headline alone: outside Banfield, cat prices that include x-rays have a median of $450 against $400 for those that do not mention them, and dog prices $370 against $250.
The lowest cat price, $125 at Low Cost Spay & Neuter Clinic, covers scaling and polishing. The highest, $850 at Doylestown Animal Medical Clinic in Pennsylvania, includes full-mouth digital radiographs and pre-operative medication, and its Grade 1 package covers any necessary extractions. Anicira in Manassas, Virginia, a nonprofit, lists $823 with oral x-rays, simple extractions and an IV catheter.
The full cat figures, with state and provider-type tables, are in our cat teeth cleaning cost survey. To judge a single quote against the dog prices, see is $500 too much for dog teeth cleaning?
How to compare a cat quote with a dog quote
If you have a cat and a dog, ask the same clinic to quote both in writing, and ask these questions for each pet.
- Is the cat priced the same as my dog’s weight band, or separately?
- Are full-mouth dental x-rays included, or billed separately?
- Is pre-anesthetic bloodwork included, optional, or required at my pet’s age?
- How are extractions priced: per tooth, by time, by tier, or included?
- Is there an exam, consultation or office visit fee on top?
What this page cannot tell you
This is a page about price. It says nothing about whether your cat or dog needs a cleaning, whether anesthesia suits them, or which teeth should come out. Those are questions for your veterinarian. Published prices change without notice; every figure here was read in October 2026 and is linked to its source on the two survey pages.
Sources
Every provider named on this page, with the page the price was read from. You can download the cat CSV (75 prices) and the dog CSV (56 prices). How every price was collected is set out in our survey methodology.
- Low Cost Spay & Neuter Clinic, Brownsburg, IN (read 1 and 8 Oct 2026)
- CSNIP, Walker, MI (read 1 and 8 Oct 2026)
- Humane Society of Utah, St. George Clinic, St. George, UT (read 1 and 8 Oct 2026)
- Quick Fix Veterinary Clinic, MI (read 1 and 8 Oct 2026)
- Pet Dental Clinic, CO (read 1 and 8 Oct 2026)
- Humane Society of Manatee County, Bradenton, FL (read 1 and 8 Oct 2026)
- The Pet Advocate Vet, Tracy, CA (read 1 and 8 Oct 2026)
- Doylestown Animal Medical Clinic, Doylestown, PA (read 8 Oct 2026)
- Anicira, Manassas, VA (read 8 Oct 2026)
- Banfield Pet Hospital, Bossier City, LA, and 29 other Banfield hospitals listed on both survey pages (read 1 and 8 Oct 2026)
Prices for everything discussed here are collected and published separately, with a source behind every figure. See dental costs or read how the surveys are run.
Prices vary widely by region, by clinic and by your animal’s individual needs. Use these figures to know what is normal, then ask your own vet for a written estimate before agreeing to treatment. Nothing on this site is medical advice.
