Cat Food Cost Calculator: Daily Monthly and Yearly Food Cost Wet Versus Dry

Work out how much your cat's food costs per day, per month and per year, for wet food, dry food and a mix. Enter the pack price and how much your cat eats each day, and the calculator shows the cost per day.

How the Cat Food Cost Calculator works

Enter the dry food bag price and weight, and how many grams of dry food your cat eats each day. The calculator divides bag price by bag weight to get cost per kg, then multiplies by grams per day divided by 1,000 to get dry food cost per day. Enter the wet food can price and how many cans your cat eats each day. The calculator multiplies can price by cans per day to get wet food cost per day. It adds the two together to give the total cost per day, then multiplies by 30 for the monthly cost and by 365 for the yearly cost. If your cat eats dry food only, set cans per day to zero. If your cat eats wet food only, set dry food per day to zero.

Weigh the food with kitchen scales for a week. Scoops are not accurate, and most owners overfeed by 10 to 20 percent without realising it. Check the calorie content on the pack, because a food with more calories per gram needs fewer grams per day.

Worked example: a 4.5 kg cat on a mix

Take a healthy adult cat that weighs 4.5 kg and needs about 250 calories a day. Suppose you feed half the calories as dry food and half as wet food. The dry food costs $30 for a 3 kg bag, which is $10 per kg, and the cat eats 33 grams a day, costing about $0.33 a day. The wet food costs $1.20 per can, and the cat eats 1.5 cans a day, costing $1.80 a day. The total is about $2.13 a day, or about $64 a month. Dry food alone for the same calories costs about $0.66 a day. Wet food alone costs about $3.90 a day. The mix costs more than dry food alone, but much less than wet food alone, and many cats eat a mix more happily than dry food alone.

Cat food cost per day: wet versus dry

Dry food only costs about $0.70 to $1.80 per day for an adult cat. Wet food only costs about $1.50 to $3.50 per day. A mix costs about $1.00 to $2.50 per day. Premium or prescription food costs about $2.00 to $4.00 per day. Wet food costs more per calorie than dry food, because it is mostly water. A typical wet food has about 80 to 100 calories per 100 grams. A typical dry food has about 350 to 400 calories per 100 grams. Read our cat food cost per day guide for the full breakdown, worked example and UK prices.

US and UK prices

In the US, a mix of wet and dry food costs about $1.00 to $2.50 a day for an adult cat. In the UK, a mix costs about £0.90 to £2.00 a day. Supermarket own brand food is cheapest in both countries. Premium and vet recommended brands cost more. Buy larger packs when the price per kg is lower, and buy small packs first if your cat is a picky eater.

Frequently asked questions

Is wet food better than dry food for cats?

Both can be good if they are complete and balanced. Wet food has more water, which helps hydration, and many cats prefer the taste. Dry food is cheaper per calorie and easier to store. A mix of both is a good choice for many cats.

How much wet food should a cat eat per day?

An average adult cat needs about 200 to 300 calories a day. One small 85 gram can has about 70 to 90 calories, so a cat on wet food alone needs about 3 to 4 cans a day. Most owners feed 1 to 2 cans plus dry food.

How much does it cost to feed a cat per month?

A cat costs about $21 to $54 a month on dry food, $45 to $105 a month on wet food, and $30 to $75 a month on a mix. Read our cat cost per month guide for the full monthly total.

How can I reduce cat food cost?

Buy larger packs when the price per kg is lower, weigh the food, cut treats to 10 percent of daily calories or less, and compare cost per 1,000 calories before you switch brands. Ask your vet if a mid priced food is enough for your cat.

Sources and how we priced this

Prices in this guide are ranges, not single facts, because published sources disagree. We used the American Pet Products Association 2025 and 2026 industry figures, Rover 2026 cost of dog ownership reports, the PDSA PAW Report and PDSA cost guides for the UK, the American Animal Hospital Association and the National Research Council feeding guidance, and published insurer and vet price lists in the US and the UK. All prices were checked in Nov 2026 and are shown in US dollars unless a UK section says pounds. Where a source gave one number, we widened it into a range to reflect size, breed and location.