Budgie cost is mostly not the bird. A typical budgie (the budgerigar, often sold in the US as a parakeet) runs $37.50 from a breeder, but the cage and starter supplies add about $275 and a year of food, toys and an avian vet exam adds about $500. That puts the first twelve months near $813 and every later year near $500. On a tight budget the first year can come in around $475; at the top of each range it reaches about $1,150.
A budgie is a small Australian parrot, about 7 inches from head to tail, and PetMD’s veterinarians put its lifespan at 10 to 12 years with good care. Over a decade, the purchase price ends up being less than 1 percent of what you spend.
Budgie Cost in Year One, Year Two and Year Ten
The quickest way to read the numbers is by year, because the one-time lines drop away after the first twelve months. These are the budgie figures from the pet bird cost calculator on our parrot price page, which uses Master Parrot’s July 2026 small-parrot ranges.
| Line | Budget | Typical | Top of range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bird from a breeder | $25 | $37.50 | $50 |
| Cage and starter supplies (once) | $150 | $275 | $400 |
| Food, toys and vet, annually | $300 | $500 | $700 |
| First year | $475 | $812.50 | $1,150 |
| Each year after | $300 | $500 | $700 |
| Ten years in total | $3,175 | $5,312.50 | $7,450 |
Pick “Budgie (parakeet)” in the species list and the calculator reproduces every row, rounded to whole dollars. It also lets you add lab work, insurance and an emergency fund, which the table leaves out.
What a Parakeet Sells For at PetSmart and From a Breeder
Budgies are the cheapest true parrots you can buy. Master Parrot lists them at $25 to $50, and the calculator uses that range for a reputable breeder. Hepper puts a standard bird at PetSmart at about $40, which the calculator uses for any chain store purchase.
Three things push the price above that band:
- Hand taming. ThePricer’s August 2026 guide lists hand-tamed birds at $75 to $200 or more. A bird already used to fingers saves weeks of patient taming, but it doesn’t change the cage or food bill.
- Show lines. Exhibition English budgies, the larger, fluffier type bred for competition, run $100 to $300 and up in the same guide.
- Rare color mutations. Hepper notes that unusual colors can cost more even at chain stores.
Adoption is the odd one out. With most animals, a rescue saves money. With budgies it usually doesn’t. Hepper lists adoption fees at $30 to $100, which is the same as or higher than a store bird. The calculator caps its rescue fee at the breeder price, so a typical budgie rescue comes out at $37.50 there. The reason to adopt is the bird that needs a home, not the savings.
Setting Up for a 7-Inch Bird: The Price Build-Up
Setup is the one-time spend on the cage and accessories before the bird comes home. Master Parrot itemizes it for small parrots like this:
- Cage, $80 to $250. PetMD’s minimum for one budgie is 18 inches wide, deep and tall, with bars no more than half an inch apart so a head can’t get stuck. Check a cage before you buy with our bird cage size calculator.
- Perches of varied diameters, $15 to $50. Mixed widths exercise the feet; a single dowel doesn’t.
- Starter toys, $20 to $60. Bells, ladders, swings and shreddable paper.
- Food and water dishes, $10 to $30.
- Travel carrier, $25 to $60. You’ll need it for the first vet visit.
- First food and vet visit, $60 to $200.
Take the middle of each line and you get $430. That is well above the $275 typical setup the calculator uses, which comes from Master Parrot’s own summary table for small birds ($150 to $400). The gap is honest disagreement inside one source: the itemized lows alone add up to $210. If you’re buying everything new and not shopping sales, plan on the higher number. Hepper’s longer list, which adds a cage cover, lining, cleaning supplies, a bath and a UV light, totals $205 to $510.
Three Budgets, Worked Dollar by Dollar
First year equals purchase plus setup plus one year of care. After that, only care repeats. Choose Budgie in the calculator, set the options described, and you’ll get these results.
The lowest-cost start: a chain store bird on a budget
Where it comes from: chain pet store. Purchase price level: low. Spending level: budget. The bird is $40, setup $150, care $300 a year ($25 a month). First year: 40 + 150 + 300 = $490. Ten years: 40 + 150 + 300 x 10 = $3,190. This is a floor. It assumes the smallest adequate cage and a wellness exam with no lab work.
A breeder bird with yearly labs and insurance, budgeted for 12 years
Breeder, typical price and spending, with yearly bloodwork and fecal tests ($200, the middle of Master Parrot’s $100 to $300 range) and bird insurance ($205, the middle of The Vet Desk’s $50 to $360). Care becomes 500 + 200 + 205 = $905, or about $75 a month. First year: 37.50 + 275 + 905 = $1,217.50 (the calculator rounds to $1,218). Twelve years: 312.50 + 905 x 12 = $11,172.50. Those two extras raise the yearly bill by 81 percent, which is why they’re the first thing to decide.
A pair from a breeder, typical everything, 10 years
Set the number of birds to 2. Each bird’s opening twelve months run 37.50 + 275 + 500 = $812.50, so the pair is $1,625. Ten years: 2 x (312.50 + 5,000) = $10,625. See the next section for why a real pair usually comes in a little under that.
One Budgie or Two?
Budgies are flock birds. PetMD notes that a bird kept alone needs more of its owner’s attention, and many owners buy a cage mate for that reason. Money-wise, a pair isn’t double.
The calculator prices a full setup for each bird, cage included, to stay conservative. Two birds sharing one cage skip the second cage entirely, and that cage is $80 to $250 on Master Parrot’s list. PetMD’s minimum for a pair is 30 by 18 by 18 inches, only 12 inches wider than the single-bird minimum. Food, toys and vet exams do double. Expect the pair above to land under the calculator’s first-year figure by one cage’s price, less whatever extra the wider cage costs, and right on its yearly figure.
Reading the Monthly Figures Other Guides Quote
Search for a monthly budgie cost and you’ll find numbers far above $42. Hepper’s January 2026 guide says $90 to $215 a month, which is $1,080 to $2,580 annually. That’s not a contradiction once you look at the lines:
- Pet insurance, $21 to $50 a month.
- “Environment maintenance,” $45 to $85 a month.
- Food $10 to $25, vet and medication $10 to $25, toys $5 to $20, grooming $0 to $10.
Drop insurance and environment maintenance and the remaining lines total $25 to $80 a month, or $300 to $960 a year. The low end matches the calculator’s $300 exactly. ThePricer’s $400 to $900 yearly range sits in the same place. So the real question isn’t which guide is right. It’s whether you buy insurance and how much you spend replacing cage furniture.
Food is the steadiest line. PetMD recommends pellets as 60 to 70 percent of the diet, with vegetables, fruit and treats making up the rest (treats no more than 10 percent). ThePricer puts food at $120 to $300 a year.
How Budgies Compare With Cockatiels on Price
Cockatiels are the next size up and the usual alternative. In the same calculator, a typical cockatiel from a breeder is $235, setup $350 and care $650 a year, for a $1,235 first year. The typical budgie comes in $422.50 lower in year one and $150 lower every year after. Our cockatiel cost guide breaks that bird down line by line. At the far end, a typical African grey from a breeder runs $3,650 in its first twelve months in the same tool, 4.5 times the budgie.
Blind Spots in These Numbers
Every class figure here comes from a single publisher covering several small species at once, so treat them as a starting estimate. Master Parrot puts a wellness exam at $50 to $150, while ThePricer lists a first avian exam at $80 to $200 or more, so check your local clinic. The biggest gap is illness. ThePricer puts hospitalization or surgery at $500 to $2,000 and up and suggests a $500 to $1,500 reserve, which the calculator lets you add as a yearly emergency fund. Our emergency vet cost guide shows what an after-hours visit adds, and the pet insurance cost calculator helps you weigh a policy against saving the money yourself.
To plan your budgie cost, start with the recurring number: find an avian vet near you, ask the price of a wellness exam, and set aside at least $500 annually. Then buy the cage (18 inches wide at minimum, 30 for a pair) before the bird, and add the purchase price last, since it’s the smallest line you’ll pay.
Budgie Price Questions Owners Ask
How much is a budgie at PetSmart?
About $40 for a standard budgie at PetSmart, according to Hepper. Rare colors can cost more, and live birds are sold in store only, so call ahead to check stock.
How much does a budgie cost per month?
About $42 a month at typical prices, from $500 a year of food, toys and a yearly avian exam. The full range is $25 to $58. Adding yearly lab work and insurance brings a typical month to about $75.
Is it cheaper to adopt a budgie than to buy one?
Usually not. Hepper lists adoption fees at $30 to $100, while a breeder bird is $25 to $50. Care costs the same either way, so adopt for the bird, not the savings.
How long do budgies live?
PetMD’s veterinarians give 10 to 12 years with proper care, and ThePricer says 7 to 12. At $500 a year, a 12-year life is $6,000 of care on top of the first year’s setup.
Are two budgies twice the cost of one?
No. Food, toys and vet exams double, but a pair can share one cage of 30 by 18 by 18 inches, so you skip a second cage worth $80 to $250.
This page is general information, not veterinary advice. Sources for the budgie cost numbers: Master Parrot’s July 2026 price guide, Hepper’s parakeet cost guides (2025 and January 2026), ThePricer (August 2026), The Vet Desk (January 2026) and the PetMD budgie care sheet. Prices vary by region, store and clinic, so confirm with your seller and avian vet. Last reviewed: September 2026.