Pet Boarding Cost in 2026: Dog & Cat Boarding and Kennel Rates

Pet boarding cost in 2026 runs $25 to $50 per night for standard dog kennel care, $50 to $125 per night for luxury dog hotels, and $15 to $35 per night for cat boarding. That works out to a standard dog week (nightly × 7) of $175 to $350, a luxury dog week of $350 to $875, and a cat week of $105 to $245. Most owners booking a regular trip land near $280 for a dog and $175 for a cat over seven nights. Price your exact stay with our free Pet Boarding Service Cost Calculator.

I run the pets-cost research here, and the comparison that surprised me most came from my own trip last spring. I boarded our dog and our cat at the same time for 10 nights: the dog sat in a standard kennel at $38 a night ($380), and the cat went to an individual suite at $45 a night ($450). The cat — the smaller animal — cost more per night than the dog, and the combined bill hit $830 before a single add-on. That is the core lesson of this guide: boarding cost is driven by facility tier and length of stay far more than by the size of your pet.

This is the broad overview. If you want a tier-by-tier breakdown of a single night with holiday surcharge math, read our companion pet boarding cost per night guide. Here we focus on the three decisions that move the total: dog versus cat, standard versus luxury, and short trip versus long stay.

Pet boarding cost by facility tier and pet type

The single biggest swing in your bill is the facility tier you pick. A basic kennel and a luxury pet hotel are both "boarding," but they sit at opposite ends of a 5x price range. The table below shows 2026 nightly ranges by tier for dogs and cats, drawn from aggregated HomeGuide dog boarding data and Catster's 2026 cat boarding guide.

Two patterns jump out. First, cat boarding starts cheaper at the basic tier ($15 vs $25) because a cat needs a small condo rather than a kennel run, but the gap closes fast — at the luxury tier a cat suite ($50-$120) can cost as much as a dog suite. Second, the dog luxury range is the widest in the entire market ($50-$125), because "luxury" covers everything from a quiet private suite to a resort with a swimming pool and 24-hour webcam.

Dog boarding cost: standard vs luxury

Dog boarding is the largest slice of the market and the most standardized. Per HomeGuide, traditional kennels charge $25 to $50 per night, with most owners paying about $40, while luxury dog hotels run $50 to $125 per night for suites, supervised play, and amenities.

Standard kennel ($25-$50 per night)

A standard kennel gives your dog an indoor run, scheduled feeding with your food, water, potty breaks, and some group or individual play. This is the right default for a healthy, social adult dog. At the $40 national-average rate, a 7-night stay is $40 × 7 = $280. Add one daily 30-minute play session at $12 and the week becomes $280 + ($12 × 7) = $364.

Luxury dog hotel ($50-$125 per night)

Luxury boarding buys private suites, supervised group play, pools, upgraded bedding, and webcam access. At $85 per night — a typical mid-point of the luxury range — a 7-night stay is $85 × 7 = $595 before add-ons. The premium matters most for high-energy breeds and dogs with separation anxiety that struggle in a basic kennel run; it matters least for a calm, social dog on a weekend trip.

The standard-to-luxury jump is the clearest number in dog boarding: $280 versus $595 for the same week, a $315 difference for the same seven nights.

Cat boarding cost: cattery vs suite

Cat boarding is a quieter, narrower market, and the species difference is real. Per Catster and HomeGuide cat data, shared catteries start at $15 to $35 per night, individual suites run $30 to $60, and luxury boutique cat hotels reach $50 to $120 per night.

Shared cattery ($15-$35 per night)

A shared cattery houses your cat in a small condo within a cat room, with daily feeding, litter cleaning, and limited interaction. It is the budget option for a confident cat on a 2-to-4-night trip. A 3-night cattery stay at $25 per night is $25 × 3 = $75.

Individual suite ($30-$60 per night)

An individual suite is a multi-level condo with a private litter area, perches, and one to two daily play sessions — the best fit for most cats and any cat on a 5-plus-night trip. A 7-night suite at $45 per night is $45 × 7 = $315. Many suite-tier facilities are cat-only, which removes the dog-stress variable entirely.

Pet boarding cost by length of stay

Length of stay is the second-biggest lever after tier, because the nightly rate multiplies. The table below re-derives the full trip total for the three stays owners actually budget — a long weekend (3 nights), a standard week (7 nights), and a two-week vacation (14 nights) — at one representative rate per tier.

Every cell is nightly × nights: dog standard is $40 × 3 = $120, $40 × 7 = $280, $40 × 14 = $560. Dog luxury is $85 × 3 = $255, $85 × 7 = $595, $85 × 14 = $1,190. Cat suite is $45 × 3 = $135, $45 × 7 = $315, $45 × 14 = $630. A two-week luxury dog stay ($1,190) costs more than four times a long-weekend cat suite ($135) — same product category, wildly different total.

Add-on fees that change the per-night rate

Every published boarding rate covers only the basics: the enclosure, your food fed on schedule, cleaning, water, and basic interaction. Everything else is an add-on, and a few of them stack quickly. These are the common 2026 fees:

Stack a few and the effective nightly rate climbs fast. A $40 standard kennel with twice-daily medication ($14), one daily play session ($12), and a special diet ($8) has an effective rate of $40 + $14 + $12 + $8 = $74 per night — 85% above the headline number. Over a 7-night stay that is $74 × 7 = $518, not the $280 the advertised rate implied. The published nightly rate is a starting point, not a quote.

How to price your exact boarding stay

Pricing your specific trip takes about a minute. Open the Pet Boarding Service Cost Calculator and enter four things:

1. Pet type and facility tier — this sets the base nightly rate, the single largest driver of the total.
2. Length of stay — the calculator applies multi-night discounts where they exist.
3. Add-ons — playtime, medication, special diet. These stack on top of the nightly rate.
4. Location — regional cost differences shift the range up in coastal metros and down in rural areas.

For dog-only households, the dedicated Dog Boarding Service Cost Calculator breaks out kennel, luxury hotel, and in-home tiers. To compare boarding against in-home care, run the Pet Sitting Service Cost Calculator — sitters charge per visit or per overnight rather than per kennel night, and the math comes out differently.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does pet boarding cost per night?

Pet boarding cost is $25 to $50 per night for a standard dog kennel, $50 to $125 for a luxury dog hotel, and $15 to $35 for cat boarding in 2026. The national average is about $40 per night for dogs and $25 to $30 for cats, per HomeGuide 2026 data. Facility tier drives the price far more than pet size — a luxury cat suite can cost the same as a luxury dog suite. Estimate your exact stay with the Pet Boarding Service Cost Calculator.

How much does a week of pet boarding cost?

A standard week of dog boarding costs $175 to $350 (nightly × 7), a luxury dog week costs $350 to $875, and a cat week costs $105 to $245 in 2026. At the $40 dog national average, seven nights is $280; at the $85 luxury rate it is $595. Cat boarding at a $25 cattery rate is $175 for the week. Many facilities discount 5% to 15% at seven-plus nights, so always ask whether a weekly rate exists before booking night by night.

How much more does luxury boarding cost than standard?

Luxury boarding costs roughly 1.5 to 2.5 times the standard rate: dogs jump from $25-$50 at a kennel to $50-$125 at a luxury hotel. For a 7-night dog stay, that is $280 standard ($40/night) versus $595 luxury ($85/night) — a $315 difference for the same week. The premium buys private suites, supervised play, pools, and webcams. It matters most for anxious or high-energy pets and least for a calm, social pet on a short trip.

Does dog or cat boarding cost more?

At the basic tier, dog boarding costs more ($25-$50 vs $15-$35 for cats), but at the luxury tier the gap closes and a cat suite ($50-$120) can match a dog suite. Dog boarding scales with weight because larger dogs need bigger runs and more food, while cat pricing is flat by size — the tier, not the cat, sets the rate. In my own 10-night trip the cat suite ($45/night) actually cost more than the dog kennel ($38/night).

How much do boarding add-on fees cost?

Boarding add-ons typically run $10-$25 per play session, $5-$10 per medication dose, $15-$45 for an exit bath, and $5-$15 per day for a special diet in 2026. Stacked together, they can lift a $40 kennel to an effective $74 per night — 85% above the advertised rate. Always request the complete add-on fee list before booking, not at pickup, so the final bill matches your budget.

How much does two weeks of pet boarding cost?

Two weeks of standard dog boarding costs $560 at the $40 national average (40 × 14), rising to $1,190 for a luxury hotel and falling to $630 for a $45 cat suite. Long stays are where multi-night discounts matter most — a 10% weekly rate on the $560 standard dog stay saves $56. For trips this long, in-home pet sitting becomes competitive; compare the two in our pet sitting cost guide.

Is pet boarding cheaper than a pet sitter?

Facility boarding is generally 20% to 40% cheaper per night than overnight in-home pet sitting, because the facility shares one staff across many pets. A $40 kennel night versus a $60-$90 overnight sitter visit is the typical gap. Boarding wins on value for social dogs; in-home sitting wins for anxious cats and exotics that do poorly leaving home. See per-day sitter rates in our overnight dog sitting cost guide.

Related Articles

• Pet Boarding Cost Per Night in 2026 — The tier-by-tier single-night breakdown with full holiday surcharge math.
• How Much Does Pet Sitting Cost in 2026? — The in-home alternative: drop-in, overnight, and 24-hour live-in rates.
• Overnight Dog Sitting Cost in 2026 — Per-night in-home dog care, the closest substitute for kennel boarding.

Related Calculators

• Pet Boarding Service Cost Calculator — Price a stay by pet type, facility tier, length, and add-ons.
• Dog Boarding Service Cost Calculator — Dog-only tiers: kennel, luxury hotel, and in-home sitter.
• Pet Sitting Service Cost Calculator — In-home drop-in and overnight visits, priced per visit instead of per night.
• Pet Insurance Quote Calculator — Monthly premiums to cover emergency vet costs during longer boarding stays.

Methodology

Nightly ranges reflect 2026 published pricing aggregated from HomeGuide, Catster, and Rover regional data across multiple metro markets. National averages of about $40/night (dogs) and $25-$30/night (cats) come from HomeGuide 2026. All weekly and trip totals in this article are re-derived as nightly rate × night count and reconcile exactly.

---

Pet boarding rates vary by location, facility, and pet needs. Always confirm vaccination requirements, ask for the complete add-on fee list before booking, and provide written care instructions including medication schedules and emergency veterinary contacts.