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Typical US cost: $22 to $96 per vaccine, depending on the shot, in the Synchrony cost study published by CareCredit. Its per-vaccine averages: rabies $35, DHPP $42, leptospirosis $34, Bordetella $39, and canine influenza $53. The exam fee is charged on top at most full-service clinics.
Vaccination is the cheapest serious medicine in this whole section. The expensive mistakes are not in the price per shot but in the pattern: puppies need a series, not a single visit, and adult dogs need boosters on a schedule set by the vaccine and by law, not by memory. This guide prices the individual shots from the study, then adds them up into the two totals owners actually pay: the puppy series and the adult annual visit.
CareCredit's vaccination schedule guide separates core vaccines, recommended for every dog, from lifestyle vaccines, which depend on where you live and what your dog does. Rabies sits in its own category: it is required by law across the US, with the first dose given at 12 to 16 weeks of age and again at one year, then every one to three years depending on the vaccine and local rules.
Rabies is not: it is required by law in the US because the disease is fatal and transmissible to people. The core distemper combination protects against diseases, distemper and parvovirus above all, that still kill unvaccinated dogs every year, and at $42 a dose it is among the cheapest insurance in this guide. The lifestyle vaccines genuinely are optional and should be decided by exposure: a dog that never boards, is groomed at home and lives where Lyme disease is rare may reasonably skip some of them, on your vet's advice.
The Synchrony study published by CareCredit averages $35 for a one-year rabies vaccine. Low-cost and municipal rabies clinics charge less; a full-service visit adds the exam fee on top.
Plan on three to four visits between 6 and 16 weeks, each with an exam and one or more shots. At study averages, a DHPP dose is $42 and rabies $35, with exams at $56 to $129 per visit at a full-service clinic, so most owners spend a few hundred dollars across the series. Low-cost clinics bring the total down sharply.
DHPP is a single injection combining distemper, hepatitis (adenovirus), parainfluenza and parvovirus protection. It is the core vaccine alongside rabies, priced at a $42 average in the study, which makes it four diseases covered for one administration fee.
Rabies repeats every one to three years depending on the product and local law. DHPP boosters are typically given every one to three years after the one-year booster, and lifestyle vaccines such as Bordetella and influenza are usually annual. Your clinic's reminder system tracks the actual dates for your dog.
The vaccines themselves are the same products. What a low-cost clinic does not provide is the full exam and the ongoing medical record, which matter for puppies, seniors and any dog with health issues. Many owners mix the two: boosters at a vaccine clinic, annual exam with their own vet.
Not under standard accident and illness policies, which exclude preventive care. Wellness add-ons and standalone wellness plans cover scheduled vaccines up to a set allowance, which is one of the main reasons owners buy them.
The prices on this page are published US averages and ranges from the sources listed below. They are planning figures, not quotes, and your own clinic's written estimate is the number that counts for your dog. This page is general information, not veterinary advice, and it does not replace your own veterinarian, who knows your dog. In an emergency, contact your veterinarian, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center on (888) 426-4435, or the Pet Poison Helpline on (855) 764-7661 straight away. A consultation fee may apply on the helplines.
Last updated: November 2026. Every figure on this page was checked against the sources listed above. How we work: our methodology.
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