How Much Does a Budgie (Parakeet) Cost? 2026 Prices, Cage, Vet and Lifetime Costs

A budgie, sold in US pet stores as a parakeet, costs about $25 to $45 to buy. On October 31, 2026, PetSmart listed its green, blue and fancy parakeets at $44.99 each (list price, in stores only), Florida Parrot Rescue charged $25 to adopt a parakeet and Connecticut Parrot Rescue listed parakeet adoption from $30. The bird is the cheap part. Budgies are flock birds, so plan on at least two, a cage that meets the Merck Veterinary Manual’s minimum listed at $229.99 to $285.99 at the same chain, and an avian wellness exam costs roughly $90 to $115 per bird at the clinic fee lists we found. Merck gives budgies an average lifespan of 5 to 10 years.

Creatures has no budgie listings or listed budgie breeders today, so the most useful step is a free budgie listing alert that emails you when one is posted. Color guides, types and owner profiles live on the Creatures budgerigar page. The sections below show where each number comes from.

Budgie or parakeet: the same bird

“Parakeet” is a loose word for many small, long-tailed parrots, but in a US pet store it almost always means the budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus), the small Australian parrot that the Merck Veterinary Manual’s table of popular pet birds lists as usually green in the wild, with many colors available. When you see “green parakeet” or “blue parakeet” on a price tag, you are looking at a budgie. Other birds sold as parakeets, such as the lineolated parakeet or the Indian ringneck, are different species with different prices.

How much does a budgie cost to buy?

Nobody publishes a budgie price index. The exact figures here are one national chain’s list prices and two rescues’ published fees; everything else is described in ranges or left to the seller.

Pet stores

On October 31, 2026, PetSmart’s website listed Green Parakeet, Blue Parakeet and Fancy Parakeet each at a list price of $44.99, sold in stores only. Store budgies are usually young pet-type birds with no known parents or hatch date. The first vet visit matters more for a bird with no history.

Rescues

On October 31, 2026, Florida Parrot Rescue charged $25 to adopt a parakeet and set a minimum cage of 25 inches wide by 17 deep for small birds like parakeets and lovebirds. Connecticut Parrot Rescue listed parakeet adoption from $30. Rescues sometimes have pairs or small groups that already get along, which solves the companionship question at the same time. Expect an application.

Breeders, show budgies and colors

Two types of budgie are sold in the United States. Most pet-store birds are the smaller pet type, which Creatures covers on the American budgerigar page. Exhibition breeders keep a larger type with a big head and plump body, often called the English budgie; the Budgerigar Council of South Australia describes it as larger than its native Australian counterparts. Show-type birds come from specialist breeders, who set their own prices according to quality and line, and they generally cost more than store birds.

Color matters less than you might think. Green and blue are the starting points, and names like opaline, spangle, pied and lutino describe other inherited traits; the budgie colors guide explains how they combine and why a color name cannot tell you everything a bird carries. Pay extra for a color only if it matters to you, and ask the seller for the hatch date and whether the bird is weaned and eating on its own.

Setup cost: the cage costs more than the birds

The Merck Veterinary Manual’s overview of pet birds gives the same minimum cage for budgerigars as for cockatiels: 20 by 20 by 30 inches (length, width, height), with bar spacing of 0.5 inch, and it advises buying the largest cage space and budget allow. The RSPCA’s guidance on housing pet birds adds that the cage should have enough uncluttered space for wing flapping. A long cage gives more room to fly between perches than a tall, narrow one.

What that meant on PetSmart’s website on October 31, 2026:

• A flight cage that clears the minimum. A Prevue flight cage for parakeets, 31 inches long by 20.5 wide by 53 high including its rolling stand, with half-inch wire spacing, listed at $285.99; a wrought iron version of the same size listed at $229.99. Check the height of the cage body itself, since the 53 inches includes the stand.
• Cages that fall short. An All Living Things easy-clean small-bird cage at 26.2 by 16.5 by 27.8 inches with half-inch spacing listed at $129.99; it is longer than Merck’s minimum but below it in width and height. A small-bird cage at 18 by 14 by 22.8 inches listed at $49.99, and a “flight” cage at 30 by 17.8 by 17.9 inches listed at $69.99. Both are below the minimum in width and height. A cage that is too small usually gets replaced, so it rarely saves money.

Inside the cage, the RSPCA asks for plenty of natural wooden perches of different sizes and thicknesses fixed at different angles, and foraging toys rotated from time to time. Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue’s cage guidance warns against painted or dip-galvanized cages and old secondhand cages, because of lead and zinc poisoning risk. Budget for a few natural perches, toys, extra dishes and a bath dish; prices vary too much by brand to quote one figure.

Ongoing monthly and yearly costs

Food

Merck’s guidance on managing pet birds recommends 40 to 50 percent pellets and 30 to 40 percent seed mix for budgerigars, cockatiels and lovebirds, and names pure seed or seed-based diets as one of the two most common causes of malnutrition in pet birds. On October 31, 2026, PetSmart listed a 2-pound bag of Higgins Sunburst parakeet seed mix at $9.99 and a 4-pound bag of Kaytee Forti-Diet parakeet food, a fortified seed diet, at $11.99. Add a pellet made for small birds and fresh vegetables. Budgies are small and a bag lasts a while, so food is a modest line, but a seed-only diet is a false saving.

Veterinary care

The Merck Veterinary Manual’s owner guidance on the importance of veterinary care in pet birds says it is best to have a new bird checked before you bring it home and to take it for a checkup every year, because birds hide illness. Exam fees from published clinic fee lists, checked October 31, 2026:

• The Exotic Pet Vets, an avian and exotic practice: wellness exam $90 in Arizona and $115 in Colorado; medical (sick) exam $100 and $135.
• Erlanger Veterinary Hospital in Kentucky: avian and reptile wellness exam $97.50, sick exam $101.40, each plus a $7.30 medical waste fee.

For a $44.99 bird, an exam costs two to two and a half times the purchase price, and that surprises many new owners. It is still worth doing. Our guide on how to find an avian vet explains how to find one before you need one.

The costs that define ownership

Company. The RSPCA lists budgies among colony-breeding species that live in social groups. Two budgies cost twice as much to buy and examine, but the purchase price is small and a pair is usually happier. Introduce new birds gradually and watch that they get along.

Time out of the cage. RSPCA guidance says pet birds need at least six hours outside the cage every day, in a safe, bird-proofed room.

Health. Merck’s chapter on reproductive diseases of pet birds says chronic egg laying is common in small birds such as budgerigars and that egg binding occurs most notably in cockatiels, budgerigars and lovebirds, so a hen can mean unplanned vet visits. The CDC’s psittacosis overview explains that the human infection is associated with pet birds and spreads mainly through dust from dried droppings, so clean the cage carefully and buy from a seller who can talk about the birds’ health.

Records. A budgie’s hatch date, band number if it has one, source, weights and vet visits are easy to lose track of with several similar-looking birds. On Creatures you can keep health and medical records for each bird and set reminders for upcoming care, such as annual checkups.

What a budgie really costs over its life

Merck gives budgies an average lifespan of 5 to 10 years. Using only the dated figures above, and before perches, toys, pellets, vegetables or illness:

• Getting started, a pair from the pet store: two birds at $44.99 each, a $229.99 to $285.99 flight cage, about $22 for a first bag each of the two seed foods, and two first wellness exams at $90 to $115 each, roughly $522 to $628.
• Getting started, an adopted pair: $25 to $30 each from the rescues above, the same cage, food and exams, roughly $482 to $598. Both totals use a cage sized to Merck’s single-cage minimum; a pair does better with more room, which raises the total.
• Wellness exams over the lifespan: $90 to $115 a year for 5 to 10 years comes to $450 to $1,150 per bird at today’s fees, before tests or sick visits.

These startup totals count only the first bag of each food; refills come on top, at whatever pace your pair eats. The birds themselves are only about a tenth to a sixth of the startup cost. Plan around the cage and the vet.

How this guide differs from our general bird price guide

Our broader guide, How Much Is a Bird?, compares typical prices across many species to help you choose a kind of bird. This page is only about budgies, with dated, attributed prices for the birds, a cage that meets the veterinary minimum, food and exams, plus the companionship and lifespan costs specific to budgies. If you are weighing a budgie against a larger bird, compare it with our guide to what a cockatiel costs; cockatiels cost more to buy and live longer. For parrot-family birds in general, our guide on where to buy a parrot covers stores, breeders and rescues.

Frequently asked questions

How much is a parakeet at PetSmart?

On October 31, 2026, PetSmart’s website listed green, blue and fancy parakeets at a list price of $44.99 each, in stores only. Prices change, so check your store.

Is a parakeet the same as a budgie?

In US pet stores, yes. “Parakeet” on a price tag almost always means a budgerigar. Other small parrots are also called parakeets, so check the species name.

Should I get one budgie or two?

Two. Budgies are flock birds, and the extra purchase price is small compared with the cage and vet costs you are paying anyway.

Why does a budgie cage cost more than the bird?

Because a cage that meets the Merck minimum of 20 by 20 by 30 inches with half-inch bars is a large piece of equipment, and many cheap cages sold for small birds are below it.

How long do budgies live?

Merck gives an average of 5 to 10 years. Good diet, housing and vet care help a bird reach the upper end.

Do this next on Creatures

• Hear about budgies for sale. Save a budgie search and get an email when one is listed. No account needed to start. See saving searches and using your watchlist.
• Check current listings. See budgie listings on the marketplace; there may be none today, which is what the alert is for. If you find one, read making an offer on a listing.
• Find a breeder to contact. Browse breeder profiles. A profile is a lead to investigate, not a guarantee of stock or health.
• Start your birds’ profiles. Add a budgie, no account needed to start. Need names? Try the budgie name generator. Read adding an animal.
• Keep vet visits and weights. Add a record for an exam, a weight or a health note. The form opens for visitors; a free account saves it.
• Breed or rescue budgies? Create an aviary or rescue profile so people looking for birds can find you, no account needed to start.