Remember “The Price Is Right”? If you ever spent a day home sick from school watching the classic game show, you likely remember Bob Barker ending every episode by encouraging viewers to spay or neuter their pets. Bob had a good point: Besides preventing unwanted litters, spaying and neutering have other benefits, including the prevention of serious diseases like pyometra and some forms of cancer.

But one thing that can give owners pause is the cost. Spaying and neutering procedures can add up to $500 or more in vet bills.

While pet insurance can be a smart investment, it's not much help when it comes to spaying or neutering procedures. Typically, only wellness plans cover any portion of sterilization procedures (except for extreme circumstances). Here's what you need to know about pet insurance and spaying/neutering.

Pet insurance policies provide coverage for unexpected injuries or illnesses, such as broken bones, respiratory infections, or cancer. The standard policies don't provide coverage for preventative care, such as vaccinations or wellness exams, nor do they cover elective procedures.

Where does spaying and neutering fit in? Spaying/neutering are surgical procedures to sterilize your pets. But, they are elective procedures, and the veterinarian will perform surgery on a healthy pet. As a result, spaying or neutering is typically excluded from coverage.

Because spaying and neutering are typically elective, planned procedures, they're rarely medically necessary — so pet insurance policies won't cover the cost.

Learn more: Your guide to what pet insurance covers

Despite not typically being included in coverage, there are two ways a pet insurance company might cover spaying and neutering.

Learn more: Pet insurance that pays the vet directly: How does it work?

The most common way to offset the cost of spaying or neutering your dog or cat is by adding a wellness or preventative care plan to your policy. Wellness plans are optional add-ons that work differently from insurance; they provide a fixed amount of reimbursement per year for certain routine care expenses.

For example, a wellness plan may cover up to $450 in wellness expenses, but there are caps for each procedure or treatment type. Here’s a sample of a wellness plan's limits:

For example, let’s say you have a six-month-old golden retriever. You schedule him to be neutered with your veterinarian, and the procedure will cost $500. If you have a wellness plan with your pet insurance company, the insurer will reimburse you for up to $150 of the cost of neutering, so your actual net cost would be $350.

With a wellness plan, you're still on the hook for the majority of the expense, but it could still provide some assistance.

There are some serious health conditions that can occur in dogs and cats that require sterilization as part of the pet's treatment. For example, pyometra is a serious and potentially fatal infection affecting the pet's uterus. To treat the condition and save the pet's life, the veterinarian may need to perform an emergency ovariohysterectomy — basically, a more complicated form of spaying since the pet is so ill.

If the condition isn't a pre-existing condition and your veterinarian decides spaying or neutering is an essential part of your pet's treatment plan, the procedure may be covered under a standard pet insurance accident and illness policy. If so, the usual coverage limits, deductible, and reimbursement percentage will apply.

A pet insurance wellness plan can provide some help with the cost of spaying or neutering, but these plans can also reduce the cost of many other services or treatments, including:

• Wellness exams

• Vaccines (such as rabies or distemper)

• Flea or tick preventatives

• Heartworm preventatives

• Bloodwork

• Microchipping

• Dental cleaning

• Grooming

Tip: When comparing wellness plan options, consider the annual coverage maximum and the limit per treatment category. For example, for a younger dog, a higher limit for vaccines and spaying or neutering may be more cost-effective.

Learn more: Does pet insurance cover dental treatment?

While a standard pet insurance policy only covers spaying or neutering in extreme circumstances to treat a disease or condition, it's possible to get some help with the cost of sterilization by adding a wellness plan to your policy. These pet insurance plans reimburse you up to a set amount each year for routine or preventative care, making your pet's care more affordable.

Not all pet insurance companies offer wellness plans, but pet parents can find several options in our list of the best pet insurance companies of 2025.

Spaying and neutering are both elective procedures and (in most cases) not medically necessary. Standard pet insurance policies cover treatments for unexpected injuries and illnesses.

In general, it's best to spay or neuter cats by five months of age. With dogs, the best time varies by breed and animal size — for some breeds, it may be a good idea to wait to spay or neuter your pet to give their joints more time to develop. Always talk to your vet to find out what makes sense for your pet.

The cost of spaying or neutering will vary based on your location, veterinarian, and in many cases, age and size (for dogs). In general, you can expect to pay anywhere from $250 to $600.

Why is spaying and neutering so expensive?

Although spaying and neutering are common procedures, they're still surgical procedures. To perform a spay/neuter surgery safely, your veterinarian will have to do bloodwork to ensure your pet is healthy, administer anesthesia, and perform surgery. Afterward, they have to administer pain medication and monitor your pet, so it can be a costly procedure.