Disclosure: We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.
Every time I see an article about the cost of buying a pet rabbit, the answer is based upon the asking price from rabbit breeders instead of the actual price that people pay for their bunnies.
I suspected that those rabbit prices were, at best, misleading.
So I asked thousands of my rabbit friends a simple question: “How much did you pay for your pet rabbit and what breed is it?”
We collected their answers and crunched the numbers. Not only do we know how much people actually pay for a pet rabbit, but we also now know what the most popular pet bunny breeds are.
Let’s start with the general answer.
The average cost for a pet rabbit is $55.35 and the median price is $40.00. The price ranges wildly and is affected by many factors. Many people get their pet rabbits for free, while others choose to pay hundreds of dollars for show quality rabbits as pets.
We also found that here are many things that effect the cost of a pet rabbit.
If you would like to participate in the next pet rabbit cost survey (and other bunny surveys), be sure to signup for our email list at the bottom of this article and join our new group on Facebook.
~Stacey
Pet Rabbit Cost By Breed
The table below has includes the following data:
- Breed of Rabbit
- The Number Of Rabbit Prices Reported For That Breed.
- Average Price Paid For A Bunny Of That Breed
- Median Price Paid
- Maximum Reported Cost For A Pet Bunny Of That Specific Breed.
We included the # of bunny prices reported for each breed so you know what the sample size is. More common rabbit breeds have a larger sample size of prices.
We include both average and median prices so you can see if extremely high or low rabbit prices have affected the average.
We included the maximum cost of a pet rabbit of each breed so you can see if one really high price moved the average significantly.
Chart Of Pet Rabbit Price For Various Rabbit Breeds
Table Of Pet Rabbit Price By Breed
| Breed | # | Avg $ | Median $ | Max $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Fuzzy Lop | 2 | $175.00 | $175.00 | $200.00 |
| American Rabbit | 2 | $30.00 | $30.00 | $50.00 |
| Black Satin | 1 | $20.00 | $20.00 | $20.00 |
| Calfornian | 5 | $32.60 | $35.00 | $80.00 |
| Cashmere Minilop | 1 | $50.00 | $50.00 | $50.00 |
| Chinchilla | 1 | $25.00 | $25.00 | $25.00 |
| Cinnamon Bunny | 1 | $50.00 | $50.00 | $50.00 |
| Continental Giant | 2 | $45.00 | $45.00 | $90.00 |
| Dutch | 13 | $40.38 | $35.00 | $85.00 |
| Dwarf Hotot | 4 | $55.00 | $40.00 | $125.00 |
| English Angora | 6 | $120.83 | $107.50 | $300.00 |
| English Lop | 1 | $60.00 | $60.00 | $60.00 |
| English Spot | 2 | $37.50 | $37.50 | $50.00 |
| Flemish Giant | 12 | $42.58 | $32.50 | $150.00 |
| Florida White | 1 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| French Angora | 1 | $45.00 | $45.00 | $45.00 |
| French Lops | 2 | $52.50 | $52.50 | $60.00 |
| Harlequin | 2 | $57.50 | $57.50 | $80.00 |
| Havana | 3 | $41.67 | $50.00 | $65.00 |
| Holland Lop | 41 | $102.49 | $65.00 | $910.00 |
| Jersey Woolly | 4 | $37.50 | $35.00 | $50.00 |
| Lionhead | 33 | $42.00 | $30.00 | $180.00 |
| Mini Lop | 23 | $59.78 | $50.00 | $390.00 |
| Mini Rex | 18 | $38.89 | $30.00 | $80.00 |
| Mini Satin | 1 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 |
| Mix Breed | 48 | $34.23 | $25.00 | $201.00 |
| Neatherland Dwarf | 12 | $50.92 | $50.00 | $75.00 |
| New Zealand | 5 | $28.00 | $30.00 | $30.00 |
| Polish | 3 | $50.00 | $50.00 | $95.00 |
| Rex | 4 | $41.25 | $40.00 | $60.00 |
| Silver Fox | 1 | $20.00 | $20.00 | $20.00 |
| Thrianta | 1 | $250.00 | $250.00 | $250.00 |
| Velveteen Lop | 3 | $43.33 | $40.00 | $70.00 |
This table of data does tell us a few things about the cost of pet rabbits.
On average, the most expensive pet bunny breed is the American Fuzzy Lop.
The Thrianta Rabbit is also a costly breed, but only a single bunny price was reported in this survey, so we are hesitant to report it as the most expensive pet bunny.
On average the least expensive pet rabbit breed is Mixed Breed Bunny. Those are followed closely by the affordable Dutch and Flemish Giant Rabbits.
Often when people responded to the survey, they would provide additional information in the notes about why their rabbit cost so much or why it was so inexpensive.
There were a number of cost-related factors that showed up again and again.
Factors That Affect The Cost Of A Pet Rabbit
1 – Who You Buy A Rabbit From Affects Price
Rabbits purchased in pet stores were often significantly more expensive than the average pet rabbit.
Rabbits purchased from breeders were often either more expensive or cheaper than the average. It seems that larger breeders charge significantly more, while smaller breeders who just have a few litters a year often sell their bunnies at discounted prices.
Rescue rabbits could come directly from the previous owner or from an animal shelter.
Those that came from the previous owner were often the least expensive bunnies and were sometimes even free. These bunnies often came with a cage and other rabbit gear, and often were already neutered or spayed which also represents a significant saving.
On the other hand, those that came from an animal shelter were often much more expensive, though they usually come already neutered or spayed and sometimes have already received recommended vaccinations.
2 – Already Neutered or Spayed Rabbits Are More Expensive
As we talked about in the article about the real cost of getting a rabbit fixed, the average cost of getting a rabbit fixed is $275.
There are lots of good reasons to get your bunny spayed or neutered, so sometimes paying more for an already altered bunny is in the long run the least expensive option.
3 – Pedigreed Rabbits Are More Expensive
Purebred rabbits with pedigrees (proof that they are purebred) are more expensive than mixed bunnies or even those that are purebred but not papered.
Some rabbit owners want to pay extra for the pedigrees in case they decide to breed the bunny later.
4 – Desirable Or Rare Colors Of Rabbits Are More Expensive
Many breeds of rabbits come in more than one color, and some of those colors are more desirable and/or rarer which makes them more expensive rabbits.
5 – Show Winning Ancestors Make Rabbits More Expensive
Not all pedigrees are created equal. Rabbits that come from award-winning parents and grandparents are more expensive than bunnies that have a less notable linage.
6 – Already Vaccinated Rabbits Are More Expensive
In many European countries, rabbit vaccinations are mandated. In the United States, vaccinations are optional.
However, most rabbit owners do get their bunnies vaccinated against the most common rabbit diseases and having those vaccines already administered makes a rabbit more expensive.
7 – Microchipped Rabbits Are More Expensive
A microchip is a small transmitter that is inserted painlessly by a veterinarian under the skin of your bunny. Then if someone finds your rabbit, a veterinarian can ‘scan’ the microchip to recover your contact information from a nationwide database.
Unlike cats and dogs, rabbits can’t wear collars. That leaves a microchip as the only way for your bunny to be identified should he get lost.
The original owner can transfer the microchip to you, allowing you to update the contact information online. Getting a rabbit microchipped cast about $50, so having the chip already in place can makes a rabbit more expensive.
8 – Desirable Breed Variants Make A Rabbit Cost More
Each breed of rabbit is known for certain characteristics. In some cases, the degree to which those characteristics are present can change from bunny to bunny.
For example, Lionhead rabbits are known for their furry mane. However, not all manes are created equally. There are standard manes and double manes The double manes are rarer and more desirable, therefore double mane lionhead bunnies are more expensive than standard lionhead bunnies.
9 – Litter Box Trained Rabbits Are More Expensive
All rabbits can be litter box trained, though all rabbits also have ‘accidents’ even if they are potty trained. However, a trained bunny makes much less of a mess than an untrained bunny.
Be Part Of The Next Bunny Survey
If you’d like to help build our database of real rabbit data, you can signup for our email list below and when we update this article we’ll contact you to add your input to our database.
We are always adding rabbit information to RabbitPros.com and there will probably be other surveys coming up soon. We always give our rabbit friends on our email list a chance to participate.
You can signup below.
~Stacey
Hi have about six bunnies and I was wondering if u could help me with their breeds I was told my first one was a dwarf that is so not the case then I have one that is part lions head two that are rescues which one I’m sure is a endanger one she’s white with what looks like eye liner around her eyes and longish fur her brother which is much smaller then her and tan and white with long fur I can send pics