The REAL Cost of Kibble
Disclaimer: These charts may not represent the most recent pricing of product
It's no surprise that kibble is the most affordable way to feed your pets. The real question is what you're getting for the cost. Whenever discussing new foods with our customers, we always bring up the fact that on higher-quality foods you will typically feed less than other cheaper or moderately priced foods. This brings the cost of feeding down significantly, but the true number is hard to quantify.
Hard until now!! HPS went ahead and made a little table comparing all our brands, and even some more popular ones that we don't sell. This data does not speak to the quality of any of these brands, but it simply compares the pricing and feedings.
This table compares the price to feed for dogs, using a 60lb dog with limited activity and the largest bag the brand offers as our baseline. The metrics we used to compare the foods allow us to account for differences in bag sizes between brands, differences in feeding portions, and price. We are going to compare three different "Tiers" of food
Tier 3 - Less than $60.00 for a large bag
Tier 2 - $60-$80 for a large bag
Tier 1 - Greater than $80 for a large bag
These tiers do not indicate similarities in quality, simply price. Ultimately we are left with some interesting data.
Tier 3
| Brand | Cups per day | Price of bag | Weight of Bag | Cost per day | Cost per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dog Chow | 3.25 | 26.84 | 42 | 0.4 | 12.5 |
| Petigree | 4 | 27.79 | 44 | 0.57 | 17.05 |
| Skoki | 1.5 | 56.99 | 40 | 0.64 | 19.23 |
| First Mate Grain friendly | 2 | 51.99 | 25 | 0.89 | 26.74 |
| Diamond Naturals | 3.25 | 43.99 | 40 | 0.89 | 26.81 |
| Iams | 2.75 | 55.98 | 40 | 1.15 | 34.64 |
| Beneful | 3.75 | 32.98 | 23 | 1.3 | 38.97 |
| Taste of the Wild | 3 | 53.99 | 28 | 1.45 | 43.38 |
| Kirkland Nature’s Domain | 4.00 | 56.99 | 35 | 1.63 | 48.85 |
Our tier 3 foods include some grocery store brands as well as great value options like the Firstmate Grain Friendly and Skoki. These foods are more expensive than their grocery store counterparts, but of higher quality. This makes their diets more nutritionally dense, therefore feeding less per day. This makes it easily the most cost-effective food, coming to just under $20 a month for a 60lb dog.
Tier 2
| Brand | Cups per day | Price of bag | Weight of Bag | Cost per day | Cost per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FirstMate Grain Free | 2 | 78.99 | 28 | 1.18 | 35.51 |
| Acana Grain free | 2.25 | 65.99 | 25 | 1.35 | 40.49 |
| Fromm Grain Friendly | 3 | 55.19 | 30 | 1.38 | 41.39 |
| Zignature | 2.5 | 62.99 | 26 | 1.51 | 45.43 |
| Purevita grain free | 2.33 | 68.99 | 25 | 1.61 | 48.22 |
| Kirkland Nature Domain | 4 | 56.99 | 35 | 1.63 | 48.85 |
| Acana Wholesome Grains | 2.5 | 64.99 | 22.5 | 1.67 | 49.99 |
| Blue Buffalo | 3.5 | 75.99 | 34 | 1.92 | 57.71 |
| Hills Science Diet | 3.33 | 80.99 | 35 | 1.93 | 57.85 |
| AvoDerm Chicken & Veg | 3 | 59.99 | 24 | 2.25 | 67.49 |
| Natural Balance | 3.25 | 72.98 | 24 | 2.47 | 74.12 |
| Stella Chewy Raw coated kibble | 3 | 75.99 | 22 | 2.59 | 77.72 |
Our tier 2 foods include some brands most popular at big box stores as well as some of our favorites like Acana and Firstmate's Grain-Free options. Here is where stuff gets interesting. Firstmate is certainly not the cheapest food on this list, but comes out at the smallest feeding portion of the bunch, leading it to be just under $40 a month for a 60lb dog. On the opposite side of the spectrum is one of the more popular big box brands, AvoDerm. Here we see a whopping 3 feeding at $59.99! That makes it the one of most expensive to feed by a fair margin, paling in comparison quality wise to most of the foods on this list as well.
Tier 1
| Brand | Cups per day | Price of bag | Weight of Bag | Cost per day | Cost per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acana Singles | 2.25 | 79.99 | 25 | 1.66 | 49.84 |
| Orijen | 2 | 93.99 | 25 | 1.71 | 51.27 |
| Pro Plan | 3 | 83.98 | 41 | 1.81 | 54.22 |
| Orijen Amazing Grains | 1.75 | 93.99 | 22 | 1.83 | 54.83 |
| Fromm Grain Free | 3 | 76.59 | 30 | 1.91 | 57.44 |
| Open Farm | 2.5 | 83.99 | 24 | 2.19 | 65.62 |
| Merrick Grain Free | 3.25 | 73.11 | 30 | 2.44 | 73.11 |
| Merrick Healthy Grains | 3.75 | 89.99 | 33 | 2.56 | 76.69 |
| Merrick Backcountry | 3.25 | 81.99 | 20 | 3.33 | 99.91 |
| Science Diet Urinary Prescription | 3.5 | 107.99 | 27 | 3.44 | 103.08 |
When comparing the tier 3 foods we see some of our favorites on the cheaper side like Acana, Orijen, and Open Farm. Not only are they relatively inexpensive to feed, but they are some of the best dry foods in the industry! Towards the bottom of our list are some of the big box favorites yet again. Brands like Merrick, Natural Balance, and Science Diet tend to be cheaper than our favorites in the bunch. Yet they feed so poorly that it makes them some of the most expensive kibbles bar none. They are giving Carna4 and Wisdom a run for their money, which are some of the best foods made out there.
Comparing Highlights
| Brands | Daily Feeding | Price of Bag | Size of Bag | Daily Feeding | Monthly Feeding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dog Chow | 3.25 | 26.84 | 42 | 0.4 | 12.5 |
| Petigree | 4 | 27.79 | 44 | 0.57 | 17.05 |
| Skoki | 1.5 | 56.99 | 40 | 0.64 | 19.23 |
| First Mate Grain friendly | 2 | 51.99 | 25 | 0.89 | 26.74 |
| Diamond Naturals | 3.25 | 43.99 | 40 | 0.89 | 26.81 |
| Iams | 2.75 | 55.98 | 40 | 1.15 | 34.64 |
| FirstMate Grain Free | 2 | 78.99 | 28 | 1.18 | 35.51 |
| Beneful | 3.75 | 32.98 | 23 | 1.3 | 38.97 |
| Acana Grain free | 2.25 | 65.99 | 25 | 1.35 | 40.49 |
| Taste of the Wild | 3 | 53.99 | 28 | 1.45 | 43.38 |
| Kirkland Nature’s Domain | 4.00 | 56.99 | 35 | 1.63 | 48.85 |
| Acana Wholesome Grains | 2.5 | 64.99 | 22.5 | 1.67 | 49.99 |
| Orijen | 2 | 93.99 | 25 | 1.71 | 51.27 |
| Pro Plan | 3 | 83.98 | 41 | 1.81 | 54.22 |
| Orijen Amazing Grains | 1.75 | 93.99 | 22 | 1.83 | 54.83 |
| Blue Buffalo | 3.5 | 75.99 | 34 | 1.92 | 57.71 |
| Hills Science Diet | 3.33 | 80.99 | 35 | 1.93 | 57.85 |
| Open Farm | 2.5 | 83.99 | 24 | 2.19 | 65.62 |
| AvoDerm Chicken & Veg | 3 | 59.99 | 24 | 2.25 | 67.49 |
| Merrick Grain Free | 3.25 | 73.11 | 30 | 2.44 | 73.11 |
| Natural Balance | 3.25 | 72.98 | 24 | 2.47 | 74.12 |
| Merrick Healthy Grains | 3.75 | 89.99 | 33 | 2.56 | 76.69 |
| Stella Chewy | 3 | 75.99 | 22 | 2.59 | 77.72 |
| Merrick Backcountry | 3.25 | 81.99 | 20 | 3.33 | 99.91 |
Now let's pull it all together to see some of the highlights from every tier. Most of our big box brands are topping the charts, even if their base price is pretty cheap! That is all because of the feeding portions! Again, this data does not speak to the quality of any of these brands, it simply compares the pricing and feedings. Higher quality, nutrient-dense foods typically make feeding portions smaller. This makes brands like Skoki, Firstmate, Acana, and Orijen much more affordable than they may first appear. A low quality brand like Purina Pro Plan is right next to one of the best foods on the market, Orijen, because of this wide discrepancy in feeding portions. The
This tool was never to convince folks to use the cheapest of our brands, rather to show pet owners that the true cost of feeding great food isn't as high as it may seem. It can be attainable for many households and should be in order to keep our pets as healthy as they can be. Simply spending a few extra bucks a month can get your pet a much better food. In some cases, an improvement can be made and even save you money! If you have any questions about this or would even like to see how your kibble stacks up, we would be happy to help. Quality of pet food has a significant impact on our pets overall health and wellbeing as well, so looking at it moreso as an investment into their future health (and reduced vet bills) also makes the switch much easier.
