Raw vs Dry Commercialized Kibble: Cost Per Daily Feed

 

I always had the assumption that raw feed is all fancy and expensive. And I think I can speak for most of the pet parents who have not looked into or done research on Raw Feed before, that the idea seems like a luxury rather necessity.

"Pet food is just pet food, right?" That is the general response I get from speaking to several pet owners at an off-leash park. Although I can't throw my arms up in disagreement to their comment, it got me thinking and very curious on doing a comparison. Maybe they will give this a second thought when they are presented with facts, and not just based on my personal experience.

Back then before starting my golden retriever on a raw diet, I was buying brands like Acana and Orijen at a bag every three and a half week. At roughly $98 to $105 before taxes each bag.

The reason I switched over, the pros and cons, I will save for another blog post...

But since the switch, I haven't notice a big impact to my bank account. So I was quite sold to the idea of feeding raw and all the awesome benefits that came with it. Since I'm paying roughly the same, if not, a few dimes more, why not go for what's best for my pet in the long run? Wouldn't you? For more information and benefits of raw feeding, you can visit this page here

I know there's the option of canned food but when I looked into that, I saw all these additives and preservatives plus other ingredients that had nothing natural about it. Not to mention the feeding guideline along with the price per can, got me shaking my head. However, if you are interested in seeing a price comparison, leave me a comment and which brand, I'll see what I can put together. 

Okay so here comes the juicy part...

After gathering all the information, I've composed a chart below for reference.

With assumptions of:

• dry kibble feed by cup measurement: 1 lb = 4 cups.
• price calculated for frozen raw is per pound.
• price calculated for dry/ dehydrated is per cup.
• pricing calculated using the heaviest option available because that will give the lowest price possible.
• prices at regular msrp (no discounts)
• adult dog food
• taxes not included

I have also linked the raw products available at Modern Kibble for your convenience.

To figure out how much it would cost for your dog, just take the price per pound and multiply how much feed your dog would need in pounds or cup per day.

Example: my dog eats 0.75lbs of the raw chicken blend at $2.87/lb
so it would be $2.87 x 0.75 = $2.15 per day

or

based on the feeding chart on the bag of dry kibble, my dog was eating 3 cups a day, so that would be $0.74 x 3 = $2.22 per day

Let me know what you think about this comparison in the comment section below. Would you consider making the switch to raw after seeing this? 

 

Raw			Dry Kibble
Happy Dog Raw 31lb box	Crudo 44 lb case	IrRAWsistable  22lb box	GO!	Blue Buffalo	Wellness	NUTRO
Chicken Complete Nutrition Blend $2.87/lb	Chicken with Bone & Vegetables $2.84/lb	Chicken w/ Veg $3.44/lb	Fit + Free Grain Free Adult Recipe 25lb@ $79.99 $0.80/cup	Grain Free, Natural, Chicken 24lb@70.99 $0.74/cup	CORE® Large Breed Adult Dog Food - Natural, Grain Free 24lb@$82.99 $0.86/cup	Wholesome Essentials Adult Dog Food - Natural, Non-GMO, Chicken, Brown Rice & Sweet Potato 30lb@62.99 $0.52/cup
Turkey Complete Nutrition Blend $3.26/lb	Turkey with Bone & Vegetables $3.32/lb	Turkey w/ Veg $3.55/lb	Sensitivity + Shine Limited Ingredient Diet Turkey Recipe 25lb@ $79.99 $0.80/cup	Limited Ingredient Adult Dog Food - Turkey & Potato 24lb@71.99 $0.75/cup	CORE® RawRev Adult Dog Food - Natural, Grain Free, Freeze Dried Raw, Original 20lb@$84.99  $1.06/cup	n/a
Beef Complete Nutrition Blend with Chicken  $3.48/lb	Beef, Chicken with Bone & Vegetables $2.90/lb  Beef & Vegetables $3.54/lb	Beef w/ Veg  $5.64/lb	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Lamb and Turkey Complete Nutrition Blend  $4.74/lb	Lamb & Vegetables $4.78/lb	Lamb w/ Veg $6.36/lb	SENSITIVITY + SHINE Grain Free LID Lamb Recipe 25lb@ $86.99 $0.87/cup	Adult Dog Food - Grain Free, Gluten Free, Lamb 24lb@$68.99 $0.72/cup	Complete Health Adult Dog Food - Natural, Grain Free, Lamb & Lamb Meal 24lb@$79.99 $0.83/cup	Wholesome Essentials Adult Dog Food - Natural, Non-GMO, Lamb & Rice 30lb@64.99 $0.54/cup
n/a	Duck with Bone & Vegetables $3.40/lb	Duck w/ Veg $4.42/lb	Sensitivity + Shine Duck Recipe 25lb@ $79.99 $0.80/cup	Adult Dog Food - Grain Free, Natural, Duck 24lb@70.99 $0.74/cup	CORE® RawRev Adult Dog Food - Natural, Grain Free, Freeze Dried Raw, Wild Game 18lb@84.99 $1.18/cup	Adult Dog Food - Natural, Limited Ingredient, Grain Free, Non-GMO, Duck & Lentils 22lb@76.99 $0.87/cup
n/a	Venison & Vegetables $5.54/lb	n/a	Sensitivity + Shine Limited Ingredient Diet Venison Recipe 25lb@ $121.99 $1.22/cup	Snake River Grill Dog Food - Natural, Grain Free, Trout, Venison & Rabbit 22lbs@ $74.99 $0.85/cup	n/a	n/a

 

Disclaimer: this comparison is solely for information purposes. Prices were obtained from the big box retailers' online site as of December 2018 and compared to Modern Kibble's. I'm not affiliated with any of the brand vendors.