Compare · PetScored desk
Compare two pet foods, side by side.
Pick any two dog foods or cat foods and we score them on the same five things, from the same rules: nutrition fit, ingredient clarity, brand trust, sensitivity risk, and value. The point is not to crown a winner. It is to show you exactly which tradeoff each food makes, so you can weigh it against your own animal.
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Pick any two scored brands. We’ll show the head-to-head verdict, the composite differential, and every sub-score side by side.
What actually decides a head-to-head.
Most foods look interchangeable on the front of the bag, and the front of the bag is the part we do not score. Here is what separates two foods once you line them up on the same rubric.
Value, measured per calorie. We compare cost per 1,000 kcal, not price per bag, because a cheaper bag can cost more per calorie once you account for how dense the food is. Value is where two otherwise-matched foods usually split.
Ingredient clarity. Does the label name its proteins, fats, and grains, or does it hide them behind terms like “animal fat” and “meat and bone meal”? A label that says less earns less, and this is the other dimension that most often decides a comparison.
Nutrition fit and sensitivity risk tend to cluster. Once a food actually meets the AAFCO profile it claims, these two marks bunch up, so they rarely decide a matchup on their own. When they do, it is usually a high-protein food overshooting our modeled range, or a common trigger ingredient sitting high on one label and not the other.
Marketing words score nothing.“Holistic”, “premium”, “human-grade”, and “natural” are not defined terms, so they carry no weight. Neither does the price tag by itself.
The five dimensions and their exact rules live in the dog food methodology and the cat food methodology. Every comparison is reconstructible from the same public label and record data.
Curated head-to-heads · 37
Dog food comparisons
- Dr. Marty Nature's Blend vs Badlands Ranch Superfood CompleteTwo heavily-advertised DTC raw-style foods from the same parent company, head to head
- Orijen Original vs Purina Pro Plan Sensitive SalmonPremium dry vs source-strong mass premium dry
- Pedigree Complete Nutrition vs Taste of the Wild High PrairieBudget mass dry vs boutique premium dry
- Blue Basics Salmon & Potato vs Natural Balance LID Salmon & Brown RiceLimited-ingredient-positioned dry food comparison
- Royal Canin Medium Adult vs Royal Canin Small AdultSame-brand size-positioned dry food comparison
- Hill's Science Diet Adult vs Purina Pro Plan AdultThe two biggest vet-recommended dry dog foods, head to head
- Blue Buffalo Life Protection vs Wellness Complete HealthTwo boutique-premium chicken dry dog foods, head to head
- Royal Canin Large Breed vs Hill's Science Diet Large BreedPremium large-breed dry dog food comparison
- Taste of the Wild High Prairie vs Blue Buffalo WildernessGrain-inclusive high-protein dry dog food comparison
- Orijen Original vs Acana Free-Run PoultryTwo Champion Petfoods sister brands, head to head
- Purina Pro Plan Shredded Blend vs Blue Buffalo Life ProtectionVet-channel mass premium vs boutique-premium dry dog food, head to head
- Freshpet Vital vs Purina Pro Plan Shredded BlendRefrigerated fresh food vs a flagship dry kibble, head to head
- Hill's Science Diet Adult vs Royal Canin Medium AdultThe two flagship vet-channel adult dry dog foods, head to head
- Pedigree Adult vs Purina Dog Chow CompleteThe grocery-aisle budget dry dog food head-to-head
- Purina ONE SmartBlend vs Purina Pro Plan Shredded BlendPurina's mid-tier and premium dry dog food lines, head to head
- Kirkland Signature Super Premium vs Diamond Naturals All Life StagesTwo value-priced chicken-and-rice dry dog foods, head to head
- Rachael Ray Nutrish vs Blue Buffalo Life ProtectionTwo heavily-marketed grocery-premium chicken dry dog foods, head to head
- Hill's Science Diet Adult vs Blue Buffalo Life ProtectionVet-channel premium vs boutique-premium dry dog food, head to head
- Royal Canin Medium Adult vs Purina Pro Plan Shredded BlendTwo flagship vet-channel dry dog foods, head to head
- Taste of the Wild High Prairie vs Diamond NaturalsTwo Diamond-made dry dog foods, boutique vs value, head to head
- Wellness CORE vs Blue Buffalo WildernessTwo high-protein dry dog foods, head to head
- Purina Pro Plan Shredded Blend vs Iams MiniChunksVet-channel premium vs mass-market dry dog food, head to head
- Nutro Natural Choice vs Blue Buffalo Life ProtectionTwo boutique-premium chicken dry dog foods, head to head
- Fromm Adult Gold vs Acana Free-Run PoultryTwo family-owned boutique dry dog foods, head to head
- ZIWI Peak Air-Dried Lamb vs Stella & Chewy's Chicken PattiesAir-dried vs freeze-dried raw premium dog food, head to head
- Kirkland Nature's Domain vs Taste of the Wild Pacific StreamTwo Diamond-made grain-free salmon dry dog foods, head to head
- Eukanuba Adult Medium Breed vs Iams MiniChunksTwo Mars-owned dry dog foods, head to head
- Fromm Adult Gold vs Wellness Complete HealthTwo boutique chicken dry dog foods, head to head
- Purina ONE SmartBlend vs Iams MiniChunksMid-tier vs mass-market dry dog food, head to head
- Hill's Science Diet Adult vs Iams MiniChunksVet-channel premium vs mass-market dry dog food, head to head
- Hill's Science Diet Adult vs Diamond Naturals All Life StagesVet-channel premium vs value chicken-and-rice dry dog food, head to head
- Hill's Science Diet Adult vs Purina ONE SmartBlendVet-channel premium vs mid-tier mass-market dry dog food, head to head
- Purina Pro Plan Shredded Blend vs Diamond NaturalsVet-channel premium vs value dry dog food, head to head
- Kirkland Signature Super Premium vs Purina Pro Plan Shredded BlendWarehouse-club value vs vet-channel premium dry dog food, head to head
- Fromm Classic vs Blue Buffalo Life ProtectionTwo boutique-premium chicken dry dog foods, head to head
- Hill's Science Diet Adult vs Fromm ClassicVet-channel staple vs family-owned boutique dry dog food, head to head
- Badlands Ranch Superfood Complete vs Stella & Chewy's Chicken Dinner PattiesTwo heavily-marketed raw-style dog foods, head to head
Curated head-to-heads · 18
Cat food comparisons
- Orijen Original Cat vs Blue Buffalo Wilderness ChickenBoutique vs mass-premium grain-free dry cat food
- Meow Mix Original Choice vs Purina Cat Chow CompleteGrocery-aisle dry cat food head-to-head
- Hill's Science Diet Indoor vs Royal Canin Indoor AdultPremium indoor dry cat food comparison
- Wellness CORE vs Instinct Original (cat)Boutique high-protein grain-free dry cat food
- Fancy Feast Classic Pâté vs Sheba Perfect PortionsGrocery wet cat food: pâté vs cuts in gravy
- Tiki Cat Hookena Luau vs Weruva Paw Lickin' ChickenPremium low-carbohydrate wet cat food comparison
- Fancy Feast Classic Pâté vs Friskies PâtéGrocery-aisle wet cat food, head to head
- Iams ProActive Health vs Purina Pro Plan (cat)Mass-premium dry cat food, head to head
- Blue Buffalo Tastefuls vs Purina ONE Tender Selects (cat)Mass-premium dry cat food, head to head
- Wellness CORE vs Blue Buffalo Wilderness (cat)Two high-protein grain-free dry cat foods, head to head
- Hill's Science Diet Indoor vs Iams ProActive Indoor (cat)Premium vs mass-market indoor dry cat food, head to head
- Fancy Feast Classic Pâté vs Tiny Tiger Grain-Free PâtéGrocery vs value-brand chicken pâté cat food, head to head
- Stella & Chewy's vs Vital Essentials (freeze-dried raw cat)Two freeze-dried raw cat foods, and what a missing taurine line does to a score
- Iams ProActive Health vs Purina ONE Tender Selects (cat)Two top-scoring dry cat foods, head to head
- Sheba Perfect Portions vs Tiny Tiger Grain-Free PâtéTwo top-scoring value wet cat foods, head to head
- Friskies Pâté vs Sheba Perfect PortionsTwo grocery wet cat foods, head to head
- Fancy Feast Classic Pâté vs Tiki Cat After Dark PâtéGrocery vs boutique chicken pâté cat food, head to head
- Purina ONE Tender Selects vs Hill's Science Diet Indoor (cat)Mass-market vs vet-channel premium dry cat food, head to head
Common questions.
FAQ
Frequently asked
How do I compare two dog foods side by side?
Pick the two foods in the tool above and we score them on the same five things: nutrition fit (does the label meet the AAFCO profile it claims, at protein and fat levels in a sensible range), ingredient clarity (does the label actually name its proteins, fats, and grains), brand trust (recall record and manufacturing transparency), sensitivity risk (which common trigger ingredients sit high on the label), and value (cost per 1,000 kcal, not price per bag). You get one number each out of 10 plus the five sub-scores, so you can see exactly where one food pulls ahead and where it gives ground.
What actually matters when you compare two pet foods?
Less than the front of the bag suggests. The two things that separate most foods are value and ingredient clarity, because nutrition fit and sensitivity risk tend to cluster once a food meets its AAFCO profile. Compare cost per 1,000 kcal rather than sticker price, since a cheaper bag can cost more per calorie, and check whether the label names its ingredients or hides them behind terms like 'animal fat' and 'meat and bone meal'. Marketing words like 'holistic', 'premium', and 'natural' are not scored, because they are not defined.
Is a more expensive food always better?
No, and the comparisons here make that plain. Value is 15% of the score and it regularly decides a head-to-head: a boutique bag and a mass-market one often post nearly identical nutrition and clarity marks, so the cheaper one wins on the only dimension left. Price is a signal of positioning, not of what is in the bowl.
Does the comparison tell me which food to buy?
It tells you the tradeoff, not the verdict. Every comparison uses the same rubric and the same rules, and the point is to show which food makes which compromise so you can weigh it against your own dog or cat. The scores are our opinion under a published, deterministic methodology, not veterinary advice, and a therapeutic or prescription diet is a decision for you and your vet, not a score.
Can I compare cat foods too?
Yes. The tool covers both dog food and cat food, scored on the same five dimensions with cat-specific rules layered in: a taurine requirement (a cat label that hides the taurine number loses nutrition-fit credit) and feline-weighted sensitivity flags. Switch the tool to cat food, or start from the curated cat comparisons below.