Best cheap dog food in the UK

Budget wet and dry food for a winner winner dog's dinner.

Best cheap dog food in the UK.

by Natalie Knowles |
Updated on

Your budget need not affect your dog's nutrition or enjoyment of their food as there are some superb products that serve well as the best cheap dog food available in the UK. You can get some great dog foods that are kind to both their stomach and your purse.

We're all looking for more affordable options as the cost of living rises. The good news is that the UK pet food industry maintains high standards of safety, hygiene and quality. The Food Standards Agency and UK Pet Food state that: "The manufacture of pet food in the UK is highly regulated - there are more than 50 pieces of legislation governing the manufacture of pet food". So do be assured that if you are buying dog food in the UK it will have been through rigorous checks to ensure it's safe for consumption - no matter the price.

Best cheap dog food in the UK at a glance

Best overall cheap dog food: Harringtons Complete Dry Dog Food – View on Amazon UK
Best cheap tinned dog food: Pets at Home Adult Chunks Mixed Variety Dog Food Tins – View on Pets at Home
Best cheap wet dog food for sensitive tummies: Butcher's Traditional Recipes Adult Wet Dog Food Trays – View on Pets at Home

While we humans have global cuisine at our fingertips, a dog’s options are much less varied. The main choice they have is the meat flavour and whether the meal is dry or wet dog food. Because our pooches are eating the same ingredients day in and day out, it’s important to get those ingredients right, but it doesn’t have to cost a small fortune to keep your hound healthy and happy.

Whether you have a pawsome puppy, or a pooch that needs dog food for a sensitive stomach or senior dog food, Take A Break Pets is here to guide you through din-dins that are cheap but not nasty. Where possible, we’ve worked out the cost per day or per meal for you so you can see the overall value you’re getting per pack.

Best cheap dog food

Best overall cheap dog food

A superb bulk buy option that is rich in vitamins, this 15kg bag of Harringtons Complete Dry Dog Food gives you 150 x 100g servings for around 20p per serving. Healthy and nutritious, the kibble contains 26 per cent turkey and added Omega 6 and 3 oils for a glossy coat. Additionally, it'll keep your dog nice and regular with beet pulp to support stool quality and digestion transit and prebiotics to maintain a healthy digestion. With excellent ingredients at an affordable price, Harringtons is bursting with goodness.

Customer review: "My dog is kibble eater, no issues, and he must have been hungry as he had his head in the bag when I opened it and this little guy of mine is normally so very polite. I checked the fat content and it's 10 per cent and the double priced Purina health food is nine per cent and twice the price. Next lot will be Harringtons and I love the fact it's a British product."

Pros

  • All natural ingredients
  • A complete food
  • Rich in turkey

Cons

  • Not suitable for dogs under eight weeks old

Best cheap tinned dog food

Pets at Home Adult Chunks Mixed Variety Dog Food TinsPets at Home

If you feed a small dog one tin of Pets at Home's own-brand Adult Chunks Mixed Variety Dog Food Tins daily, the cost is just 57p per day. Double this for a large dog and it's still only just over £1. Full of flavour, your dog will savour meat and vegetables in jelly and gravy. With four flavours to choose from, in addition to a complete recipe that gives your dog essential nutrition, this budget option is healthy, balanced and stimulating. Suitable for adult dogs.

Customer review: "Our Rottweiler is very fussy and has tummy issues but seems to love these tins mixed in with his sensitive kibble. Also great value for money during the cost of living crisis."

Pros

  • Choice of flavours
  • Value for money
  • Complete recipe

Cons

  • Tinned food is prone to contamination if you don't store it properly once opened

Best cheap wet dog food for sensitive tummies

Butcher's Traditional Recipes Adult Wet Dog Food TraysPets at Home
Price: £11.50 (was £15.39)

www.petsathome.com

Made with nourishing and all-natural ingredients, Butcher's Traditional Recipes Adult Wet Dog Food Trays are quality food that will help your dog maintain a healthy weight and muscle condition. You benefit from each portion being foil-sealed in a tray for freshness. Additionally, Butcher's wet food is grain-free, which makes it a super option for dogs with sensitive digestion. Added vegetables and botanicals, such as chicory and parsley, provide cell-strengthening antioxidants.

Customer review: "Our friend recommended Butchers' to us after reading the amazing reviews and their dog enjoying the food. Our pooch now scoffs his rations the moment they land in his bowl with such excitement previously reserved for pizza crusts."

Pros

  • Grain-free
  • Natural vitamins and minerals
  • High-quality ingredients

Cons

  • Let your dog try it before you buy in bulk - just in case they don't like it

Best cheap complete dry dog food

Soft, moist and meaty dry dog food - HiLife FEED ME! gives you superb value for money. If you feed an average size dog 250g of HiLife FEED ME! a day, it works out at 24 meals for 59p per day. Tasty Beef Cheese and Vegetables is a complete food that contains essential vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A to support eye health. Added calcium and vitamin D will support your dog's bones and there are essential fatty acids to give your pet a glossy coat. It's kibble that has it all at a budget price and has received almost 3,000 positive reviews on Amazon with a 4.7 out of 5 approval rate.

Customer review: "My dog is very fussy also can't eat certain things due to allergies but eats this every day it's good value here too better than the supermarket."

Pros

  • Moist and meaty
  • Supplemented with vitamins and minerals
  • Dogs love the taste

Cons

  • Contains wheat - which might not be suitable for all dogs

Best supermarket cheap dog food

If you fed your dog 100g of Sainsbury's Complete Nutrition Adult Dog Food, in conjunction with wet food, you'd get 150 servings from this 15kg bag. The recipe is specially formulated to contain all the essential vitamins and minerals that your dog needs in order to thrive. Just like humans, dogs need carbohydrates for energy, but some animals are sensitive to wheat. In this instance, carbohydrate is derived from cereals. Additionally, Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids will keep your dog's skin and coat looking glossy. As a supermarket option, this complete food from Sainsbury's is a bumper pack that contains everything your dog needs.

Customer review: "Appears to be nice no-nonsense low-additive dried dog food, which we feed to our two dogs alongside the near identical but vat-free 'Worker Dog' dry food without issue. The lurcher turns his nose up at some brands including more expensive options but appears to enjoy and be healthy on this. We mix it with a scoop of the tinned wet food."

Pros

  • Value for money
  • Wheat free
  • Added vitamins and minerals for nutritious goodness

Cons

  • Only available in a large 15kg bag, so you need to make sure you've got somewhere to store it properly

Best cheap dry food for puppies

Bakers Complete Puppy contains everything for puppies to grow into active, healthy and happy dogs. With wholesome meaty bites mixed with crunchy and dried carrots and peas, Bakers is a delicious dry food that has bite-size kibble designed for smaller mouths. Additionally, the recipe is fortified with essential Omega-3 fatty acids and DHA for healthy vision development and brain functioning. Buying in bulk offers super value; if you were feeding your puppy 55g meals, you could get 227 portions from this pack. Suitable for puppies between six weeks to 24 months of age.

Customer review: "Our Labrador puppy loves Bakers. We had been using a more expensive one but she loves this more. She can't wait for feeding time. Very happy, healthy puppy of six months."

Pros

  • Complete puppy food
  • Excellent value for money
  • Suitable for puppies from six weeks to 24 months

Cons

  • Contains wholegrains that may not be suitable for pups with sensitive digestion

Best cheap tinned dog food for low-calorie diets

Chappie OriginalZooplus

For dogs with sensitive digestion, Chappie Original does not contain any dairy, soya or red meat. The recipe is rich in white fish and low in calories. It also contains added vitamins, fats, oils and minerals, so it is a complete food. Chappie Original has been developed with the nutritionists and veterinarians of Waltham, which is the world's leading authority on pet care and nutrition. Whilst it's not the cheapest in this guide, in comparison to premium brands like Lily's Kitchen, Chappie offers a budget option for sensitive and low-calorie diets. The feeding guide says that a small dog will need one tin per day, and naturally, this will increase to two tins for a large dog. Suitable for adult dogs.

Customer review: "People always comment on how good and healthy my dogs look, shiny coat, bright eyes. I have been feeding my dogs Chappie for years. I have tried to switch to other brands, for a change, but this has caused allergies, so always go back to Chappie. This is a quality branded product which has been around for such a long time."

Pros

  • Low in fat 
  • Ideal for allergies and sensitive digestion
  • Rich in white fish

Cons

  • Not the cheapest compared to others

Best cheap wet dog food for a treat

Cesar Garden Terrine Adult Wet Dog Food is a mixed selection of meat and vegetable meals in succulent loaf form that makes a lovely treat without breaking the budget. The cost per meal is around 80p, and competes with more premium brands that offer gourmet food for pets. The terrines are high-quality recipes, such as Chicken, Carrots and Herbes de Provence, and made with natural ingredients. Your dog will love the mouthfeel and variety of flavours, as well as this complete food giving them everything they need for their vitality. In addition, it pays to look out for special offers, especially on Amazon, where you can buy quality branded pet food in bulk.

Customer review: "Bought lots of these when they were on special offer. Worked out about a third cheaper than buying it from the supermarket."

Pros

  • Gourmet recipe that competes with premium pet food brands
  • Available in a range of quantities from Amazon
  • Choice of flavours per pack

Cons

  • Let your dog try a sample before you buy in bulk, as they may dislike it!

Best cheap wet food for puppies

Pedigree is a brand that's synonymous with dog food, and even though it is a cheaper option - at less than 40p per meal - the recipe has been rigorously formulated to give your puppy the best start in life. This fresh meal of easy-to-eat and digest chicken and rice has been developed with vets and nutritionists at Waltham Pet Nutrition Centre. Pedigree ensures this food is giving the optimum nutrition, including vitamin E and minerals to support their natural defences and natural fibres to aid digestion. Also, the added ingredients include zinc and sunflower oil for healthy skin and a glossy coat and calcium to support growing bones.

Customer review: "Our puppy loves this. Nice small meaty chunks in jelly that he manages well. Individual packets are ideal for traveling and no waste."

Pros

  • 48 per cent meat
  • Easy-to-open pouch
  • Variety of flavours

Cons

  • Small portion

All costs per portion/meal for each product were correct at the time of writing.

Our verdict: Best cheap dog food in the UK

For budget chow that gets our paw of approval, we recommend Harringtons Complete Dry Dog Food. Harringtons contain wholesome, natural ingredients and botanicals to aid digestion, with no cheap fillers or nasties. At an average of 20p per serving, buying this dry dog food in bulk online is absolutely the cheapest way to feed your pet quality complete food. Additionally, most pet food websites offer a subscribe and save option for a further discount on a regular order.

FAQs

What to consider in dog food on a budget

Cost

There's a whole array of sachets, cans and packs in a variety of flavours for dogs of all ages. The best dog food should be budget-friendly, nutritionally balanced, and delicious for the enjoyment and wellbeing of your fur baby. If you're buying in bulk and baulking at the price, a little bit of maths will help you work out the cost per meal. You'll soon see that a 15kg bag of dry dog food at £15 gives you 150 servings for 10p per bowl.

Type

Dry dog food comes with the benefit that you can buy in bulk because it has a long shelf life. Also, kibble is great for maintaining your dog's oral hygiene. But, as it is dry, make sure fresh drinking water is available in a separate dog bowl. Pets at Home and Amazon offer great deals on large bags of kibble from trusted brands. Additionally, you can 'subscribe and save' by making the food a regular purchase.

This is also the case with wet dog food, with the caveat that you should give your dog a taster first; they might turn their nose up at food they don't like. So be prepared to take your pet's taste into account.

Is there a difference between cheap and expensive dog food?

Premium pet foods are more likely to name the type of meat or fish in the ingredients i.e. contains 30 per cent chicken. Meanwhile, cheaper pet foods may use the term 'meat or animal derivatives'. UK Pet Food advises: "Manufacturers can also choose to present different varieties for the pet – for example, with chicken or with duck. If they do this, they are drawing attention to the presence of the named ingredient in the product and are legally required to indicate how much is present in the recipe. The percentage stated is the minimum percentage content of the named ingredient that is guaranteed to be present. Other nutritious meat and animal derivatives can also be present, and the total percentage of meat and animal derivatives on the pack is very likely to be higher."

When buying dog food what should I look for?

Look for food that has no additives and a high protein content. Stick to brands that have received safety accreditations and are reputable.

The first ingredient will be what the majority of the food consists of. Ideally, ensure it's a quality meat-based protein. The ingredients list proceeds in the highest-to-lowest amount. The second ingredient should be a quality carbohydrate to give your dog energy. Food that contains essential vitamins and minerals will help keep your furry friend happy and healthy. Vitamin A, D and E, and Omega-6 fatty acids support healthy bones, immune system, cell function and keep skin and coat in tip-top condition. In addition, Zinc and Biotin will also maintain your pet's glossy coat. Antioxidants, which come from vegetables, support cellular renewal. Also, look for dog food with pre and probiotics to maintain good gut health.

When you are looking at dog food products, do take into account your pooch's size, age and health. For example, a young pup needs specific puppy food because the kibble or the chunks are smaller. Similarly, a dog that's aged 7+ may need senior dog food that contains Glucosamine to keep their joints supple.

When buying dog food what should I avoid?

Pay attention to the ingredients list. Avoid buying dog food that contains BHA, which has been proven to cause cancer, and if that's in your dog's limited diet, it poses a huge risk to their health.

Additionally, because there is little variety in a canine's diet, food containing artificial additives, preservatives and fillers is going to build up in their system. Steer clear of food containing pea fibre too, which has been linked to heart problems such as canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). There is comprehensive guidance on how to decipher pet food labels on UK Pet Food.

Natalie Knowles is a Homes & Garden Product Writer for Take A Break Pets, specialising in all things cats and dogs. In her other life, Natalie is a successful artist and illustrator.

Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website, we never allow this to influence product selections - read why you should trust us