The best budget dog food
Auto-ranked by our ODF Score - updated July 28, 2026 . See how we rate
Cheap does not have to mean bad, and nobody should feel guilty about feeding to a budget - so let us be precise about what this list is. Every food here costs 80p a day or less for a typical adult dog AND scores at least 60/100 on our open algorithm. Cheap food that scores badly does not make the cut, however cheap; there is no "best of a bad lot" here.
Forthglade
Forthglade Just 90% Grain-Free Adult Dog - Just Poultry- Type
- Wet
- Life stage
- Adult
- Cost per day
- £0.77
- No artificial colours, flavours, controversial preservatives or added sugars found.
- Declared meat content 100% (added up from every named meat on the label).
- Weighted ingredient quality 95/100 across 4 ingredients (declared percentages used for 3, position estimates for the rest).
-
Ranked number 2
88/100
Purizon
Purizon Adult Grain Free
No artificial colours, flavours, controversial preservatives or added sugars found.
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
-
Ranked number 3
87/100
Canine Choice
Canine Choice Puppy Small/Medium
Meat content ~99.2% fresh-equivalent (added up from every named meat on the label; dried meats counted at their fresh weight).
- High meat32% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
-
Ranked number 4
87/100
Forthglade
Forthglade Complete Meal Grain Free Puppy Dog - Lamb & Chicken
Declared meat content 100% (added up from every named meat on the label).
- High meat71% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
-
Ranked number 5
87/100
Forthglade
Forthglade Complete Meal Grain-Free Adult Dog - Fish Case
Weighted ingredient quality 91/100 across 17 ingredients (declared percentages used for 8, position estimates for the rest).
- High meat75% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
-
Ranked number 6
86/100
Canine Choice
Canine Choice Adult Small
Meat content ~94.8% fresh-equivalent (added up from every named meat on the label; dried meats counted at their fresh weight).
- High meat36% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
-
Ranked number 7
86/100
Canine Choice
Canine Choice Puppy Large
Meat content ~96.4% fresh-equivalent (added up from every named meat on the label; dried meats counted at their fresh weight).
- High meat34% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
-
Ranked number 8
86/100
Waitrose
Waitrose Senior Grain Free
Declared meat content 50%.
- High meat50% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- HypoallergenicLimited, single-source ingredients - kinder to sensitive dogs.
- Sensitive stomachFormulated to be gentle on digestion.
-
Ranked number 9
85/100
Autarky
Autarky Grain Free Wet Dog Food - Succulent Salmon
Declared meat content 66%.
- High meat66% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- HypoallergenicLimited, single-source ingredients - kinder to sensitive dogs.
- Sensitive stomachFormulated to be gentle on digestion.
-
Ranked number 10
85/100
Darf
Darf Complete Adult Dry Regular
Every ingredient individually named (+5); percentages cover 99% of the recipe (+5.9); meat sources named (+2); recipe reads as a fixed formula (+2).
- High meat60% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
Scored, not sponsored
Every food is scored 0-100 on its label alone. No brand can pay to rank.
Filtered for this list
We only show foods that genuinely qualify as budget - never padded to hit a round number.
Reranks automatically
When a score or price changes, the order updates itself. No stale listicle from 2019.
How to choose budget
The most important mental switch for budget shopping: think price per day, never price per bag. A dense, meat-led food often feeds cheaper than a bulked-out one because you feed less of it - the bargain bag you scoop mountains from is frequently the false economy. Every card below shows the real daily cost, which is the only number your wallet actually feels.
Where the value hides: bigger bags nearly always cut the per-day price (check the food keeps well once open), and supermarket own-brands are a genuinely mixed bag - a few are quietly decent, others are cereal and colourings at a familiar price. The score sorts one from the other without the guesswork.
If your current food is not here, look it up - its page will show you what else scores higher at the same price per day.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a budget dog food on this list?
80p or less per day for a typical adult dog, based on live retailer prices and the maker's own feeding guide - and a minimum score of 60/100 (Good) on our open algorithm. Both thresholds are hard rules: a food missing either one is not listed, however popular it is.
Are cheap dog foods bad for dogs?
Not automatically. Plenty of affordable foods are built on honest recipes - named meat meal, sensible grains, no artificial colours. The problem products lean on unnamed derivatives and cereal padding. The label tells the difference and our score reads it for you, food by food.
How do I cut my dog food costs without downgrading the food?
Buy the biggest bag your storage allows (per-kilo prices drop sharply), compare foods on price per day rather than pack price, and check your portion sizes against the feeding guide - overfeeding is the most common hidden cost, and the calculator on every food page does the maths for your dog's weight.
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This is label analysis, not veterinary advice - if your dog has a health condition, talk to your vet before switching foods.