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Live ranking

The best natural dog food

Auto-ranked by our ODF Score - updated July 28, 2026 . See how we rate

"Natural" is the least regulated word on a dog food bag. There is no legal definition in UK or EU pet food law, no test a product has to pass, and no penalty for using it on a recipe full of artificial additives. Which is why almost everything claims it.

10 foods qualify No sponsored placements Reranks as data changes
Our #1 pick
Exceptional

Alpha Spirit

Alpha Spirit Realfood Complete
Type
Fresh-cooked
Life stage
Adult
Cost per day
Coming soon
  • Declared meat content 97%.
  • Gently cooked fresh food - low temperatures with a pathogen kill step.
  • Every ingredient individually named (+5); percentages cover 97% of the recipe (+5.8); meat sources named (+2); recipe reads as a fixed formula (+2).
See full review
  1. Ranked number 2 94/100 Different Dog Different Dog Health+ Keep Me Trim Turkey Every ingredient individually named (+5); percentages cover 99% of the recipe (+6); 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.
    • Grain-freeMade without any grains.
    • HypoallergenicLimited, single-source ingredients - kinder to sensitive dogs.
     £6.28 / day approx. Review
  2. Ranked number 3 94/100 Different Dog Different Dog Health+ Low Purine & Phosphorus Every ingredient individually named (+5); percentages cover 100% of the recipe (+6); meat sources named (+2); recipe reads as a fixed formula (+2).
    • High meat40% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
    • NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
    • Grain-freeMade without any grains.
     £6.33 / day approx. Review
  3. Ranked number 4 94/100 Different Dog Different Dog Health+ Stay Supple Fish Supper Declared meat content 60%.
    • High meat60% 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.
     £7.16 / day approx. Review
  4. Ranked number 5 94/100 Fidelis Fidelis Fresh Menu (novel protein recipes) Declared meat content 70% (added up from every named meat on the label).
    • High meat60% 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.
     £6.27 / day approx. Review
  5. Ranked number 6 94/100 Waita Waita Freeze Dried Complete Food Declared meat content 89.2% (added up from every named meat on the label).
    • High meat62% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
    • NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
    • Grain-freeMade without any grains.
     £7.76 / day approx. Review
  6. Ranked number 7 93/100 Different Dog Different Dog Health+ Comforting Chicken Declared meat content 55% (added up from every named meat on the label).
    • High meat45% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
    • NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
    • Grain-freeMade without any grains.
     £5.91 / day approx. Review
  7. Ranked number 8 93/100 Innocent Hound The Innocent Hound From The British Countryside Recipes Declared meat content 85%.
    • High meat85% 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.
     £7.96 / day approx. Review
  8. Ranked number 9 92/100 Butternut Box Butternut Box Pork This Way Gently cooked fresh food - low temperatures with a pathogen kill step.
    • High meat60% 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.
     Review
  9. Ranked number 10 92/100 Butternut Box Butternut Box Wham Bam Lamb Every ingredient individually named (+5); percentages cover 97% of the recipe (+5.8); 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.
    • Grain-freeMade without any grains.
    • HypoallergenicLimited, single-source ingredients - kinder to sensitive dogs.
     Review

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 natural - 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 natural

So we stopped taking brands' word for it and derived the flag ourselves. A food is flagged natural here only if its label carries no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives AND no vague derivative categories hiding what is actually in it. That is a mechanical test applied identically to every food we hold - not a marketing claim we passed along.

On that definition, 1,680 foods qualify and roughly half of them clear 80 - so it is a meaningful signal rather than a rare badge. What it does not tell you is how much meat is in the bowl: a food can be entirely free of artificial additives and still be built on cheap bulk. Read the meat percentage alongside it.

Every food below shows its full ingredient list and its cost per day, so you can check our working.

Frequently asked questions

What does natural dog food actually mean?

Legally, nothing - there is no definition of "natural" in UK or EU pet food law, so any product can use the word. We derive it ourselves instead: a food qualifies here only if it declares no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives and no vague derivative categories. That is a test of the label, applied the same way to every food.

Is natural dog food better for my dog?

It is better labelled, which is not quite the same thing. Avoiding artificial additives and unnamed derivatives is a genuine positive, and foods that manage it tend to be more transparent generally. But a food can be free of every artificial ingredient and still be short on meat - so treat "natural" as one signal among several, not a verdict.

Are artificial additives in dog food actually harmful?

Permitted additives are assessed for safety, so the concern is less about acute harm and more about what their presence tends to indicate. Colours in particular exist purely for the human buying the bag - dogs do not choose food by appearance - so a recipe that needs dye is telling you something about its priorities.

More best-of lists

Best dry dog foodBest wet dog foodBest puppy foodBest senior dog foodBest raw dog foodBest grain-free dog foodBest hypoallergenic dog foodBest dog food for sensitive stomachsBest budget dog foodBest dog food for fussy eatersBest dog food for allergiesBest dog food for joints and mobility

Prefer to pick for yourself? Filter every natural dog food in the directory.

Browse every food we have rated

This is label analysis, not veterinary advice - if your dog has a health condition, talk to your vet before switching foods.

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