Tails.com Pate vs Royal Canin Giant Starter

Same open algorithm, same data, side by side - so the label wins, not the marketing. How we rate

The short answer

Tails.com Pate takes it +13 points

49/100 Tails.com Pate vs 36/100 Royal Canin Giant Starter

Royal Canin Giant Starter costs less to feed: £1.04 a day against £4.99.
Both scored by the same open algorithm - the full working is below, every point accounted for.

Attribute	Tails Tails.com Pate Full review	Royal Canin Royal Canin Giant Starter Full review
ODF Score	49/100 Average (best in this row)	36/100 Poor
Price per day	£4.99 / day approx.	£1.04 / day approx. (best in this row)
Best price per kg	£5.10 / kg (best in this row)	£5.70 / kg
Food type	Wet	Wet
Life stage	Adult	Puppy & senior
Properties	Gluten free	Gluten free
Nutrition
Protein (% DM)	55.6%	136.4% est.
Fat (% DM)	22.2%	100% est.
Est. carbs (% DM)	8.3%	0% est.
Fibre (% DM)	2.8%	8.6% est.
Ash (% DM)	11.1%	37.3% est.
Energy	~74 kcal/100g est.	~397 kcal/100g est.
First 5 ingredients	Meat and animal derivatives 59% Vegetables (mixed) Minerals Cereals (unspecified) 2%	Rice Poultry meal Animal fat (unspecified) Wheat gluten Hydrolysed animal proteins (unspecified)
Where the points went
Ingredient quality (of 40)	32.3 / 40 (best in this row)	20.3 / 40
Meat content (of 15)	15 / 15 (best in this row)	6 / 15
Labelling clarity (of 15)	5.7 / 15 (best in this row)	2 / 15
Additives (of 10)	10 / 10	10 / 10
Nutritional balance (of 10)	5.4 / 10 (best in this row)	4 / 10
Processing (of 10)	6 / 10	6 / 10
Red-flag penalties	-25	-12 (best in this row)
Label last verified	July 17, 2026	July 17, 2026

Green-tinted cells mark the best value in that row - highest score, lowest price, most points.

ODF Score: 49/100 Average best
Price per day: £4.99 / day approx.
Best price per kg: £5.10 / kg best
Food type: Wet
Life stage: Adult
Properties: Gluten free
Protein (% DM): 55.6%
Fat (% DM): 22.2%
Est. carbs (% DM): 8.3%
Fibre (% DM): 2.8%
Ash (% DM): 11.1%
Energy: ~74 kcal/100g est.
First 5 ingredients: Meat and animal derivatives 59% Vegetables (mixed) Minerals Cereals (unspecified) 2%
Ingredient quality (of 40): 32.3 / 40 best
Meat content (of 15): 15 / 15 best
Labelling clarity (of 15): 5.7 / 15 best
Additives (of 10): 10 / 10
Nutritional balance (of 10): 5.4 / 10 best
Processing (of 10): 6 / 10
Red-flag penalties: -25
Label last verified: July 17, 2026

ODF Score: 36/100 Poor
Price per day: £1.04 / day approx. best
Best price per kg: £5.70 / kg
Food type: Wet
Life stage: Puppy & senior
Properties: Gluten free
Protein (% DM): 136.4% est.
Fat (% DM): 100% est.
Est. carbs (% DM): 0% est.
Fibre (% DM): 8.6% est.
Ash (% DM): 37.3% est.
Energy: ~397 kcal/100g est.
First 5 ingredients: Rice Poultry meal Animal fat (unspecified) Wheat gluten Hydrolysed animal proteins (unspecified)
Ingredient quality (of 40): 20.3 / 40
Meat content (of 15): 6 / 15
Labelling clarity (of 15): 2 / 15
Additives (of 10): 10 / 10
Nutritional balance (of 10): 4 / 10
Processing (of 10): 6 / 10
Red-flag penalties: -12 best
Label last verified: July 17, 2026

Ingredient differences

What only one recipe contains - the shared ingredients are tucked away at the bottom.

These recipes are 9% the same: 2 shared ingredients, and 20 that appear in only one of them. The differences are below.

Poultry meal Animal fat (unspecified) Wheat gluten Hydrolysed animal proteins (unspecified) Maize Beet pulp Soya oil Vegetable fibre (unspecified) Fish oil Psyllium FOS (prebiotic) Hydrolysed yeast Algal oil Sodium butyrate Marigold

Show the 2 ingredients they share

Minerals Rice

Red flags on these labels

Good quality Acceptable / watch the amount Red flag

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