Last Updated: 16/06/2025
Vet Picks: Best Affordable Dog Food
Check out our Vet recommended premium diets that come in at the lower end of the price range!
Author: Dr Brittany Ward BVSc
Reading Time: 57 minutes - long read
With the cost of living on the rise and the squeeze on your wallet ever increasing, budgeting has become an increasingly essential part of pet ownership. With so many pet food options on the market it can sometimes be difficult to determine which is the best and cheapest. Often reaching for the cheapest option on the supermarket shelf may seem like the easiest option, but it may not always be the most beneficial in the long run. Never fear, our Vet Squad have done the hard work for you so that you can choose a good quality diet that best suits your budget!
Why is choosing the right affordable dog food important?
While you are looking to cut costs wherever you can, it is still important to ensure that your dog is receiving a nutritionally balanced and complete diet that is going to nourish them and keep them looking and feeling their best. You still want to look for high quality, easily digestible diets and oftentimes additives to support your dog's health.
Supermarket foods, while they may look cheaper initially, often have batch inconsistencies that can lead to frequent tummy upsets and subsequent further expense. They use lower quality ingredients and poorly digestible nutrients that lead to you feeding more food to meet your dog's daily requirements, which makes them more expensive in the long run. The use of lower quality ingredients can also mean more wastage, with larger, smellier poops! Supermarket diets also often lack added supplements for health support such as joints, skin and coat, and dental as well.
Finding the right cost effective diet will ensure your dog gets nutritional value from the food while still eating something that fits within your budget.
Four factors to consider when choosing an affordable dog food:
- Health Conditions: When choosing a diet, it is essential to ensure you have considered any health conditions your dog may have been diagnosed with. If your dog does have a health condition, then your veterinarian should be your first point of call for dietary recommendations. In some cases, there may be a prescription diet that is most suited to manage your dog's condition. For health support, there are a range of non-prescription, therapeutic options designed to prevent certain conditions or accommodate your dog's specific needs.
- Complete and Balanced: After considering health conditions, the most important factor in deciding on the right diet is choosing an option that is nutritionally balanced and complete for your dog's age. Ensuring that it meets AAFCO or FEDIAF pet food control guidelines is crucial to ensure that your dog receives all the nutrients they require in the correct ratios.
- Age: Dogs of different ages have very different nutritional requirements. Puppies require a high protein and energy diet to support a steady growth rate, along with immune support and brain development. Senior dogs are often less active, have a slower metabolism and are prone to joint disease, which means that they require fewer calories and less fat, but an easily digestible diet, to help them maintain good body condition.
- Quality: An essential factor to consider should be the quality of the ingredients and the digestibility of the nutrients provided by the diet. Premium diets are designed to be highly digestible (which means smaller, firmer stools) and do not change ingredients batch to batch like supermarket type brands, which means less tummy upsets. They also tend to contain higher levels of added beneficial nutrients, such as omega fatty acids for joint and coat health, and some are backed by testing to ensure they deliver the results they promise. Learning how to read pet food labels and knowing the ingredients in your dog's food is a crucial part of knowing what is the best food for them.
How We Review Our Products
Our Vet team use their health and husbandry knowledge, along with their own personal and clinical experiences to evaluate each product and provide detailed, informative reviews, free of any commercial bias. We then collate this information into our 'best of' recommendations.
How We Determine Which Diets Are The Most Affordable
- When choosing products to suit a cost effective model, the Vet Squad compiled a list of our commonly recommended lower cost diets. These recommendations are primarily premium quality diets because we know these are the most beneficial to your dog's daily health. This list was then compared and we compiled a cost per feed analysis to determine the most affordable premium dog food brands. Brands have been recommended rather than individual foods, to help you find a diet based on your dog's individual age, size and health needs within the cheapest ranges.
- Supercoat was also added even though this is a lower quality diet because we wanted to account for a variety of budgets. Optimum is considered in a similar quality bracket. It is still our recommendation to consider a premium quality diet for your dog first as these will have more benefits for your dog's health long term which may save you costs down the track such as veterinary expenses.
Top Affordable Dog Foods in Australia
Best Range
Advance
Pros
- Australian made diet
- Premium quality, highly digestible and prebiotic fibre for digestive health
- Omega Fatty Acids for health skin and coat
- Taste to tempt fussy eaters
- Joint support in large breed diets and senior diets
- Kibble shape in all diets and often Sodium tripolyphosphate for tartar prevention
- Resealable packaging
Cons
- All diets contain chicken or chicken fat, so may not be suitable for pets with chicken allergies
- Not all diets have bulk buy options
- Larger bags (20kg) are not resealable
ADVANCE is a premium quality, Australian made product backed by over 45 years of experience and science to deliver the best nutrition to your dog. They Have a large range of diets including their life stage range for puppies through to seniors, their specific needs range including options for dental health, weight management, sensitive skin and digestion and a new mobility range, along with breed group ranges for breeds like the ever popular Oodles and Shepherds. ADVANCE also offers a large range of wet foods to provide for your dog's individual preferences.
ADVANCE focuses on top of the range nutrition and providing for long term health with all of their diets using omega fatty acids and zinc for a healthy skin and coat, antioxidants for immune support, fermentable prebiotic fibres for healthy gut and a delicious, highly palatable formula to tempt even the fussiest eaters. They also use a range of flavours depending on the diet, including chicken, lamb, turkey and salmon, with meat being the first ingredient.
To create a range of products to suit different needs, they also regularly include additional ingredients like Green Lipped Mussel for joint support, colostrum for additional immune support, Sodium Tripolyphosphate to prevent tartar build-up, ingredients for heart health and L-carnitine for lean muscle mass. The large range makes it easy to find a diet that not only suits your dog's age and size, but also addresses the health concerns you want to focus on.
What our customers say: "I have fed multiple border collies Advance over 20yrs. The dogs have never refused to eat it, have never had any digestion or gas issues and have always had beautiful shining coats. My vets have confirmed that my dogs were healthy and doing excellently on this kibble" - Linda Bye
What our vets say: "I love that Advance is Australian made, so you can support the local industry whilst feeding your dog a premium, nutrient-dense diet backed by science. Advance has a wide range of diets available so you can ensure you are choosing the best tailored diet for your dog's life stage, breed or health concern. Advance is a great option if you're looking for value for money, as it compares to the quality of other premium brands but often at a reduced price." - Dr. Jacqui
Best for Senior and Weight Loss
Eukanuba
Pros
- All diets for Australian market made in Australia
- All diets contain Glucosamine and Chondroitin for joint support
- Unique kibble design (3D Denta-Defence) VOHC approved
- High focus on weight management in all diets
- Omega fatty acids for healthy skin and shiny coat
Cons
- Chicken included in all diets, may not be suitable for allergies
- Packaging isn't re-sealable
- Small breed weight loss option not available on our website
- No other health support diets, only weight management
Eukanuba is an ideal more cost effective alternative to the ever popular Royal Canin. They produce a range of diets for different life stages and activity levels. Their diets have a heavy focus on weight management using lower fat, low calorie, moderate fibre formulas with added l-carnitine for lean muscle mass in the senior, adult large/medium breed and weight management formulas. They also include joint support with glucosamine and chondroitin in all their diets to help support dogs with an active lifestyle. The use of the Veterinary Oral Health Council approved 3D Denta-Defence kibble shape is implemented throughout their adult and senior diets for tartar prevention.
While only the Eukanuba Senior and Weight Loss diets work out more cost effective than ADVANCE, their range does also include options for puppies, adults and two high protein and fat options for active and working dogs, or those who need to put on a little bit of weight.
What our customers say: "I have been buying Eukanuba products for my golden retriever since he was a puppy, we've moved from puppy to adult to senior and he is in perfect health and is a perfect weight. Great product!" - Hayley
Best Natural Diet
Black Hawk
Pros
- Australian made and sourced
- Range of flavour options available
- High quality, easily digestible diet with functional, natural ingredients
- High in omega fatty acids for healthy skin and coat
- Joint support in all diets
- Yucca Schidigera extract for reduced faecal odour
- Puppy, adult, small and large breed options
- Ziplock seal packaging
Cons
- Most diets contain chicken or chicken fat, may not be suitable for pets with allergies
- No senior diet options available, only all ages
- Only adult wet food options available
- Grain Free options more expensive
Black Hawk is an Australian made and owned brand created with the goal of providing the best quality nutrition. Their nutritionally balanced and complete diet use wholefood ingredients to provide nutritional value and every ingredient has a purpose. They don't use any artificial preservatives, colours or flavours or fillers. With premium meats, grains, fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as nutritious herbs, vitamins and minerals, every ingredient matters. Examples of this can include Emu oil and fish oil for omega fatty acids, Green Lipped Mussel for joint support and blueberries for antioxidants, Vitamin C and K which all support a healthy immune system. The high quality, easily digestible recipes and the inclusion of Yucca Schidigera extract makes cleaning up after your pooch a breeze.
Black Hawk have a large range of products, including puppy diets, grain free diets, wet food and treats. They have also launched a Healthy Benefits range with options for weight management, joint care, dental health and sensitive digestion.
What our customers say: "I have been feeding my dogs Blackhawk for a number of years. Coats are shinier, stools are firm and now only a few times a day. Overall great health. It is worth the money when you know it makes your dogs happy and healthy. They love it - Great Dane x Mastiffs. Pet Circle get it delivered to us fast. Thanks PC!" - Keely
What our vets say: "Black Hawk provides a great option for pet owners with healthy pets, but still want a food that does all the basics just right. They also have size and age specific formulas, so there's something for everyone!" - Dr. Nicole
Best Grain Free Brand
Hypro Premium
Pros
- Australian made and owned
- Majority of protein sourced from real meat
- Grain and gluten free
- No artificial colours or flavours
- Omega fatty acid supplements for skin and coat health and joint support
- Yucca Schidigera extract for faecal health
- Suitable for adult dogs of all breeds
- Resealable packaging
Cons
- Limited product range
- No size specific ranges or senior diet
- All diets contain chicken or chicken fat, may not be suitable for pets with allergies
- Consistent kibble size between all diets
Hypro Premium is an premium quality, Australian made and sourced died range specialising in grain free diets for an affordable price. It is naturally nourishing and nutritionally balanced with real ingredients. They aim to exceed the industry standards for nutrition and safety, while providing a diet that supports long term well-being. Their largest source of protein is real meat with many other nutrients being contributed by fresh fruit and vegetables to create a nourishing holistic diet. They include multiple sources of omega fatty acids, including emu oil for joint health and skin and coat with superfoods like blueberries, spinach and cranberries for antioxidants and immune support.
Hypro premium offer 3 different flavours including Kangaroo and Lamb, Chicken and Duck, and Ocean Fish. They also have a puppy food.
What our customers say: "Our Groodle loves this kibble! He does tricks just to get a few as a treat funny enough. He has also had healthy poops and a soft coat from it. We've kept our pup on this and will be moving to try the adult dog food after 12 months." - Rachel
Best Hypoallergenic Diet
Zignature
Pros
- Single or limited protein diets
- Novel protein options suitable for an elimination diet trial
- High levels of omega fatty acids for skin, coat and joint health
Cons
- Diets formulated for all breeds and ages, not size or age specific
- Non-resealable packaging
- Made in the USA
Zignature offer a range of premium quality diets with a range of limited ingredient, including novel proteins like Kangaroo Their diets are all hypoallergenic, grain and gluten free and highly palatable. All their recipes contain meat as the primary ingredient with a selection of handpicked, high quality accomanying ingredients to support your dog's health. For smaller dogs, there are also small kibble options available.
What our customers say: "I'm very happy with this product, the picky eaters are eating it and the one with a sensitive stomach hasn't reacted to it. A good alternative protein to give them a change." - Bernice
Best Supermarket Brand
Supercoat
Pros
- No artificial colours or flavours
- Beet pulp fibre to support healthy digestion
- Omega fatty acids for skin and coat
- Resealable packaging
Cons
- Ingredient inconsistencies - may include chicken, beef, lamb and/or pork
- Contains trace amounts garlic
- Not suitable for pets with allergies due to mixed ingredients
- Low metabolisable energy content - need to feed more to meet energy needs
Purina Supercoat is a high-quality, nutritionally balanced and complete diet produced by Purina, following under their premium Pro Plan range. They use a new smartblend formula with real Australian meat, natural fibres and 22 essential vitamins and minerals. They use omega fatty acids to support skin and coat health, and beet pulp to aid digestive health.
Supercoat offer a relatively wide range of products with puppy options, large and small breed options, a weight management diet and a sensitive skin option.
What our customers say: "We have been using Supercoat Dry Dog food since our dog was a pup. She's now over ten years and is as healthy as ever. Right price, right food and right well-being." - Graham
Most Recommended By Vet Squad
Instinctive Bite
Pros
- Australian made with local ingredients
- Free from fillers, artificial flavours or preservatives
- Single source protein diets
- Grain Free options
- Minimum 50% real meat content
- Prebiotic fibres for healthy digestion
Cons
- Limited product range
- All diets contain chicken or chicken fat and may not be suitable for pets with allergies
- Suitable for adult dogs only
- No size specific ranges
Instinctive Bite is a premium quality, nutritionally balanced diet using a minimum of 50% real meat to tailor to your dog's carnivorous nature. All their ingredients serve a purpose and they offer grain free options as well. It is a high fibre diet with prebiotic fibres for digestive health and Yucca Extract to help reduce stool odour. Coconut oil will support a shiny coat and offers Medium Chain Fatty Acids to nourish the brain as well. It is Australian-made from ingredients that are sourced fresh and locally.
Instinctive Bite offers grain free options, but also has a Chicken and Brown Rice diet, which works out considerably cheaper than the grain free options.
What our customers say: "My German Shep is known for being a fussy eater, but he smashes his food! Feels great knowing that he is eating a natural - no fillers - Australian made day dog food! He loves it! His coat is beautiful and for the first time in a long time, his poop is 100% completely normal! " - Hannah
What our vets say: "For pet owners that prefer a high animal protein content that also helps to support gut health, Instinctive Bite is a prime choice. Instinctive Bite combines the science and technology of veterinary medicine with the goodness of natural ingredients to give pets and their people the best of both worlds." - Dr. Nicole
What to look for when searching for a cost effective dog food:
Navigating the large number of diets on the market to find one that is not only cost effective, but also provides for your dog's nutritional needs can be difficult. It's important to cut costs without compromising on high quality ingredients, high digestibility and nutritional health support to give your dog the best chance of thriving. Looking at these factors can be very valuable for finding a food that fits your budget as well as your dog's wellbeing:
Cost Per Feed
The true value of a food can be determined by how much it is going to cost you to feed your dog each day. Calculating the cost per feed or per day is relatively easy. Take the cost of the food and divide it by the weight of the bag (kg). This will give you the cost per kg. On the back of the packaging will be a feeding guide, find the recommended feeding amount for your dog. Then multiply the cost per kg by the recommended feeding amount (this will be in grams so should be zero point something. This will give you the cost for a daily feed.
Nutritional Value
Supermarket brands often use low cost as their goal and include ingredients that achieve it, rather than including consistent, quality ingredients and marketing at an affordable price. On the packaging, this may look like 'Meat and/or meat by-products (poultry, beef, pork)' for example. This means that there are likely to be ingredient inconsistencies which can lead to upset tummies or may trigger reactions in pets with allergies or food sensitivities. This could lead to more vet visits and medications, which will be further detrimental to your bank balance.
Premium Quality diets use highly digestible ingredients and higher energy formulations, so often require you to feed less to meet your dog's daily energy requirements, making them more cost effective per meal. It's also worth considering that premium diets often include additives for preventing health conditions, such as skin and coat supplements, joint support, weight management, dental care and prebiotics or other digestive supports, which could mean less visits to the vet. Higher digestibility also means smaller, firmer faeces, and they often have less smell due to added ingredients for faecal odour control.
Look For Locally Made
Australian made and sourced diets are an excellent option for supporting our local businesses, farmers and economy. To your benefit though, they are also cheaper to include in pet foods. Products or ingredients imported from overseas incur an import fee, which often gets included into the final cost of the product, falling to you, the customer, to pay.
Buy In Bulk
It's no secret that buying in bulk will save you expense in the long-run. This is true in supermarkets and wholesalers as well as the pet food industry. It's very common to see multi-buy discounts in supermarkets. While there is often a larger initial output cost for bulk, when this cost is divided between the larger
Further Reading
Want to read more? Check out our other articles:
The Real Cost of Supermarket Food
How To Navigate "Cheap" Pet Foods
History
Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space and we update our articles when new information becomes available.
Wed Nov 8 2023
Written by Dr Brittany Ward BVScDr Brittany Ward BVSc
Veterinarian
Dr. Brittany graduated from James Cook University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science and started working in her home town in the Wide Bay-Burnett Region. She has always been excited about working in the veterinary industry, but over the last few years has grown especially fond of dog behaviour and training, surgery and orthopaedic disease.
