Comparison · desk research · prices and pages checked October 29, 2026
Freshpet vs The Farmer's Dog: Cost, Storage and Feeding Compared
One sits in a grocery-store fridge, the other arrives frozen in a box. We compared them the way your wallet and your freezer will: the same dog, the same daily calories, dated prices where they exist, and the storage rules that decide how much ends up in the trash.
Freshpet
Cooked, refrigerated, no added preservatives. Rolls and bags sold from store fridges, plus a delivery service.
$5.27–$9.62
per 1,000 kcal at one Kroger store, Oct 29, 2026, depending on recipe and pack size
The Farmer's Dog
Cooked, then frozen and shipped by subscription in portions sized for your dog. A shelf-stable "Instant Fresh" line too.
No public price
Plans are quoted per dog after signup. 50% off the first box as of Oct 29, 2026
The bottom line
- Both are cooked, not raw, and both brands describe their main foods as complete and balanced. TFD says its recipes are backed by an AAFCO feeding trial; the Freshpet statements we could read describe formulation.
- Which one is cheaper depends more on the Freshpet recipe you'd buy than on the brand. Freshpet's basic roll undercuts the third-party "standard" TFD prices we found; its bagged recipes cost more than them.
- TFD's portions arrive sized for your dog, which removes the guesswork. Freshpet's fixed packs mean small dogs can run into the 7-day open limit.
- TFD needs freezer space and planning; Freshpet needs fridge space and store trips.
- Neither has published evidence of better health outcomes than a good complete dry food. Tufts found fresh-style diets cost several times more than even the most expensive dry foods.
Two different ways to buy fresh-style food
The two brands get compared because both sell soft, cooked food that looks closer to a home-cooked meal than kibble does. How you buy, store and portion them is quite different, and that's where most of the day-to-day difference lies.
Freshpet is a grocery product. Its food is cooked, packed in rolls or resealable bags and shipped refrigerated to stores, where it sits in Freshpet-branded fridges. The company says there are about 36,000 of those fridges across North America. You can also order from Freshpet Delivery, and a Deli Fresh line is listed as available at Costco. There's no subscription required for store purchases. You pick a recipe and a size off the shelf the same way you'd buy any other food.
The Farmer's Dog is a subscription service. Its home page describes the food as "Made fresh. Quickly frozen. Delivered to your door." When you sign up, TFD builds a plan with "personalized portions to meet their unique nutritional and caloric needs," pre-portioned "based on age, weight, breed, activity level, and body condition goals." Shipping is free, and the company says it ships within the continental U.S. TFD's own blog says you can now subscribe directly, through Walmart.com or through Amazon, where the fresh food is still a personalized plan. TFD also sells Instant Fresh, a shelf-stable food that's "dry in the bag" and "made fresh in the bowl" by adding water, which Amazon sells as a one-time purchase.
What the labels and adequacy claims say
For any food you plan to feed as the whole diet, the first thing to check is the AAFCO statement: who the food is complete and balanced for, and how that was established. Here the two brands differ in ways that matter to some owners.
Freshpet: depends on the recipe
Freshpet's statements change from product to product. The basic Tender Chicken roll and the Fresh From the Kitchen bag are for adult maintenance, and the Fresh From the Kitchen statement says it's "formulated to meet" AAFCO's profiles. Vital's chicken roll covers all life stages, including growth of dogs expected to reach 70 pounds or more. The small-dog bites cover all life stages except large-size growth. And the Healthy Mixers line is labeled for "intermittent or supplemental feeding only," so it isn't a meal by itself. We break down seven recipes in our Freshpet review.
The Farmer's Dog: all life stages, with a feeding-trial claim
TFD's veterinary page says its food is "Complete and balanced according to AAFCO standards" and "Backed by AAFCO Feeding Trial." Its food page says recipes "meet AAFCO standards, follow WSAVA guidelines, and are formulated by board-certified veterinary nutritionists." TFD's blog describes the life-stage coverage two slightly different ways: a 2025 post says all recipes are "100% complete and balanced for dogs in all stages of life," and a September 2026 post says "most foods" are labeled for all life stages. We couldn't read the exact AAFCO wording on TFD's recipe pages, and we didn't find the phrase "including growth of large size dogs" on the pages we could read. If you're feeding a large-breed puppy, ask TFD for the exact statement on the recipe you'd get.
WSAVA's guide to selecting a pet food points owners to whether a label's claim came from feeding trials or from formulation. A feeding trial means the food was fed to dogs under AAFCO's protocol, not only checked on paper. It isn't proof of long-term health benefits, but it's a real difference in how the claim was earned.
Pulses in the ingredient lists
Diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is still being studied. In a June 2026 update, Tufts' Lisa Freeman wrote that it "appears to be associated with diets high in pulses (peas, lentils, chickpeas, beans)," and that this "includes both grain-free and grain-inclusive diets." Freshpet's Tender Chicken roll lists peas fourth and Vital lists peas third; the small-dog bites and Fresh From the Kitchen chicken didn't show pulses in their first six ingredients. For TFD, we had to rely on DogFoodAdvisor's published ingredient lists because TFD's recipe pages didn't load for us. They show chickpeas second in the turkey recipe and cooked lentils third in the beef recipe, while the chicken recipe is described as having no legumes. Check the current list yourself before deciding. If DCM is a concern for your dog's breed or history, talk to your vet, and see our grain-free dog food guide for background.
"Human-grade" and "natural"
In an article explaining human-grade dog food, TFD says it requires its facilities to have a USDA Grant of Inspection for human food. Freshpet says its animal proteins come from USDA-inspected suppliers and calls its ingredients all-natural, with the exception of added vitamins and minerals. AAFCO treats "human-grade" as a marketing term with specific guidelines and defines "natural" by source and processing. Tufts' 2019 post on human-grade food is direct: buying it "does not ensure healthier or better quality food for your pet." These words describe how food is sourced and handled, not how well it nourishes a dog.
The same dog, the same calories: what each costs
Price comparisons between these two brands usually go wrong in one of three ways: they compare a discounted first box with a full shelf price, they compare different dog sizes, or they compare different calorie amounts. To avoid that, we fixed four example dogs, all neutered adults with typical activity, and estimated their daily calories with the 2021 AAHA guideline formula (resting energy × 1.5). Your dog's real number may be lower or higher; the method still works with any figure.
Freshpet: dated shelf prices
We used one Kroger store's pickup prices on kroger.com on October 29, 2026, and each product's printed calories per kilogram. The cheapest calories were in the 6-lb Tender Chicken roll ($19.99, $5.27 per 1,000 kcal). The 2-lb small-dog bites ($13.99) worked out to $7.92 per 1,000 kcal, and the 4.5-lb Fresh From the Kitchen bag ($28.99) to $8.35.
| Example dog | kcal per day | Tender roll, per day | Tender roll, per week | Small bites, per week | Fresh From the Kitchen, per week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 lb | 326 | $1.72 | $12.02 | $18.08 | $19.07 |
| 30 lb | 744 | $3.92 | $27.44 | $41.27 | $43.51 |
| 50 lb | 1,091 | $5.75 | $40.24 | $60.52 | $63.80 |
| 70 lb | 1,404 | $7.40 | $51.78 | $77.88 | $82.11 |
Our calculation: daily kcal × cost per 1,000 kcal from October 29, 2026 Kroger prices. Weekly figures are shown because subscription quotes are often weekly. Small bites are sized for small dogs; larger rows are shown for comparison only.
Freshpet Delivery is another route. On October 29, 2026, its shredded chicken page showed "Starting at" $2.08 and $1.04 per day next to a 50%-off first-order offer. The page doesn't say which dog or recipe those figures assume, so we can't place them on the same-calorie scale.
The Farmer's Dog: no public price, so here's what we can say
TFD's site says "Plans are priced based on your dog's size and needs." No public page we read showed a per-day or "starting at" dollar figure. The signup flow mentions a "weekly price," but we couldn't see a number without creating a plan, and we didn't. The current offer on the site is 50% off the first box, plus a free bag of treats with every plan. That discount applies to the first box only, so it shouldn't be used to judge the long-term cost.
Third-party sites do publish TFD prices. We're including the main ones because readers will run into them, with clear warnings:
| Source and date | What it says | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| DeliveryRank comparison, updated April 15, 2026 | "Standard pricing": TFD from $4.15/day (20 lb), $4.69 (30 lb), $8.45 (70 lb). Freshpet $4.03 (20 lb), $5.46 (30 lb), $10.32 (70 lb). | No date on the price checks, no recipe named, no method. Uses affiliate links. |
| DeliveryRank TFD review, updated April 2, 2026 | About $1.02/day for a 5-lb dog and $3.33/day for a 55-lb dog with 60% off the first order; "$1 to $12 per day"; FAQ estimates of about $28/week (10 lb) and $63/week (55 lb). | Trial pricing with a 60% offer that no longer matches TFD's site (50% on October 29, 2026). Figures within the review don't agree with each other. |
| The Customer Digest, October 26, 2026 | TFD "$4.85/meal for a big dog or $1.21/meal for a small dog"; Freshpet $3.28 and $0.78 per meal "with TCD's discount." | Labeled as an advertorial, with affiliate links. Per-meal, undated, and a discount applied only to Freshpet. |
Third-party figures as published. We did not verify any of them and they should not be read as current TFD prices.
Even taken at face value, these numbers tell an interesting story. DeliveryRank's "standard" Freshpet figures ($5.46 a day for 30 lb, $10.32 for 70 lb) are much closer to our Fresh From the Kitchen math ($6.22 and $11.73) than to the basic roll ($3.92 and $7.40). In other words, on their numbers, TFD looks cheaper than premium Freshpet bags and more expensive than the basic Freshpet roll. The choice of Freshpet recipe moves the result as much as the choice of brand does.
The same site's numbers also conflict with each other. If the $3.33-a-day figure for a 55-lb dog reflects a 60% discount, the undiscounted price would be about $8.33 a day by our arithmetic, well above the roughly $7 you'd expect from the "standard pricing" figures for 30 and 70 pounds. And $63 a week for a 55-lb dog works out to $9 a day. We can't tell which number is right, which is exactly why a quote for your own dog matters more than any article, this one included.
For context on the whole category, Tufts' Cailin Heinze compared costs for a 55-pound dog eating 1,100 kcal a day in 2022. The six subscription "fresh food" brands she surveyed cost "4 – 6 times what the most expensive dry food cost" and 18 to 27 times more than the least expensive dry food. Tufts describes those fresh foods as generally bought by subscription directly from the manufacturer, and the post's text doesn't name the brands. Our own figures show a similar gap: the basic Freshpet roll costs about 12 times as much per calorie as a large bag of Purina Dog Chow at the same store. Our Dog Chow review has that math.
Get a TFD quote and compare it fairly
Because TFD prices each plan individually, the honest way to compare is to get your own quote and convert it to the same unit as Freshpet. Here's a worksheet you can run with a pen and the numbers on your screen.
Same-calorie price worksheet
- Write down the TFD plan price after the first-box discount, and the number of days it covers: $ for days.
- Daily cost = price ÷ days = $ per day.
- Find the daily calories the plan is built on. If your plan details don't show it, ask TFD's customer service: kcal per day.
- Cost per 1,000 kcal = daily cost ÷ daily kcal × 1,000 = $.
- Compare with Freshpet at the same calories, using your store's price. At the Kroger prices we found, Freshpet ran $5.27 (roll), $7.92 (small bites) or $8.35 (Fresh From the Kitchen) per 1,000 kcal.
- Adjust for waste. For Freshpet, subtract any food you expect to throw out after the open window. For TFD, account for any packs you'd discard after thawing.
Worked example with made-up numbers: if a quote were $49 for 7 days and the plan supplied 750 kcal a day, the daily cost would be $7.00, and the cost per 1,000 kcal would be $9.33. That $49 is an illustration, not a The Farmer's Dog price.
Two practical notes. First, TFD's daily calories for your dog may differ from our AAHA estimate or from Freshpet's feeding chart, because each uses its own method. If TFD's plan is built on fewer calories than you'd feed with Freshpet, its daily price will look lower even if the per-calorie cost is higher, and vice versa. The cost per 1,000 kcal is the number that compares like with like. Second, Freshpet's own feeding chart for its Tender Chicken roll runs below the AAHA estimate for many adult dogs; our Freshpet review shows how large that gap is. Over a few weeks, the right portion is the one that keeps your dog at a lean body condition, whichever food you choose.
Storage, thawing and how much gets thrown away
Storage is where these two foods feel most different in daily life, and where hidden costs show up.
A Freshpet week
- StoreBought from a store fridge. Unopened packs keep until the printed sell-by date.
- Day 0Open the pack, write the date on it, keep it at 40°F or below.
- Each mealSlice or scoop; pick up uneaten food after an hour.
- Day 5 or 7Use-by limit after opening: 7 days for rolls and most bags, 5 days for two Homestyle recipes.
- OptionFreeze portions on day 0 and thaw overnight in the fridge (texture may change).
A Farmer's Dog cycle
- DeliveryBox arrives frozen. The first box holds "up to two weeks" of food, per TFD.
- UnpackMove packs into the freezer and thaw upcoming meals in the fridge, following the pack instructions.
- Each mealServe the pre-portioned amount for your dog.
- After thawingTFD's own FAQ answers didn't load for us; a third-party review reports about 4 days in the fridge. Follow the instructions on your packs.
- Next boxArrives on the subscription schedule ("perfectly-timed deliveries," in TFD's words).
Freshpet: fixed packs, short open window
Freshpet's FAQ says rolls and most bags must be used within 7 days of opening, and two Homestyle Creations recipes within 5. The company's storage guide says to keep food at 40°F or below, to discard food left in the bowl after an hour and to throw out a pack left out overnight. Freezing is allowed, with a possible change in color and texture, although the Tender Chicken roll's own FAQ says to avoid freezing for best results.
The open window becomes a cost when the pack is bigger than a week's food. A single 6-lb roll (about 3,794 kcal) only gets used up within 7 days if your dog eats at least about 542 kcal a day. For our 10-lb example dog at 326 kcal, about 40% of that roll would pass the 7-day mark. The 2-lb small-dog bites bag needs about 252 kcal a day to clear the window, which suits most small dogs. So with Freshpet, small-dog owners either buy smaller, pricier packs, buy the 6-lb box of four 1.5-lb rolls, or freeze portions on the day they open a pack.
The Farmer's Dog: portioned packs, freezer space
TFD's food is "quickly frozen" and delivered, and its veterinary page says it "can be handled and stored as you would handle and store any perishable cooked food." Because each pack is portioned for your dog, you don't face the same slicing guesswork or partly used rolls. The trade-off is space and planning. Two weeks of food for a large dog takes up real freezer room, and you need to move packs to the fridge ahead of time so they thaw safely. A third-party review reports thawed TFD food keeps about 4 days in the fridge and up to 6 months in the freezer; we couldn't confirm either figure on TFD's site, so go by the pack.
Rules that apply to both
- Keep the fridge at 40°F or below. Both the AVMA and FDA give that number for leftover moist pet food.
- Thaw in the refrigerator, not on the counter. Freshpet's storage guide says this explicitly for its own food.
- Wash bowls and scoops in hot, soapy water. The FDA recommends doing so after each use.
- Wash your hands after handling either food. The AVMA suggests at least 20 seconds.
- When in doubt about smell, texture or how long something sat out, throw it away.
Delivery, flexibility and where to buy
Freshpet's big practical advantage is that you don't have to commit to anything. If your dog stops liking a recipe, you buy a different one next trip. If you're traveling, you just don't buy. Its disadvantage is that you depend on your local store's fridge being stocked with the recipe and size you need, and you make more frequent trips for a perishable food.
TFD's advantage is the reverse. Food shows up on schedule, portioned and ready, with free shipping, and the site says you can cancel anytime. TFD says "perfectly-timed deliveries make sure you never run out." The trade-off is managing a subscription: delivery timing, pauses and plan changes. Third-party reviews describe pausing for up to six months, but TFD's own terms didn't load for us, so check the current rules in your account before you rely on them. Shipping is limited to the continental U.S., according to TFD's food page.
If you want delivered food without a subscription from TFD, Freshpet Delivery exists; if you want TFD without the website, its blog says you can subscribe through Walmart.com or Amazon. The fresh food remains a personalized plan on those platforms.
Is either one better for your dog's health?
This is the question behind most searches, and the honest answer is that nobody has shown it either way. In her 2022 cost article, Tufts' Cailin Heinze wrote that "there are minimal scientific data to suggest a benefit of one of these diet types over others" and warned about a "marketing placebo effect." Her conclusion: "There is a good quality diet available at nearly every price point for a healthy pet." We didn't find a published study comparing outcomes in dogs fed Freshpet and TFD, or either one and a complete dry food.
That doesn't mean owners are imagining all of it. Soft, high-moisture, tasty food can help a picky dog eat reliably, and a dog that eats its full portion is easier to manage. Pre-portioned packs can make weight control easier for households where several people feed the dog. Those are real benefits that come from format and routine. What the evidence doesn't support is the idea that "fresh" in itself makes dogs healthier or longer-lived.
Fat content is worth a look if your dog has had pancreatitis or has a fat limit from your vet. Freshpet's labels show roughly 50 to 65 grams of fat per 1,000 kcal on most recipes we checked, at their guaranteed minimums. We couldn't read TFD's guaranteed analyses on its own site, so ask TFD for the fat per 1,000 kcal of the recipe you'd get. Our low-fat dog food guide explains how vets usually express fat limits.
Which one fits your situation
Small dog, small freezer
Freshpet in small packs, or the small-dog bites, is easier to fit in. Buy only what your dog finishes in a week, or freeze portions on day one.
Large dog, tight budget
Neither as the whole diet. A complete dry food with a small fresh topper costs a fraction of either. See the mixing math below.
You want feeding-trial backing
TFD's vet page claims an AAFCO feeding trial. Freshpet's statements we read describe formulation. Ask either brand for the exact wording on the recipe you'd buy.
Several people feed the dog
TFD's pre-portioned packs reduce double feeding and overfeeding. With Freshpet, mark each day's portion in advance.
You travel or board often
Freshpet has no subscription to manage; TFD offers Instant Fresh as a shelf-stable backup. Either way, plan a cooler or a backup food.
Your vet has raised DCM concerns
Check each recipe's ingredient list for peas, lentils and chickpeas before choosing, and talk to your vet about the specific recipe.
If you have a puppy, especially a large-breed one, the life-stage statement on the exact recipe decides the matter before price does. Our wet puppy food guide explains what growth labels should say.
Mixing fresh food with kibble
Many owners end up using fresh food as part of the bowl rather than all of it. As long as both foods are complete and balanced for your dog's life stage, mixing them is fine nutritionally, and it changes the cost picture a lot.
Take our 50-lb example dog at about 1,091 kcal a day. Fed entirely on the Freshpet Tender Chicken roll, it costs about $5.75 a day at the Kroger price we found. With a quarter of the calories from the roll and three quarters from a large bag of Purina Dog Chow Complete at the same store, the day costs about $1.79. For the 30-lb dog, the same 25/75 split comes to about $1.22 a day, and for the 10-lb dog about 54 cents. You can run the same calculation with a TFD quote once you have its cost per 1,000 kcal.
The key is to replace calories, not add them. If you put a scoop of fresh food on top and keep the kibble portion the same, the dog simply eats more, and the scale will show it within weeks. If you're adding only a small amount for taste, keeping it near 10% of daily calories, the share commonly used for treats, leaves the main food doing the nutritional work. Our dog food toppers guide and budget-friendly dog food guide go further into both approaches.
Switching between them
If you move from one to the other, do it gradually over several days and watch your dog's stools and appetite. Switch by calories, not by volume: a slice of roll and a TFD pack don't carry the same energy, and moving from fixed packs to a dog-specific plan, or the other way, is a common time for weight to drift. Weigh your dog before the switch and again two to four weeks later, and adjust the portion if the weight moves.
If your dog has a sensitive stomach or a diagnosed condition, ask your vet before changing foods. Fresh-style foods are higher in moisture and often in fat per calorie than many dry foods, and some dogs need time to adjust. Our article on wet food for sensitive stomachs covers what to watch for.
Freshpet vs. The Farmer's Dog FAQ
Is The Farmer's Dog more expensive than Freshpet?
It depends on the Freshpet recipe. Third-party figures put TFD below Freshpet's premium bags but above the basic Freshpet roll. TFD publishes no public price, so get a quote and convert it to cost per 1,000 kcal before comparing.
Which is easier to store?
Freshpet needs fridge space and must be used within 5 to 7 days of opening. TFD needs freezer space and planning to thaw packs ahead of time. If freezer space is tight, Freshpet's fridge-only storage may be simpler; TFD's portioned packs avoid half-used rolls.
Is either one raw?
No. Freshpet says its food is fully cooked, and TFD's veterinary page describes its food as "fully cooked (not raw)." Both are different from raw diets, which our raw feeding guide covers.
Can I buy The Farmer's Dog in stores?
Not on a store shelf, as far as TFD's pages say. You can subscribe on its website, through Walmart.com or through Amazon. Its shelf-stable Instant Fresh can be bought as a one-time purchase on Amazon.
Are both complete and balanced?
Most of their main recipes are, but check the specific one. Freshpet's statements vary by recipe and one line is a supplement only. TFD says its recipes are complete and balanced and backed by an AAFCO feeding trial.
Do they contain peas or lentils?
Some recipes do. Freshpet's Tender Chicken and Vital rolls list peas. Third-party ingredient lists show chickpeas in TFD's turkey recipe and lentils in its beef recipe. Read the current list for the recipe you'd buy.
Is fresh dog food healthier than kibble?
There isn't good published evidence that it is. Tufts' nutritionists say there's a good quality diet at nearly every price point for a healthy pet.
Sources
- The Farmer's Dog: home page, our food, why fresh, Instant Fresh, veterinary site
- The Farmer's Dog blog: Does The Farmer's Dog do AAFCO feeding trials? (July 15, 2025), great for all life stages (Sept 23, 2026), where to buy (Aug 26, 2026), now at Amazon (Sept 16, 2026), what is human-grade dog food
- Freshpet: FAQ, feeding and storage guide, company, Tender Chicken roll, Fresh From the Kitchen, small-dog bites, Freshpet Delivery
- Kroger.com product listings, one store's pickup prices, October 29, 2026
- Third-party, used with the limits noted: DeliveryRank: Freshpet vs Farmer's Dog (Apr 15, 2026), DeliveryRank: The Farmer's Dog review (Apr 2, 2026), The Customer Digest (Oct 26, 2026), DogFoodAdvisor: The Farmer's Dog (ingredient lists)
- Tufts Petfoodology: Comparing the costs of different types of dog food (Heinze, 2022), Human grade (2019), Update on diet-associated DCM, June 2026 (Freeman)
- AAFCO: Reading Labels, "Natural", FAQ
- AVMA: Safe handling of pet food and pet treats and FDA: Tips for safe handling of pet food and treats
- AAHA 2021 Nutrition and Weight Management Guidelines: energy requirement box
- WSAVA Global Nutrition Toolkit: Selecting a pet food for your pet
Compiled by the Patify Editorial Research Team from the manufacturer, third-party, regulatory and veterinary sources above, checked October 29, 2026. We didn't test, buy or receive either food, and a veterinarian has not reviewed this article. The Farmer's Dog showed no public price on that date; third-party prices are reported as published and not verified. If your dog has a health condition, ask your veterinarian before changing its diet.
