You are buying calories, not pounds. Calorie density across this database runs from
741 to
5,400 kcal/kg, so a $3.50/lb fresh food and a
$3.50/lb kibble are nowhere near the same price. Enter what you pay; this converts it using the
calorie density printed on the label.
Estimate ±25%
The per-day line assumes a 25 lb neutered adult dog at 692 kcal a day. Energy
needs vary by ±25% between individual dogs of the same weight, and prices move — this is
arithmetic on the numbers you typed, not a quote. Ask your veterinarian before changing what
your dog eats.
Reference ranges
Moisture and calorie density below are computed from the 203 foods in the
database. The cost column is not label data: this site holds no prices, so each figure is quoted
from the comparison page that observed it, with the date it was checked.
Bars run on a fixed $0–15 per 1,000 kcal scale — not
scaled to this table's own data — and mark the midpoint of each observed range; the tick
is the median of the midpoints drawn. The small figure under each range is how many of
that format's foods publish the value. Hatched cells are values nobody publishes.
Observations checked 2026-07-27. Methodology
Convert the package to kilograms, multiply by the label's calorie density to get the calories in
the bag, then divide the price by those calories.
$ per 1,000 kcal = price ÷ (package kg × kcal per kg) × 1,000
Worked through with a real label:
Beneful With Farm-Raised Chicken publishes
3,655 kcal/kg — the median of the 139 dry foods here.
Suppose you find a 25 lb bag for $70; the price is an assumption, because this site
records no prices at all. 25 lb is 11.34 kg, which holds
41,447 kcal, so the bag costs
$1.69 per 1,000 kcal and feeds the 25 lb reference dog for
about $1.17 a day.
The same conversion drives the per-1,000-kcal nutrient figures on every food page:
g per 1,000 kcal = as-fed % × 10,000 ÷ kcal per kg. Both need a published calorie
density, which is why 16 of the 203 foods here cannot be costed at all —
their makers do not publish one.
Questions
Why compare dog food by cost per calorie instead of by the pound?
Moisture. Kibble in this database is 9–12% water; fresh recipes are 69–82%. A pound of fresh food therefore carries a fraction of the calories in a pound of kibble, so the two per-pound prices are not measuring the same quantity. Dividing the price by the calories you actually receive puts every format on one scale.
What does dog food cost per 1,000 kcal?
The reference table on this page lists what our dated comparisons observed in 2026: roughly $1.50–4 for premium kibble, $3–5 for fresh-dry, about $5 for air-dried and $7.50–13 for frozen or refrigerated fresh. Those are market observations with a date on them, not label data — BowlGrade publishes no prices, which is why the calculator asks you for yours.
Where does the calorie figure come from?
The calorie content statement — kcal of metabolisable energy per kilogram — which US labels have had to carry since 2017. 187 of the 203 foods in this database publish one and are in the menu above; 16 do not, so for those you have to read the bag in your hand. Every figure is linked to its source.
Does a lower cost per 1,000 kcal mean a better food?
No. It is a price measurement and nothing else. It tells you what you are paying for energy, not what the ingredients are, whether the recipe was fed to dogs in a trial, or whether it suits your dog. BowlGrade issues no ratings — read the cost next to the label data, not instead of it.
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