Raw dog food cost per day: what to budget in the UK

The short answer

There’s no single daily cost for raw dog food, because a small, calm dog eats a fraction of what a large, busy one does. The advertised “from” prices are real, but they’re for small reference dogs. For a medium or large dog, expect to pay a good deal more, and get a quote for your own dog before you decide.

The honest downsides first: raw is usually more expensive than dry food, it needs freezer space, and introductory discounts only last a few boxes. If cost is your main concern, our raw vs kibble comparison is worth reading before you commit.

What the advertised prices are based on

Every per-day price is based on a particular dog, and it’s worth reading the small print. These are the figures we can verify for Bella & Duke, the food our two dogs eat:

• Bella & Duke’s from-price of £1.18 a day is based on a 5–10 kg, 4-year-old dog on Adult Premium Complete with an 8 kg delivery. At that price the reference dog would cost about £8.26 a week or £35.40 over 30 days, before any discount.
• All About Dog Food, an independent food-rating site, lists £2.02 a day for Bella & Duke’s Adult Complete | Premium and an average of £2.52 a day across Bella & Duke’s products. Those are All About Dog Food’s own figures, for the reference dog it uses on its brand page, not Bella & Duke’s.

The gap between those numbers is mostly about the dog, not the food. Our Bella & Duke price guide goes into Bella & Duke’s pricing in more detail.

Why size and activity drive the cost

Raw portions are worked out as a share of body weight, so the cost rises roughly in step with your dog’s weight. As a guide, the Royal Kennel Club says dogs eat 2% to 3% of their body weight in raw food a day, and that active dogs need to eat more.

Here’s what that means in food, compared with a 10 kg dog:

If the price per kilo stayed the same, a dog eating three times as much would cost about three times as much to feed. In practice the price per kilo can vary with recipe, box size and delivery, so treat the table as a guide to how much food you’re buying, not a price list. We don’t publish a price per kilo because it changes with the plan you’re offered.

Activity matters too. A very active dog at the top of the range eats 1.5 times as much as a quieter dog of the same weight at the bottom. A 20 kg dog at 2.5% eats about 500 g a day; a very active one could need 600 g. To see your own dog’s daily amount, use our raw feeding calculator, then ask the brand for a quote at that amount. Our guide to how much raw food to feed explains how to choose where in the range your dog sits.

A starting point, not veterinary advice. Ask your vet before changing your dog's diet, especially for puppies, pregnant or nursing dogs, or dogs with a health condition.

How to work out your own daily cost

The only per-day figure that matters is the one for your dog, and you can work it out in a few minutes once a brand has given you a quote. Here’s the simple way to do it:

1. Find your dog’s daily amount in grams, using the calculator or the percentage guide above. Use your dog’s ideal weight, not their current weight if it’s off.
2. Get a quote from the brand for a box that suits that amount. Most subscription brands ask for your dog’s details and suggest a box size and price.
3. Work out how many days the box lasts: the box weight in grams divided by your dog’s daily grams.
4. Divide the box price by those days. That’s your real cost per day at full price.
5. Add the extras you know you’ll buy, such as treats and chews, spread over the same number of days.
6. Do it twice: once with any first-box discount, and once at full price. The full-price figure is the one to budget for.

If you have more than one dog, do the sum for each and add them together. Two dogs of different sizes and energy levels can cost quite different amounts to feed, even on the same food.

How raw compares with cooked and dry food

Dry food is generally the cheapest way to feed a dog, gently cooked fresh food tends to sit closer to raw, and air-dried food sits somewhere in between. The figures below are advertised “from” prices for different kinds of food and different reference dogs, so they show the shape of the market rather than a like-for-like comparison:

• Tails.com (tailored dry food (kibble), plus wet food): from 62p a day (reported; check their site).
• Pure Pet Food (reported to be air-dried (dehydrated) food you add water to; check their site): from 89p a day for a small dog.
• Bella & Duke (raw, frozen): from £1.18 a day for a 5–10 kg, 4-year-old dog on Adult Premium Complete with an 8 kg delivery.

Cost isn’t the only difference: storage, handling and what suits your dog matter as much. Our raw vs cooked guide compares fresh options, including Butternut Box, which we fed before Bella & Duke.

How first-box offers change the first months

Most raw brands discount your first box or two, which makes the first month or so noticeably cheaper than what follows. That’s useful for seeing whether your dog takes to raw, but budget for the full price, not the introductory one.

• Bella & Duke’s friend offer: 40% off your first two boxes, then 20% off the third, with maximum discounts of £53.88, £53.88 and £26.95. It covers frozen food on your first three orders only.
• Bella & Duke’s homepage offer: 40% off your first box, with a lower cap on box two (£40.42).
• All About Dog Food’s code: advertised as a three-box deal starting with 50% off. Its page doesn’t say what boxes two and three get, so compare the total when you sign up.
• Paleo Ridge: 40% off your first subscription order, 20% off your second.

Bella & Duke offers can’t be combined: it cannot be combined with any other offer. Enter the box price you’re quoted in our discount calculator to see the saving box by box, and check our raw dog food offers page for other brands’ current deals.

New UK customers only: your household must never have had a Bella & Duke account or delivery. Frozen food on your first three orders only, and it can't be combined with another offer.

The hidden costs

The biggest cost that isn’t on the price tag is freezer space. Frozen raw food takes far more room than a bag of kibble, and some households end up buying a separate freezer, which costs money to buy and to run.

• Freezer space. Bella & Duke’s smallest delivery is 4 kg, and a larger dog gets through much more. Our guide to storing and defrosting raw food covers planning for it.
• Treats and chews. These are usually extra, and they count towards your dog’s daily food too.
• Delivery. Bella & Duke delivery is free to the UK mainland, with surcharges for Northern Ireland, the Highlands and the islands. Other brands differ.
• Time. Defrosting ahead, portioning and cleaning up after raw food takes a few minutes every day.
• Vet check. A conversation with your vet before you switch is sensible, and may be a consultation fee.

Keeping the cost of raw feeding down

The best way to keep raw feeding affordable is to feed the right amount: overfeeding costs money as well as waistline. After that, it’s about choosing the right plan and not paying for things you don’t need.

• Weigh portions and adjust them to your dog’s weight every couple of weeks.
• Compare quotes for your actual dog, not the advertised from-prices.
• Use one good introductory offer and then judge the food at full price.
• Watch the extras. Treats and add-ons are easy to add to a box and easy to forget about.
• Consider mixing approaches only with your vet’s input. Some owners feed raw alongside another complete food to manage cost; make sure the overall diet stays balanced.

If the numbers don’t work for your household, that’s a perfectly good reason not to feed raw. A good-quality complete dry or cooked food is a sensible choice for many dogs.