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Blue Buffalo vs. Vital Essentials

In this comparison article for Blue Buffalo vs Vital Essentials, we'll highlight the key differences between these two pet food brands. To properly compare Blue Buffalo and Vital Essentials, we'll use up-to-date nutritional and price information.

There are many factors to consider when choosing the best pet food brand for your pet. Factors such as ingredient quality, guaranteed analysis, product safety, brand history, and cost are among the most important factors to consider.

Throughout this Vital Essentials vs Blue Buffalo comparison, we've utilized average data to make general comparisons. If you'd like to see individual product reviews, visit our Blue Buffalo Review Page or Vital Essentials Review Page.

Guaranteed Analysis: Vital Essentials vs. Blue Buffalo

According to AAFCO, all pet food labels must provide a guaranteed analysis of nutrient content. The analysis must provide guaranteed minimum percentages of crude protein and crude fat, and maximum percentages of crude fiber and moisture.

All percentages used in this comparison are averages reported on a dry matter basis.

Blue Buffalo Dog Food vs. Vital Essentials Dog Food

Dry Dog Food	Blue Buffalo	Vital Essentials
Crude Protein	29.5%	52.2%
Crude Fat	15.3%	28.7%
Crude Fiber	6.8%	4.1%

Wet/Canned Dog Food	Blue Buffalo	Vital Essentials
Crude Protein	40.0%	53.7%
Crude Fat	26.2%	31.0%
Crude Fiber	7.4%	5.6%

Crude Protein Comparison For Dog Food

Dogs require twenty-two amino acids to sustain life. Twelve of these amino acids are synthesized naturally, the remaining ten are consumed. Protein is the nutrient which provides some or all of these ten essential amino acids.

The comparison table above shows that Vital Essentials dry dog foods provide significantly more protein than Blue Buffalo. More specifically, Vital Essentials guarantees at least 22.68% more protein. Similarly, Vital Essentials wet dog foods provide significantly more protein than Blue Buffalo wet foods.

Crude Fat Comparison For Dog Food

Fats are an absolutely vital component of a balanced canine diet. Not only do fats provide energy, but they also serve important roles in the normal development and function of your dog's body. For example, fats help dogs produce prostaglandins, which reduce inflammation among many other significant functions.

Vital Essentials dry dog foods clearly provides more fat than Blue Buffalo. In fact, the difference between the fat content is roughly 13.32%, which is a significant amount. For wet dog foods, Vital Essentials provides more fat (about 4.78% more).

There is a small difference between the fiber content of Blue Buffalo and Vital Essentials. We can see that Blue Buffalo guarantees about 2.66% more fiber than Vital Essentials. For wet dog foods, Blue Buffalo and Vital Essentials provide roughly the same amount of fiber.

Blue Buffalo Cat Food vs. Vital Essentials Cat Food

Dry Cat Food	Blue Buffalo	Vital Essentials
Crude Protein	37.5%	54.0%
Crude Fat	16.8%	27.5%
Crude Fiber	6.2%	5.1%

Wet/Canned Cat Food	Blue Buffalo	Vital Essentials
Crude Protein	45.8%	50.6%
Crude Fat	24.3%	18.8%
Crude Fiber	8.1%	2.5%

Crude Protein Comparison For Cat Food

Cats require twenty-two amino acids to sustain life. Eleven of these amino acids are synthesized naturally, the remaining eleven are consumed. Protein is the nutrient which provides some or all of these eleven essential amino acids.

On average, Vital Essentials dry cat food recipes contain 16.47% more protein than Blue Buffalo recipes. Clearly, there is a significant difference between the protein content of Blue Buffalo and Vital Essentials. For wet cat foods, Vital Essentials provides more protein (about 4.74% more).

Crude Fat Comparison For Cat Food

There are many ways in which dietary fat contributes to the overall health of our feline friends. Here is a short list of benefits provided by fats (not exhaustive):

Fats help with the digestion and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins
Reduce inflammation associated with arthritis
Slow the growth of yeast infections
Prevent or reduce the likelihood of certain heart problems.
Aid in the development of the retina and visual cortex.

When you look at the average percentages of crude fat for dry cat food, it's clear that Vital Essentials provides significantly more fat. On average, Vital Essentials guarantees about 10.71% more protein than Blue Buffalo. For wet cat foods, Blue Buffalo provides more fat (about 5.46% more).

There is a relatively insignificant difference between the crude fiber content of the two brands. For wet cat foods, Blue Buffalo provides more fiber (about 5.60% more).

Blue Buffalo Pet Food Ingredients vs. Vital Essentials Pet Food Ingredients

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Blue Buffalo.

Garlic

Caramel

Canola Oil

Pea Protein

Caramel Color

Tomato Pomace

Powdered Cellulose

Dried Tomato Pomace

We believe that certain pet food ingredients are linked to adverse health affects; these ingredients are classified as harmful.

Here are some of the harmful ingredients used only by Blue Buffalo.

Menadione Sodium Bisulfate Complex

Product Safety: Recall History of Blue Buffalo & Vital Essentials?

Blue Buffalo has been recalled 9 times.

Nov. 25, 2015: Salmonella
Nov. 6, 2015: Presence of Propylene Glycol
May 31, 2016: Mold
March 18, 2017: elevated beef throid hormone
Feb. 14, 2017: presence of aluminum
March 3, 2017: Foil Seal Packaging Problem
Oct. 8, 2010: toxic levels of vitamin D
April 19, 2007: Melamine
April 26, 2007: Melamine

Vital Essentials has been recalled 4 times.

July 8, 2015: Listeria monocytogenes
Jan. 15, 2016: Salmonella
Feb. 24, 2018: Salmonella
April 16, 2018: Salmonella

Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?

Dry Dog Food	Blue Buffalo	Vital Essentials
Per Pound	$3.42	$37.19
Per Calorie	$0.0021	$0.0186

Dry Cat Food	Blue Buffalo	Vital Essentials
Per Pound	$5.07	$39.03
Per Calorie	$0.0031	$0.0200

The average cost-per-lb is heavily influenced by the varying amounts of moisture present in each brand's food products (wet vs. dry food, dry vs. freeze-dried food, etc). However, the average cost-per-kcal eliminates the influence of moisture. Therefore, the average cost-per-kcal is the better metric to consider.

If you'd like to calculate the average cost-per-day or cost-pet-year of feeding Blue Buffalo or Vital Essentials, input your pet's weight into our cost analyzer widget.

Averages price data can identify whether or not there exists a significant price difference between two brands. However, the actual price that you'll pay for Blue Buffalo or Vital Essentials will depend on your shopping habits.

Pet owners who use our price comparison feature typically save more than 25% off retail prices for Blue Buffalo and Vital Essentials. In addition, we currently have some great coupons for our readers.

Disclosure: PawDiet has an affiliate relationship with stores featured (or linked-to) in this article. We are compensated for referring customers. Thank you for shopping with our retail partners!

Where To Buy Blue Buffalo Pet Foods

You can purchase Blue Buffalo pet foods from the following stores:

281 Recipes In-Stock Today

135 Recipes In-Stock Today

262 Recipes In-Stock Today

14 Recipes In-Stock Today

Where To Buy Vital Essentials Pet Foods

You can purchase Vital Essentials pet food products from these retailers:

47 Recipes In-Stock Today

43 Recipes In-Stock Today

21 Recipes In-Stock Today

23 Recipes In-Stock Today

Type Of Pet Foods Available

Product	Blue Buffalo	Vital Essentials
Dry Dog Food	93 Recipes	None
Wet Dog Food	94 Recipes	None
Dog Treats	50 Treats	30 Treats
Dry Cat Food	42 Recipes	None
Wet Cat Food	59 Recipes	None
Cat Treats	16 Treats	8 Treats