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Natural Balance vs. The Honest Kitchen

In this comparison article for Natural Balance vs The Honest Kitchen, we'll highlight the key differences between these two pet food brands. To properly compare Natural Balance and The Honest Kitchen, 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 The Honest Kitchen vs Natural Balance comparison, we've utilized average data to make general comparisons. If you'd like to see individual product reviews, visit our Natural Balance Review Page or The Honest Kitchen Review Page.

Guaranteed Analysis: The Honest Kitchen vs. Natural Balance

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.

Natural Balance Dog Food vs. The Honest Kitchen Dog Food

Dry Dog Food	Natural Balance	The Honest Kitchen
Crude Protein	27.6%	29.3%
Crude Fat	14.4%	15.7%
Crude Fiber	5.2%	6.3%

Wet/Canned Dog Food	Natural Balance	The Honest Kitchen
Crude Protein	39.7%	50.4%
Crude Fat	20.5%	24.5%
Crude Fiber	8.5%	5.1%

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.

There is a relatively insignificant difference between the crude protein content of the two brands. For wet dog foods, The Honest Kitchen provides significantly more protein (about 10.75% more).

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.

Both brands provide roughly the same amount of crude fat. For wet dog foods, The Honest Kitchen provides more fat (about 4.05% more).

As you can see, Natural Balance and The Honest Kitchen guarantee a similar amount of crude fiber. For wet dog foods, Natural Balance typically provides a little more fiber (about 3.40% more).

Natural Balance Cat Food vs. The Honest Kitchen Cat Food

Dry Cat Food	Natural Balance	The Honest Kitchen
Crude Protein	36.8%	40.4%
Crude Fat	14.3%	23.1%
Crude Fiber	5.5%	3.5%

Wet/Canned Cat Food	Natural Balance	The Honest Kitchen
Crude Protein	46.7%	52.0%
Crude Fat	20.2%	24.6%
Crude Fiber	7.1%	5.1%

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.

There is a small difference between the protein content of The Honest Kitchen and Natural Balance. We can see that The Honest Kitchen guarantees about 3.62% more protein than Natural Balance. In addition, The Honest Kitchen wet cat foods also provide more protein than Natural Balance wet foods.

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.

The comparison table above shows that The Honest Kitchen dry cat foods provide significantly more fat than Natural Balance. More specifically, The Honest Kitchen guarantees at least 8.75% more fat. For wet cat foods, The Honest Kitchen provides more fat (about 4.39% more).

The Honest Kitchen and Natural Balance both provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber. For wet cat foods, Natural Balance typically provides a little more fiber (about 2.10% more).

Natural Balance Pet Food Ingredients vs. The Honest Kitchen Pet Food Ingredients

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Natural Balance.

Giblets

Beet Pulp

Canola Oil

Pea Protein

Brewers Rice

Caramel Color

Tomato Pomace

Feeding Oatmeal

Poultry Giblets

Dried Tomato Pomace

Canola Oil (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols)

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by The Honest Kitchen.

Dried Garlic

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 Natural Balance.

Menadione Sodium Bisulfate Complex

Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex

Product Safety: Recall History of Natural Balance & The Honest Kitchen?

Natural Balance has been recalled 6 times.

July 21, 2007: ofbotulinum toxin
May 4, 2012: Salmonella
June 18, 2010: Salmonella
April 27, 2007: Melamine
April 17, 2007: Melamine
July 3, 2020: elevated levels of choline chloride

The Honest Kitchen has been recalled once.

Feb. 21, 2013: Salmonella

Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?

Dry Dog Food	Natural Balance	The Honest Kitchen
Per Pound	$5.23	$9.66
Per Calorie	$0.0029	$0.0053

Dry Cat Food	Natural Balance	The Honest Kitchen
Per Pound	$3.69	$9.67
Per Calorie	$0.0023	$0.0049

Wet Dog Food	Natural Balance	The Honest Kitchen
Per Pound	$6.27	$5.73
Per Calorie	$0.0137	$0.0129

Wet Cat Food	Natural Balance	The Honest Kitchen
Per Pound	$7.63	$8.41
Per Calorie	$0.0183	$0.0176

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 Natural Balance or The Honest Kitchen, 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 Natural Balance or The Honest Kitchen will depend on your shopping habits.

Pet owners who use our price comparison feature typically save more than 25% off retail prices for Natural Balance and The Honest Kitchen. 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 Natural Balance Pet Foods

You can purchase Natural Balance pet foods from the following stores:

96 Recipes In-Stock Today

79 Recipes In-Stock Today

83 Recipes In-Stock Today

16 Recipes In-Stock Today

Where To Buy The Honest Kitchen Pet Foods

You can purchase The Honest Kitchen pet food products from these retailers:

84 Recipes In-Stock Today

26 Recipes In-Stock Today

23 Recipes In-Stock Today

22 Recipes In-Stock Today

Type Of Pet Foods Available

Product	Natural Balance	The Honest Kitchen
Dry Dog Food	39 Recipes	9 Recipes
Wet Dog Food	27 Recipes	10 Recipes
Dog Treats	33 Treats	23 Treats
Dry Cat Food	16 Recipes	3 Recipes
Wet Cat Food	43 Recipes	10 Recipes
Cat Treats	None	3 Treats