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Nutro vs Beneful

Nutro vs. Beneful

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

Guaranteed Analysis: Beneful vs. Nutro

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.

Nutro Dog Food vs. Beneful Dog Food

Dry Dog FoodNutroBeneful
Crude Protein27.0%29.2%
Crude Fat15.3%14.7%
Crude Fiber4.7%5.2%
Wet/Canned Dog FoodNutroBeneful
Crude Protein42.6%46.2%
Crude Fat24.2%11.4%
Crude Fiber6.1%6.7%

Crude Protein Comparison For Dog Food

Protein is an extremely important part of your dog's diet. Without sufficient protein, dogs can develop a wide-range of serious health problems.

According to our data, Beneful guarantees 2.24% more protein than Nutro. Although this difference is relatively small, it's still a notable difference. In addition, Beneful wet dog foods also provide more protein than Nutro 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.

Beneful and Nutro both provide roughly the same amount of crude fat. For wet dog foods, Nutro provides significantly more fat (about 12.73% more).


There is a relatively insignificant difference between the crude fiber content of the two brands. With regards to wet dog food, Beneful and Nutro also provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber.

Nutro Pet Food Ingredients vs. Beneful Pet Food Ingredients

Nutro and Beneful both use the following controversial ingredients in many of their products:

Iron Oxide
Brewers Rice
Wheat Gluten
Powdered Cellulose

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Nutro.

Bone Broth
Pea Protein
Pork Plasma
Whole Wheat
Animal Plasma
Caramel Color
Tomato Pomace
Vegetable Oil
Feeding Oatmeal
Dried Corn Syrup
Dried Tomato Pomace
Pea Protein Isolate
Canola Oil (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols)

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Beneful.

Liver
Canola Meal
Ground Wheat
Soybean Flour
Soybean Hulls
Corn Germ Meal
Corn Gluten Meal
Meat By-Products
Whole Grain Corn
Whole Grain Wheat
Ground Yellow Corn
Chicken By-Product Meal
Hydrogenated Corn Syrup
Soybean Protein Isolate
Soybean Protein Concentrate
Animal Fat (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols)

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

Nutro and Beneful both use the following harmful ingredients in many of their products:

Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex

Here are some of the harmful ingredients used only by Beneful.

Bha
Bht
Blue 1
Red 40
Yellow 5
Yellow 6
Added Color

Product Safety: Recall History of Nutro & Beneful?

Nutro has been recalled 4 times.

  • Sept. 30, 2009: small pieces of melted plastic
  • Dec. 13, 2015: Mold
  • May 21, 2009: incorrect levels of zinc and potassium
  • March 16, 2007: Melamine

Beneful has been recalled once.

  • March 9, 2016: Incorrect Vitamins and Minerals

Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?

Dry Dog FoodNutroBeneful
Per Pound$2.24$2.12
Per Calorie$0.0014$0.0013
Wet Dog FoodNutroBeneful
Per Pound$6.55$3.39
Per Calorie$0.0136$0.0072

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 Nutro or Beneful, 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 Nutro or Beneful will depend on your shopping habits.

Pet owners who use our price comparison feature typically save more than 25% off retail prices for Nutro and Beneful. 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 Nutro Pet Foods

You can purchase Nutro pet foods from the following stores:


77 Recipes In-Stock Today

44 Recipes In-Stock Today

64 Recipes In-Stock Today

Where To Buy Beneful Pet Foods

You can purchase Beneful pet food products from these retailers:


32 Recipes In-Stock Today

8 Recipes In-Stock Today

18 Recipes In-Stock Today

Type Of Pet Foods Available

ProductNutroBeneful
Dry Dog Food56 Recipes13 Recipes
Wet Dog Food45 Recipes28 Recipes
Dog Treats12 Treats3 Treats
Dry Cat Food11 RecipesNone
Wet Cat Food41 RecipesNone
Cat TreatsNoneNone

Top Rated Nutro Recipes

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Top Rated Beneful Recipes

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Healthy Weight With Farm-Raised Chicken
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IncrediBites Paté With Real Salmon, Tomatoes, Carrots & Spinach
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