How prices per kg are computed
The price on the bag says little about what pet food costs. A 15 kg bag at $60 is cheaper per kilo than a 5 kg bag at $25, and a case of 48 pouches is easy to misjudge. This site turns every Amazon pet food listing into the price of the same thing — one kilogram of food, as the label weighs it — and ranks by that. Beside it sits the price of 1,000 kcal, where the label states the energy.
The price column
Every category is quoted per kg of net weight. Dry food, wet food and treats are separate categories and never ranked against each other, and neither are the animals:
| Animal | Categories | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Dogs | dry dog food, wet dog food, dog treats | $64.98 for a 35 lb bag (15.88 kg) = $4.09 per kg |
| Cats | dry cat food, wet cat food, cat treats | $21.99 for 24 cans of 3 oz (2.04 kg) = $10.77 per kg |
| Small pets, birds & fish | rabbit, guinea pig and hamster food, bird food, fish food | $13.99 for 200 g of flakes = $69.95 per kg |
Per 1,000 kcal: dry and wet on one scale
Wet food is mostly water, so a kilo of it feeds far less than a kilo of kibble. The second column divides the price by the energy instead: the price per 1,000 kcal of metabolisable energy (ME) as the label states it, per kg, per 100 g or per can. A dry food at $4.09 per kg and 3,700 kcal/kg costs $1.11 per 1,000 kcal; a wet food at $10.77 per kg and 850 kcal/kg costs $12.67. That comparison is yours to make across the two categories; the rankings stay within one.
Where a complete dry food states no energy, the column uses a typical value — 3,700 kcal/kg for dogs, 3,900 kcal/kg for cats — and the kcal/kg column shows it with a ~. Wet food, treats, complementary food and weight-control food never get a typical value: their energy varies too much, and weight-control food is exactly the kind that wins per kg and loses per kcal. Energy per cup is ignored, since a cup is a volume, not a weight.
How the weight is counted
A pack is weighed as its label says, and every gram is counted once. “48 x 85 g” is 48 pouches in one pack, 4.08 kg; “2 x 12 kg” is two bags, 24 kg; “3 oz, 24 Cans” is 24 cans of 85 g. Pounds and ounces are converted (1 lb = 453.592 g). A dog’s weight in a title (“for dogs 11–25 kg”, “bis 10 kg”) is never the bag’s. A listing that counts cans or sticks without saying what they weigh, or that names several sizes, keeps its package price and gets no price per kg: a weight is never guessed. Where a product page states a different weight than its title, the product page wins and the price is marked ~.
Complete or complementary
A complete food is meant to be a pet’s whole diet; a complementary one (toppers, meal mixers, broths, the German “Ergänzungsfuttermittel”, and every treat) is not. We take that statement from the seller, as the FEDIAF guidelines in Europe and the AAFCO nutrient profiles in the United States ask manufacturers to make it. Complementary food keeps its price per kg and says “Complementary” in the food-type column, so a cheap topper is never mistaken for a cheap diet.
Veterinary diets are listed, not ranked
Prescription and dietetic foods — renal, gastrointestinal, urinary and other veterinary diets — are fed for a condition, under a veterinarian’s supervision, and one is no substitute for another. They are listed with their price per kg beside the size, but they get no rank, no highlight and no “cheapest” line.
Treats are compared within one type
A kilo of dental sticks and a kilo of freeze-dried chicken are different purchases: freeze-dried treats at $150 per kg are real. Treats are therefore ranked only within one type — dental, chews, biscuits, jerky and training treats for dogs; lickable, crunchy, dental and freeze-dried treats for cats. Pick a type to see the ranking.
What the highlights mean
Best value marks the lowest price per kg among in-stock listings in the selected category that match your filters, across all result pages. Cheapest per kcal marks the lowest price per 1,000 kcal; typical dry-food energies (~) take part. Sorting does not change the winners; changing your filters can. Tied winners share the highlight, and a lone listing gets no badge.
What is not listed
Litter, bowls, feeders, toys, beds and leashes; supplements (vitamins, probiotic and joint chews, fish oils); milk replacers; frozen raw food; and samples or trial sizes. A food “with probiotics” or a “Joint Health Formula” is still food.
Which price is used
The listing’s one-time price at the last update. Subscribe-and-save discounts, coupons and other conditional prices are not used, because not every buyer gets them.
Where the numbers come from
Weights, counts and energy are read from the listing itself: the title (“Felix … Katzenfutter nass, 48 x 85 g” → 48 × 85 g = 4.08 kg) and, where the product page has been read, its description and product information. Every number read from a product page must come with the exact words it was read from, or it is dropped.
Data freshness & countries
Prices are refreshed weekly for each of ten Amazon storefronts, each a separate catalog in its own currency; the date above the table shows the last update. Prices and availability change at any time — what Amazon shows at checkout is what applies.
Affiliate disclosure
Product links carry an Amazon Associates tag. As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. Rankings are computed from the numbers alone and are never sponsored.
Not veterinary advice
This is a price comparison, not feeding guidance. Labels, feeding guides and the calculators’ estimates are starting points; your animal’s needs depend on its age, size, activity and health. Ask your veterinarian before you change its diet.