Dry vs. Wet Pet Food: Comparing Cost per Serving and per Day

Food A is a 30 lb bag for $49.99; its feeding guide says 340 g a day for your dog. Food B is a 24 lb bag for $47.99, but it is more calorie-dense, and its guide says 270 g a day for the same dog.

Food B costs 20% more per pound, but because the dog eats less of it, it is about 5% cheaper per day. Price per pound alone pointed the wrong way.

A 13 oz can of wet food costs $2.29. Its label suggests about one can per 12 lb of body weight per day, so a 36 lb dog would need about 3 cans a day if fed only wet food.

1. Wet only: 3 cans × $2.29 = $6.87 per day.
2. Dry only (Food A above): $1.25 per day.
3. Half and half: 1.5 cans ($3.44) + half the dry amount ($0.62) ≈ $4.06 per day.

Wet food is mostly water, so per pound it can’t be compared with dry food — but per day it can. In the calculator below, enter each food’s price with the number of days it lasts as the size, and it shows the cost per day.

1. Find the daily amount for your pet’s weight on the feeding guide. Many guides give both cups and grams; grams are more precise.
2. Convert the bag weight to the same unit: 1 lb = 453.6 g, 1 kg = 1,000 g.
3. Days per bag = bag weight ÷ daily amount.
4. Cost per day = price ÷ days per bag.

If the guide gives only cups, weigh one level cup of the food once — kibbles differ a lot in how much a cup weighs.

The amounts on a bag are general recommendations. Your pet’s age, activity and health change what it needs, and your vet’s advice comes first. For comparing costs, what matters is that you use the amount your pet actually eats for each food. If you switch foods, do it gradually and watch your pet’s weight.

• Compare dry with dry per pound first using the pet food price per pound calculator — then check per day if the feeding amounts differ.
• Big bags are cheaper per pound only if they stay fresh until finished; keep them closed and dry.
• For cases of cans, use the multipack field: 24 × 13 oz is 312 oz.
• Treats count too. If your pet gets several a day, add them to the daily cost.
• Autoship discounts can help for food you buy on a schedule — see subscribe & save.

A bag of 90 treats costs $12.99. If your dog gets 3 a day, the bag lasts 30 days: $12.99 ÷ 30 ≈ $0.43 per day. Added to dry food at $1.25 per day, treats raise the daily cost by about a third. Comparing treat brands per treat — or per day at your usual number — can save more than switching dry foods.

Feeding guides often give cups, but a cup of one kibble can weigh much more than a cup of another. If a guide lists only cups, weigh one level cup of that food once, then work in grams. Two foods with the same “2 cups a day” can mean very different amounts of food — and very different days per bag.

1. Find the daily amount for your pet’s weight on each food’s guide (grams if possible).
2. Days per bag = bag weight ÷ daily amount.
3. Cost per day = price ÷ days per bag.
4. Add treats and toppers at the amount you really give.
5. Check with your vet before changing foods.