Butternut Box vs Bella & Duke, Pure and Pets at Home: dog food subscriptions compared

Pet food subscriptions promise to take one job off your list: the right amount of food, delivered before you run out. But the price per day can be anything from under £1 to nearly £4, depending on the type of food, the size of your dog and whether you're still on an introductory discount.

We've compared Butternut Box with Bella & Duke, Pure Pet Food, Different Dog and Pets at Home's Easy Repeat, using each company's own website on 13 October 2026. We wanted to include Tails.com too, but its website blocked our checks, so we couldn't confirm its current prices. More on that below.

At a glance

We haven't scored Different Dog or Tails.com, because we couldn't see a price for either without signing up.

Three very different kinds of food

• Fresh cooked: Butternut Box and Different Dog cook their meals, then freeze them. You defrost them in the fridge before serving.
• Raw: Bella & Duke sells frozen raw food for dogs and cats, with at least 80% meat in its dog food.
• Dehydrated: Pure Pet Food is dried. You add water, stir and serve, and it's stored in the cupboard.

Pets at Home's Easy Repeat is different again: it's a subscribe-and-save scheme on the food you can already buy in its stores, from brands including Lily's Kitchen, Hill's, Royal Canin and its own Wainwrights.

What it costs per day

None of these companies publishes a single price, because each plan depends on your dog's size, age and recipes. These are the example prices each one shows on its own website:

• Butternut Box: £2.34 a day for a two-year-old dog weighing 12kg to 15kg, or £1.76 a day with 25% off your first two boxes. Its example plans range from £2.90 a day for a five-year-old Maltipoo to £3.97 a day for a 13-year-old Greyhound. Some recipes, including its lamb, game, turkey and beef recipes, cost extra.
• Bella & Duke: from £1.18 a day for a four-year-old dog weighing 5kg to 10kg, on its Adult Premium Complete range with an 8kg delivery. Cat food is from 39p a day for a cat up to 3.5kg.
• Pure Pet Food: from 89p a day for a small dog, rising with your dog's size.
• Pets at Home Easy Repeat: the normal shelf price, less 5% for home delivery or 10% if you use Click & Collect.
• Different Dog: we couldn't see a price without creating a plan.

Delivery and storage

• Butternut Box: your first box is a smaller trial box of 7 or 14 days' food, usually delivered the next day. After that you choose deliveries every 7 to 56 days. Meals arrive frozen, and Butternut suggests keeping a freezer drawer free. Its help pages say bigger, less frequent deliveries can reduce delivery charges, so check the delivery cost on your plan after the free next-day delivery on your first boxes.
• Different Dog: meals arrive frozen by DPD, with a one-hour delivery slot, and keep for five days in the fridge once defrosted. It runs a free returns scheme to reuse the insulation and ice packs.
• Bella & Duke: you choose the date, size and frequency of deliveries, and delivery is always free. The food is frozen.
• Pure Pet Food: delivery is always free on a plan, and orders placed before midday on weekdays are dispatched that day. One-off orders are free over £30, otherwise £3.99. No freezer needed.
• Pets at Home Easy Repeat: you choose how much and how often, with home delivery or Click & Collect from a store.

Pausing and cancelling

All the fresh and raw services we checked say you can change, pause or cancel at any time. Bella & Duke says there's no minimum commitment, and Pure says you can cancel or amend your plan at no cost.

Butternut Box has two catches to know about. Your trial box is paid for when you sign up, can't be skipped, and can't be changed or cancelled once paid. After that, you usually have until 11pm two days before each delivery to make changes, after which the box is charged and can't be stopped. You can also stop your subscription and order one-off boxes when you need them.

Tails.com: what we couldn't check

Tails.com, which is owned by Nestlé, tailors dog food to each dog's profile and sells it on subscription. Its website blocked our checks, so we couldn't confirm its current prices, delivery charges or introductory offers. If you're considering it, build a profile on its site and compare the daily price with the others here before you pay.

Where each wins and falls short

• Pure Pet Food is the cheapest of the published prices, with free delivery and no freezer needed, but it's dehydrated rather than fresh, and you have to add water at each meal.
• Bella & Duke covers cats as well as dogs, and adds perks including free 24/7 video vet calls and up to 50% off treats, but raw feeding isn't for everyone and it all needs freezer space.
• Pets at Home Easy Repeat is the simplest way to save if your pet is happy on a brand it already sells, but the saving is modest at 5% to 10%.
• Butternut Box has the most flexible delivery schedule, from every week to every eight weeks, and a big recipe range, but it was the dearest per day of the prices we could see, some recipes cost extra, and the trial box is locked once paid.
• Different Dog cooks its meals in small batches with around 60% British meat and no grains, legumes or buckwheat, but we couldn't see a price without signing up.

Your questions answered

Can I cancel a dog food subscription at any time?

All the companies we checked say you can. The main exception is Butternut Box's trial box, which can't be cancelled once paid, and every service has a cut-off before each delivery, after which that box is on its way.

Is fresh dog food cheaper if I mix it with dry food?

It can be. Butternut Box suggests mixed feeding, such as serving its food at breakfast and another food at dinner, and editing your daily portion in your account. A smaller portion means a lower price.

Do I need a freezer for a fresh dog food subscription?

For Butternut Box, Different Dog and Bella & Duke, yes, as the food arrives frozen. If you're short of freezer space, Pure Pet Food's dried food is stored in the cupboard, and Butternut says bigger deliveries can be cheaper, so weigh up space against price.

Ways to save

Every fresh and raw service has an introductory offer, so compare them before you sign up. Butternut Box was showing 25% off your first two boxes, a free gift and free next-day delivery. Different Dog was offering 20% off your first two boxes and a free treat with the code REAL202, and Bella & Duke 40% off your first box. Butternut allows only one offer per person, and the price goes up after the discounted boxes, so check what you'll pay from the third box. If you'd rather stick with your pet's current food, see our Pets at Home voucher codes and set it up on Easy Repeat for 5% to 10% off.

Sources: Butternut Box, Butternut Box how it works, Butternut Box: how the subscription works, Butternut Box trial box, Butternut Box delivery cut-off, Butternut Box: reducing the cost of your plan, Wikipedia: Butternut Box, Different Dog, Different Dog delivery, Bella & Duke, Bella & Duke pricing and delivery, Pure Pet Food, Pure Pet Food delivery, Pets at Home Easy Repeat, Wikipedia: List of Nestlé brands

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