The 6 Best Cheap Dog Foods Australia: Tested & Evaluated 2024
Written By Vedrana Nikolic | Canine Coach, B.A Ethnology & Anthropology, M.A Semiotics.
Edited & Fact Checked By Renae Soppe | Double B.A Journalism & Science.
Last Updated: 9th January 2024
Finding the best dog food for your four-legged best friend is not always an easy task.
With so many options in the Australian market, it can be overwhelming. A good way to decide is to choose a product that is nutritious and won't cost you an arm and a leg.
Does choosing a cheaper option make you a bad pet parent? Absolutely not. But how do you know where to start?
We did the research for you. In doing so, we teamed up with veterinarians and canine nutritionists to discover the best cheap dog food Australia offers. After months of testing more than 50 different types, we compared results and compiled this list of the best of the best. Our “Best Cheap Dog Food Australia” guide is dedicated to finding kibble that is healthy and affordable at the same time!
Quick Picks - The Top 3
Our Number 1 Pick -
Petzyo Dog Food
- Protein & iron rich, ethically sourced Kangaroo, Chicken or Salmon is the first ingredient
- Our number 1 rated dry dog food
- Australian owned with hundreds of 5 Star Reviews
- Priced better than major food brands
- Lightning fast free shipping
Runner Up -
Supercoat Adult Dog Grain Free Chicken
- Extremely effective
- Grain-free
- Australian made
- Several sizes available
Third Choice -
Black Hawk - Dry Puppy Food, Lamb and Rice
- Balanced diet
- Additional nutrients
- Locally and responsibly sourced ingredients
- Several sizes available
Australia's Best Cheap Dog Food Options Reviewed
If your budget for dog food is not huge, it doesn’t automatically mean your pooch needs to eat junk food. Our panel of independent experts spent months testing the best cheap food Australia offers and after much research and debate, we compiled this handy list.
Take a look at these options that are healthy and affordable at the same time:
#1: Top Pick - PETZYO DRY DOG FOOD
What sets this product apart from the rest?
Nutritional Analysis | |
|---|---|
Protein | 25% |
Fat | 11% |
Fibre | 5% |
Omega-6 | 3% |
Petzyo - 5 Star Rating
- Ingredients: Sustainable Kangaroo, Sweet Potato, Peas, Lentils, Carrots, Broccolli & Broccoli Stem, Tomato, Spinach, Kelp, Blueberries, Rosemary, Parsley, Basil, Oregano, Turmeric, Chicken Oil, Flaxseed Oil, Fish Oil, Vitamin and Minerals (Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B11, B12, D, E, K, Taurine, Niacin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Choline, Pantonthenic Acid, Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids, Iron, Zinc, Copper, Manganese, Selenium, Iodine and Cobalt).
- Named Protein First: Yes.
- Dog Food Type: Grain Inclusive.
- Recipe Range: Kangaroo, Sweet Potato & Superfood Extras or Salmon, Ocean Fish & Green Lipped Muscles or Chicken, Turkey & Superfood Extras or Petzyo Raw Food Range.
- Suitable For: Petzyo's recipe range can be suitable for puppy, adult and senior dogs depending on the recipe.
- Cost: $$$
- Australian Owned: Yes.
Dr Kathryn Rosalie Dench - M.A VetMB MRCVS.
Gentle Dog Trainers Expert Reviewer
"Petzyo is the obvious choice as the best affordable dog food option for Australian dog owners. At just over $10 per kg for Petzyo's Chicken & Turkey option, it competes with the supermarket brands but provides a far healthier ingredient list. With named proteins listed as the first ingredient and packed with super foods such as sweet potato and blueberries. I highly recommend them."
When it comes to budget dog food, this recipe from Petzyo is definitely our top choices. Not only is it affordable, but we also rated in the No.1 dry dog food option in Australia.
Petzyo is an Australian company that uses ethically sourced Kangaroo, Chicken or Salmon that is always the first ingredient listed. This is combined with superfoods including sweet potato and blueberries meaning your pooch is getting the best of the best.
The Petzyo dry dog food being tested by our independent expert team.
In addition, there are six rich oils that help contribute to a healthy 11% fat content and a healthy coat. My toy poodle has sensitive skin and a rough coat, so ingredients like these are what he needs to look and feel better.
Keep in mind that this recipe is grain inclusive, which sets it apart from our number two choice, which is grain-free.
Related: Petzyo Dog Food Review
They are well established with hundreds of genuine 5 star reviews and offer lightning fast free shipping Australia wide.
The only possible downside is that they only have the one dry dog food option. Our entire expert panel does hope that they expand with more excellent options in the near future, though.
Pros | Cons |
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#2: Cheapest Grain-Free Dog Food - Supercoat Adult Dog Grain Free Chicken
Nutritional Analysis | |
|---|---|
Protein | 28% |
Fat | 14% |
Crude Fibre | 4.5% |
Omega Fatty Acids | 1.4% |
Supercoat - 2.5 Star Rating
- Ingredients: Meat and Meat meals (chicken, beef, lamb and/or pork), Vegetables and Vegetable proteins and/or canola meal, Tapioca starch, Animal fats, Beet pulp; Vitamins, Minerals and Amino acids, Natural flavours.
- Named Protein First: No.
- Dog Food Type: Grain Inclusive & Grain Free.
- Recipe Range: Beef or Ocean Fish or Chicken or Kangaroo + More.
- Suitable For: Super Coat's recipe range can be suitable for puppy, adult and senior dogs depending on the recipe.
- Cost: $
- Australian Owned: Yes.
When your dog is sensitive or intolerant to grains, it can be hard to find food that is not overly expensive. Luckily, the Supercoat line from Purina comes to the rescue. Even though it’s quite cheap, Supercoat dog food is made locally in Australia with quality ingredients, and they even offer grain-free recipes like this one.
As this is one of the most affordable foods out there, you might be wondering, how is this possible? Well, for instance, the first ingredient in this recipe is “Meat and Meat meals (chicken, beef, lamb and/or pork)”. Our number three choice also features meat meal as the main ingredient, setting both options apart from our number one choice by Petzyo.
What this means is that your dog will get a variety of meats and meat meals, but it’s hard to tell which one. Now, our expert panel thinks this is fine as all meat is generally good for dogs, but if your dog is sensitive to a particular type of meat, then it might be an issue.
Related: Supercoat Dog Food Review.
Overall, Supercoat offers great recipes that provide well-balanced nutrition. The Supercoat Adult Dog Grain Free Chicken, for example, is very rich in protein and also contains lots of plant-based fibre which makes the food more digestible.
Related: How Long Does It Take a Dog To Digest Food?
Pros | Cons |
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#3: Best Cheap Dog Food For Puppies - Black Hawk - Dry Puppy Food, Lamb and Rice
Nutritional Analysis | |
|---|---|
Protein | 30% |
Fat | 17% |
Black Hawk - 3.5 Star Rating
- Ingredients: Lamb Meal, Chicken Meal, Fish Meal, Ground Rice, Ground Oats, Field Peas, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols [source of Vitamin E], Citric Acid, Rosemary Extract), Beet Pulp, Kelp, Natural Antioxidants, Canola Oil, Chicory Root, Brewers Yeast, Salt, Essential Vitamins & Minerals (see tables), Emu Oil, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Glucosamine, Chondroitin Sulphate, Tomato Powder, Carrots, Dried Blueberries, Dandelion, Peppermint, Rosemary, Cranberries.
- Named Protein First: No (but lamb & chicken meal is OK).
- Dog Food Type: Grain Inclusive & Grain Free.
- Recipe Range: Lamb & Rice or Chicken or Australian Lamb or Tasmanian Salmon or Kangaroo or Ocean Fish + More.
- Suitable For: Black Hawk's recipe range can be suitable for puppy, adult and senior dogs depending on the recipe.
- Cost: $$$
- Australian Owned: Yes.
Black Hawk is an Australian dog food manufacturer. The guys behind Black Hawk take pride in the fact that their whole line of dog foods is made with locally and responsibly sourced Australian ingredients. I especially love this since it also makes it possible to create quality puppy food at an affordable price. Despite being pretty cheap, Black Hawk dog food allows me to provide my pup with a balanced diet.
The Black Hawk - Dry Puppy Food, Lamb and Rice being tested by our independent expert team.
The Lamb and Rice recipe of their dry kibble made for puppies contains large amounts of protein (30%), sourced from meat as well as vegetables. And this is just what puppies need to grow up happy and healthy.
Besides that, our independent experts appreciated that this dog food also contains healthy additions like emu oil, kelp, and dried blueberries to ensure your puppy gets all the necessary nutrients.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
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#4: Best For Active Dogs - Royal Canin Dog Endurance
Nutritional Analysis | |
|---|---|
Protein | 32% |
Fat | 28% |
Crude Fibre | 3.6% |
Royal Canin - 2.5 Star Rating
- Ingredients: Dehydrated poultry protein, animal fats, rice, vegetable protein isolate*, hydrolysed animal proteins, beet pulp, vegetable fibres, fish oil, minerals, psyllium husks and seeds, soya oil, marigold extract (source of lutein), hydrolysed yeast (source of manno-oligo-saccharides), hydrolysed crustaceans (source of glucosamine), hydrolysed cartilage (source of chondroitin).
- Named Protein First: No.
- Dog Food Type: Grain Inclusive.
- Recipe Range: Royal Canin markets its dog food range as breed specific (we don't agree with this).
- Suitable For: Royal Canin's recipe range can be suitable for puppy, adult and senior dogs depending on the recipe.
- Cost: $$$
- Australian Owned: No.
Dog food by Royal Canin is not the cheapest option you can find. However, we found that this Endurance recipe for active dogs, specifically, offers a great balance of price and quality. If you are looking for cheap Royal Canin dog food online, your best bet is to get the 20 kg bag, as you’ll get a much better price than buying in smaller packages.
This food was specifically designed for working dogs, and dogs that are very active throughout the day in general. If your pooch seems too skinny and is struggling with keeping weight on, you should give this food a try! Many members of our team of testers also found that this recipe keeps active dogs happy and healthy unlike anything else.
The Royal Canin Dog Endurance being tested by our independent expert team.
So, what exactly is the secret of the Royal Canin Endurance recipe? Well, first of all, the protein content is extremely high, even more so than our number three choice by Black Hawk. In addition to this, this food is also rich in fat to provide much-needed energy for active dogs. Finally, there is also quite a large amount of fibre and antioxidants added to round up this food for a balanced meal every day.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
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#5: Best Cheap Dog Food For Large Breeds - Advance Adult and Senior Large Breed Turkey
Nutritional Analysis | |
|---|---|
Protein | 25% |
Fat | 5% |
Advance - 3 Star Rating
- Ingredients: Turkey Meal, Rice, Rice Flour, Sorghum, Chicken Meal, Chicken Fat, Dried Beet Pulp, Natural Flavour (Chicken), Sunflower Oil, Salt, Minerals, Inulin, Vitamins, Arginine, Green Lipped Mussel Powder, Methionine, Antioxidants, Taurine.
- Named Protein First: No (but turkey meal is OK).
- Dog Food Type: Grain Inclusive.
- Recipe Range: Turkey with Rice or Chicken with Rice or Lamb with Rice or Salmon with Rice.
- Suitable For: Advance's recipe range can be suitable for puppy, adult and senior dogs depending on the recipe.
- Cost: $$
- Australian Owned: Yes.
Advance dog food is another Australian-based dog food manufacturer. With Advance dog food, cheap doesn’t necessarily mean low or questionable quality. While their dog food is not the cheapest on the market either, it is affordable considering the quality of ingredients used. Moreover, if you buy Advance dog food in 15 kg packages (the largest version), you’ll be able to get quite a low price.
One thing we love about dog food formulas from Advance is that their ingredient list isn’t terribly long. There are no mystery ingredients and you know exactly what you are feeding your dog (which is especially important if they have food sensitivities like mine).
This formula for large breeds is based on turkey which provides quality protein for your pooch. Our panel of researchers were happy to discover that this dog food doesn’t contain any useless fillers, but a useful mix of nutritious ingredients instead. For example, Green-Lipped Mussel Powder is added to support joint health (super important for large and giant dogs), and beet pulp is added to make the food more digestible.
Pros | Cons |
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#6: Best For Mature Dogs: Eukanuba Senior Medium Breed
Nutritional Analysis | |
|---|---|
Protein | 27% |
Fat | 12% |
Fibre | 3.85% |
Eukanuba - 3 Star Rating
- Ingredients: dehydrated poultry protein, wheat, corn, barley, brewers rice, poultry fat, dried plain beet pulp, hydrolysed poultry proteins, yeast products, salt, potassium chloride, sodium tripolyphosphate, fructooligosaccharides, fish oil, choline chloride, vitamins (DL – alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), vitamin A, vitamin B5, vitamin B3, biotin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin B1, vitamin D, vitamin B2, folic acid) DL-methionine, antioxidants, trace minerals (zinc, manganese, copper, iron, potassium, sodium selenite) glucosamine hydrochloride, carotene, chondroitin sulfate.
- Named Protein First: No.
- Dog Food Type: Grain Inclusive & Grain Free.
- Recipe Range: Eukanuba markets its range for breed size and activity level (we don't agree with this).
- Suitable For: Eukanuba's recipe range can be suitable for puppy, adult and senior dogs depending on the recipe.
- Cost: $$
- Australian Owned: No.
Once our dogs get old, they deserve a little bit of extra pampering - and this formula from Eukanuba can definitely give it to them. The first ingredient in this food is real chicken, but that’s not the only benefit your pooch will get. Namely, this senior formula is also enriched with all nutrients, vitamins, and minerals an older dog needs to stay as healthy as possible.
When talking about Eukanuba dog food, “cheap” is not really the first word that comes to mind since some of their products can be quite pricey. However, just like with most dry dog foods, you can save quite a bit by getting the largest bag available - which is 15 kg in this instance.
Related: Best Senior Dog Food Australia.
In any case, our entire team of independent experts agree that Eukanuba dog food does offer great value for money. Older dogs can benefit from a healthy, well-balanced dog food formula, and the Eukanuba Senior line can provide them with what they need.
Pros | Cons |
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Can Dog Food Be Cheap & Nutritious At The Same Time?
Does buying cheap dog food mean you are not feeding your canine friend as well as you should? Well, not necessarily, especially if you are careful about choosing which food you buy. If dog food is inexpensive, it doesn’t automatically mean it’s unhealthy.
On the flip side - many expensive brands are actually full of cheap fillers and don’t have that much meat inside! So how do you know which food is good and which is bad? The trick is to not believe the hype. Some well-known brands put a lot of money into marketing campaigns which is why their products are so expensive.
Sometimes, it can be a bad idea to trust what the front of a bag of dog food says. The truth hides on the back - in the ingredient list and the nutritional analysis table. Once you learn how to read those, you’ll quickly realise that good dog food doesn’t have to be incredibly expensive.
Our team of canine experts share their thoughts about what pet parents need to know about those tricky dog food labels. Here is what to look for:
Meat Meals & By-Products: Is It Good or Bad?
Dogs definitely need lots of protein as a part of their diet. As a rule of thumb, a good source of protein (usually meat) should be the first ingredient on the list of any quality dog food. However, if you are on a tight budget, you’ll encounter dog foods that contain ingredients like “chicken meal” and “chicken by-product meal”. So, are these good enough?
Related: Real Meat vs Meat Meal in Dog Food.
Well, chicken is definitely better than chicken meal, but the “meals” are also fine, as long as you can identify what they are made from. Chicken meal, lamb meal, fish meal - all of this is ok. Now, if you see something that involves the word “animal by-products" as the first ingredient in dog food, you should avoid it. It doesn’t mean that these will poison your dog, however by-products are a far poorer source of protein.
At the same time, protein is not the only thing a dog needs for a healthy diet.
“Rather than look for a dog food that contains excessive levels of protein you should find one that is specifically formulated for your dog’s lifestyle, life stage, and size” - Ashley Gallagher, PetMD
Working dogs and puppies, for example, need as much protein as they can get, but overweight dogs don’t need as much.
Related: The Best Meat for Dogs.
We should also highlight that we recommend dry food over canned food. However, we understand that some canines flat out refuse to eat something that isn't sloppy and oh so good. If your dog is like mine and insists that you feed them wet food, then check out our guide on the best wet dog food options.
What Else Should I Look Out for When Buying Dog Food?
Dogs are omnivores which means they can survive on almost anything. However, they will be the healthiest if their diet contains a healthy balance of protein, fats, and quality carbohydrates such as fibre that makes the food more digestible.
While you could certainly analyse every ingredient on the list, our experts point out that choosing dog foods that have the AAFCO certification can make your life easier. The AAFCO certificate means that the food in question meets the dietary requirements of a healthy dog (2).
Related: What is AAFCO? The Association of American Feed Control Officials
Related: What Is the Pet Food Industry Association of Australia (PFIAA)?
Related: AAFCO vs PFIAA: Dog Food Standards Comparison Australia
The Advantages of Buying Bulk Dog Food
Even with these guidelines, it’s not always easy to find good dog food that is affordable at the same time. This is even more true if your dog has any specific requirements or food sensitivities. In this case, it’s valuable to consider the size of the package you buy.
Most dry dog foods are much cheaper if you buy them in bulk, instead of buying the smaller options. Always opt for the largest package available and you’ll surely get a better price.
My Final Verdict
What is the best food for your dog? This is always a very individual question. Our team of experts note that it will depend on the age, on the breed, any food sensitivities your dog might have and finally their random reason for liking or not liking a certain kind of kibble.
But sometimes, the overall deciding factor is your budget. However, we have shown that cheaper options of dog food in Australia doesn't necessary mean your pooch will be missing out on their nutritional needs.
After months of research and testing, we can recommend two specific dog foods: Petzyo and Supercoat. Both of those lines offer a variety of foods geared towards dogs with different needs, and you will surely find something your pooch will like that won't cause too much of a dent in your hip pocket!
Interested in other dog food options? Check our below guide:
FAQ
Just like humans, dogs need a balanced diet that contains healthy doses of protein, fats, and carbohydrates as well as vitamins and minerals that keep their bodies functioning well and their coat healthy. In general, dog food should contain 20-40% protein and 15-30% fat, but the exact right amount depends on a dog’s lifestyle and individual needs. The easiest way to know that you are feeding your dog right is to buy food that adheres to the AAFCO standards.
No, going grain-free is not better for dogs by default. Although it’s a popular myth that they should eat only meat, dogs have evolved besides humans over thousands of years and today they are definitely omnivores. This means they benefit from a diet that contains both meat and plant-based foods. However, some dogs can be sensitive or intolerant to grains, and in this case, you should definitely look for grain-free options.
The amount of food you should feed will always depend on the type of food as well as the size and breed of your dog, obviously. If you are unsure how much you should feed, it’s always a good idea to follow the guidelines on the back of the bag. Do keep an eye on your dog, though, and if you notice your pet is gaining (or losing) too much weight, adjust the amount of food accordingly.
References
- Gallagher, A. August 20, 2013. “The Dangers of High Protein Dog Foods”. PetMD. Retrieved May 1, 2023. https://www.petmd.com/dog/centers/nutrition/evr_dg_dangers_of_high_protein_dog_foods
- Ansorge. R. August 20, 2022. "The Facts About Dog Nutrition" Fetch by WebMD. Retrieved May 1, 2023. https://pets.webmd.com/dogs/dog-nutrition#1
