Best Dog Food in Australia
After scoring 20 food brands on the same 100-point scorecard, our pick is Lyka, a gently cooked, human-grade fresh-food subscription that tops the index at 87/100. If fresh is beyond the budget, SavourLife is the best value kibble we have scored, ZIWI Peak is the upgrade for small dogs and toppers, and Scratch is the transparency benchmark in dry food.
Reviewed by the Dog Food Reviews editorial team
Independent scoringUpdated August 2026Not veterinary advice
Not veterinary advice. Prices are illustrative and manually entered for v1. Always confirm live pricing with the retailer.
Top of the index
87 out of 100/100- Food brands ranked
- 20All scored on the same 100-point card
- Highest score
- 87/100Lyka, our pick
- Median score
- 70/100Half the index sits below this line
- Cheapest to feed
- $1.00Per day for a 15kg dog. The dearest brand in the index starts at $7.50.
Editorial estimates for a ~15kg adult dog, entered and checked by hand.
Updated
The answers
Our picks
Four picks, four honest lenses. Every one is defensible from the same published scores; none of them paid to be here.
Our pick
Super-premium tier
Lyka
Strong
87/100
The highest score in our index. Vet-formulated, human-grade fresh food, portioned to your dog and complete and balanced across all six recipes. The trade-offs are cost and the subscription-plus-freezer model, not the food itself.
Fresh, direct subscription · est. $2.68-$2.98/day (15kg)
Value pick
Premium tier
SavourLife
Good
75/100
Winner of our Best Value Kibble award for 2026: the top value score among widely stocked dry foods. The rescue-donation model is real, the per-kg value stacks up, and the panels are solid mid-premium, which is exactly why the price works.
Dry, Wet, Treats · stocked at 6 major retailers · est. $2.00-$2.30/day (15kg)
Upgrade pick
Super-premium tier
ZIWI Peak
Strong
81/100
The highest-scored air-dried food in the index, with very high named-meat content and exemplary ingredient transparency. The premium you pay is real, so it shines as a topper or for small dogs; price the cost per day before feeding it as a full diet.
Air-dried and Wet · est. $7.50-$7.90/day (15kg) fed as a full diet
Also great
Premium tier
Scratch
Strong
86/100
Australia's transparency benchmark: the only major brand publishing the exact percentage of every ingredient. High-protein Australian kibble on a flexible subscription, at a friendlier cost per day than fresh.
Dry and Raw, direct subscription · est. $3.19-$4.39/day (15kg)
Dog Food Reviews Awards 2026
The seals these picks hold
Every award is derived from the same published scores through a lens stated on the awards page. Nothing on this list is hand-picked, and no brand can enter.
- Dog Food ReviewsBest Dog Food Overall87/100Overall score2026
Lyka
Highest overall score in the index
- Dog Food ReviewsBest Value Kibble78/100Value score2026
SavourLife
Top value score among widely stocked kibble
- Dog Food ReviewsBest Dry Dog Food86/100Overall score2026
Scratch
Highest-scored brand with a dry range
Why you should trust us
Dog Food Reviews is published by PetReviews, an independent Australian review platform. Our editorial team scores every brand with the same published 100-point methodology: no pay-to-play, no sponsored rankings, and no brand currently pays us anything, through commissions or otherwise. Prices are editorial estimates we enter and check by hand. How we review · Editorial policy
- 20
- Brands scored
- 39
- Products priced
- 5
- Brands we score under 60
- 0
- Paid placements, ever
The range we actually publish
Every brand sits on the same 0 to 100 scale, and the middle mark is the median of the index rather than an average.
| Index | Lowest | Median | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Every food brand in the index | 44 | 69.5 | 87 |
Our published 100-point methodology
Highest in the index: Lyka at 87/100 (strong).
Lowest in the index: Black & Gold at 44/100 (compare carefully).
Read this first
Who this is for
This guide is for owners of healthy adult dogs choosing an everyday food in Australia. If that is you, the picks above cover the sensible answers at every budget: fresh if you can stretch to it, a well-priced kibble if you cannot, and an air-dried upgrade in between.
It is not a substitute for your vet. If your dog is a puppy, a senior, pregnant or managing a health condition, or your vet has prescribed a therapeutic diet, start with them. For sensitive stomachs specifically, we keep a separate guide, and our Dog Food Finder narrows the index to your dog in about a minute.
Written for
- Healthy adult dogs
- Everyday feeding
- Buying in Australia
- Fresh, air-dried or kibble
Start with your vet if
- Puppies
- Seniors
- Pregnant dogs
- A health condition
- A prescribed therapeutic diet
Licensed stock photograph
Method
How we picked
One scorecard, six pillars, fixed weights. The same card is applied to every brand in the index, and the workings are published.
Six pillars, fixed weights
Every brand is scored out of 100 on Price & Value (25), Ingredient Quality (25), Nutrition & Suitability (20), Transparency (15), Availability (10) and Customer Sentiment (5). The weights never move between brands.
Price-per-day maths
We price each food per day for a ~15kg adult dog at the brand's own feeding guide, because the cheapest bag per kg is almost never the cheapest feed per day.
Labels over marketing
Named meat first, disclosed percentages and full nutrient panels score ahead of vague composite-meat lines, whatever the front of the bag says.
Transparency counts
Brands that publish sourcing and exact ingredient percentages outrank brands that make us guess.
Availability matters
A great food you cannot buy, or can only buy from one seller, scores accordingly.
Editorial estimates
Prices are entered and checked by hand, not scraped live, so treat every dollar figure as an estimate and confirm with the retailer.
The scorecard
Where the 100 points sit
The weights are fixed and public. They do not move between brands, formats or price tiers, which is what makes two scores on this page comparable.
| Scoring pillar | Points out of 100 |
|---|---|
| Price & Value | 25 pts |
| Ingredient Quality | 25 pts |
| Nutrition & Suitability | 20 pts |
| Transparency | 15 pts |
| Availability | 10 pts |
| Customer Sentiment | 5 pts |
Dog Food Reviews methodology
One insight worth knowing
The cheapest bag per kg is almost never the cheapest feed per day.
A premium bag costs more per kg but typically has higher recommended feeding amounts per body-weight ratio. Once you price it per serve, the gap closes fast. Always divide price by the recommended daily portion, not by pack weight.
How we scoreRanked two ways: the 8 highest scores in the index
By price per kg
- Petzyo$7.74/kg
- SavourLife$8.06/kg
- Black Hawk$8.45/kg
- Lyka$8.95/kg
- Scratch$10.62/kg
- Prime100$11/kg
- Frontier Pets$64/kg
- ZIWI Peak$75/kg
By cost per day
- SavourLife$2.00
- Black Hawk$2.10
- Petzyo$2.32
- Lyka$2.68
- Scratch$3.19
- Prime100$3.20
- Frontier Pets$6.40
- ZIWI Peak$7.50
Same brands, two orders. The sticker ranks one way and the bowl ranks another, which is why every figure on this page is also priced per day for a 15kg dog.
The league table
The full ranking
Every brand, ranked by overall score out of 100, with value, ingredients and the cheapest price per kg in our index. Click any column header to re-sort.
Updated
The trade-off
What a point of score costs
Every priced brand in the index, plotted by the cheapest way to feed it against its overall score. Up and to the left is more score for less money. Our four picks are ringed.
Overall score out of 100
Cheapest cost per day (15kg dog)
| Item | Cheapest cost per day (15kg dog) | Overall score out of 100 | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyka | $2.68 | 87 | Super-premium tier, Fresh |
| Scratch | $3.19 | 86 | Premium tier, Dry, Raw |
| Frontier Pets | $6.40 | 84 | Super-premium tier, Air-dried, Freeze-dried raw |
| Petzyo | $2.32 | 83 | Premium tier, Dry, Raw |
| ZIWI Peak | $7.50 | 81 | Super-premium tier, Air-dried, Wet |
| Prime100 | $3.20 | 78 | Premium tier, Air-dried, Fresh, Dry |
| Black Hawk | $2.10 | 76 | Premium tier, Dry, Wet |
| SavourLife | $2.00 | 75 | Premium tier, Dry, Wet, Treats |
| Meals for Mutts | $2.60 | 74 | Premium tier, Dry, Wet, Treats |
| Ivory Coat | $2.40 | 71 | Premium tier, Dry, Wet |
| Royal Canin | $2.60 | 68 | Super-premium tier, Dry, Wet, Prescription |
| Hill's Science Diet | $2.70 | 66 | Super-premium tier, Dry, Wet, Prescription |
| Providore | $2.20 | 64 | Premium tier, Dry, Wet |
| The Nosh Project | $2.10 | 62 | Premium tier, Dry, Wet |
| Leaps & Bounds | $1.90 | 60 | Mid-range tier, Dry, Wet, Treats |
| ProBalance | $1.50 | 54 | Budget tier, Dry, Wet |
| Woofin' Good! | $1.20 | 50 | Budget tier, Dry, Wet, Treats |
| Julius | $1.10 | 48 | Budget tier, Dry, Wet, Treats |
| Baxter's | $1.20 | 46 | Budget tier, Dry, Wet, Treats |
| Black & Gold | $1.00 | 44 | Budget tier, Dry, Wet |
Editorial estimates, checked by hand
Swipe the table sideways to see every column
| Brand | Rating | Read the review | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LykaAustraliaTop 1 | 87/100 | 66 | 90 | $8.95/kg | Strong | |
| 2 | ScratchAustralia (dry kibble made in NSW; raw made in Australia)Top 2 | 86/100 | 72 | 84 | $10.62/kg | Strong | |
| 3 | Frontier PetsAustraliaTop 3 | 84/100 | 62 | 95 | $64/kg | Strong | |
| 04 |  PetzyoAustralia | 83/100 | 70 | 85 | $7.74/kg | Strong | |
| 05 | ZIWI PeakNew Zealand | 81/100 | 64 | 88 | $75/kg | Strong | |
| 06 |  Prime100Australia | 78/100 | 72 | 83 | $11/kg | Good | |
| 07 |  Black HawkAustralia | 76/100 | 74 | 76 | $8.45/kg | Good | |
| 08 | SavourLifeAustralia | 75/100 | 78 | 74 | $8.06/kg | Good |
The competition
Everything else we scored
Every other food brand in the index, with its score and the one honest line on where it sits.
Air-dried, Freeze-dried raw · Super-premium tier
One of the best-sourced foods you can buy in Australia, and the welfare and transparency claims hold up to scrutiny. Just go in clear-eyed about cost: this is a premium you pay for ethics and convenience, not a value pick, so it suits owners who can afford to feed it properly rather than stretch it.
Dry, Raw · Premium tier
Genuinely transparent, Australian-made single-protein kibble and raw BARF on one flexible subscription. It sits at the premium end on price and is mostly sold direct or through Petstock rather than the big retailers.
Air-dried, Fresh, Dry · Premium tier
A capable single-protein option for elimination-style feeding with honest labels, but the rolls carry a steep price per kg for a deliberately simple recipe, so price the dry against the rolls per serve.
Dry, Wet · Premium tier
Fine on a discounted big bag if you choose a named-meat-first recipe, but the range is not equal: the cheaper lines pad the panel with grain and rice, and part of the price is reach and marketing.
Dry, Wet, Treats · Premium tier
A likeable Australian novel-protein option for sensitive dogs, held back by spottier availability and a price that climbs once you drop to the smaller bags.
Dry, Wet · Premium tier
A competent grain-free all-rounder that is mid-pack on every measure, and it now sits inside a big multi-brand portfolio where recipes have moved with ownership.
Dry, Wet, Prescription · Super-premium tier
Worth it for genuine therapeutic and prescription needs, where the research is unmatched, but for everyday feeding the by-product and grain-led panels are hard to justify at a top-tier price per kg.
Dry, Wet, Prescription · Super-premium tier
Strong for prescription and therapeutic needs, which is genuinely where it belongs. For everyday feeding it is poor value, with corn and by-product-led panels at a vet-clinic price.
Dry, Wet · Premium tier
Decent value if you already shop at that retailer, but the premium look hides thin sourcing detail and you are tied to a single seller.
Dry, Wet · Premium tier
Well-marketed and pleasant, but transparency sits below the national brands and it is tied to one retailer, so you are partly buying the branding.
Dry, Wet, Treats · Mid-range tier
Petbarn's house brand is perfectly reasonable value for the price; it just will not out-score the premium national brands on ingredients.
Dry, Wet · Budget tier
Cheap up front, but grain and plant-protein led with little sourcing detail. Once serving size is factored in, a slightly pricier named-meat bag often lands close on cost per day.
Dry, Wet, Treats · Budget tier
Cheap and convenient with the weekly shop, but it is a cereal-led supermarket house brand with thin sourcing detail and meat content below the premium tier.
Dry, Wet, Treats · Budget tier
About as cheap as it gets, and price is the only real argument for it: cereal-led panels, sparse sourcing detail and low meat content put it near the bottom of our index.
Dry, Wet, Treats · Budget tier
Cheap and convenient if you are already at Aldi, but it is a cereal-led house brand with minimal sourcing detail, and the saving over a national brand is smaller than the sticker suggests.
Dry, Wet · Budget tier
The cheapest sticker in our index and the lowest quality score to match, with basic cereal-led recipes, almost no sourcing detail and the least meat of any brand here.
16 brands
Scores out of 100
“A brand missing the picks is a matter of lenses and trade-offs, not a verdict that it will not suit your dog.”
Get the best value at Petbarn.
Petbarn is Australia's biggest pet retailer: huge range, stores nationwide, strong delivery and competitive member and Repeat Delivery pricing. The trick to getting the best value: compare price-per-kg and cost-per-day across every brand on the shelf.
- Range score
- More brands and more formats, from budget to prescription, than any retailer in our index.
- Delivery score
- Strong delivery, click-and-collect and a price-match guarantee.
- Repeat Delivery saving
- Up to ~15% on Repeat Delivery
Evidence-led value comparison · not veterinary advice · prices are illustrative editorial estimates.
Frequently asked questions
5 questions
In our index, Lyka ranks highest overall (87/100), with Scratch and Frontier Pets close behind. But the right pick depends on your dog: SavourLife leads on everyday value and Prime100 leads for sensitive stomachs. Use our Dog Food Finder to narrow it down.
SavourLife tops our value score. Value is about cost per day, not sticker price, a slightly pricier premium bag can work out similar once serving size is factored in. Always compare price per kg across retailers.
Every brand is scored out of 100 across six weighted areas: Price & Value (25), Ingredient Quality (25), Nutrition & Suitability (20), Transparency (15), Availability (10) and Customer Sentiment (5). The same methodology applies to every brand, and sponsored placements never change a score.
Online-only retailers like Pet Circle and Budget Pet Products are usually the price-to-beat on everyday pricing, while Petbarn is a strong all-rounder with the widest range, stores nationwide and competitive member and Repeat Delivery pricing. Always compare price per kg before buying.
No. Dog Food Reviews is an independent value and comparison resource, not veterinary advice. Prices are illustrative and manually entered for v1. Always speak to your vet before changing your dog's diet, especially for puppies, seniors or dogs with health conditions.