Is Scratch Worth It?
A straight answer on whether Scratch is worth the money, based on its overall score, value score and real cost per serve, with better-value alternatives if it isn't the right fit.
Reviewed by Adam Lorimer
Contributing reviewer, brand and product sideIndependent scoringUpdated August 2026Not veterinary advice
Our score
Strong
Scratch product photography
- Overall score
- 86/100
- Strong
- Value score
- 72/100
- Good
- From (per day)
- $3.19
- ~15kg dog
The short answer
Scratch is an Australian-owned, direct-to-consumer dog food brand sold by flexible subscription from its own website rather than in shops. It is best known for radical label transparency: it is the only major Australian brand to publish the exact percentage of every ingredient, and it sources the large majority of its ingredients from local Australian farms. The range spans high-protein grain-free kibble, a lamb-and-ancient-grains recipe and a complete frozen raw line, with an in-house vet and B-Corp certification backing the brand story.
Where the points come from
The strongest pillar is transparency at 95/100, worth 15 of the 100 points. The weakest is availability & convenience at 62/100. That pattern, rather than the headline number, is what decides whether the price is worth paying for your dog.
What the money buys
Value is scored at 72/100, which we rate good, and it carries 25 of the 100 points on its own. The cheapest way to feed it in our index is Scratch Grain-Free Turkey & Beef Dry Dog Food 8kg, at $3.19 a day for a ~15kg adult dog.
The field
Where 86 sits across every brand we score
One tick per brand. The shaded band is the middle half of the index and the heavy rule is the median, so the score reads as a position rather than a promise.
- MinMin
- 44
- Q1Lower quartile
- 58.5
- MedianMedian
- 69.5
- Q3Upper quartile
- 78.8
- MaxMax
- 87
| Brand | Overall score |
|---|---|
| Black & Gold | 44 |
| Baxter's | 46 |
| Julius | 48 |
| Woofin' Good! | 50 |
| ProBalance | 54 |
| Leaps & Bounds | 60 |
| The Nosh Project | 62 |
| Providore | 64 |
| Hill's Science Diet | 66 |
| Royal Canin | 68 |
| Ivory Coat | 71 |
| Meals for Mutts | 74 |
| SavourLife | 75 |
| Black Hawk | 76 |
| Prime100 | 78 |
| ZIWI Peak | 81 |
| Petzyo | 83 |
| Frontier Pets | 84 |
| Scratch | 86 |
| Lyka | 87 |
Dog Food Reviews scoring
The scorecard
How Scratch scores
Scored against our published methodology. Where a brand earns its points is the whole worth-it question: two brands on the same overall score can be worth very different money.
Scratch
86/100 overall · Strong
How the 100 points are split
- 25 Price & Value
- 25 Ingredient Quality
- 20 Nutrition & Suitability
- 15 Transparency
- 10 Availability & Convenience
- 5 Customer Sentiment
The checklist
When Scratch is worth it, and when it is not
Both lists come straight from this brand's entry in our index. Neither is a verdict on the food, only on the fit.
When Scratch is worth it
- Owners who want full ingredient transparency and Australian sourcing
- Dogs with skin or tummy sensitivities needing single-protein or fish recipes
- Households that prefer auto-delivered, subscription feeding
When to compare carefully
- You want the lowest possible cost per kilo
- You prefer buying food in-store rather than by subscription delivery
What it costs
What Scratch costs to feed
Cost per day is the figure that decides this page. It assumes a ~15kg adult dog at the brand's own feeding guide, so it moves with your dog rather than with the sticker price.
Prices checked· Editorial estimates
Estimated cost per day
Every product on one scale
All 4 Scratch products we hold, cheapest to feed first. Price per kilo sits under each label, because the bag price and the feed price are not the same question.
| Product | Est. cost per day | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Scratch Grain-Free Turkey & Beef Dry Dog Food 8kg | $3.19 | Dry · 8kg · $10.62/kg |
| Scratch Pasture-Raised Lamb with Ancient Grains Dry Dog Food 8kg | $3.71 | Dry · 8kg · $12.37/kg |
| Scratch Grain-Free Mackerel & Salmon Dry Dog Food 8kg | $3.82 | Dry · 8kg · $12.74/kg |
| Scratch Sensitive Kangaroo Grain-Free Dry Dog Food 8kg | $4.39 | Dry · 8kg · $14.62/kg |
Editorial estimates · ~15kg adult dog
Best per-serve value
Scratch Grain-Free Turkey & Beef Dry Dog Food 8kg
$10.62/kg
$3.19 a day for a ~15kg adult dog
- Pack size
- 8kg
- First ingredient
- Turkey Meal (27%)
- Format
- Dry
Scratch product photography
The verdict
Is Scratch worth it?
Scratch is one of the most transparent and genuinely premium dry foods you can buy in Australia, with clean Australian sourcing, full ingredient percentages and recipes for most life stages and sensitivities. The main trade-offs are price and the subscription-only, deliver-to-your-door model, plus a fairly compact range, so shoppers who want supermarket convenience or the very cheapest cost per kilo will find better value elsewhere. For owners who prioritise sourcing transparency and Australian-made quality, it is an easy recommendation.
Scored out of 100 across 6 weighted pillars
dogfoodreviews.com.au
The detail
The daily maths: $3.19 a day against Petzyo and Lyka
Scratch Grain-Free Turkey & Beef 8kg is $84.95 AUD, or $10.62 per kg, which works out at about $3.19 a day for a 15kg adult dog on our editorial estimates. Petzyo Kibble That Counts Chicken & Turkey, the same 8kg format, is $61.95, $7.74 per kg and roughly $2.32 a day. That 87 cent gap is close to $318 a year on one medium dog.
The Lyka comparison runs the other way. Lyka's fresh bowls are estimated at $2.68 to $2.98 a day for the same 15kg dog, so every bowl in our index undercuts Scratch's cheapest kibble day of $3.19. Scratch scores 86 overall against Lyka's 87 and Petzyo's 83, so the extra spend buys a format preference, not a higher place on the ladder.
Where $10.62 per kg genuinely earns it
Transparency is the pillar doing the work: 95/100, joint highest in our index with Frontier Pets, and worth 15 of the 100 points. It is earned on the label. All four kibbles we index publish a percentage beside the lead ingredient, Turkey Meal at 27%, Lamb Meal at 24.1%, Mackerel Meal at 22.9% and kangaroo at 21%, unusual resolution for a dry food.
Customer sentiment is the other standout at 90/100, the highest of the 20 brands we score, ahead of Petzyo on 89 and Lyka on 86. Nutrition sits at 85/100, with 29% protein in the turkey and beef recipe and 30% in the mackerel and salmon. The kibble is made in NSW by an independently owned company based in Collingwood, Victoria, Australia.
When Scratch is not worth the money
Ingredient quality is where the premium stops being obvious. Scratch takes 84/100 there, a point behind Petzyo on 85, while its cheapest bag costs $2.88 more per kg. On kangaroo the gap widens: Sensitive Kangaroo is $116.95 for 8kg, $14.62 per kg and $4.39 a day, against Petzyo's kangaroo kibble at $8.24 per kg and $2.47. Roughly $700 a year. All figures are editorial estimates in AUD.
The lamb recipe is the other pause point. Pasture-Raised Lamb with Ancient Grains is $98.95, $12.37 per kg and $3.71 a day, yet declares 23% protein, the lowest in the range, and our entry notes it is not suited to large-breed puppies expected to exceed 32kg. Not veterinary advice. Availability scores 62/100: no wet line, and none of the ten retailers we track carries it.
How owners pay less for Scratch
There is no bigger-bag lever: all four recipes we hold come in one 8kg pack, so the only saving inside the range is which recipe you pick. Turkey and Beef at $84.95 against Sensitive Kangaroo at $116.95 is $32 a bag, $4.00 per kg and $1.20 a day, close to $438 a year. Mackerel and salmon at $101.95 adds about 63 cents daily. All figures are editorial estimates in AUD.
The usual retailer levers do not apply. Scratch sells only by flexible subscription from its own site, so Petbarn's Repeat Delivery at up to roughly 15%, Pet Circle's autoship and Petstock's price matching are all unavailable. Petzyo's entry lists Petstock as a stockist, with repeat order discounts, price matching and free delivery over $49, which is part of why its per-kilo figures sit lower.
The alternatives
Better-value alternatives to Scratch
Scored on the same 100-point model, so the comparison is like for like. Each card prints the two pillars a reader actually swaps a food on.
Lyka
Super-premium · Strong
Lyka is a genuinely premium, transparent fresh-food subscription that does the homework for you: vet-formulated, human-grade, portioned to your dog and complete and balanced across all six recipes. The main trade-offs are cost and the subscription-only, freezer-space model rather than anything to do with the food itself. Best for owners who want a research-backed fresh diet and are happy to pay for it; cleaner-label value is available elsewhere if budget is the priority. Not veterinary advice.
- Value
- 66/100
- Ingredients
- 90/100
Best forOwners wanting a vet-formulated fresh diet without DIY guesswork
Petzyo
Premium · Strong
Petzyo is a genuinely transparent, Australian-made brand that pairs single-protein kibble with raw BARF in one flexible subscription, making it a strong everyday option for owners who value local sourcing and clean labels. It sits at the premium end on price and is mostly sold direct or through Petstock rather than the big pet retailers, so cleaner value can be found elsewhere if budget and in-store availability are the priority.
- Value
- 70/100
- Ingredients
- 85/100
Best forOwners who want Australian-made food on a convenient repeat delivery
Frontier Pets
Super-premium · Strong
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.
- Value
- 62/100
- Ingredients
- 95/100
Best forOwners who want raw nutrition without freezer hassle
Common questions
Is Scratch worth it? FAQs
Short answers to the questions that decide it, using the same published figures as the sections above.
Answers checked
Scores and estimates from our index
Scratch scores 86/100 overall and 72/100 on value in our index (good on value). Scratch is one of the most transparent and genuinely premium dry foods you can buy in Australia, with clean Australian sourcing, full ingredient percentages and recipes for most life stages and sensitivities. The main trade-offs are price and the subscription-only, deliver-to-your-door model, plus a fairly compact range, so shoppers who want supermarket convenience or the very cheapest cost per kilo will find better value elsewhere. For owners who prioritise sourcing transparency and Australian-made quality, it is an easy recommendation.
For a ~15kg adult dog, Scratch works out from about $3.19 per day on Scratch Grain-Free Turkey & Beef Dry Dog Food 8kg ($10.62/kg). Cost per serve is the figure that matters most: compare it against alternatives before deciding.
If value is your top priority and you're feeding a large dog on a tight budget, compare Scratch carefully against Lyka and Petzyo. The right pick is the one that fits your dog and budget.
Consider Lyka, Petzyo, Frontier Pets. Compare them on price per kg and cost per day: a different brand may give you more for similar money.
They measure different things. Transparency, worth 15 of the 100 points, rates what the brand tells you, and Scratch publishes an exact percentage against every ingredient, including Turkey Meal at 27% and kangaroo at 21%. Ingredient quality, worth 25 points, rates what is in the bowl, and there Scratch takes 84/100, a point behind Petzyo on 85, partly because the grain-free recipes lean on broad beans and chickpeas for carbohydrate. Knowing the number and liking the number are separate questions.
Not on our editorial estimates. Scratch's cheapest option, Grain-Free Turkey & Beef at $10.62 per kg, feeds a 15kg adult dog for about $3.19 a day. Lyka's fresh bowls are estimated at $2.68 to $2.98 a day for the same dog, so the fresh subscription comes in lower than every Scratch bag we hold. Scratch's own range then climbs to $4.39 a day on Sensitive Kangaroo. Lyka portions to each dog at onboarding and Scratch prices by the 8kg bag, so confirm the live figure for your dog before deciding.
No. Scratch is direct-to-consumer only, sold by flexible subscription from its own website, and none of the ten retailers we track lists it. That is the main reason its availability pillar sits at 62/100, its weakest score of the six. In practice it means no click-and-collect, no price matching and no Repeat Delivery or autoship discount to shop it down, so the 8kg price on the brand's own site is effectively the market price.
No. Dog Food Reviews is an independent value and comparison resource, not veterinary advice. Prices are illustrative and manually entered for v1, always confirm the live price with the retailer before buying.