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Adirondack vs Vital Essentials

Adirondack vs. Vital Essentials

In this comparison article for Adirondack vs Vital Essentials, we'll highlight the key differences between these two pet food brands. To properly compare Adirondack and Vital Essentials, we'll use up-to-date nutritional and price information.

There are many factors to consider when choosing the best pet food brand for your pet. Factors such as ingredient quality, guaranteed analysis, product safety, brand history, and cost are among the most important factors to consider.

Throughout this Vital Essentials vs Adirondack comparison, we've utilized average data to make general comparisons. If you'd like to see individual product reviews, visit our Adirondack Review Page or Vital Essentials Review Page.

Guaranteed Analysis: Vital Essentials vs. Adirondack

According to AAFCO, all pet food labels must provide a guaranteed analysis of nutrient content. The analysis must provide guaranteed minimum percentages of crude protein and crude fat, and maximum percentages of crude fiber and moisture.

All percentages used in this comparison are averages reported on a dry matter basis.

Adirondack Dog Food vs. Vital Essentials Dog Food

Dry Dog FoodAdirondackVital Essentials
Crude Protein28.6%52.2%
Crude Fat16.7%28.7%
Crude Fiber4.7%4.1%

Crude Protein Comparison For Dog Food

Protein is an extremely important part of your dog's diet. Without sufficient protein, dogs can develop a wide-range of serious health problems.

When you look at the average percentages of crude protein for dry dog food, it's clear that Vital Essentials provides significantly more protein. On average, Vital Essentials guarantees about 23.60% more protein than Adirondack.


Crude Fat Comparison For Dog Food

Fats are an absolutely vital component of a balanced canine diet. Not only do fats provide energy, but they also serve important roles in the normal development and function of your dog's body. For example, fats help dogs produce prostaglandins, which reduce inflammation among many other significant functions.

The comparison table above shows that Vital Essentials dry dog foods provide significantly more fat than Adirondack. More specifically, Vital Essentials guarantees at least 11.99% more fat.


Vital Essentials and Adirondack both provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber.

Adirondack Cat Food vs. Vital Essentials Cat Food

Dry Cat FoodAdirondackVital Essentials
Crude Protein34%54.0%
Crude Fat14.7%27.5%
Crude Fiber3.6%5.1%

Crude Protein Comparison For Cat Food

Protein is an extremely important part of your cat's diet. Without sufficient protein, cats can develop a wide-range of serious health problems.

Vital Essentials dry cat foods clearly provides more protein than Adirondack. In fact, the difference between the protein content is roughly 19.99%, which is a significant amount.


Crude Fat Comparison For Cat Food

There are many ways in which dietary fat contributes to the overall health of our feline friends. Here is a short list of benefits provided by fats (not exhaustive):

  • Fats help with the digestion and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins
  • Reduce inflammation associated with arthritis
  • Slow the growth of yeast infections
  • Prevent or reduce the likelihood of certain heart problems.
  • Aid in the development of the retina and visual cortex.

On average, Vital Essentials dry cat food recipes contain 12.87% more fat than Adirondack recipes. Clearly, there is a significant difference between the fat content of Adirondack and Vital Essentials.


There is a relatively insignificant difference between the crude fiber content of the two brands.

Adirondack Pet Food Ingredients vs. Vital Essentials Pet Food Ingredients

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Adirondack.

Canola Oil
Pea Protein
Canola Oil (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols)

Product Safety: Recall History of Adirondack & Vital Essentials?

According to our records, Adirondack has never been recalled.

Vital Essentials has been recalled 4 times.

  • July 8, 2015: Listeria monocytogenes
  • Jan. 15, 2016: Salmonella
  • Feb. 24, 2018: Salmonella
  • April 16, 2018: Salmonella

Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?

Dry Dog FoodAdirondackVital Essentials
Per Pound$2.51$37.19
Per Calorie$0.0015$0.0186
Dry Cat FoodAdirondackVital Essentials
Per Pound$3.10$39.03
Per Calorie$0.0019$0.0200

The average cost-per-lb is heavily influenced by the varying amounts of moisture present in each brand's food products (wet vs. dry food, dry vs. freeze-dried food, etc). However, the average cost-per-kcal eliminates the influence of moisture. Therefore, the average cost-per-kcal is the better metric to consider.

If you'd like to calculate the average cost-per-day or cost-pet-year of feeding Adirondack or Vital Essentials, input your pet's weight into our cost analyzer widget.

Averages price data can identify whether or not there exists a significant price difference between two brands. However, the actual price that you'll pay for Adirondack or Vital Essentials will depend on your shopping habits.

Pet owners who use our price comparison feature typically save more than 25% off retail prices for Adirondack and Vital Essentials. In addition, we currently have some great coupons for our readers.


Disclosure: PawDiet has an affiliate relationship with stores featured (or linked-to) in this article. We are compensated for referring customers. Thank you for shopping with our retail partners!

Where To Buy Adirondack Pet Foods

You can purchase Adirondack pet foods from the following stores:


15 Recipes In-Stock Today

Where To Buy Vital Essentials Pet Foods

You can purchase Vital Essentials pet food products from these retailers:


47 Recipes In-Stock Today

43 Recipes In-Stock Today

22 Recipes In-Stock Today

23 Recipes In-Stock Today

Type Of Pet Foods Available

ProductAdirondackVital Essentials
Dry Dog Food10 RecipesNone
Wet Dog FoodNoneNone
Dog Treats6 Treats30 Treats
Dry Cat Food5 RecipesNone
Wet Cat FoodNoneNone
Cat Treats2 Treats8 Treats

Top Rated Adirondack Recipes

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Top Rated Vital Essentials Recipes

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Frozen Entrees Beef Mini Patties
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VitalCat Frozen Rabbit Entree Mini Patties For Cats
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