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Diamond vs Natural Balance

Diamond vs. Natural Balance

In this comparison article for Diamond vs Natural Balance, we'll highlight the key differences between these two pet food brands. To properly compare Diamond and Natural Balance, 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 Natural Balance vs Diamond comparison, we've utilized average data to make general comparisons. If you'd like to see individual product reviews, visit our Diamond Review Page or Natural Balance Review Page.

Guaranteed Analysis: Natural Balance vs. Diamond

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.

Diamond Dog Food vs. Natural Balance Dog Food

Dry Dog FoodDiamondNatural Balance
Crude Protein27.6%27.6%
Crude Fat16.7%14.4%
Crude Fiber4.5%5.2%
Wet/Canned Dog FoodDiamondNatural Balance
Crude Protein43.9%39.7%
Crude Fat25.8%20.5%
Crude Fiber4.5%8.5%

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.

Natural Balance and Diamond both provide roughly the same amount of crude protein. For wet dog foods, Diamond provides more protein (about 4.26% more).


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.

According to our data, Diamond guarantees 2.39% more fat than Natural Balance. Although this difference is relatively small, it's still a notable difference. In addition, Diamond wet dog foods also provide more fat than Natural Balance wet foods.


There is a relatively insignificant difference between the crude fiber content of the two brands. For wet dog foods, Natural Balance typically provides a little more fiber (about 3.91% more).

Diamond Cat Food vs. Natural Balance Cat Food

Dry Cat FoodDiamondNatural Balance
Crude Protein36.7%36.8%
Crude Fat17.6%14.3%
Crude Fiber5.2%5.5%
Wet/Canned Cat FoodDiamondNatural Balance
Crude Protein44.7%46.7%
Crude Fat22.0%20.2%
Crude Fiber6.1%7.1%

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.

Both brands provide roughly the same amount of crude protein. For wet cat foods, Natural Balance typically provides a little more protein (about 2.05% more).


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.

There is a small difference between the fat content of Diamond and Natural Balance. We can see that Diamond guarantees about 3.28% more fat than Natural Balance. For wet cat foods, Diamond and Natural Balance provide roughly the same amount of fat.


As you can see, Diamond and Natural Balance guarantee a similar amount of crude fiber. With regards to wet cat food, Natural Balance and Diamond also provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber.

Diamond Pet Food Ingredients vs. Natural Balance Pet Food Ingredients

Diamond and Natural Balance both use the following controversial ingredients in many of their products:

Brewers Rice
Tomato Pomace
Canola Oil (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols)

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

Meat Meal
White Rice
Ground Corn
Beef By-Products
Corn Gluten Meal
Powdered Cellulose
Chicken By-Product Meal
Ground Whole Grain Corn
Poultry By-Product Meal

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Natural Balance.

Giblets
Beet Pulp
Canola Oil
Pea Protein
Caramel Color
Feeding Oatmeal
Poultry Giblets
Dried Tomato Pomace

We believe that certain pet food ingredients are linked to adverse health affects; these ingredients are classified as harmful.

Here are some of the harmful ingredients used only by Diamond.

Menadione Sodium Bisulfite

Here are some of the harmful ingredients used only by Natural Balance.

Menadione Sodium Bisulfate Complex
Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex

Product Safety: Recall History of Diamond & Natural Balance?

Diamond has been recalled once.

  • March 10, 2013: low level of thiamine (Vitamin B1)

Natural Balance has been recalled 6 times.

  • July 21, 2007: ofbotulinum toxin
  • May 4, 2012: Salmonella
  • June 18, 2010: Salmonella
  • April 27, 2007: Melamine
  • April 17, 2007: Melamine
  • July 3, 2020: elevated levels of choline chloride

Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?

Dry Dog FoodDiamondNatural Balance
Per Pound$1.58$5.23
Per Calorie$0.0010$0.0029
Dry Cat FoodDiamondNatural Balance
Per Pound$2.31$3.69
Per Calorie$0.0014$0.0023
Wet Dog FoodDiamondNatural Balance
Per Pound$3.26$6.27
Per Calorie$0.0056$0.0137
Wet Cat FoodDiamondNatural Balance
Per Pound$4.46$7.63
Per Calorie$0.0087$0.0183

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 Diamond or Natural Balance, 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 Diamond or Natural Balance will depend on your shopping habits.

Pet owners who use our price comparison feature typically save more than 25% off retail prices for Diamond and Natural Balance. 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 Diamond Pet Foods

You can purchase Diamond pet foods from the following stores:


31 Recipes In-Stock Today

35 Recipes In-Stock Today

35 Recipes In-Stock Today

Where To Buy Natural Balance Pet Foods

You can purchase Natural Balance pet food products from these retailers:


96 Recipes In-Stock Today

79 Recipes In-Stock Today

83 Recipes In-Stock Today

16 Recipes In-Stock Today

Type Of Pet Foods Available

ProductDiamondNatural Balance
Dry Dog Food27 Recipes39 Recipes
Wet Dog Food3 Recipes27 Recipes
Dog Treats6 Treats33 Treats
Dry Cat Food6 Recipes16 Recipes
Wet Cat Food3 Recipes43 Recipes
Cat TreatsNoneNone

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