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Halo vs Vital Essentials

Halo vs. Vital Essentials

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

Guaranteed Analysis: Vital Essentials vs. Halo

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.

Halo Dog Food vs. Vital Essentials Dog Food

Dry Dog FoodHaloVital Essentials
Crude Protein28.1%52.2%
Crude Fat15.9%28.7%
Crude Fiber5.8%4.1%
Wet/Canned Dog FoodHaloVital Essentials
Crude Protein44.0%53.7%
Crude Fat30.3%31.0%
Crude Fiber7.9%5.6%

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.

Vital Essentials dry dog foods clearly provides more protein than Halo. In fact, the difference between the protein content is roughly 24.00%, which is a significant amount. Similarly, Vital Essentials wet dog foods provide significantly more protein than Halo wet foods.


Crude Fat Comparison For Dog Food

Dietary fats serves a multitude of roles in the proper development and function of our canine companions. Here are some of the benefits (not exhaustive):

  • Help produce prostaglandins, which reduce inflammation among other critical functions.
  • Aid in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins
  • Improve skin and coat health
  • Improve the palatially of your dog's food

On average, Vital Essentials dry dog food recipes contain 12.81% more fat than Halo recipes. Clearly, there is a significant difference between the fat content of Halo and Vital Essentials. For wet dog foods, Vital Essentials and Halo provide roughly the same amount of fat.


Both brands provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber. For wet dog foods, Halo typically provides a little more fiber (about 2.24% more).

Halo Cat Food vs. Vital Essentials Cat Food

Dry Cat FoodHaloVital Essentials
Crude Protein35.4%54.0%
Crude Fat16.3%27.5%
Crude Fiber5.6%5.1%
Wet/Canned Cat FoodHaloVital Essentials
Crude Protein49.2%50.6%
Crude Fat31.6%18.8%
Crude Fiber6.8%2.5%

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.

When you look at the average percentages of crude protein for dry cat food, it's clear that Vital Essentials provides significantly more protein. On average, Vital Essentials guarantees about 18.63% more protein than Halo. For wet cat foods, Vital Essentials and Halo provide roughly the same amount of protein.


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):

  • Aid in the digestion and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins
  • Improve the health of skin/coat
  • Slow the growth of yeast infections
  • Slow the development and spread of certain type of cancers.
  • Maintain healthy blood pressure

The comparison table above shows that Vital Essentials dry cat foods provide significantly more fat than Halo. More specifically, Vital Essentials guarantees at least 11.27% more fat. Similarly, Halo wet cat foods provide significantly more protein than Vital Essentials wet foods.


As you can see, Vital Essentials and Halo guarantee a similar amount of crude fiber. For wet cat foods, Halo provides more fiber (about 4.32% more).

Halo Pet Food Ingredients vs. Vital Essentials Pet Food Ingredients

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

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

Product Safety: Recall History of Halo & Vital Essentials?

Halo has been recalled once.

  • Oct. 26, 2015: Mold

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 FoodHaloVital Essentials
Per Pound$4.23$37.19
Per Calorie$0.0026$0.0186
Dry Cat FoodHaloVital Essentials
Per Pound$5.23$39.03
Per Calorie$0.0031$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 Halo 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 Halo 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 Halo 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 Halo Pet Foods

You can purchase Halo pet foods from the following stores:


44 Recipes In-Stock Today

24 Recipes In-Stock Today

45 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

21 Recipes In-Stock Today

23 Recipes In-Stock Today

Type Of Pet Foods Available

ProductHaloVital Essentials
Dry Dog Food15 RecipesNone
Wet Dog Food14 RecipesNone
Dog Treats5 Treats30 Treats
Dry Cat Food11 RecipesNone
Wet Cat Food23 RecipesNone
Cat TreatsNone8 Treats

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