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Primal vs American Journey

Primal vs. American Journey

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

Guaranteed Analysis: American Journey vs. Primal

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.

Primal Dog Food vs. American Journey Dog Food

Dry Dog FoodPrimalAmerican Journey
Crude Protein48.0%31.8%
Crude Fat26.7%14.7%
Crude Fiber4.6%6.4%
Wet/Canned Dog FoodPrimalAmerican Journey
Crude Protein49.5%40.7%
Crude Fat28.4%27.6%
Crude Fiber5.3%7.0%

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.

Primal dry dog foods clearly provides more protein than American Journey. In fact, the difference between the protein content is roughly 16.23%, which is a significant amount. Similarly, Primal wet dog foods provide significantly more protein than American Journey 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, Primal dry dog food recipes contain 12.01% more fat than American Journey recipes. Clearly, there is a significant difference between the fat content of American Journey and Primal. For wet dog foods, Primal and American Journey provide roughly the same amount of fat.


Both brands provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber. With regards to wet dog food, American Journey and Primal also provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber.

Primal Cat Food vs. American Journey Cat Food

Dry Cat FoodPrimalAmerican Journey
Crude Protein50.1%39.8%
Crude Fat24.0%16.2%
Crude Fiber4.8%5.5%
Wet/Canned Cat FoodPrimalAmerican Journey
Crude Protein54.6%52.9%
Crude Fat25.4%20.8%
Crude Fiber4.1%5.8%

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 Primal provides significantly more protein. On average, Primal guarantees about 10.31% more protein than American Journey. For wet cat foods, Primal and American Journey 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

American Journey dry recipes contain 7.84% less fat than Primal dry recipes. This difference in fat content is a notable difference between Primal and American Journey. In addition, Primal wet cat foods also provide more fat than American Journey wet foods.


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

Primal Pet Food Ingredients vs. American Journey Pet Food Ingredients

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by American Journey.

Canola Meal
Pea Protein
Brewers Rice
Wheat Gluten
Ground Whole Wheat
Powdered Cellulose
Dried Tomato Pomace
Animal Fat (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols)
Canola Oil (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols)

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 American Journey.

Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex

Product Safety: Recall History of Primal & American Journey?

Primal has been recalled 2 times.

  • March 13, 2015: low thiamine level
  • Dec. 22, 2017: incorrect bone grind size

According to our records, American Journey has never been recalled.

Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?

Dry Dog FoodPrimalAmerican Journey
Per Pound$45.57$2.16
Per Calorie$0.0227$0.0014
Dry Cat FoodPrimalAmerican Journey
Per Pound$45.93$2.96
Per Calorie$0.0230$0.0018

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 Primal or American Journey, 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 Primal or American Journey will depend on your shopping habits.

Pet owners who use our price comparison feature typically save more than 25% off retail prices for Primal and American Journey. 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 Primal Pet Foods

You can purchase Primal pet foods from the following stores:


15 Recipes In-Stock Today

20 Recipes In-Stock Today

15 Recipes In-Stock Today

14 Recipes In-Stock Today

Where To Buy American Journey Pet Foods

You can purchase American Journey pet food products from these retailers:


126 Recipes In-Stock Today

Type Of Pet Foods Available

ProductPrimalAmerican Journey
Dry Dog FoodNone43 Recipes
Wet Dog FoodNone11 Recipes
Dog Treats6 Treats44 Treats
Dry Cat FoodNone14 Recipes
Wet Cat FoodNone23 Recipes
Cat TreatsNone5 Treats

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Top Rated American Journey Recipes

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