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35% OFF
Vital Essentials
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20% OFF
NutriSource &
Vital Essentials
First Auto-Ship w/ Code: PAWDIET20
15% OFF
Vital Essentials
For New Customers w/ Code: AFPAWDIET
NutriSource vs. Vital Essentials
In this comparison article for NutriSource vs Vital Essentials, we'll highlight the key differences between these two pet food brands. To properly compare NutriSource 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 NutriSource comparison, we've utilized average data to make general comparisons. If you'd like to see individual product reviews, visit our NutriSource Review Page or Vital Essentials Review Page.
Guaranteed Analysis: Vital Essentials vs. NutriSource
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.
NutriSource Dog Food vs. Vital Essentials Dog Food
| Dry Dog Food | NutriSource | Vital Essentials |
| Crude Protein | 28.9% | 52.2% |
| Crude Fat | 16.8% | 28.7% |
| Crude Fiber | 7.1% | 4.1% |
| Wet/Canned Dog Food | NutriSource | Vital Essentials |
| Crude Protein | 43.4% | 53.7% |
| Crude Fat | 33.0% | 31.0% |
| Crude Fiber | 7.2% | 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.
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 23.29% more protein than NutriSource. Similarly, Vital Essentials wet dog foods provide significantly more protein than NutriSource wet foods.
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 NutriSource. More specifically, Vital Essentials guarantees at least 11.86% more fat. For wet dog foods, NutriSource typically provides a little more fat (about 2.07% more).
According to our data, NutriSource guarantees 3.01% more fiber than Vital Essentials. Although this difference is relatively small, it's still a notable difference. For wet dog foods, NutriSource and Vital Essentials provide roughly the same amount of fiber.
NutriSource Cat Food vs. Vital Essentials Cat Food
| Dry Cat Food | NutriSource | Vital Essentials |
| Crude Protein | 36.4% | 54.0% |
| Crude Fat | 17.9% | 27.5% |
| Crude Fiber | 7.8% | 5.1% |
| Wet/Canned Cat Food | NutriSource | Vital Essentials |
| Crude Protein | 46.4% | 50.6% |
| Crude Fat | 31.4% | 18.8% |
| Crude Fiber | 5.2% | 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.
Vital Essentials dry cat foods clearly provides more protein than NutriSource. In fact, the difference between the protein content is roughly 17.60%, which is a significant amount. For wet cat foods, Vital Essentials provides more protein (about 4.21% 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.
On average, Vital Essentials dry cat food recipes contain 9.62% more fat than NutriSource recipes. Clearly, there is a significant difference between the fat content of NutriSource and Vital Essentials. Similarly, NutriSource wet cat foods provide significantly more protein than Vital Essentials wet foods.
There is a small difference between the fiber content of NutriSource and Vital Essentials. We can see that NutriSource guarantees about 2.77% more fiber than Vital Essentials. In addition, NutriSource wet cat foods also provide more fiber than Vital Essentials wet foods.
NutriSource Pet Food Ingredients vs. Vital Essentials Pet Food Ingredients
Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by NutriSource.
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 NutriSource.
Product Safety: Recall History of NutriSource & Vital Essentials?
According to our records, NutriSource 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 Food | NutriSource | Vital Essentials |
| Per Pound | $2.64 | $37.19 |
| Per Calorie | $0.0015 | $0.0186 |
| Dry Cat Food | NutriSource | Vital Essentials |
| Per Pound | $3.25 | $39.03 |
| Per Calorie | $0.0018 | $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 NutriSource 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 NutriSource 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 NutriSource and Vital Essentials. In addition, we currently have some great coupons for our readers.
- 20% Off First Auto-Ship @ PetFlow (Use Code PAWDIET20)
- 35% Off First Auto-Ship @ Chewy (No Code Required)
- 15% Off The Entire Site @ OnlyNaturalPet (Use Code AFPAWDIET)
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 NutriSource Pet Foods
You can purchase NutriSource pet foods from the following stores:
Where To Buy Vital Essentials Pet Foods
You can purchase Vital Essentials pet food products from these retailers:
Type Of Pet Foods Available
| Product | NutriSource | Vital Essentials |
| Dry Dog Food | 41 Recipes | None |
| Wet Dog Food | 13 Recipes | None |
| Dog Treats | 11 Treats | 30 Treats |
| Dry Cat Food | 8 Recipes | None |
| Wet Cat Food | 10 Recipes | None |
| Cat Treats | None | 8 Treats |
Top Rated NutriSource Recipes
Top Rated Vital Essentials Recipes
