Pure Balance vs. Hill's Ideal Balance
In this comparison article for Pure Balance vs Hill's Ideal Balance, we'll highlight the key differences between these two pet food brands. To properly compare Pure Balance and Hill's Ideal 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 Hill's Ideal Balance vs Pure Balance comparison, we've utilized average data to make general comparisons. If you'd like to see individual product reviews, visit our Pure Balance Review Page or Hill's Ideal Balance Review Page.
Guaranteed Analysis: Hill's Ideal Balance vs. Pure Balance
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.
Pure Balance Dog Food vs. Hill's Ideal Balance Dog Food
| Dry Dog Food | Pure Balance | Hill's Ideal Balance |
| Crude Protein | 29.2% | 23.5% |
| Crude Fat | 16.7% | 17.8% |
| Crude Fiber | 5.6% | 1.6% |
| Wet/Canned Dog Food | Pure Balance | Hill's Ideal Balance |
| Crude Protein | 34.6% | 26.6% |
| Crude Fat | 24.6% | 19.7% |
| Crude Fiber | 7.2% | 4.8% |
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.
Hill's Ideal Balance dry recipes contain 5.76% less protein than Pure Balance dry recipes. This difference in protein content is a notable difference between Pure Balance and Hill's Ideal Balance. In addition, Pure Balance wet dog foods also provide more protein than Hill's Ideal Balance 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
Both brands provide roughly the same amount of crude fat. For wet dog foods, Pure Balance provides more fat (about 4.96% more).
According to our average data, Hill's Ideal Balance typically provides less fiber than Pure Balance. However, this difference is relatively small and doesn't represent a significant difference between the two brands. In addition, Pure Balance wet dog foods also provide more fiber than Hill's Ideal Balance wet foods.
Pure Balance Cat Food vs. Hill's Ideal Balance Cat Food
| Dry Cat Food | Pure Balance | Hill's Ideal Balance |
| Crude Protein | 39.9% | 32.5% |
| Crude Fat | 17.7% | 21.9% |
| Crude Fiber | 5.9% | 0.9% |
| Wet/Canned Cat Food | Pure Balance | Hill's Ideal Balance |
| Crude Protein | 42.0% | 43.6% |
| Crude Fat | 25.4% | 22.1% |
| Crude Fiber | 7.2% | 3.3% |
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.
The table shows that Hill's Ideal Balance provides far less protein than Pure Balance. The difference in protein content is roughly 7.44%. For wet cat foods, Hill's Ideal Balance and Pure Balance 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
Our analysis shows that Hill's Ideal Balance guarantees 4.19% more fat than Pure Balance dry cat food recipes. For wet cat foods, Pure Balance typically provides a little more fat (about 3.34% more).
There is a relatively large difference between the fiber content of Pure Balance and Hill's Ideal Balance. On average, Hill's Ideal Balance dry cat food recipes contain 5.02% less fiber than Pure Balance recipes. For wet cat foods, Pure Balance typically provides a little more fiber (about 3.95% more).
Pure Balance Pet Food Ingredients vs. Hill's Ideal Balance Pet Food Ingredients
Pure Balance and Hill's Ideal Balance both use the following controversial ingredients in many of their products:
Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Pure Balance.
Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Hill's Ideal Balance.
We believe that certain pet food ingredients are linked to adverse health affects; these ingredients are classified as harmful.
Pure Balance and Hill's Ideal Balance both use the following harmful ingredients in many of their products:
Here are some of the harmful ingredients used only by Pure Balance.
Product Safety: Recall History of Pure Balance & Hill's Ideal Balance?
According to our records, neither brand has issued any product recalls. Therefore, consumers have no reason to question the safety of Pure Balance or Hill's Ideal Balance pet food products.
Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?
| Dry Dog Food | Pure Balance | Hill's Ideal Balance |
| Per Pound | $1.54 | $2.00 |
| Per Calorie | $0.0009 | $0.0012 |
| Dry Cat Food | Pure Balance | Hill's Ideal Balance |
| Per Pound | $2.19 | $2.65 |
| Per Calorie | $0.0013 | $0.0014 |
| Wet Dog Food | Pure Balance | Hill's Ideal Balance |
| Per Pound | $1.78 | $3.32 |
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 Pure Balance or Hill's Ideal 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 Pure Balance or Hill's Ideal Balance will depend on your shopping habits.
Pet owners who use our price comparison feature typically save more than 25% off retail prices for Pure Balance and Hill's Ideal Balance. In addition, we currently have some great coupons for our readers.
- $10 Off + Free Shipping Orders $60+ @ PetFlow (Use Code SAVENOW)
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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 Pure Balance Pet Foods
You can purchase Pure Balance pet foods from the following stores:
Where To Buy Hill's Ideal Balance Pet Foods
You can purchase Hill's Ideal Balance pet food products from these retailers:
Type Of Pet Foods Available
| Product | Pure Balance | Hill's Ideal Balance |
| Dry Dog Food | 7 Recipes | 6 Recipes |
| Wet Dog Food | 15 Recipes | 2 Recipes |
| Dog Treats | 3 Treats | |
| Dry Cat Food | 5 Recipes | 4 Recipes |
| Wet Cat Food | 4 Recipes | 2 Recipes |
| Cat Treats | 3 Treats |
