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35% OFF
Vital Essentials
First Auto-Ship
20% OFF
Vital Essentials
First Auto-Ship w/ Code: PAWDIET20
15% OFF
Vital Essentials
For New Customers w/ Code: AFPAWDIET
Pure Balance vs. Vital Essentials
In this comparison article for Pure Balance vs Vital Essentials, we'll highlight the key differences between these two pet food brands. To properly compare Pure Balance 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 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 Vital Essentials Review Page.
Guaranteed Analysis: Vital Essentials 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. Vital Essentials Dog Food
| Dry Dog Food | Pure Balance | Vital Essentials |
| Crude Protein | 29.2% | 52.2% |
| Crude Fat | 16.7% | 28.7% |
| Crude Fiber | 5.6% | 4.1% |
| Wet/Canned Dog Food | Pure Balance | Vital Essentials |
| Crude Protein | 34.6% | 53.7% |
| Crude Fat | 24.6% | 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.
Vital Essentials dry dog foods clearly provides more protein than Pure Balance. In fact, the difference between the protein content is roughly 22.95%, which is a significant amount. Similarly, Vital Essentials wet dog foods provide significantly more protein than Pure 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
On average, Vital Essentials dry dog food recipes contain 11.99% more fat than Pure Balance recipes. Clearly, there is a significant difference between the fat content of Pure Balance and Vital Essentials. For wet dog foods, Vital Essentials provides more fat (about 6.37% more).
Both brands provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber. With regards to wet dog food, Pure Balance and Vital Essentials also provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber.
Pure Balance Cat Food vs. Vital Essentials Cat Food
| Dry Cat Food | Pure Balance | Vital Essentials |
| Crude Protein | 39.9% | 54.0% |
| Crude Fat | 17.7% | 27.5% |
| Crude Fiber | 5.9% | 5.1% |
| Wet/Canned Cat Food | Pure Balance | Vital Essentials |
| Crude Protein | 42.0% | 50.6% |
| Crude Fat | 25.4% | 18.8% |
| Crude Fiber | 7.2% | 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.
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 14.10% more protein than Pure Balance. Similarly, Vital Essentials wet cat foods provide significantly more protein than Pure Balance wet foods.
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 Pure Balance. More specifically, Vital Essentials guarantees at least 9.85% more fat. For wet cat foods, Pure Balance provides more fat (about 6.63% more).
As you can see, Vital Essentials and Pure Balance guarantee a similar amount of crude fiber. For wet cat foods, Pure Balance provides more fiber (about 4.74% more).
Pure Balance Pet Food Ingredients vs. Vital Essentials Pet Food Ingredients
Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Pure Balance.
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 Pure Balance.
Product Safety: Recall History of Pure Balance & Vital Essentials?
According to our records, Pure Balance 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
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 Vital Essentials Pet Foods
You can purchase Vital Essentials pet food products from these retailers:
Type Of Pet Foods Available
| Product | Pure Balance | Vital Essentials |
| Dry Dog Food | 7 Recipes | None |
| Wet Dog Food | 15 Recipes | None |
| Dog Treats | None | 30 Treats |
| Dry Cat Food | 5 Recipes | None |
| Wet Cat Food | 4 Recipes | None |
| Cat Treats | 3 Treats | 8 Treats |
Top Rated Pure Balance Recipes
Top Rated Vital Essentials Recipes
