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Instinct vs Purina Beyond

Instinct vs. Purina Beyond

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

Guaranteed Analysis: Purina Beyond vs. Instinct

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.

Instinct Dog Food vs. Purina Beyond Dog Food

Dry Dog FoodInstinctPurina Beyond
Crude Protein36.2%31.2%
Crude Fat24.1%18.1%
Crude Fiber4.4%5.0%
Wet/Canned Dog FoodInstinctPurina Beyond
Crude Protein42.1%38.0%
Crude Fat27.7%26.3%
Crude Fiber10.0%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.

Purina Beyond dry recipes contain 4.98% less protein than Instinct dry recipes. This difference in protein content is a notable difference between Instinct and Purina Beyond. In addition, Instinct wet dog foods also provide more protein than Purina Beyond 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

The table shows that Purina Beyond provides far less fat than Instinct. The difference in fat content is roughly 6.05%. For wet dog foods, Instinct and Purina Beyond provide roughly the same amount of fat.


Both brands provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber. For wet dog foods, Instinct typically provides a little more fiber (about 2.91% more).

Instinct Cat Food vs. Purina Beyond Cat Food

Dry Cat FoodInstinctPurina Beyond
Crude Protein43.7%40.2%
Crude Fat25.4%16.6%
Crude Fiber3.7%4.8%
Wet/Canned Cat FoodInstinctPurina Beyond
Crude Protein47.1%45.6%
Crude Fat25.0%19.5%
Crude Fiber8.6%6.5%

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.

According to our average data, Purina Beyond typically provides less protein than Instinct. However, this difference is relatively small and doesn't represent a significant difference between the two brands. For wet cat foods, Instinct and Purina Beyond 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

Instinct dry cat foods clearly provides more fat than Purina Beyond. In fact, the difference between the fat content is roughly 8.77%, which is a significant amount. For wet cat foods, Instinct provides more fat (about 5.45% more).


As you can see, Instinct and Purina Beyond guarantee a similar amount of crude fiber. For wet cat foods, Instinct typically provides a little more fiber (about 2.08% more).

Instinct Pet Food Ingredients vs. Purina Beyond Pet Food Ingredients

Instinct and Purina Beyond both use the following controversial ingredients in many of their products:

Pea Protein

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

Garlic
Canola Oil
Tomato Pomace
Dried Tomato Pomace
Canola Oil (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols)
Canola Oil (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols And Citric Acid)

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Purina Beyond.

Liver
Canola Meal
Brewers Rice
Wheat Gluten
Powdered Cellulose
Organic Canola Meal
Organic Pea Protein
Animal Fat (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols)

We believe that certain pet food ingredients are linked to adverse health affects; these ingredients are classified as harmful.

Instinct and Purina Beyond both use the following harmful ingredients in many of their products:

Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex

Product Safety: Recall History of Instinct & Purina Beyond?

Instinct has been recalled 2 times.

  • July 24, 2015: Salmonella
  • Feb. 15, 2013: Pieces of clear plastic in bag

According to our records, Purina Beyond has never been recalled.

Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?

Dry Dog FoodInstinctPurina Beyond
Per Pound$8.93$4.20
Per Calorie$0.0044$0.0025
Dry Cat FoodInstinctPurina Beyond
Per Pound$11.49$3.75
Per Calorie$0.0057$0.0023
Wet Dog FoodInstinctPurina Beyond
Per Pound$6.31$3.56
Per Calorie$0.0107$0.0069
Wet Cat FoodInstinctPurina Beyond
Per Pound$8.87$7.82
Per Calorie$0.0179$0.0173

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 Instinct or Purina Beyond, 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 Instinct or Purina Beyond will depend on your shopping habits.

Pet owners who use our price comparison feature typically save more than 25% off retail prices for Instinct and Purina Beyond. 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 Instinct Pet Foods

You can purchase Instinct pet foods from the following stores:


84 Recipes In-Stock Today

59 Recipes In-Stock Today

67 Recipes In-Stock Today

17 Recipes In-Stock Today

Where To Buy Purina Beyond Pet Foods

You can purchase Purina Beyond pet food products from these retailers:


36 Recipes In-Stock Today

7 Recipes In-Stock Today

29 Recipes In-Stock Today

Type Of Pet Foods Available

ProductInstinctPurina Beyond
Dry Dog Food37 Recipes13 Recipes
Wet Dog Food10 Recipes21 Recipes
Dog TreatsNone3 Treats
Dry Cat Food20 Recipes10 Recipes
Wet Cat Food16 Recipes31 Recipes
Cat TreatsNone2 Treats

Top Rated Instinct Recipes

Dog Food
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Raw Boost Grain-Free Recipe With Real Chicken
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Original Canned Real Chicken Recipe
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Cat Food
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Raw Boost Grain-Free Recipe With Real Chicken
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Original Canned Real Chicken Recipe
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Top Rated Purina Beyond Recipes

Dog Food
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Simply Farm-Raised Chicken & Whole Barley Recipe
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Organic Chicken & Sweet Potato Recipe Ground Entree For Dogs
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Simply White Meat Chicken & Whole Oat Meal Recipe
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In Gravy Cage-Free Turkey, Sweet Potato & Spinach Recipe
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