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Purina Pro Plan vs Vital Essentials

Purina Pro Plan vs. Vital Essentials

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

Guaranteed Analysis: Vital Essentials vs. Purina Pro Plan

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.

Purina Pro Plan Dog Food vs. Vital Essentials Dog Food

Dry Dog FoodPurina Pro PlanVital Essentials
Crude Protein32.1%52.2%
Crude Fat17.9%28.7%
Crude Fiber4.3%4.1%
Wet/Canned Dog FoodPurina Pro PlanVital Essentials
Crude Protein45.5%53.7%
Crude Fat19.5%31.0%
Crude Fiber7.0%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 20.10% more protein than Purina Pro Plan. Similarly, Vital Essentials wet dog foods provide significantly more protein than Purina Pro Plan 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 Purina Pro Plan. More specifically, Vital Essentials guarantees at least 10.77% more fat. Similarly, Vital Essentials wet dog foods provide significantly more protein than Purina Pro Plan wet foods.


Vital Essentials and Purina Pro Plan both provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber. With regards to wet dog food, Purina Pro Plan and Vital Essentials also provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber.

Purina Pro Plan Cat Food vs. Vital Essentials Cat Food

Dry Cat FoodPurina Pro PlanVital Essentials
Crude Protein44.2%54.0%
Crude Fat17.0%27.5%
Crude Fiber3.8%5.1%
Wet/Canned Cat FoodPurina Pro PlanVital Essentials
Crude Protein49.8%50.6%
Crude Fat17.8%18.8%
Crude Fiber7.2%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 Purina Pro Plan. In fact, the difference between the protein content is roughly 9.80%, which is a significant amount. For wet cat foods, Vital Essentials and Purina Pro Plan 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):

  • 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 10.56% more fat than Purina Pro Plan recipes. Clearly, there is a significant difference between the fat content of Purina Pro Plan and Vital Essentials. For wet cat foods, Vital Essentials and Purina Pro Plan provide roughly the same amount of fat.


There is a relatively insignificant difference between the crude fiber content of the two brands. For wet cat foods, Purina Pro Plan provides more fiber (about 4.70% more).

Purina Pro Plan Pet Food Ingredients vs. Vital Essentials Pet Food Ingredients

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

Liver
Poultry
Canola Oil
Corn Grits
Canola Meal
Pea Protein
Brewers Rice
Ground Wheat
Wheat Gluten
Animal Digest
Caramel Color
Garlic Powder
Soybean Flour
Soybean Hulls
Vegetable Oil
Corn Germ Meal
Poultry Giblets
Corn Gluten Meal
Meat By-Products
Whole Grain Corn
Whole Grain Wheat
Ground Yellow Corn
Powdered Cellulose
Chicken By-Products
Poultry By-Products
Chicken By-Product Meal
Poultry By-Product Meal
Soybean Protein Isolate
Soybean Protein Concentrate
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.

Here are some of the harmful ingredients used only by Purina Pro Plan.

Bha
Bht
Corn Oil
Yellow 5
Added Color
Menadione Sodium Bisulfate Complex
Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex
Pork Fat (Preserved With Tbhq And Citric Acid)
Animal Fat (Preserved With Tbhq And Citric Acid)

Product Safety: Recall History of Purina Pro Plan & Vital Essentials?

Purina Pro Plan has been recalled once.

  • March 9, 2016: Incorrect Vitamins and Minerals

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 FoodPurina Pro PlanVital Essentials
Per Pound$3.10$37.19
Per Calorie$0.0017$0.0186
Dry Cat FoodPurina Pro PlanVital Essentials
Per Pound$4.67$39.03
Per Calorie$0.0025$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 Purina Pro Plan 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 Purina Pro Plan 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 Purina Pro Plan and Vital Essentials. 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 Purina Pro Plan Pet Foods

You can purchase Purina Pro Plan pet foods from the following stores:


122 Recipes In-Stock Today

70 Recipes In-Stock Today

120 Recipes In-Stock Today

Where To Buy Vital Essentials Pet Foods

You can purchase Vital Essentials pet food products from these retailers:


47 Recipes In-Stock Today

43 Recipes In-Stock Today

21 Recipes In-Stock Today

23 Recipes In-Stock Today

Type Of Pet Foods Available

ProductPurina Pro PlanVital Essentials
Dry Dog Food53 RecipesNone
Wet Dog Food43 RecipesNone
Dog TreatsNone30 Treats
Dry Cat Food31 RecipesNone
Wet Cat Food84 RecipesNone
Cat TreatsNone8 Treats

Top Rated Purina Pro Plan Recipes

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Complete Essentials Chicken & Rice Formula For Adult Cats
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Urinary Tract Health Turkey & Giblets Entree (Classic) For Cats
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Top Rated Vital Essentials Recipes

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Freeze-Dried Entrees Beef Mini Nibs
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Frozen Entrees Beef Mini Patties
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VitalCat Freeze-Dried Duck Mini Nibs For Cats
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VitalCat Frozen Rabbit Entree Mini Patties For Cats
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