Taste of the Wild vs. Hill's Ideal Balance
In this comparison article for Taste of the Wild vs Hill's Ideal Balance, we'll highlight the key differences between these two pet food brands. To properly compare Taste of the Wild 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 Taste of the Wild comparison, we've utilized average data to make general comparisons. If you'd like to see individual product reviews, visit our Taste of the Wild Review Page or Hill's Ideal Balance Review Page.
Guaranteed Analysis: Hill's Ideal Balance vs. Taste of the Wild
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.
Taste of the Wild Dog Food vs. Hill's Ideal Balance Dog Food
| Dry Dog Food | Taste of the Wild | Hill's Ideal Balance |
| Crude Protein | 31.9% | 23.5% |
| Crude Fat | 18.0% | 17.8% |
| Crude Fiber | 5% | 1.6% |
| Wet/Canned Dog Food | Taste of the Wild | Hill's Ideal Balance |
| Crude Protein | 45.6% | 26.6% |
| Crude Fat | 22.2% | 19.7% |
| Crude Fiber | 5.6% | 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.
Taste of the Wild dry dog foods clearly provides more protein than Hill's Ideal Balance. In fact, the difference between the protein content is roughly 8.40%, which is a significant amount. Similarly, Taste of the Wild wet dog foods provide significantly 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, Taste of the Wild typically provides a little more fat (about 2.57% more).
According to our average data, Hill's Ideal Balance typically provides less fiber than Taste of the Wild. However, this difference is relatively small and doesn't represent a significant difference between the two brands. For wet dog foods, Taste of the Wild and Hill's Ideal Balance provide roughly the same amount of fiber.
Taste of the Wild Cat Food vs. Hill's Ideal Balance Cat Food
| Dry Cat Food | Taste of the Wild | Hill's Ideal Balance |
| Crude Protein | 41.1% | 32.5% |
| Crude Fat | 18.9% | 21.9% |
| Crude Fiber | 3.3% | 0.9% |
| Wet/Canned Cat Food | Taste of the Wild | Hill's Ideal Balance |
| Crude Protein | 44.4% | 43.6% |
| Crude Fat | 16.7% | 22.1% |
| Crude Fiber | 8.3% | 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.
On average, Taste of the Wild dry cat food recipes contain 8.66% more protein than Hill's Ideal Balance recipes. Clearly, there is a significant difference between the protein content of Hill's Ideal Balance and Taste of the Wild. For wet cat foods, Taste of the Wild and Hill's Ideal 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
If you look at the average percentages of crude fat, you'll notice that Hill's Ideal Balance typically guarantees 2.99% more fat. This is a fairly small difference between Hill's Ideal Balance and Taste of the Wild, but still worth mentioning. In addition, Hill's Ideal Balance wet cat foods also provide more fat than Taste of the Wild wet foods.
According to our data, Taste of the Wild guarantees 2.41% more fiber than Hill's Ideal Balance. Although this difference is relatively small, it's still a notable difference. In addition, Taste of the Wild wet cat foods also provide more fiber than Hill's Ideal Balance wet foods.
Taste of the Wild Pet Food Ingredients vs. Hill's Ideal Balance Pet Food Ingredients
Taste of the Wild 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 Hill's Ideal 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 Hill's Ideal Balance.
Product Safety: Recall History of Taste of the Wild & Hill's Ideal Balance?
Taste of the Wild has been recalled once.
- May 5, 2012: Salmonella
According to our records, Hill's Ideal Balance has never been recalled.
Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?
| Dry Dog Food | Taste of the Wild | Hill's Ideal Balance |
| Per Pound | $1.86 | $2.04 |
| Per Calorie | $0.0011 | $0.0012 |
| Dry Cat Food | Taste of the Wild | Hill's Ideal Balance |
| Per Pound | $2.29 | $2.79 |
| Per Calorie | $0.0013 | $0.0015 |
| Wet Dog Food | Taste of the Wild | Hill's Ideal Balance |
| Per Pound | $2.79 | $3.32 |
| Per Calorie | $0.0060 | $0.0098 |
| Wet Cat Food | Taste of the Wild | Hill's Ideal Balance |
| Per Pound | $4.26 | $7.17 |
| Per Calorie | $0.0100 | $0.0161 |
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 Taste of the Wild 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 Taste of the Wild 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 Taste of the Wild 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)
- 10% Off Treats @ PetFlow (Use Code HOT10)
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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 Taste of the Wild Pet Foods
You can purchase Taste of the Wild 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 | Taste of the Wild | Hill's Ideal Balance |
| Dry Dog Food | 9 Recipes | 6 Recipes |
| Wet Dog Food | 5 Recipes | 2 Recipes |
| Dog Treats | 3 Treats | |
| Dry Cat Food | 2 Recipes | 4 Recipes |
| Wet Cat Food | 2 Recipes | 2 Recipes |
| Cat Treats |
