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Vital Essentials vs Stella and Chewy's

Vital Essentials vs. Stella and Chewy's

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

Guaranteed Analysis: Stella and Chewy's vs. Vital Essentials

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.

Vital Essentials Dog Food vs. Stella and Chewy's Dog Food

Dry Dog FoodVital EssentialsStella and Chewy's
Crude Protein52.2%37.3%
Crude Fat28.7%23.0%
Crude Fiber4.1%5.6%
Wet/Canned Dog FoodVital EssentialsStella and Chewy's
Crude Protein53.7%51.6%
Crude Fat31.0%22.0%
Crude Fiber5.6%9.2%

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 14.84% more protein than Stella and Chewy's. For wet dog foods, Vital Essentials typically provides a little more protein (about 2.19% more).


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.

Our analysis shows that Vital Essentials guarantees 5.67% more fat than Stella and Chewy's dry dog food recipes. In addition, Vital Essentials wet dog foods also provide more fat than Stella and Chewy's wet foods.


Vital Essentials and Stella and Chewy's both provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber. For wet dog foods, Stella and Chewy's typically provides a little more fiber (about 3.55% more).

Vital Essentials Cat Food vs. Stella and Chewy's Cat Food

Dry Cat FoodVital EssentialsStella and Chewy's
Crude Protein54.0%43.1%
Crude Fat27.5%25.4%
Crude Fiber5.1%5.4%
Wet/Canned Cat FoodVital EssentialsStella and Chewy's
Crude Protein50.6%52.0%
Crude Fat18.8%18.5%
Crude Fiber2.5%9.2%

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 comparison table above shows that Vital Essentials dry cat foods provide significantly more protein than Stella and Chewy's. More specifically, Vital Essentials guarantees at least 10.87% more protein. For wet cat foods, Stella and Chewy's and Vital Essentials 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.

According to our data, Vital Essentials guarantees 2.11% more fat than Stella and Chewy's. Although this difference is relatively small, it's still a notable difference. For wet cat foods, Vital Essentials and Stella and Chewy's 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, Stella and Chewy's provides more fiber (about 6.79% more).

Vital Essentials Pet Food Ingredients vs. Stella and Chewy's Pet Food Ingredients

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Stella and Chewy's.

Pea Protein
Tomato Pomace
Vegetable Oil
Canola Oil (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols)

Product Safety: Recall History of Vital Essentials & Stella and Chewy's?

Vital Essentials has been recalled 4 times.

  • July 8, 2015: Listeria monocytogenes
  • Jan. 15, 2016: Salmonella
  • Feb. 24, 2018: Salmonella
  • April 16, 2018: Salmonella

Stella and Chewy's has been recalled 2 times.

  • July 5, 2015: Listeria monocytogenes
  • Dec. 11, 2015: Listeria monocytogenes

Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?

Dry Dog FoodVital EssentialsStella and Chewy's
Per Pound$37.19$26.10
Per Calorie$0.0186$0.0120
Dry Cat FoodVital EssentialsStella and Chewy's
Per Pound$39.03$41.71
Per Calorie$0.0200$0.0196

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 Vital Essentials or Stella and Chewy's, 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 Vital Essentials or Stella and Chewy's will depend on your shopping habits.

Pet owners who use our price comparison feature typically save more than 25% off retail prices for Vital Essentials and Stella and Chewy's. 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 Vital Essentials Pet Foods

You can purchase Vital Essentials pet foods from the following stores:


47 Recipes In-Stock Today

43 Recipes In-Stock Today

21 Recipes In-Stock Today

23 Recipes In-Stock Today

Where To Buy Stella and Chewy's Pet Foods

You can purchase Stella and Chewy's pet food products from these retailers:


91 Recipes In-Stock Today

59 Recipes In-Stock Today

34 Recipes In-Stock Today

37 Recipes In-Stock Today

Type Of Pet Foods Available

ProductVital EssentialsStella and Chewy's
Dry Dog FoodNone48 Recipes
Wet Dog FoodNone23 Recipes
Dog Treats30 Treats30 Treats
Dry Cat FoodNone5 Recipes
Wet Cat FoodNone24 Recipes
Cat Treats8 TreatsNone

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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Top Rated Stella and Chewy's Recipes

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Freeze-Dried Patties Stella's Super Beef
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Stella's Stew Red Meat Medley
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Freeze-Dried Dinner Morsels Chick, Chick, Chicken
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Purrfect Pate Chicken & Salmon Recipe
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