Best-value dry food for small dogs

A neutered 7 kg dog needs about 482 kcal a day by the Merck Veterinary Manual's formula, 70 x kg^0.75 x 1.6. Over a year that's 45 to 48 kg of dry food, and about £203 to £320 across the three bags below, at the prices read on 2 November 2026.

Ranked here by price per 1,000 kcal, using store prices and the calories those stores state. Nothing was fed to a dog by me, so "best value" means lowest cost per calorie on these bags. It's a statement about labels and prices.

Delivery isn't in these sums, and the Pets at Home figure is the standard price with no member deal. Yearly pounds go stale as soon as a price moves. Rerun them with the pet cost calculator.

This is partly a ranking of bags

Three different sizes, so it isn't a level contest. James Wellbeloved comes in the smallest and pays for it. On the same 7 kg dog, that's about 32 bags a year at 1.5 kg, against about 11 of Royal Canin and between 6 and 7 of Pro Plan. Your hallway will notice. Zooplus also lists a pack of three James Wellbeloved bags, which trims the kilo price a little. Compare it with Pro Plan's £4.56/kg.

The Royal Canin result would shift more. Zooplus lists its 8 kg bag at a lower kilo price than the 4 kg bag's £5.97/kg. If your dog already eats this food and you've got the shelf space, buy the larger one.

Calories and the portion

The three labels sit fairly close: 3,950 kcal/kg for Pro Plan by the Pets at Home page, 3,916 kcal/kg for Royal Canin and 3,660 kcal/kg for James Wellbeloved by zooplus's statement. So the daily ration barely moves, at about 122 g, 123 g and 132 g for that 7 kg dog. Price is doing nearly all the work in this ranking.

Two of the feeding tables run close to the formula. Royal Canin gives a 6 kg dog 108 g and an 8 kg dog 135 g on normal activity. James Wellbeloved gives 115 g and 145 g. Pro Plan runs higher: 120 g at 5 kg and 190 g at 10 kg on 1 to 3 hours of activity, where the formula gives about 95 g and 159 g. For your own dog's portion, how much to feed your dog has the steps.

Who each one is for, by its page

All three tables stop at 10 kg. Pets at Home says Pro Plan is for small and mini breeds under 10 kg from 12 months to 9 years, then points to a different formula. Zooplus says Royal Canin Mini is for adults up to 10 kg from 10 months. If your dog is close to that line, look at the medium-breed bags too. A heavier small breed also changes the yearly sum, as what a French Bulldog costs in a year shows.

On protein, Pro Plan lists 28 %, Royal Canin 27 % and James Wellbeloved 25.3 %. Fat runs 17 %, 16 % and 13.7 %. Those gaps wouldn't change my ranking. Your vet's view would.