The Full Reviews
What each brand gets right, what it costs you, and who it's actually for.
1
UnKibble by Spot & Tango
Best Overall
Bite-Sized Overview
Fresh dry is the newest category on this list, and it's the one most dog parents haven't heard of yet. It's real, whole-food ingredients gently dried at low temperature — not blasted at high heat like kibble, and not frozen like fresh food.
Spot & Tango's UnKibble is the version I know best. The process pulls out moisture while keeping up to 99% of the nutrients, aroma, and flavor intact. What's left looks like little pieces of actual food, because that's exactly what it is.
This isn't a brand-new experiment, either. Spot & Tango has delivered over 180 million meals to dogs across the country — so the recipes and the routine have been tested in a lot of real kitchens.
Every ingredient is something you'd recognize in your own kitchen.
Who It's For
Dog parents who want fresh-food quality but don't have the freezer space, the time, or the budget for a frozen plan. If you've been curious about fresh food and kept talking yourself out of it, this is the option that removes all three excuses at once.
Pros
- 100% whole-food ingredients, nothing artificial
- Gentle low-temp process keeps nutrients intact
- No freezer, no thawing — lives in your pantry
- About 40% less than fresh frozen
- Portions personalized to your dog
Cons
- Costs more than standard kibble
- Only three recipes to choose from
- Subscription-based, so you plan ahead a little
The part that surprises people: it costs about 40% less than fresh frozen
You're getting whole-food ingredients and gentle low-temp cooking — for meaningfully less than a frozen fresh plan. For a lot of families, that's the difference between trying fresh food and actually sticking with it.
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What Dog Parents Notice
The complaints I hear most in exam rooms are picky eating, iffy digestion, low energy, and dull coats. Food is usually part of the story. Here's what Spot & Tango customers reported after switching:
Plans & Portions
"How much should I feed my dog?" might be the question I answer most. Spot & Tango builds each plan around your dog's weight, breed, age, and activity level, then sends a custom scoop and feeding guide with every bag. No math, no guessing.
Recipes
Flavor fatigue is a real reason dogs turn picky. There are three recipes, so you can rotate them or just find the one your dog loves most.
🥩
Beef & Barley
Protein-rich for strong muscles
🦃
Turkey & Sweet Potato
Lean protein with gentle fiber
🐟
Cod & Salmon
Omega-rich for skin & coat
Why It Earns a 10
The fresh frozen plans below are wonderful foods. They lose points with me for the same reason: they ask a lot of you, week after week.
Fresh dry is the only option on this list that gives you fresh-food quality without reorganizing your kitchen or your budget. That's why it's what I recommend to clients who want the good stuff and also have jobs, kids, and a life.
2
The Farmer's Dog
Fresh Frozen
Bite-Sized Overview
The Farmer's Dog is the brand most people picture when they hear “fresh dog food,” and it earns that reputation. The recipes are gently cooked from human-grade ingredients, built by veterinary nutritionists, and formulated to meet AAFCO standards.
Food shows up frozen every couple of weeks in packs that are already portioned for your dog — based on their weight, breed, activity level, and any allergies. Dogs go wild for it, and in my practice, picky eaters often turn around fast on fresh food.
The catch is logistics and cost. Two weeks of meals for a big dog can take over a freezer shelf. An opened pack keeps about four days in the fridge, so you have to remember to thaw. And plans range from roughly $40 a month for a tiny dog to several hundred for a giant breed.
Who It's For
Smaller dogs, households with spare freezer space, and people who don't mind planning meals a few days ahead.
Pros
- Gently cooked from human-grade ingredients
- Vet-nutritionist recipes that meet AAFCO standards
- Packs pre-portioned for your specific dog
- Excellent for picky eaters
Cons
- Needs real freezer and fridge space
- Only about four days in the fridge once opened
- You have to thaw ahead, every few meals
- Cost climbs steeply with your dog's size
A genuinely excellent food. What holds it back isn't the recipe — it's everything you have to do around it.
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Bite-Sized Overview
Ollie is the other big name in fresh delivery, and it lands just behind The Farmer's Dog for me — close, but a half step back.
The food itself is strong. Slow-cooked, human-grade recipes developed by a veterinary team, formulated to meet AAFCO profiles for all life stages, with no corn, wheat, soy, or artificial flavors. You answer a quiz about your dog and get a plan built around them, plus a custom feeding guide, a scoop, and a storage container in the starter box.
There are five proteins — chicken, beef, turkey, lamb, and pork — so there's real room to rotate if your dog gets bored. And the Half Fresh plan is a genuinely smart idea: it covers half your dog's calories so you can use fresh food as a topper instead of an all-or-nothing switch.
The storage math is the same as any frozen plan, though. Packs live in the freezer, need about 24 hours in the fridge to defrost, and have to be used within four days once opened. And because the packs come by the pound rather than portioned per meal, you're the one measuring every bowl.
Who It's For
Dog parents who want fresh food but aren't ready to go all in — the half-fresh option makes it an easy place to start.
Pros
- Slow-cooked, human-grade, vet-developed recipes
- AAFCO complete for all life stages
- Five proteins to rotate through
- Half Fresh plan works as a topper
Cons
- Freezer space required, same as any frozen plan
- 24-hour defrost, then four days to use it up
- You portion each bowl yourself
- Some dogs find the tarter recipes off-putting
Very good fresh food with a flexible on-ramp. It still asks for freezer space and forward planning — which is the whole reason it sits at number three.
4
Sundays for Dogs
Air-Dried
Bite-Sized Overview
Sundays takes a different route. Instead of cooking at high heat or freezing, it gently air-dries the food at low temperatures. No oven blast, no freezer — you get a shelf-stable bag you scoop straight into the bowl.
The ingredient story is strong. Human-grade meat and organs plus superfoods, and the company is upfront that there are no synthetic additives, artificial flavors, or preservatives. There are four recipes — beef, chicken, turkey, and fish — plus a small-bites version for little dogs.
Air-drying is also a real safety win over truly raw feeding. Raw diets carry bacteria risk for your dog and for whoever handles the bowl. Drying lowers that risk a lot, which is why I'm far more comfortable recommending this than raw meat from the fridge.
Who It's For
Owners drawn to raw or minimally processed feeding who want a bag they can keep in the pantry — and who have room in the budget for it.
Pros
- Air-dried at low temp, never frozen or high-heat cooked
- Human-grade meat and superfoods, no synthetics
- Shelf-stable — scoop and serve, no fridge
- Much safer to handle than truly raw
Cons
- One of the priciest ways to feed per calorie
- Dry, jerky-like texture that plenty of dogs flat-out refuse
- Portions come off a feeding chart, not a custom scoop
- Costs add up fast for a big dog
Smart process, clean label. Price is the main thing keeping it out of my top three.
5
Open Farm Grass-Fed Beef & Ancient Grains
Kibble
Bite-Sized Overview
Most dogs in America eat kibble, and let me be clear right away: that's a perfectly fine choice. If you're going to feed kibble, this is the kind to feed.
Open Farm's Grass-Fed Beef & Ancient Grains recipe leads with Certified Humane beef from pasture-raised cattle — never given antibiotics or added hormones. The grains are ancient ones: oats, quinoa, millet, and brown rice. No corn, wheat, soy, or artificial preservatives.
What I like most is the transparency. Every bag has a QR code that traces each ingredient back to where it came from. That's rare in this category, and it's exactly what I wish more brands did.
Here's the honest limit, and it isn't Open Farm's fault: kibble is kibble. To make those little pieces shelf-stable, they're extruded at very high heat — and that heat costs you nutrients, aroma, and flavor no matter how good the ingredients were going in.
Who It's For
Tight budgets, very large dogs, or anyone who wants the best-sourced bag they can get on autoship or off a shelf.
Pros
- Certified Humane, pasture-raised beef
- 100% traceable ingredients, right back to the farm
- Ancient grains and non-GMO produce
- The most affordable option on this list
Cons
- High-heat extrusion still strips nutrients and flavor
- Includes meals, not only whole cuts
- No portions personalized to your dog
- Pricier than supermarket kibble
Fine is a real score, and this is the top of fine. There's just more room above it than most dog parents realize.
