Thinking of trying raw? New UK customers at Bella + Duke get money off their first three boxes of frozen food — up to £53.88 off the first. Use code AFF432 at checkout: see your dog's personalised plan at Bella + Duke. We earn a commission if you sign up through this link. It costs you nothing extra and doesn't change what we write.
The first time you open a bag of kibble and read the ingredients properly, it's hard not to wonder whether there's something better. Raw feeding — complete meals of raw meat, offal, bone and vegetables, delivered frozen — promises exactly that, and a lot of UK owners swear by it: shinier coats, smaller poos, a dog who actually gets excited at dinner time.
What nobody puts on the box is the honest monthly cost of raw dog food in the UK, or the fact that raw isn't safe for every dog or every household. This guide does both: real cost-per-day maths by dog size, what subscription brands actually charge, and a clear list of when raw is a conversation for your vet first.
⚠️ Don't switch to raw without your vet if…
- Your dog is on immune-suppressing treatment — for example ciclosporin (Atopica), long-term steroids, or chemotherapy such as Palladia. Raw meat can carry bacteria such as Salmonella, and these dogs are less able to fight it off.
- Your dog has kidney disease, a history of pancreatitis, or is on a prescription diet — their food is part of their treatment.
- Someone at home is very young, elderly, pregnant or immunocompromised. The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) advises these households to get medical advice before preparing or storing raw pet food.
How Much Raw Food Does a Dog Eat a Day?
Raw feeding is portioned by body weight. A common starting point for an adult dog is 2–3% of its ideal body weight per day, then adjusted to keep your dog in good shape. Small and very active dogs tend to need the higher end; couch-loving or overweight dogs the lower end. Puppies need a lot more.
At a middle-of-the-road 2.5%, that works out as:
- 5 kg dog (e.g. a Shih Tzu): about 125 g a day
- 10 kg dog (e.g. a Beagle): about 250 g a day
- 20 kg dog (e.g. a Springer Spaniel): about 500 g a day
- 30 kg dog (e.g. a Labrador): about 750 g a day
Every brand publishes its own feeding guide or calculator, and that should be your actual number — but this gives you a realistic ballpark before you start looking at prices.
Raw Dog Food Cost Per Day in the UK
Raw food is sold by weight, so the price per kilo is the number to compare. In early 2026, the more affordable complete-raw brands sold in UK shops and supermarkets were typically priced at around £4.40 to £5.40 per kg for standard recipes like chicken or beef. Here's what that means for a dog eating 2.5% of its body weight:
| Dog weight | Food per day | Cost per day | Cost per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 kg | 125 g | 55p – 68p | £17 – £21 |
| 10 kg | 250 g | £1.10 – £1.35 | £33 – £41 |
| 20 kg | 500 g | £2.20 – £2.70 | £67 – £82 |
| 30 kg | 750 g | £3.30 – £4.05 | £100 – £123 |
Budget complete-raw prices of £4.40–£5.40/kg (early 2026), adult dog at 2.5% of body weight, 30.4 days a month. Premium and delivered brands cost more per kg; novel proteins such as venison or duck usually cost more than chicken.
The shape of that table is the most important thing to take away: raw food cost scales almost directly with your dog's size. For a small dog it's a modest monthly cost; for a Labrador it can be one of the biggest regular bills in the household — before treats, vet visits or insurance.
What Subscription Brands Like Bella + Duke Charge
Delivered raw brands work differently from the supermarket freezer. Instead of a price on a tray, you enter your dog's age, weight and activity level and get a personalised plan: pre-portioned meals, delivered frozen to your door on a schedule that matches how much your dog eats.
Bella + Duke is one of the best-known UK examples. What you're paying for, compared with buying raw from a shop:
- Complete meals, portioned for you. No weighing out mince or working out ratios yourself.
- Doorstep delivery — free to the UK mainland, with a surcharge for Northern Ireland, the Highlands and Islands.
- A flexible subscription. You can change the box, move a delivery, pause (up to 90 days online) or cancel from your account.
Because the price is personalised, there isn't one honest "price per day" we can print for every dog — you'll see yours on their calculator. As a rule, though, expect a convenience brand to cost more per kilo than the budget brands in the table above. That's the trade: you pay a premium not to think about it.
How the introductory discount works
New UK customers get money off their first three boxes of frozen food: up to £53.88 off the first box, £40.42 off the second and £26.95 off the third — up to about £121 in total, depending on box size. The discount applies to frozen food only, not to treats or supplements.
Those first boxes are a genuinely cheap way to find out whether your dog does well on raw. Just do the maths on the full price from box four onwards before you commit — that's the number that matters for the next ten years, not the intro offer.
- Check the full price, not the trial price. Note your dog's personalised cost per day without the discount, and compare it with what you spend now.
- Use the right code. Our readers' code is AFF432; codes from other sites can't be combined with it.
- Make room in the freezer before the first box arrives — frozen deliveries need space.
- Switch gradually over a week or so, mixing in with the current food, to spare your dog's stomach.
Is Raw More Expensive Than Kibble?
Almost always, yes. A good-quality dry food for a medium dog typically costs noticeably less per day than a complete raw diet, and the gap widens the bigger the dog. Some owners close it by feeding raw as a topper — a portion of raw mixed into a complete dry or wet food — which gives the dog some of what they love about raw at a fraction of the full cost.
What raw doesn't have is strong scientific evidence that it's healthier than a good complete commercial diet. Plenty of owners see real changes in their dog; vets' professional bodies remain cautious, mainly because of bacterial risk and poorly balanced home-made diets. If you go raw, choosing a recipe labelled complete (not "complementary") is the single most important thing — it means it's designed to be fed on its own.
Raw Food and the Itchy Dog
A lot of owners look at raw food because their dog is scratching. It's worth being honest here: raw food is not automatically hypoallergenic. Most food allergies in dogs are reactions to a specific protein — often a very common one, such as chicken or beef. If your dog reacts to chicken, a chicken-based raw meal won't help, however natural it is.
The recognised way to find out whether food is behind the itch is an elimination diet trial: around eight weeks on a single diet your vet chooses — usually a hydrolysed or single novel-protein food — with nothing else, not even treats or flavoured chews. In dogs that really do have a food allergy, a properly followed trial gets a response in the vast majority of cases.
If your dog is already on itch medication while you work this out, that cost adds up quickly too — see our guide to what Apoquel costs in the UK and how to pay less.
Raw Feeding Safely at Home
If you and your vet are happy with raw, the BSAVA's message is simple: treat it like raw meat for people.
- Defrost in the fridge, covered, on the bottom shelf — never on the worktop.
- Keep separate boards, bowls and utensils, and clean them with hot soapy water after every meal.
- Wash your hands after handling the food, the bowl, and after picking up after your dog.
- Don't leave uneaten raw food down — lift it after 20–30 minutes.
- Be extra careful about face-licking if there are babies or vulnerable people in the house.
⚠️ Important reminder
This article is for educational purposes and does not replace veterinary advice. If your dog has a health condition, takes regular medication, is a puppy, or is pregnant, speak to your vet before changing their diet.
The Bottom Line
Raw dog food in the UK costs anything from under £20 a month for a toy breed to well over £100 for a Labrador, and delivered subscription brands sit at the premium end in exchange for convenience. The intro discounts make it cheap to try; the full price is what you're really signing up for. And for some dogs — those on immune-suppressing treatment, with kidney disease or pancreatitis, or living with vulnerable people — the right answer is a different diet, chosen with your vet.
Work out the cost per day for your dog's weight, compare it honestly with what you spend now, and decide with your eyes open. That's the whole idea behind Maggie Search.
Try raw for less with Bella + Duke
New UK customers: up to £53.88 off your first box, then money off your second and third. Get your dog's personalised plan and use our code at checkout.
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