Butternut Box Vs Different Dog (2026): Which Is Better?

Last Updated on April 9, 2026 by Kieran Beckles

Are you looking to ditch traditional dog food in favor of fresh dog food, but you can’t decide between Butternut Box and Different Dog?

There are a lot of great fresh dog food brands in the UK offering dog owners the chance to feed fresh dog food meals to their dogs, whether you’ve got fussy pups like my Alaskan Klee Kai or an older pet with underlying health issues.

I’ve had the chance to order from two of the UK’s leading pet food companies and feed their fresh dog foods to Copper and Skye, see their freshly cooked meals firsthand, test out their subscription service and see the benefits of their meals to my Klee Kai.

Copper and Skye have eaten both Butternut Box and Different Dog during different spells, and we’re going to start by revealing our pick for the best dog food delivery company, before we provide a more detailed insight into both brands based on our experience ordering from them.

If you’re familiar with Copper and Skye, you’ll know they’re fussy eaters, and we struggled when it came to feeding them store-bought kibble, so we ended up making the switch to fresh pet food, and we haven’t looked back in the past five years.

So, let’s take a look at both Butternut Box and Different Dog to see how each fresh dog food delivery brand works and all the recipes they’ve got on offer.

UPDATED: April 2026
We updated this review in April 2026 to reflect Butternut Box and Different Dog's latest pricing after our 30-day test on our Klee Kai. We added an at-a-glance table comparing Butternut Box and Different Dog. As always, this article follows our dog food testing process to ensure accurate, honest, and experience-based recommendations.

Butternut Box Vs Different Dog Comparison Table 2026

Butternut Box Vs Different Dog: Our Pick

While I believe you won’t go wrong with either of these fresh dog food companies, my top pick would be Butternut Box. I updated this review in 2026 after first trying these two brands all the way back in 2019. I still believe they provide the best fresh dog food service.

Butternut Box continues to win the taste test. Copper was equally happy with both dog food delivery companies. But he’s more food-motivated than Skye.

We’ve experienced a lot of issues with Skye and her pickiness in the past with dog food. So, she was the real litmus test. Skye has never refused any of her Butternut Box meals, irrespective of the recipe. This wasn’t the case with Different Dog, as she turned her nose up at some meals.

I found it much easier to store Butternut Box than Different Dog. Butternut Box freezes its meals in plastic packaging that can typically be stored in one of your freezer shelves. They slot in nicely.

Different Dog uses rectangular cardboard packaging that isn’t as seamless to store. I had to invest in a second freezer to fit all their meals (and that was just two weeks’ worth of food). So my second reason for opting for Butternut Box over Different Dog would be the storage factor.

When I first reviewed these two brands for this article in 2021, Butternut Box to represented better overall value. However, Different Dog appears to have worked to bring that price down over the years since we first encountered this high-quality dog food company.

Remarkably, Different Dog is now cheaper than Butternut Box. I paid £110.40 a month / £1.84 a day for Different Dog, while Butternut Box charged me £121.20 a month / £2.02 a day. That’s a difference of £129.60 a year.

Butternut Box and Different Dog still cost more than your average dog food brand at your local supermarket, but it’s worth the cost to see my Klee Kai excited about their food. Overall, my pick remains Butternut Box because they’re my Klee Kai’s preferred fresh food choice. But there’s little to separate these two brands in 2026.

Butternut Box

Butternut Box is a fresh dog food company who’ve been providing high-quality food to dogs since they started in the UK in 2016. Since launching their business, they’ve fed an incredible 100,000 dogs in the UK and have an average rating of 4.8 stars based on nearly 50,000 reviews on Trustpilot.

Butternut Box uses human-quality ingredients in their pre-portioned meals, so you can feel confident that your dog is consuming human-grade meat alongside fresh fruit and vegetables in gently cooked recipes formulated by veterinary nutritionists.

You won’t find any additives, nasties or other preservatives in Butternut Box’s meals. They formulate their human-grade meals with the help of vets and pet nutritionists, so I had peace of mind Copper and Skye were eating healthy dog food.

Since we first tried Butternut Box, they’ve grown their range of recipes from four to 10 (which is something we really love!). With a picky eater like Skye, I believe variety in recipes is important to keep my dog motivated.

Butternut Box asks dog owners to fill out their sign-up questionnaire so they can get to know your dog before they recommend certain fresh food meals based on your answers. However, I was able to decide which meals to choose. This is important because I noticed Butternut Box charges different prices for different recipes.

I like that Butternut Box will portion your dog’s meals before they’re shipped directly to your door, and there’s no preparation involved at mealtime. You rip and service direct into your dog’s bowl!

Our Experience

When we initially switched from kibble to fresh dog meals, Butternut Box was our first choice. They had a reputation as one of the best fresh dog food brands in the UK, and we wanted to see whether Butternut Box’s fresh food meals were worth the hype.

When we first signed up, they had four different recipes on offer. At the time, that number felt like a lot compared to other fresh dog food brands in the UK. Copper and Skye enjoyed all four human-grade recipes, and it was great to rotate them to keep my dogs stimulated at mealtime.

Now that they’ve got 10 recipes, including some grain-free Butternut Box dog food, Copper and Skye are spoilt for choice. Their favorites are Pork This Way, Wham Bam Lamb, and You’ve Got Game.

Seeing as my Klee Kai are picky eaters, I found in the past that they would grow bored with other dog foods. This didn’t happen with Butternut Box.

Copper and Skye would lick their bowls clean (a great sight to see if you’ve got fussy eaters) every time we retested their food to keep this article up to date. While your Butternut Box meals will take up a shelf in your freezer, you can adjust your delivery schedule to every 2 or 4 weeks, depending on your preference.

Of all the dog food delivery companies we’ve tried, I believe Butternut Box offers the best fresh dog food overall, given the quality and price. We believe paying £121.40 a month for Butternut Box fresh dog food is a great investment.

Different Dog

Different Dog is another example of a fresh dog food company that offers freshly cooked meals that are made in their kitchen and delivered to your door.

Different Dog uses freshly cooked 100% British meat in their recipes, which are designed by veterinary nutritionists and lovingly prepared to create premium fresh food meals. They don’t use grains, legumes or fillers in their dog food, which sets them apart from most fresh dog foods.

Different Dog uses human-grade ingredients such as high-quality meat, fresh fruit and vegetables and superfoods in their human-grade recipes that are taste-tested by their team.

Just like Butternut Box, you have to fill out a questionnaire so Different Dog can learn more about your dog, but they’ve got 12 different recipes on offer, including some options from their Health+ range.

Different Dog offers a carbon-neutral delivery service to ensure your dog’s meals will get to your doorstep in an eco-friendly way, and they use compostable packaging so you can do your bit for the planet.

Different Dogs are keen to emphasize their high nutritional rating on their website when pitted against other brands in the country, including Butternut Box.

Our Experience

We took a break from feeding Butternut Box for around eight months at the end of 2021 and 2022. Butternut Box had a temporary issue that delayed one of our boxes, so we contacted Different Dog to try them.

There was little doubt that the Different Dog meals looked and tasted like the real thing (yes, I did have a taste, seeing as their website says they taste-test their meals). Copper was equally as passionate about Different Dog as he was about Butternut Box (aka lots of tail wagging).

Skye is the pickier of the two, and, surprisingly, her mealtime excitement diminished ever so slightly with her Different Dog meals. She preferred Butternut Box.

While we could tell Different Dog’s meals were clearly made with human-grade ingredients, we found them more difficult to store in our freezer. They used containers with awkward shapes, so we had to invest in a small freezer to store our dog food.

We also found that the Different Dog meal containers didn’t hold up well when defrosted and would become stained and messy in the fridge. However, they were more planet-friendly than plastic packaging.

Different Dog has an unrivaled range of recipes that is peerless amongst dog food companies in the UK, but they’re more expensive, and we paid around £110.40 per month to feed Different Dog to our Alaskan Klee Kai.

Who Should Pick Which Brand

Butternut Box Best for:

• Easy-to-peel pouches
• Recipe variety
• Picky dogs
• Pet parents who want a smooth sign-up process

Different Dog Best for:

• Health range
• Compostable meal packets
• Best price
• Hands-on customer service

Butternut Box Vs Different Dog FAQ

Alternatives You Should Consider 

If you’ve previously fed Butternut Box and Different Dog, and you’re looking for an alternative to these two dog food brands, there are some other options.

I’ve used Pure Pet Food successfully with my Alaskan Klee Kai dogs. They offer air-dried dog food in powder form that you mix with water to make meals.

Pure is more affordable than Butternut Box and Different Dog, without sacrificing on high-quality ingredients or subjecting your dog to any additives, fillers or nasties.

When I fed Pure to my Klee Kai dogs, they were happy to eat it. Copper was a big fan of Pure, while Skye was content to eat it.

We’ve had great success with raw dog food since switching from fresh dog food.

I’ve reviewed a number of raw dog food companies in the UK, but the standout choice is Naturaw.

They’ve got great recipes, a sustainable approach and excellent customer reviews.

See Butternut Box And Different Dog In Action

If you’re still undecided about whether to go for Butternut Box or Different Dog, you can watch my YouTube review, where I put their fresh dog food to the test with my Klee Kai.

Conclusion

We’ve reached the end of our Butternut Box Vs Different Dog comparison dog food review. If I were picking between the two dog food delivery companies, I’d go for Butternut Box.

In fact, at the time of writing this article, we were paying for Butternut Box meals (full disclosure: we have worked with both dog food delivery brands on a gifted arrangement in the past, but these agreements have since expired).

While Different Dog is another top dog food delivery service, we rate Butternut Box slightly higher and consider it the best dog food delivery company in the UK.

However, upon updating this review in 2026, Different Dog is now cheaper than Butternut Box. We were surprised to learn this, but that’s another consideration.

If your top priority is getting the best price for high-quality dog food, Different Dog wins. However, my picky eaters still preferred Butternut Box.