What Is The Best Alternative To Butternut Box?

Last Updated on February 5, 2026 by Kieran Beckles

Are you ready to switch to a new food but want to know which Butternut Box alternative is best?

There’s been a welcome shift towards fresh dog food over the past couple of years in the UK and Europe, as dog owners look to adopt a fresher approach to feeding their pets.

If you’re familiar with the fresh dog food scene in the UK, you’ll almost certainly have heard of Butternut Box. They’re perhaps the leading fresh dog food delivery service in the UK, having launched their tailor-made dog food in 2015.

However, Butternut Box is facing increased competition from other dog food brands that are also offering fresh dog food.

Before we go any further, I want to point out that I believe Butternut Box is the best dog food delivery company in the UK. Long-time readers and subscribers will be aware that we’ve fed Butternut Box to Copper and Skye over the past five years.

But we’ve also had the chance to try other dog food subscription services through social media campaigns.

In this article, I’m going to highlight some of the best alternatives to Butternut Box in the UK if you’re looking for dog food similar to Butternut Box.

The Best Butternut Box Alternative?

If you’ve decided to ditch dry or wet food and are looking for dog food similar to Butternut Box, we’ve highlighted some alternatives.

Our top picks are Pure Pet Food and Different Dog, as they offer tailored fresh dog food recipes for British dogs.

Pure is an affordable air-dried dog food option for pet parents who want to stick with dry dog food but want to feed healthy meals.

They’ve got an excellent range of recipes and some good reviews from dog owners with fussy pets or pups with sensitive tummies.

Pure is priced at $84 a month, which is significantly cheaper than Butternut Box. Over the course of a year, I’d save £928.80.

Different Dog offers some of the best dog food in the UK and is a more than worthy rival to Butternut Box.

They offer human-grade meals to British dog owners in eco-friendly packaging. Different Dog offers over 10 recipes.

While Different Dog used to be more expensive than Butternut Box, I was surprised to discover a shift when I updated this review in 2026.

Copper and Skye’s Different Dog subscription costs £110.40 a month, while Butternut Box charges me £161.40 a month.

Ultimately, I’d encourage you to go with Pure based on service and price if you’re set on making a change.

Pure Pet Food

Pure Pet Food offers dry dog food for pet parents who want to feed their dogs meals made with natural ingredients but don’t want to deal with freezer space.

They use only human-grade ingredients in their recipes, which are cooked at low temperatures to create their fresh dog food.

Pure Pet Food, like Butternut Box, requires dog owners to complete a sign-up questionnaire to help them get to know their dog and their habits.

Unlike Butternut Box, Pure Pet Food sends your gently cooked dog food in a bag with a scoop for the food and the water. I had to mix them to create my Klee Kai’s meals.

Once I finished mixing, I served the fresh dog food to your dog and stored the bag in a cool, dry space such as a cupboard.

To feed Pure to your dog, you won’t need to stress about freezer space. I think that’s a big pro. You can stick to dry food made with natural ingredients and tailored to your dog.

Copper and Skye enjoyed their Pure meals during our month-long test, but there’s no denying that the dry food looks less appetizing than Butternut Box’s meals.

That said, it’s cheaper, takes up less space, and Pure still has a stellar reputation among dog owners. Pure is a big hit with picky dogs and dogs with sensitive tummies.

For that reason, I feel confident suggesting Pure Pet Food as an alternative to Butternut Box. You can read our Butternut Box Vs Pure dog food review here.

Different Dog

If you’ve been feeding Butternut Box and you’re ready to make a change while sticking with fresh dog food, Different Dog could be a great option.

Different Dog offers a truly premium dog food service, with hand-cooked meals made from human-grade ingredients and shipped directly to your door.

Their meals contain the highest quality ingredients and are gently cooked at just over 90 degrees before being frozen and shipped to your door.

Different Dog offers a wide range of fresh dog meals, as well as a Health+ range that specifically targets health conditions.

Once you’ve answered all their questions, you can choose your Different Dog’s meals and set the delivery size and frequency.

Once you receive your Different Dog meals, you’ll need to pop the majority of them in the freezer. You’ll need a lot of space to store their meal pouches.

It found it a little messy to serve thawed food into your dog’s bowl and to store half-open meal pouches in your fridge.

In our search for the best dog food for Copper and Skye, we gave Different Dog a try for about six months before switching back to Butternut Box.

Copper and Skye enjoyed eating Different Dog just as much as Butternut Box’s meals. I wouldn’t say there was much difference in their mealtime excitement.

Different Dog offers some of the best fresh dog foods in the pet food industry in the UK, but most dog owners will likely find their meals quite pricey. We paid $110.40.

I’d 100% recommend giving Different Dog a try. Of all the pet foods I’ve reviewed, they’re one of the best. Their food is certainly on a par with Butternut Box, if not better.

To learn more about how Different Dog compares to Butternut Box, you can read my comparison dog food review here.

Naturaw

The idea of raw dog food is controversial. You’ll find some dog owners who swear by the benefits of a raw-fed diet, while other pet parents (or professionals) have reservations about feeding raw.

We’ve always been interested in a raw food diet, but ultimately didn’t want to deal with the hassles of meat-based meals.

Naturaw is a fresh dog food delivery company that offers a convenient way to feed raw. They use 100% British meat that is sourced from high-welfare British farms.

They use compostable, plastic-free packaging and are trailblazers in their sustainable practices (their factory is solar-powered!).

Naturaw’s meals are stored in recyclable packaging that you’ll have to open and scoop the raw meat from the pouch into your dog’s bowls.

As dog owners, we strongly believe in feeding fresh dog food, and we were inspired to try raw food after learning more about Naturaw.

We loved that they use human-grade ingredients in a raw food diet, and your dog food is delivered directly to your door.

What sets their dog food delivery service apart is its eco-friendly approach (by far the most sustainable among the dog food brands we’ve encountered).

While their green approach is great, Copper and Skye enjoyed their dog food, which came as a surprise. Previously, our Alaskan Klee Kai dogs have been reluctant to try raw food, but Copper and Skye loved Naturaw.

Like many dog foods that use human-grade ingredients tailored to your dog, their service isn’t cheap. You’ll have to pay more than regular dog food companies that offer dry dog food or wet food.

Forthglade

When you research Butternut Box, you’ll often see their dog food pitched against Forthglade.

They’re a well-established dog food brand in the UK, thanks to their range of wet dog food, dry kibble, fresh meals and other supplementary products.

Forthglade’s unique selling point is perhaps that their dog food is grain-free. So whether you opt for dry kibble or wet dog food, your dog won’t be eating grain!

Their website explains that their recipes cater to dogs of all ages, whether you’ve got a puppy, an adult, or a senior dog.

Dog owners who want to adopt a fresher approach will be encouraged to learn that Forthglade’s recipes don’t contain any additives or nasties.

They only use natural ingredients that are cooked in the kitchens in Devon before being sold online or in your local supermarket.

Forthglade doesn’t offer the same level of customization as Butternut Box, Pure Pet Food, or Naturaw.

You’ll need to pay close attention to your dog’s meal and see how much they’ll need to eat based on their breed or weight.

If you don’t want to faff around with a sign-up questionnaire, you may appreciate Forthglade’s frictionless approach. You can even order Forthglade from Amazon!

We’ve tried Forthglade’s complete meals with mixed success. Copper liked his Forthglade meals, but Skye was a bit more particular with their food.

That said, I’ve noticed many dog owners giving Forthglade good reviews, so I wanted to include it as an option for British pet parents.

If you don’t want the hassle of answering questions about your dog, you may prefer the simplicity of heading to Amazon and placing an order.

While their meals aren’t tailored to your dog, they still use quality ingredients, so you can feel good about your dog’s food.

How Does Butternut Box Compare To Alternatives

Why We Stuck With Butternut Box

Perfect For Picky Dogs

Copper and Skye are fussy eaters and the latter has a sensitive tummy that didn’t do well on a dry dog food or wet dog food diet.

As business owners and parents, we didn’t have time to make home cooked meals but we really wanted to feed freshly cooked meals. That’s how we found Butternut Box!

Convenience

Butternut Box has kept Copper and Skye fed for the best part of five years, and whenever we’ve considered changing their diet, we’ve always returned to Butternut Box.

Copper and Skye love their dog food, and we appreciate the convenience of delivery. It’s super convenient for dog owners who lead busy lives but want their dogs to eat home-cooked meals.

Ever-Expanding Menu

Butternut Box is constantly innovating and expanding its range of recipes. Since Skye can be fussy, we love the ability to rotate the protein source she eats.

Butternut Box gently cooks their human-grade ingredients to lock in nutritional goodness and flavour before the meals are frozen and shipped to your door.

There’s no denying that fresh food costs more than dry food or wet food but we’ve saved a lot of money on vet bills. There’s no dash to the emergency vet on the weekend because Skye isn’t eating!

Speak To Butternut Box

If you’ve been feeding Butternut Box to your dog and you’re thinking of making a change, I’d encourage you to give Butternut Box a call to see if they can suggest any changes before you make a change to your dog’s diet.

On the other hand, if you haven’t fed Butternut Box to your dog and you’re thinking about signing up for the first time, I’d encourage you to give it a try.

Wrapping Up

We’ve reached the end of our article highlighting the best Butternut Box alternatives.

My recommendation is Pure Pet Food if you want to cancel your Butternut Box subscription and make significant savings.

Alternatively, you could consider Different Dog to stick with human-grade, fresh dog food.