Butternut Box or tails.com: which is cheaper for my dog?

tails.com, for all three dog sizes we looked at. Comparing tails.com's own example dogs with Butternut Box's estimator on 21 October 2026: a 5 kg dog cost £0.51 a day on tails.com against £2.24 on Butternut Box, a 14 kg dog £1.07 against £2.34 (Butternut's 12–15 kg band), and a 33 kg dog on dry and wet food £2.27 against £2.83(Butternut's 28–33 kg band). The gap shrinks as dogs get bigger. Your exact price for either brand appears only after sign-up.

Both brands checked 21 October 2026Both buttons below may earn us a commission, and are shown equally. How we make money

Evidence basis: 15 sources, limits statedShow

Sources checked

Butternut Box homepage cost estimator (4–8, 12–15 and 28–33 kg, age 2) · 21 October 2026
Butternut help: delivery days and charges · 21 October 2026
Butternut help: cut-off for changing or cancelling · 21 October 2026
Butternut help: our recipes · 21 October 2026
Butternut help: calorie content · 21 October 2026
tails.com homepage: example dogs and prices · 21 October 2026
tails.com sign-up quiz (to the email step) · 21 October 2026
tails.com pricing · 21 October 2026
tails.com delivery options · 21 October 2026
tails.com terms and conditions (offers) · 21 October 2026
UK Pet Food: choosing the right food for your dog · 21 October 2026
UK Pet Food: response on dry pet food · 21 October 2026
WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee: guidelines on selecting pet foods (2021) · 21 October 2026
Trustpilot: Butternut Box · 21 October 2026
Trustpilot: tails.com · 21 October 2026

Limits

tails.com's prices are its own four example dogs, not quotes for our profiles: its quiz asks for an email address before it shows a price, and we entered none.
The tails.com examples do not give an age, and each has a health goal (dental, skin and coat, or joints). The 33 kg example includes wet food, so a dry-only plan for that dog would cost less.
Butternut's figures are its estimator's prices by weight band for a 2-year-old dog, before delivery fees and recipe surcharges.
Butternut does not publish its delivery fee in advance, so 30-day totals leave it out.
Both brands can change prices; tails.com says its price may change with inflation.

Butternut Box

Food: Cooked fresh, delivered frozen
5 kg dog: £2.24 a day (21 October 2026)
15 kg dog: £2.34 a day (21 October 2026)
30 kg dog: £2.83 a day (21 October 2026)
Storage: Freezer

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tails.com

Food: Tailored dry kibble
5 kg example dog: £0.51 a day (21 October 2026)
14 kg example dog: £1.07 a day (21 October 2026)
33 kg example dog: £2.27 a day, incl. wet (21 October 2026)
Storage: Cupboard

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Which is cheaper for my dog? Cost by dog size

We matched three dogs, each aged 2, to Butternut Box's estimator band and to the nearest of the four example dogs tails.com prints on its homepage. Both brands' prices were read on 21 October 2026. 30 days = price a day × 30.

Butternut Box and tails.com cost a day and for 30 days, by dog size
Our dog	Butternut Box a day	Butternut 30 days	tails.com a day	tails.com 30 days	Difference a day
Small dog, about 5 kg	£2.244–8 kg band	£2.24 × 30 = £67.20	£0.51Luna, 5 kg, dry food	£0.51 × 30 = £15.30	£1.73 (£51.90 over 30 days)
Medium dog, about 15 kg	£2.3412–15 kg band	£2.34 × 30 = £70.20	£1.07Roo, 14 kg, dry food	£1.07 × 30 = £32.10	£1.27 (£38.10 over 30 days)
Large dog, about 30 kg	£2.8328–33 kg band	£2.83 × 30 = £84.90	£2.27Rue, 33 kg, dry and wet food	£2.27 × 30 = £68.10	£0.56 (£16.80 over 30 days)

Small dog, about 5 kg
Butternut Box: £2.24 a day; × 30 = £67.20 (4–8 kg band)
tails.com: £0.51 a day; × 30 = £15.30 (Luna, 5 kg, dry food)
Difference: £1.73 a day, £51.90 over 30 days
Medium dog, about 15 kg
Butternut Box: £2.34 a day; × 30 = £70.20 (12–15 kg band)
tails.com: £1.07 a day; × 30 = £32.10 (Roo, 14 kg, dry food)
Difference: £1.27 a day, £38.10 over 30 days
Large dog, about 30 kg
Butternut Box: £2.83 a day; × 30 = £84.90 (28–33 kg band)
tails.com: £2.27 a day; × 30 = £68.10 (Rue, 33 kg, dry and wet food)
Difference: £0.56 a day, £16.80 over 30 days

Butternut: standard price from the “Get a feel for fresh” estimator on butternutbox.com, dog aged 2, before delivery fees and recipe surcharges. tails.com: example dogs in the “Even the price is tailored” section of the tails.com homepage, which quotes £15.47, £32.61 and £68.97 a month for these three (a longer month than our 30 days). Both read 21 October 2026. Brand figures, not quotes for your dog.

How close are the tails.com examples to our dogs?

About 5 kg: Luna (Toy, 5 kg, Dental Care). Same weight. Dry food only, with a dental care goal.
About 15 kg: Roo (Medium, 14 kg, Skin & Coat). 1 kg lighter than our profile. Dry food only, with a skin and coat goal.
About 30 kg: Rue (Large, 33 kg, Joint Care). 3 kg heavier than our profile, and the price includes wet food as well as dry, so a dry-only plan would cost less.

What tails.com's quiz showed for our three dogs

We ran each profile through the tails.com sign-up quiz (male, 2 years old, neutered, body “just right”, 30 to 60 minutes of walks a day, no health conditions, dry food only). Before the price, the quiz showed a daily calorie target: 473 kcal for 5 kg, 796 kcal for 15 kg, and 1,339 kcal for 30 kg. It then asked for an email address to reveal the plan and price, so we stopped there.

As a cross-check on portion size, at Butternut's published average of 130 kcal per 100 g those calories would take about 360 g, 610 g, and 1030 g of Butternut a day. Butternut sets its own portion, which it says is deliberately lower than many feeding guides, and its estimator price already reflects that. For a calorie figure for your own dog, try our dog food portion calculator.

Head to head

Compared on	Butternut Box	tails.com	Edge, and why
Food type	Cooked fresh meals, delivered frozen	Tailored dry kibble; wet food optional	Depends on what you want to feed
5 kg dog, a day	£2.24 (£67.20 for 30 days)	£0.51 (£15.30 for 30 days)	tails.com: lower cost per day for a 5 kg dog at the prices we saw
15 kg dog, a day	£2.34 (£70.20 for 30 days)	£1.07 for a 14 kg example (£32.10)	tails.com: lower cost per day for a 15 kg dog at the prices we saw
30 kg dog, a day	£2.83 (£84.90 for 30 days)	£2.27 for a 33 kg example with wet food (£68.10)	tails.com: lower cost per day at the prices we saw, by £0.56
Storage	Freezer; up to a week in the fridge unopened, two days once opened	Cupboard	tails.com: no freezer space needed
Delivery after the first box	A standard fee, shown in your account, not in advance	Free on mainland UK (Yodel, 3-day window); nominated day £3.99 (DPD)	tails.com: standard delivery stays free on mainland UK
First-box offer	Estimator showed £1.76 a day for the first box at 12–15 kg; no cap stated in what we read	60% off the first box and 30% off the second; up to £75 off per order	Depends: offers change, so compare the price from box three
Changing or cancelling	Until 11pm two days before delivery (three days where delivery takes two days)	Any time from your dashboard before the 'last date for changes' shown for each box	Even: both let you stop before a cut-off
Recipes	12 recipes, 9 grain-free; four carry a surcharge	One blend made for your dog from beef, chicken, lamb and salmon; grain-free option	Depends: a choice of set recipes or one tailored blend
Trustpilot	4.8 out of 5 from 50,874 reviews	4.4 out of 5 from 47,749 reviews	Butternut Box: higher Trustpilot score on 21 October 2026

Food type
Butternut Box:
Cooked fresh meals, delivered frozen
tails.com:
Tailored dry kibble; wet food optional
Depends on what you want to feed
5 kg dog, a day
Butternut Box:
£2.24 (£67.20 for 30 days)
tails.com:
£0.51 (£15.30 for 30 days)
tails.com: lower cost per day for a 5 kg dog at the prices we saw
15 kg dog, a day
Butternut Box:
£2.34 (£70.20 for 30 days)
tails.com:
£1.07 for a 14 kg example (£32.10)
tails.com: lower cost per day for a 15 kg dog at the prices we saw
30 kg dog, a day
Butternut Box:
£2.83 (£84.90 for 30 days)
tails.com:
£2.27 for a 33 kg example with wet food (£68.10)
tails.com: lower cost per day at the prices we saw, by £0.56
Storage
Butternut Box:
Freezer; up to a week in the fridge unopened, two days once opened
tails.com:
Cupboard
tails.com: no freezer space needed
Delivery after the first box
Butternut Box:
A standard fee, shown in your account, not in advance
tails.com:
Free on mainland UK (Yodel, 3-day window); nominated day £3.99 (DPD)
tails.com: standard delivery stays free on mainland UK
First-box offer
Butternut Box:
Estimator showed £1.76 a day for the first box at 12–15 kg; no cap stated in what we read
tails.com:
60% off the first box and 30% off the second; up to £75 off per order
Depends: offers change, so compare the price from box three
Changing or cancelling
Butternut Box:
Until 11pm two days before delivery (three days where delivery takes two days)
tails.com:
Any time from your dashboard before the 'last date for changes' shown for each box
Even: both let you stop before a cut-off
Recipes
Butternut Box:
12 recipes, 9 grain-free; four carry a surcharge
tails.com:
One blend made for your dog from beef, chicken, lamb and salmon; grain-free option
Depends: a choice of set recipes or one tailored blend
Trustpilot
Butternut Box:
4.8 out of 5 from 50,874 reviews
tails.com:
4.4 out of 5 from 47,749 reviews
Butternut Box: higher Trustpilot score on 21 October 2026

Round by round

Small dog, about 5 kg

Small dogs see the biggest gap. Butternut's estimator barely changes between weight bands at the small end (£2.24 a day for 4–8 kg, against £2.34for 12–15 kg), so a small dog pays close to the medium-dog price. tails.com's 5 kg example, Luna, is on dry food with a dental care goal.

Edge: tails.com, because tails.com's 5 kg example cost £0.51 a day against £2.24 on Butternut Box's estimator, £51.90 less over 30 days

Medium dog, about 15 kg

Over 30 days that is £70.20 on Butternut Box and £32.10 on tails.com. The tails.com example, Roo, weighs 14 kg and has a skin and coat goal; a 15 kg dog with no goal may price slightly differently.

Edge: tails.com, because tails.com's 14 kg example cost £1.07 a day against £2.34 for a 12–15 kg dog on Butternut Box, £38.10 less over 30 days

Large dog, about 30 kg

The gap is smallest here: £0.56 a day, or £16.80 over 30 days. tails.com's example, Rue, is heavier than our 30 kg dog and gets wet food as well as dry, so a dry-only plan for a 30 kg dog is likely to cost less than £2.27. Butternut's first box for this band showed £2.12 a day.

Edge: tails.com, because tails.com's 33 kg example cost £2.27 a day, including wet food, against £2.83 for a 28–33 kg dog on Butternut Box

Storage and delivery

Butternut Box arrives frozen and needs a freezer drawer; meals keep up to a week in the fridge unopened, two days once opened. Butternut says there is no delivery fee on the trial box and a standard fee on every later box, shown in your account's order summary (Butternut delivery charges). tails.com says standard delivery is free on mainland UK, with £3.99 for a nominated day (tails.com delivery).

Edge: tails.com, because its dry food goes in the cupboard and standard delivery is free on mainland UK, while Butternut needs freezer space and charges delivery after the trial box

Offers, cut-offs and price changes

tails.com offered 60% off the first box and 30% off the second, up to £75 off and 20 kg of food per offer order. Butternut's estimator showed first-box prices about a quarter below its standard price. Butternut's cut-off is 11pm two days before delivery (three days where delivery takes two days); tails.com shows a “last date for changes” for each box. tails.com charges a fixed monthly price based on your dog's profile, which changes if the profile changes; prices may change with inflation.

Edge: depends on your dog, because both discount the first boxes and let you stop before a cut-off, so the ongoing price matters more than the offer

Fresh vs tailored dry: is one better for my dog?

The evidence we found does not show either format is healthier for a healthy dog. UK Pet Food, the trade body for UK pet food makers, says the key consideration is whether a food is “complete”, and that complete foods in any format are formulated to provide all the nutrients a healthy pet needs. It also says all complete foods, wet, raw or dry, fall under the same legislation, which it puts at over 50 pieces (UK Pet Food on dry food).

The WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee guideline on selecting pet foods (updated March 2021) does not rank formats either. It tells owners to check the food is labelled complete and to ask who formulates it, whether the company employs a qualified nutritionist and what quality control it does. Butternut says its meals are complete and balanced to FEDIAF guidelines (Butternut recipes); tails.com's quiz says all its kibble blends provide complete, balanced nutrition.

So the choice is mostly about cost, storage and what your dog will eat. Fresh food is wetter, so you feed more of it by weight. If your dog has a health condition or a diagnosed allergy, ask your vet before switching, and if you are worried about your dog's weight or digestion after a change, contact your vet. Our guide to how to choose dog foodcovers labels and the “complete” statement.

Is Butternut Box worth paying more than tails.com?

Only if you specifically want cooked fresh food. For a 15 kg dog, Butternut Box cost £38.10 more than the tails.com example over 30 days at the prices we saw on 21 October 2026, before Butternut's delivery fee. Both describe their food as complete, so the extra pays for the format, not for a nutrition standard tails.com lacks.

If you like fresh food but not the price, Butternut suggests a mixed plan with other food, and its help centre explains how to work out calories when you feed half a pouch. Use our pet cost calculator to see the food bill alongside insurance and vet costs, or the dog food cost guide for a wider view.

Neither fits?

If neither suits your budget or your freezer, compare other delivered brands (raw, air-dried and subscribe-and-save), or buy a complete dry food by the bag: the ones in our dog food comparison cost £0.57 to £1.54 a day for a 20 kg dog.

Bottom line

tails.com cost less a day than Butternut Box for every dog size we checked on 21 October 2026, by £0.56 to £1.73 a day, and needs no freezer. Pick Butternut Box if you want cooked fresh food and can absorb the extra; for either brand, judge the price from box three, not the first-box offer.

Frequently asked questions

Is Butternut Box expensive?

Compared with dry food, yes. Butternut's own estimator showed £2.24 a day for a 4–8 kg dog, £2.34 for 12–15 kg and £2.83 for 28–33 kg on 21 October 2026, which is £67.20 to £84.90 for 30 days before delivery fees. tails.com's own example dogs cost £0.51 to £2.27 a day, and the complete dry foods in our dog food comparison cost £0.57 to £1.54 a day for a 20 kg dog.

Is fresh dog food better than kibble?

Neither UK Pet Food nor the WSAVA guideline we read says one format is healthier. UK Pet Food, the trade body for UK pet food makers, says the key thing is whether a food is 'complete', and that complete foods in any format are made to provide all the nutrients a healthy dog needs. Butternut Box and tails.com both describe their food as complete. If your dog has a health condition, ask your vet which diet suits it.

What fresh dog food is WSAVA approved?

The WSAVA guideline on choosing a pet food that we read does not approve or name brands. It gives questions to ask any maker: is the food labelled complete, who formulates it, does the company employ a qualified nutritionist, and what quality control does it do. You can put those questions to Butternut Box or tails.com before you subscribe.

Is tails.com legit?

Yes, it is an established UK subscription. Its Trustpilot page showed 4.4 out of 5 from 47,749 reviews on 21 October 2026. The complaints we read there were mostly about late deliveries and trials that turned into subscriptions, so note the date for changes before each box.

How long does Butternut Box last?

Butternut says meals keep up to a week in the fridge unopened, two days once opened. Otherwise keep them frozen and defrost overnight in the fridge. tails.com's dry food is kept in the cupboard.

Is Butternut Box raw dog food?

No. Butternut Box meals are cooked, then delivered frozen. tails.com sells dry kibble, with wet food as an optional extra.

How we compared · 15 sources, checked 21 October 2026Show

What we did

On 21 October 2026we read Butternut Box's homepage estimator for the 4–8, 12–15 and 28–33 kg bands (age 2) and its help pages on delivery, cut-offs, recipes and calories. We read the four example dogs and prices on the tails.com homepage, its pricing, delivery and terms pages, and ran three dog profiles (5, 15 and 30 kg, aged 2) through the tails.com sign-up quiz as far as the email step. Daily prices are the brands' own; 30-day figures are price a day × 30. We also read UK Pet Food and WSAVA guidance on complete foods and both brands' Trustpilot pages.

What we did not do

enter an email address or any personal data, complete either brand's sign-up, get a quote for a real dog, or feed either food to a dog of our own. We could not see Butternut's delivery fee, which it shows only in your account. We do not score either brand.