Not long ago, few of us would have thought twice about feeding our dogs dry or canned dog food bought from the supermarket.

In recent years, though, the rise in health problems in our fur-kids has led many dog parents to question their dog’s food. With increasing health issues (like heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis) seen in the modern-day dog, several animal experts have started saying that diet may be to blame.

Making the switch to fresh food is a great choice for your dog’s overall health and wellness. But there are several factors to consider when you’re deciding between fresh dog food delivery services.

These include things like ingredients, cost, ease of storage, and whether they offer partial meal plans.

In this review, I will be comparing two of the best fresh dog food companies: Nom Nom (formerly known as Nom Nom Now) and The Farmer’s Dog.

They’re both great brands that provide dogs with customized meals made from wholesome, human-grade ingredients. However, choosing between these two services can be difficult because they have a number of similarities.

Find out what the key differences are so that you can decide which is better for your dog.

What’s the problem with dry dog food?

Unfortunately, a number of animal experts have examined dry dog food and found that traditional kibble is often the canine equivalent of human junk food. This is because of a number of factors:

Low-quality ingredients. To keep prices affordable, dog food is usually full of low-quality ingredients like diseased meats, animal by-products, and grain fillers.

It’s highly processed. The way it’s prepared further reduces the nutritional value of the ingredients. To increase its shelf-life, the base ingredients are cooked at high temperatures and dried to the point where 90% of the moisture is removed.

Additives and preservatives are added. It’s then loaded with preservatives to make it last even longer. This may make feeding our dogs a lot more convenient, but it’s definitely not healthier for them.

Regular dog food has also been linked to obesity due to its high carbohydrate content, and some has even been found to contain potentially cancer-causing ingredients.

Is canned dog food any better?

With higher levels of proteins and fewer carbohydrates found in canned dog food, this makes it a slightly better alternative to kibble. However, it’s still highly processed food that may contain harmful preservatives and possible low-quality meat.

Why choose fresh dog food over dry or canned dog food?

Fresh dog food is a much better alternative for your dog’s overall well-being because it’s made from real whole-food ingredients. The health benefits for your dog could include:

1. Healthier digestive system
2. Maintaining a healthy weight
3. Better energy levels
4. Supporting the development of a healthy coat
5. Prevention of diet-related health issues and increasing lifespan

One study has even found that feeding dogs fresh meals compared to dry food can increase their life expectancy by up to three years.

Nom Nom Meals (left), The Farmer’s Dog (right)

What are fresh dog food delivery services?

Fresh dog food delivery services offer quality dog food, freshly prepared and delivered to your door. The benefits of using these services include:

Human-grade ingredients. They prepare meals for dogs that are made from real human-grade ingredients (no nasty fillers, preservatives, animal by-products, or artificial flavorings).

Low temperature cooking. The meals are cooked at low temperatures to retain more of the nutritional value of the ingredients.

Personalized meal plans. The meals are balanced and customized to your dog’s needs.

Pre-portioned meals. The meals are pre-portioned into small packets so that it’s easy to serve the food. Future meals stay fresh in their own unopened packaging.

Delivered to your door. They provide the convenience of delivering the food packets straight to your home.

Nom Nom and The Farmer’s Dog are two of the best fresh dog food delivery brands in the US that have gained popularity among paw parent groups.

Nom Nom vs The Farmer’s Dog comparison table

Full Review	Jump to Nom Nom review	Jump to The Farmer’s Dog review
Ingredient quality	Human-grade ingredients from US farms.	Human-grade ingredients from food suppliers that meet USDA standards.
Free from	Preservatives Protein ‘meals’ Hormones Fillers Animal by-products	Preservatives Protein ‘meals’ Hormones or fillers
Who formulates the meals?	Board-certified veterinary nutritionists.	Board-certified veterinary nutritionists.
Shipping	Free shipping in the US	Free shipping in the US
Personalized meal options based on	Breed Sex Weight Age Body condition Specific health conditions.	Breed Sex Weight Age Spayed or not Body shape Activity level Current food Specific health issues
Meet AAFCO and USDA standards	Yes	Yes
Price	Starting from $3 a day. Price comparisons below	Starting from $2 a day. Price comparisons below
Meal options	Beef Mash Chicken Cuisine Pork Potluck Turkey Fare	Turkey Beef Chicken Pork
Treat options	Beef Jerky Chicken Jerky	No
Other products	Supplements Microbiome testing kits	No
One-off Meal samples	Offers 200-gram sample meals for each recipe  $20 per sampler	No
Packaging	Soft plastic packaging with easy peel-off seal.	Soft, flat-packed plastic packaging. Customized with your dog’s name.
Portions per packet	1 meal portion per meal packet. (no scooping required)	Each packet may contain several portions of food, depending on your dog’s size.
Recyclable Packaging	All plastic meal packets are recyclable after rinsing.	All food packets and insulation are recyclable. Storage containers are biodegradable and BPA free.
Storage	8 days in fridge (defrosted)  Up to 6 months in freezer	4 days in fridge defrosted  Up to 4 months in freezer
Partial meal plans available?	Yes. Available online for dogs over 40 lbs.  Contact customer service for smaller dogs.	Yes. But contact customer service first.
Special offers	50% off + free delivery: Nom Nom	50% off: The Farmer’s Dog

Is fresh dog food worth the price?

Price is a big concern for many pet parents. And yes, traditional dry or canned dog food is less expensive than fresh dog food. But when something is cheaper, it usually comes at a cost to something else — in this case, it could be your dog’s health.

There are also cases where dry dog food may end up actually costing dog owners more in the long run. As mentioned, a poor diet could lead to chronic health problems in your dog, which results in expensive vet bills.

Ultimately, if you can afford it, then fresh dog meals are a service worth considering more seriously.

It could prolong the lifespan of your fur-kids by feeding them food that’s wholesome and nutritious. And we all want to maximize the time that we have with our best friends.

Which is cheaper, Nom Nom or The Farmer’s Dog?

We’ve researched these price ranges for different dog sizes as a guide. The ones shown below are based on a 1-year-old dog with no health issues. Do note that your quote would be based on your own dog’s details and could be different.

Small dog (10-20lbs, e.g. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel)	$3-$5 a day	$2-$5 a day
Medium dog (30-40lbs, e.g. Standard Schnauzer)	$5-$7 a day	$6-$8 a day
Large dog (50-70lbs, e.g. Boxer)	$8-$13 a day	$7-$11 a day
Shipping	Free	Free
Money-back guarantee	30-day money-back guarantee for the first box	Refund offered if you donate the food to an animal shelter
Special Offer	50% off + free delivery: Nom Nom	50% off: The Farmer’s Dog

Although Nom Nom appears to be slightly cheaper than The Farmer’s Dog for medium-sized dogs, The Farmer’s Dog has lower pricing for small and large dogs.

It’s worth remembering, though, that the exact quote you get may be different as it’s customized to your dog’s needs.

The questionnaires for each company take a few moments to complete, so we would recommend getting a personalized quote to compare the two services.

50% off your first order: Nom Nom

Nom Nom review

Alex Jarrell is one of the co-founders of Nom Nom (formerly Nom Nom Now), and she had her first experience with fresh dog food in 2014.

Her dog was having immunity issues at the time and was constantly visiting the hospital with no great improvements. The veterinarian eventually suggested she try cooking homemade fresh recipes for her dog to see if that would help.

Alex was so impressed because of the drastic improvement in her dog’s health after something as simple as a diet change.

She and her co-founders decided that they wanted to help other pets live healthier and happier lives through better nutrition and set up Nom Nom Now in 2015.

Is Nom Nom a good dog food?

Nom Nom is one of the best fresh dog food brands and is different from others on the market as it offers one of the widest variety of recipes as well as accompanying products like dog snacks.

Here’s a quick look at what makes Nom Nom meals so special:

Special offer with Nom Nom

50% off plus free delivery with your first order: Nom Nom

How to get started with Nom Nom

The ordering process for Nom Nom was intuitive and straightforward.

It starts off by asking you a series of questions about your dog so that its specially designed algorithm can customize the best meal options for your dog. The information they require includes: breed, sex, weight, age, body condition, and a number of specific health conditions.

It also asks about specific issues related to whether your dog is a picky eater, has food allergies, has a dull coat, or has arthritis and joint pain.

After that, it will recommend which recipes are best suited to your dog’s needs and how many calories of food it will need each day. You can always select more or fewer recipes if you’d like (the recommendations are a guide).

After your first delivery, you can add further customizations:

• Rotation of recipes feature, which you can select through your account.
• Multiple recipes. You can also choose to have multiple recipes in one delivery for a flat fee of $5.
• Meals customized for health issues. Inform them of any other health issues your pet may have (like cancer, diabetes, or heart disease). You can do this under the “health basics” tab. However, they also recommend that you contact their customer service if your dog does have these kinds of complicated health issues so that they can work with you to customize a meal that’s suited for its condition.
• Partial meal plans can only be done through your online account if your dog is larger than 40 lbs. For dogs lighter than that, you will need to contact customer service to discuss a custom meal portion for your dog.

Meal samples – variety pack

Nom Nom sells one-off 200-gram meal samples for each recipe at $20 per sampler if you’d like to test out the recipes with your dog before committing to a subscription.

See more about these meal samples: Nom Nom Variety Packs.

Delivery and first orders

You will automatically be started off on a two week trial on your first delivery.

Included in this trial will be 7 days of 50% portion meals to transition your dog from its current food to Nom Nom, which can help with ‘kibble transition.’

After that, you can change the frequency of your delivery to:

• weekly
• every 2 weeks
• every 4 weeks

Billing

Billing is linked to your chosen delivery frequency, and you will usually be charged a week before your food is sent out.

Packaging

Dog meals arrive in a cardboard box lined with a thick layer of insulation and ice packs so that all the food will stay cold. When you get the meals, you can transfer the majority of them to the freezer. The meals only last for 8 days in the fridge as the meals are fresh and preservative-free.

Each meal portion comes in soft plastic packaging. It’s flat and streamlined, so it takes up minimal space in the fridge or freezer.

Frozen meals can be stored for up to 6 months in the freezer, and unopened meals can be kept in the fridge for 8 days.

50% off your first order: Nom Nom

Serving the food

Each packet is the equivalent of one serving – so there is no need to portion the food to save it for the next meal.

You’ll need to transfer the frozen packets to the fridge and let them defrost over 24 hours. Once defrosted, you can serve the food cold or gently heat up the packet in a bowl of warm water.

Opening the packet is easy because it has a peel-off seal — no need to fumble around with scissors.

Nom Nom doesn’t advise that you heat up the food too much as it could destroy the nutrients in the ingredients (they recommend 10-15 sec on medium setting in the microwave).

Making changes to your account

You can make updates to your dog’s information (e.g., weight, activity level, health status) through your account on their website.

Nom Nom also gives you the flexibility to change your address, delivery frequency, or skip a delivery through your account. This is helpful if you’re going away on holiday.

If you want to cancel your subscription, remember to do so before the deadline to make changes. Doing so after the deadline means the last box will still be sent out to you.

Money-back guarantee

Nom Nom also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can always ask for a refund if you’re not satisfied with your first box of food.

Nom Nom fresh dog food reviews

Nom Nom scores an impressive average rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars based on 1,906 reviews across two websites (Consumer Affairs and Trustpilot). Here’s a summary of some of the comments from their customers:

Here are some reviews from Nom Nom customers:

50% off your first box: Farmer’s Dog

The Farmer’s Dog review

Before co-founder Brett Podolsky started The Farmer’s Dog in 2015, he struggled to find food that was suited to his dog, who had digestive issues.

At the recommendation of a vet, Brett decided to try cooking meals for her instead.

When he saw what a difference it made to her health, he searched for a company that made fresh food for dogs — but found none. After seeing a need for healthier choices in the dog food industry, he teamed up with business partner Jonathan Regev to start The Farmer’s Dog.

Is The Farmer’s Dog food good?

The Farmer’s Dog meals are great for your dog’s health because:

How to get started with The Farmer’s Dog

I found the ordering process for The Farmer’s Dog to be very simple.

You begin by providing information about your dog. You select different options for: sex, age, whether spayed or not, weight, breed, body shape, activity level, pickiness when eating, and current food.

You can also provide more specific information about whether your dog has health issues and needs a specific prescription diet (e.g., for diabetes, cancer, gluten sensitivity).

Its special algorithm will calculate which recipes are best for your dog and the portion of food it requires.

If you’d like, you can mix and match or choose all of them if your dog doesn’t have any specific allergies to the different ingredients.

Delivery and first orders

For your first order, you will receive two weeks’ worth of food. Following that, you can make customizations to your account through the website regarding:

• Delivery frequency: 7-56 day options.
• Partial meal plans (if you’d like this for your first order, you’ll need to contact customer service, and they can easily set this up for you).

Billing

Billing is linked to your chosen delivery frequency, and you will be billed the Thursday before your food is shipped.

50% off your first box: Farmer’s Dog

The Farmer’s Dog food packaging

All the packets of food come in a cardboard box with a thick layer of insulation and dry ice so that your food will remain cold when it arrives.

Remember to transfer most of the packets to the freezer once the food arrives as all defrosted packets stored in the fridge need to be consumed within 4 days and can last in the freezer for 4 months.

Individual food packets come in soft plastic packaging that’s slim and flat so it takes up less space in the fridge and freezer. To open it, you will need a pair of scissors to cut it open and squeeze out the food.

They also provide a biodegradable tray and plastic lid for you to keep any leftover portions of food you may have for your dog’s next meal.

As a bonus, they also provide a free reusable insulated cold bag so that you can transport the packets of food while maintaining the cold temperatures.

They’re very environmentally conscious at The Farmer’s Dog. So, all their packaging is either biodegradable (like the insulation layer in the box) or recyclable.

Serving the food

Transfer the food from the freezer to the fridge to defrost for 24 hours. When it’s soft and ready to serve, you need to cut the packaging with a pair of scissors and squeeze out the food into a bowl.

Each packet may contain several servings for your dog, so you can save the rest in the recyclable tray provided for the next meal.

Making changes to your account

The Farmer’s Dog gives customers the flexibility to update their team about various changes, including:

• Address
• Rush or delay shipments
• Amount of food your dog requires

You can make these changes to your online account through their website.

The Farmer’s Dog food reviews

Across two websites (Influenster and Trustpilot), The Farmer’s Dog has a great rating average of 4.4 out of 5 stars based on 1,481 reviews. Here’s a summary of what the reviewers had to say about their service.

Here are some reviews from The Farmer’s Dog customers:

Which is better, Nom Nom or The Farmer’s Dog?

Nom Nom is better for pet parents who prefer single-portion packaging and more add-ons to their meals — like supplements. 

The Farmer’s Dog might appeal more to those who prefer to give more health details about their dog at onboarding and need flexible deliveries. 

But overall, both services offer quality, fresh dog meals delivered to your door and offer four different protein options (beef, chicken, turkey, and pork).

The nutritional content of their meals are also comparable as they’re all balanced by veterinary nutritionists. 

Here’s a closer look at their differences to help you decide which is better for you: 

Personalization of recipe recommendations

If your dog has more specific dietary needs, then The Farmer’s Dog might appeal to you a little more. During the onboarding process, it asks more questions about your dog’s allergies and health conditions, which could help the algorithm better select an appropriate recipe. 

Delivery

The Farmer’s Dog offers you more flexibility in terms of how often you want to get meals delivered (7-56 day plans). This is compared to Nom Nom’s choices of every 1, 2, or 4 weeks. You can also rush or delay orders with The Farmer’s Dog. 

Extras

Nom Nom offers more extras like supplements, and gut health testing kits. So, this might be better for pups with digestive issues. Currently, The Farmer’s Dog doesn’t have any other products other than their fresh food. 

Pricing

The Farmer’s Dog does have a slightly lower price starting point for their meals, but the prices can vary greatly depending on your dog’s details, and both services seem to be at similar levels.

Based on the external reviews, both Nom Nom and The Farmer’s Dog passed the taste test for many dogs. The vast majority of them enjoyed their fresh meals.

As your dog will ultimately be the one making the final decision on which brand it likes best, it’s worth trying out each service first.

Whichever fresh dog food delivery service you go with, we hope that your dog enjoys the health benefits of fresh, wholesome food and that you see the difference in them too.

Are Nom Nom and The Farmer’s Dog worth it?

Yes, Nom Nom and The Farmer’s Dog are worth it because the longer-term health benefits of eating fresh can make it more cost-effective.

Although fresh dog food is usually more expensive than kibble or canned food, nourishing your pet with good nutrition on a daily basis can help minimize health issues and reduce expensive trips to the vet.

From what we’ve read from reviews, many fur parents feel that fresh food is a good investment for a healthier and happier dog.

Nom Nom and The Farmer’s Dog FAQs

What’s the best way to transition my dog from kibble to fresh dog food?

Making any kind of change to your dog’s diet is always best to be done with caution. If your vet has advised that it’s fine for your dog to have fresh food, you can start transitioning her gradually.

For the first day, you should have a mix of 90% regular food and 10% fresh dog food to begin with.

Over the next few days, slowly increase the amount of fresh food by 10% while decreasing the regular food by the same amount (e.g., Day 2: 80% regular food and 20% fresh food).

Is Nom Nom grain-free?

Yes, three out of the four meals that Nom Nom offers are entirely grain-free. The only meal that has grains is the Turkey Fare recipe, which has brown rice.

All of their meals are free from wheat gluten and processed grain fractions.

Is The Farmer’s Dog grain-free?

Yes, all of The Farmer’s Dog recipes are grain-free. This is helpful for dogs who have a grain allergy or intolerance.

Are fresh dog meals made with organic ingredients?

The ingredients in fresh dog food delivery services like Nom Nom and The Farmer’s Dog are not organic, but they are all sourced from USDA-approved food suppliers and are even suitable for human consumption.

Do Nom Nom and The Farmer’s Dog offer partial meal options?

Yes. If you’re looking for a more cost-effective way of providing your dog with fresh dog food, you can always opt for partial meal portions.

You’ll be delivered smaller portions of fresh food to supplement your dog’s usual food (e.g., 50% fresh, 50% dry). That way, your dog can still have the health benefits of fresh food without it making too much of a drastic change to your budget.

Both Nom Nom and The Farmer’s Dog offer partial meal options. In some cases, you may have to speak to their customer service departments to arrange this, as it may not be possible to do straight from their website.

Are Nom Nom and The Farmer’s Dog FDA-approved?

Nom Nom and The Farmer’s Dog have not received FDA approval at the time of writing this article. However, they pass the standards of The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), and their meals are complete and balanced for dogs.

50% off your first order: Nom Nom

Can you make homemade dog meals instead?

You could always try making dog food from scratch at home, just like you would prepare your own meals. But the nutritional needs of your dog are very different from your own.

A recent study found that many home-cooked meals do not provide the right nutritional balance for dogs. They even found that some dog food recipes posted online by vets weren’t suitable for long-term consumption by dogs as they did not provide the necessary nutrients.

So, if you’re attempting to prepare your own food for your dog, it’s best to do so with the guidance of a veterinary nutritionist.

One of the benefits of services like Nom Nom and The Farmer’s Dog is that they take the guesswork out of meal prepping for your dog. They also mean you don’t need to spend the time and effort to prepare regular meals for your dog.

All their recipes are formulated by their own veterinary nutritionist, with additional vitamins and minerals added where necessary. So you can be assured that your pup will be getting the right nutrition for his needs.

Alternatives to Nom Nom and The Farmer’s Dog

If you’re looking for more alternatives, see our round-up of the top 5 fresh dog food delivery services.

One of our other top favorites is Ollie because of its affordability and treat variety. (check out our Ollie vs. Nom Nom review)

For those who are still keen on kibble (but without the harmful ingredients), you can try Spot & Tango, which produces dry dog food made from fresh ingredients. (check out our full Spot & Tango review)