Purina Pro Plan vs Purina One Dog Food Comparison 2021

Choosing the right dog food can be overwhelming. With the variety of dog food manufacturing companies offering nearly the same recipes, you can easily get lost and resort to procrastinating in making the final decision. But once you settle on a pet food company and sigh with relief because the tough part is finally over, you might find yourself completely bewildered. As it turns out, the ‘fun’ only begins.

So, once you are happy with the Purina company option, you face another dilemma - what Purina dog food brand should you choose? In this Purina Pro Plan vs Purina One review, we’ll compare two popular Purina brands that look similar at first sight. But we will challenge ourselves to find the principal difference between them so you could make up your mind much easier and in less time. We’ll dig out their peculiar features and present them to you in plain language so you don’t have to conduct the research on your own.

What food is better: Purina One or Purina Pro Plan? We know you are dying to know the answer. But at first, let’s get a closer look at each of these brands.

Purina One offers plenty of recipes for canines with different nutritional needs. There are more generalized formulas for dogs without any health issues as well as recipes that are meant to target specific nutritional needs due to the health condition. Purina One includes foods for weight management, cognitive health support, digestion maintenance, skin & coat care, and many more. You can choose between age-specific options or go with a universal diet that supports the overall dog’s health at any stage.

All the formulas are enhanced with SMARTBLEND that combines a mix of vitamins and minerals that are essential for a canine’s overall health. It starts with a blend of antioxidants, Vitamins E & A, zinc, and selenium for a strong immune system, healthy skin, and shiny coat.

Purina One is on the cheaper side compared to Purina Pro Plan, but you’ll also notice that it uses some of the questionable ingredients like turkey by-product meal, corn, wheat, and other stuff you might want to avoid in the pet’s nutrition.

Purina ONE SmartBlend Large Breed Adult Formula Premium Dog Food

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Large breeds tend to develop heart and joint issues early, so Purina One has worked out a recipe that would help maintain the dog’s health. This formula features real chicken meat as the first ingredient, which is then followed by chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole grain wheat, and other ingredients. It’s enhanced with a blend of vitamins and minerals that contribute to the maintenance of the adult large dog health and systems. Besides, the optimal levels of glucosamine support joint health to avoid restrictions in mobility as the dog ages.

Purina ONE® SmartBlend® Healthy Weight High Protein Formula Adult Premium Dog Food

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If your furry friend has gained extra weight, this Purina One recipe will help them get back to a normal weight. Because it contains real turkey as the first ingredient and some protein-packed ingredients, your canine will get the optimal amount of this essential nutrient that would help maintain a healthy weight. The carbohydrate level is reduced in this recipe to aid your pooch in obtaining a lean body mass. A blend of branded vitamins ensures your pet gets all essential vitamins and minerals that are responsible for the overall health of your pooch.

Purina ONE SmartBlend True Instinct Classic Ground Grain-Free Dog Food Formula With Real Beef & Wild-Caught Salmon

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Consider this wet recipe by Purina One if you want to add some variety to your dog’s diet. This is a grain-free formula with a comparatively higher level of animal ingredients. It’s made of beef, salmon, chicken, liver, and pork lungs, which are rich in protein and fat. Meat ingredients are fortified with vitamins and minerals to ensure your canine has a balanced diet. But mind that it also includes carrageenan, which is considered to be harmful to the pet’s health.

Purina One Pros

• A great assortment of dog food recipes
• Meat is the first ingredient
• Enhanced with SmartBlend, a mix of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants
• Available through retail stores

Purina One Cons

• Too many fillers
• Includes artificial colors and flavors
• Contains by-products and by-product meal

Read our full Purina One Dog Food Review.

At the beginning of this Pro Plan vs Purina One review, we announced that these two brands look similar at first sight. They both offer recipes that are tailored to specific dietary needs. But, as you know, the devil is always in the details.

Purina Pro Plan specializes in more advanced nutrition for dogs of all life stages and sizes. There are recipes for cognitive sharpness, skin care, sensitive stomachs, sporting or high-performance dogs, etc. In this way, it’s a better option if your pet has some health conditions and you would like to support specific organs or systems, Purina Pro Plan is a good choice for your pet.

You’ll also see a dramatic difference in the ingredient list. Even though some formulas still rely on corn, wheat, soy, and other cheap fillers, you are also offered to treat your canine with food that is free of these useless ingredients. All the foods are improved with probiotics, prebiotics, or antioxidants for healthy digestion and a strong immune system.

Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach Turkey & Oatmeal Dry Dog Food

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Purina Pro Plan offers a special formula that supports sensitive systems. This recipe is free of ingredients that might irritate the digestive system or cause allergies. Thus, it’s made of turkey as the key ingredient with added fish meal and beef fat. Meat ingredients are complemented with nutrient-dense plant products like oatmeal, canola meal, pea protein, barley, and rice. No artificial colors or flavors are spotted in the ingredient list.

Purina Pro Plan Adult Cognitive Health Chicken & Rice Formula

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When a dog's cognitive system needs an extra boost, the Purina Pro Plan formula comes into play. This innovative recipe is made of ingredients that target the cognitive health of an adult dog. Being packed with the ingredients that deliver brain-supporting nutrients like DHA & EPA, vitamin B, antioxidants, and arginine, this food is a good solution to maintain the bright mind of your pooch. It’s made of real chicken and poultry by-product meal. Thus, there’s some amount of animal proteins in this formula. Other ingredients include whole grain wheat, rice, corn gluten meal, and other fillers.

Pro Plan Small Breed Beef Entrée Chunks in Gravy Wet Dog Food

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If you own a small breed, you would appreciate a beef entrée by Purina Pro Plan that comes in small one-serving plastic trays. This is a delicious paté recipe that contains different meat types like beef, chicken, pork lungs, and liver. Thanks to this, this formula has a high protein level, which is required for lean muscle maintenance. As it’s a nutrient-dense diet, your small pet will get enough energy for daily adventures.

Purina Pro Plan Pros

• Numerous recipes that address different dietary needs
• Fewer fillers and other controversial ingredients
• Age- and size-specific formulas for overall dog’s health
• Real meat is the first ingredient

Purina Pro Plan Cons

• Still contains some questionable ingredients
• Some find the recipes overpriced

Read our full Purina Pro Plan Dog Food Review.

A product variety is one of the critical aspects of the decision-making process. Generally, the food assortment is treated positively. But it’s also a proven fact that too many options might frustrate buyers and even bounce them to the place where the choice is not that overwhelming.

So, let’s see how things are going with Purina and make a Purina Pro Plan vs Purina One dog food variety comparison.

As you see from the chart, Purina Pro Plan is a winner in terms of freedom of choice. This brand has more kibble and wet food options. It offers specific health-related recipes for dogs of all ages and breeds. Let’s say you’ll find a formula for cognitive health designed for puppies, for large puppies, adult canines, adult small breeds, senior dogs, etc. Thus, you are more likely to find the formula that would work best for your pet’s individual needs.

Purina One is on a more generalized side. There are options that target no specific organs, systems, or health conditions as well as the formulas that address the only dietary need.

So, when comparing Purina One vs Purina Pro Plan, we would give a victory to Purina Pro Plan due to the attention to detail when creating its product line. But Purina One is also good and offers great options for healthy pets and those with some minor issues.

If you are meticulously choosing between Purina One vs Pro Plan, you can’t ignore their nutritional profiles. Of course, it’s hard to say which brand is the best in terms of the nutrient information because they vary from recipe to recipe. However, we calculated the general figures and present them now in the chart below.

According to our analysis, there are no champs or outsiders here. Both brands provide roughly the same levels of protein, fat, fiber, and moisture in their recipes. But as savvy pet parents, we know that quantity is not equal to quality.

When taking the nature of nutrients in Purina Pro Plan vs Purina One SmartBlend into account, we should admit that Purina Pro Plan is superior in these terms. This brand has more meat ingredients; thus, most proteins are derived from animals. As dogs are carnivores, their diet should include a lot of meat with a mix of healthy plants.

Probably the main thing that makes a difference between Purina One versus Pro Plan is the ingredients.

Both brands have real meat as the first ingredient in the list, but the rest of the products differ. Purina One heavily relies on different types of fillers like corn, wheat, soy, meal products, and so on. As we all know, these ingredients are not that welcomed in a dog’s diet.

Some Purina Pro Plan recipes also include these fillers, but you’ll also find formulas that are free of corn, wheat, soy, or by-products. Instead of these questionable ingredients, the brand uses liver, lungs, and other animal organs. These products are more beneficial for the digestive system of a dog and its overall health.

When it comes to the flavor variety, Purina One and Purina Pro Plan look alike. Most of the recipes are made of chicken, but you can pamper your canine with beef, turkey, lamb, salmon, tuna, bison, and other delicacies.

The affordability of dog food is still as important as its quality. There is no doubt you would like to get the best deal at a reasonable price, especially when you are on a tight budget or have multiple dogs in the household and can’t afford to feed them all with premium quality food.

So, both Purina One and Purina Pro Plan are on the affordable side. Of course, the price for the products of both brands depends on the recipes you’re comparing as there are always cheaper and more expensive options, but Purina One tends to be a less-expensive brand in the long run.

However, Purina Pro compared to Purina One offers products of a higher quality. As we’ve already mentioned, Purina One uses cheap fillers like wheat, soy, corn in all the recipes (even in the grain-free ones). Purina Pro Plan refuses to add them to a vast majority of formulas but still resorts to using some in several products. But this always affects the price tag, so you know what you get for the reduced price.

Is Purina Pro Plan better than Purina One if you take safety into account? Firstly, let’s clear things up. All the recipes, both for Purina Pro Plan and Purina One, are made in the same facilities. Purina has been around quite for a long time and pays attention to its reputation. All the production processes are under strict control, and the final product is diligently checked and tested before it gets to the shelves.

At the same time, both Purina One and Purina Pro Plan products were recalled due to different reasons and within various time frames.

The only Purina Pro Plan recall took place in March 2016 because of the inadequate levels of vitamins and minerals in several wet recipes.

In summer 2013, a batch of Purina One dog food was recalled due to the potential salmonella infection.

No other recalls of Purina One and Purina Pro Plan dog foods have been registered by the FDA.

If things were that simple with choosing between Purina One and Purina Pro Plan, you wouldn’t have read this review. Picking a diet for a dog is always embarrassing and nerve-wracking. Some of the greatest options do not fall within your budget, while others do not pass your quality test or fail to meet the dietary needs of your canine.

But we pledged to make a choice easier for you. Even though all dogs are built differently and have various lifestyles, we have worked out several recommendations to help you drive your own conclusions.

Firstly, when the price is an issue, consider Purina One. The difference between the price tags of Purina One and Purina Pro Plan is not that dramatic. But when every cent counts, you would definitely appreciate some of the bucks saved.

Also, if your dog is healthy and doesn’t have any serious issues, Purina One is also a wise decision. You can rotate the recipes to prevent health problems your dog can be prone to or go with the general options that are not meant to address any health conditions.

But when you want your pet to eat food that is made of better ingredients, Purina Pro Plan is your go-to solution. Not all recipes have a great ingredient list, but most of them are free of cheap fillers you’ll find in Purina One options. That’s the reason why Pro Plan is more expensive compared to its sister brand.

So, which is better: Purina Pro Plan or Purina One? Consider the factors mentioned above and pick the one you think is right for your dog. After all, you can always start with a small bag and see how it works for your pet. If it doesn’t turn out good, you can always switch to another brand and test it out.