The Farmer's Dog vs Ollie: Which Fresh Food Is Actually Worth the Subscription?

The Short Answer

If you want the simpler, more predictable experience and don't mind paying a little more for it, go with The Farmer's Dog. If you want more recipe variety and slightly lower cost per day, Ollie is the better pick. Both are genuinely better than most grocery-aisle kibble. Neither is a scam.

How We Tested

We fed both subscriptions to the same 45 pound mixed breed adult dog for 45 days each, back to back. She has a sensitive stomach, eats enthusiastically, and had been on a mid-tier kibble for two years before we started. We tracked: coat condition, energy level, stool quality (yes, really), price per day, and the day-to-day hassle of actually running a fresh food subscription in a real kitchen.

Price, Side by Side

	The Farmer's Dog	Ollie
Cost per day (45 lb dog, full plan)	$4.50 to $6.00	$3.80 to $5.20
Recipe options	4	4 fresh + 2 baked
Pre-portioned by dog	Yes	Yes
Human-grade ingredients	Yes (AAFCO + human-grade)	Yes (AAFCO + human-grade)
Trial discount for new customers	50% off first box	60% off first box
Freezer space required	Significant	Slightly less
Pause / skip / cancel	Easy online	Easy online

What The Farmer's Dog Gets Right

Onboarding is the cleanest in the category. The intake quiz is quick, the portions arrive labeled per day, and the packaging design is genuinely thoughtful. The first delivery arrived frozen solid with a simple reference card that told us exactly what to do.

Our dog ate every meal without hesitation. After three weeks her coat had that "just came back from the groomer" shine that we hadn't seen on kibble. Stool volume dropped noticeably, which is a good sign that more of the food is actually being digested.

The first week of fresh food felt like paying for a fancy restaurant subscription. The third week, it just felt like how we fed her now.

Where Ollie Wins

Ollie offers more flexibility. You can mix fresh and baked recipes in the same plan, which means if you want the benefits of fresh food but need a pantry-stable option for travel, Ollie has that built in. The Farmer's Dog doesn't.

Cost per day runs consistently $0.50 to $1.00 less than The Farmer's Dog for a dog of the same size. Over a year, that adds up to real money, roughly $180 to $360 saved annually depending on your dog's weight.

Where The Farmer's Dog Wins

Simplicity. The Farmer's Dog has fewer recipes and no baked option, which sounds like a weakness but is actually an advantage if you just want a single predictable plan you don't have to think about. Their customer support was notably faster when we had a delivery question during a cold snap.

The packaging also felt slightly sturdier, and the portion bags were more clearly labeled. For a first-time fresh food parent, The Farmer's Dog is the lower-friction choice.

The Real Cost of Fresh Food

Both brands will run you $150 to $220 a month for a medium-sized dog on a full plan. That's real money. Most pet parents we know who stayed on fresh food long-term ended up doing a mixed plan, fresh food for one or two meals a day plus a quality kibble for the rest. Both brands support this, and it drops the monthly cost to more reasonable territory.

Who Should Skip Both

If your dog is doing great on a quality kibble and you're choosing between fresh food and putting that money toward pet insurance or a professional training course, fresh food is probably not the best spend. A senior dog with specific health issues, or a dog with chronic allergies or a notoriously sensitive stomach, will benefit more from fresh food than a young healthy dog who's already thriving.

The Verdict