The Farmer's Dog vs Ollie: Fresh Dog Food Comparison

The Bottom Line

This used to be a clear win for The Farmer’s Dog. On current data it is not, and we have changed our verdict.

Both services deliver human-grade, vet-formulated food in portions calculated for your dog. They now rate the same on our scale. The two things that separate them pull in opposite directions:

• The Farmer’s Dog holds a BBB A+ with accreditation and a lower entry price, but its Trustpilot score has fallen to 3.9.
• Ollie holds a much stronger Trustpilot 4.6 from over 11,000 reviews, but a BBB B without accreditation.

Choose The Farmer’s Dog if you have a small dog, where its entry price is meaningfully lower, or if formal complaint handling matters most to you.

Choose Ollie if you want more plan flexibility. Its Half-Fresh, Baked, and Mixed plans make fresh feeding affordable for medium and large dogs in a way The Farmer’s Dog does not match, and its customer satisfaction is measurably higher on a far larger sample.

Quick Comparison

Why The Farmer’s Dog Wins

The Trust Data Disagrees With Itself

This is the most interesting thing about the comparison, and most articles pick whichever number suits their conclusion.

The Farmer’s Dog has been BBB accredited with an A+ since September 2024 and has 69 complaints on file, 26 of them in the past year. But its Trustpilot score sits at 3.9 from about 1,700 reviews, which is below the 4.0 threshold we require for an Editor’s Choice badge. It previously carried that badge on our site. It no longer does, because the live data no longer supports it.

Ollie sits at 4.6 on Trustpilot from more than 11,000 reviews, with 84% at five stars. That is a far larger and more consistent sample. Its BBB grade is B and not accredited, with 18 complaints centring on shipping, thawing on arrival, and cancellation friction.

How to read this: a BBB grade largely measures whether a company answers complaints, and accreditation means it pays to participate. Trustpilot measures what customers say unprompted. On the measure that reflects owner satisfaction, Ollie is ahead by a wide margin on six times the evidence. On the measure that reflects formal complaint handling, The Farmer’s Dog is ahead.

Neither is a bad company. We are not going to tell you a BBB letter outweighs 11,000 reviews.

Entry Price Depends on Your Dog

The Farmer’s Dog starts around $60 a month for a small dog. Ollie’s full-fresh plan starts around $3 a day, roughly $90 a month, for a comparable dog.

That gap is real at the small end. It narrows as dogs get bigger, because both services price on calories, and Ollie offers cheaper formats that The Farmer’s Dog does not.

Industry Pioneer

Founded in 2014, The Farmer’s Dog pioneered the fresh dog food movement and has spent 12 years refining their process. They were featured by NY Times Wirecutter and Dog Food Advisor, establishing their reputation as the gold standard in the category.

What’s In Each Box?

The Farmer’s Dog

Every delivery includes:

• Pre-portioned meal packs calculated for your dog’s exact caloric needs
• Fresh food made in USDA-certified kitchens with no preservatives
• Four protein options: beef, chicken, turkey, and pork with vegetables
• Insulated packaging with ice packs
• Personalized feeding guide
• Free shipping on every delivery

Ollie

Each shipment contains:

• Pre-portioned pouches with personalized calorie calculations
• Human-grade ingredients from USDA-certified sources
• Four protein options: beef, chicken, turkey, and lamb
• Fresh-frozen delivery in insulated packaging
• Customized feeding instructions
• 60% off first box for new customers

Pricing Breakdown

The Farmer’s Dog

Ollie

Plan range is the underrated part of this comparison, and it changed recently.

Ollie sells four formats rather than one: Fresh, Half Fresh, Baked, and Mixed. Half Fresh is roughly 40% cheaper than full fresh. On live quotes today, a 10-pound dog runs about $143 a month on Full Fresh and about $86 on Half Fresh. A 70-pound dog runs about $331 against about $188. That is a real budget lever, not a marketing tier.

The Farmer’s Dog historically had no equivalent, and adjusted portions instead. In August 2026 it launched Instant Fresh, a shelf-stable line you rehydrate, positioned as the cheaper and more convenient alternative to its frozen food. Its price is not published without submitting an email, so we cannot yet tell you what it costs or how it compares to Ollie’s Half Fresh.

For now: if you have a large dog and full fresh food is out of budget, Ollie has a proven cheaper tier with quotable prices, and The Farmer’s Dog has a new one we cannot price. That is worth knowing rather than guessing about.

Ingredient Quality

Both services use 100% USDA human-grade ingredients, meaning the food meets the same standards as food prepared for human consumption. This is a significant differentiator from “human-grade ingredients” claims that don’t involve USDA-certified preparation facilities.

The Farmer’s Dog Recipes:

• Beef with lentils, carrots, and spinach
• Chicken with bok choy, sweet potato, and parsley
• Turkey with chickpeas, broccoli, and parsley
• Pork with sweet potato, green beans, and cauliflower

Ollie Recipes:

• Beef with sweet potatoes, peas, and kale
• Chicken with carrots, rice, and spinach
• Turkey with butternut squash, kale, and blueberries
• Lamb with cranberries, butternut squash, and kale

Both are formulated by board-certified veterinary nutritionists and meet AAFCO standards.

Customer Experience

The Farmer’s Dog

• Pros: accredited complaint handling, satisfaction guarantee, proactive communication
• Cons: Trustpilot has slipped to 3.9, delivery timing complaints, only four proteins

Ollie

• Pros: 4.6 Trustpilot across more than 11,000 reviews, strong app, four plan formats including budget options
• Cons: BBB B and not accredited, complaints about thawing in transit and cancellation friction

We derive the customer-experience score for both from the same published formula, weighting Trustpilot at 60% and the BBB grade at 40%. Because their strengths sit on opposite sides of that blend, the two scores land in the same place. That is not a coincidence we are papering over. It is why we no longer name a single winner.

Who Should Choose The Farmer’s Dog?

Choose The Farmer’s Dog if you:

• Value BBB accreditation and formal trust indicators
• Have a small dog (lower entry price point)
• Want the original, pioneering fresh dog food service
• Prefer pork as a protein option
• Prioritize a satisfaction guarantee backed by accreditation

Who Should Choose Ollie?

Choose Ollie if you:

• Want lamb as a protein option (not available at The Farmer’s Dog)
• Value a larger volume of positive Trustpilot reviews
• Prefer their specific recipe formulations
• Find their first-order discount (60% off) more appealing
• Already have experience with their service

Health Results

Both services report similar health improvements in dogs:

• Shinier, softer coats within 2-4 weeks
• Improved digestion and smaller, firmer stools
• Increased energy and vitality
• Healthier weight management
• Reduced allergy symptoms

Reddit communities for both r/dogs and r/pets consistently praise both services for transforming picky eaters and improving overall dog health.

Final Verdict

No single winner. It depends on your dog’s size and your budget.

We previously named The Farmer’s Dog the winner on the strength of its BBB accreditation, a lower entry price, and a higher overall rating. Re-verification changed two of those three. Its Trustpilot score is now 3.9 rather than the 4.2 we had recorded, its Editor’s Choice badge has been removed, and the two boxes now rate identically.

Choose The Farmer’s Dog if:

• Your dog is small, where the roughly $60 entry price is genuinely cheaper
• You want pork as a protein option
• Accredited, documented complaint handling is what reassures you

Choose Ollie if:

• Your dog is medium or large, where Half-Fresh, Baked, and Mixed plans change the affordability
• You want lamb as a protein option
• You weight 11,000 owner reviews above a BBB letter grade

Best strategy: both run substantial first-order discounts and both refund an unsuccessful first box. Start with whichever suits your dog’s size, and switch if your dog refuses it. Fresh food is a long commitment, and picky dogs are the most common reason people abandon it.