As a pet owner, you are probably looking for ways to give your pet the best life possible. This means giving them access to quality pet food, accessories, comfortable bedding, and supplements. But unless you know where to look, it can get expensive.

Pet food is one of the biggest expenses for pet owners worldwide, but you can lower the costs by finding the right websites to buy your pet’s food. We have listed three of the best options for cost-conscious pet owners on a budget.

Saving on Pet Food

Buying food for your pet is inevitable, as all animals need to eat. You can usually get cheap dog food, cat food, and other pet foods in the pet aisle at the supermarket, but these rarely meet the nutritional requirements of your furry (or not so furry) friend. Instead, most responsible pet owners look for affordable quality options.

If you feel you need to save some money on pet food, your best bet is shopping online. When you look online, hundreds of extra options are suddenly at your fingertips!

You don’t want to go on just any website, though, as prices can vary greatly. To make things easier, we have picked out three of the top budget websites for pet food—read more from Believe in a Budget.

Chewy.com

Chewy, Inc is a pet product company based in Florida, and it was founded in 2011 and acquired by PetSmart in 2017. The original company name was Mr. Chewy, and they are now known for selling a big variety of pet items and pet food products.

About Chewy

Chewy is a company that prides itself on offering over 2,000 different pet brands – always with competitive prices. The 24/7 customer service makes it easy and convenient to receive help and advice if needed.

Discounts

Everyone loves a discount, and there are several ways to get an even cheaper price when buying your pet food from Chewy. The first step is to check the website regularly, as any discount or sale tends to be displayed there, but you can also sign up for their newsletter for updates and special offers.

Another option is to keep an eye out for coupons and discount codes on coupon websites! This requires a bit more work on your part, as you need to use external websites, but a few minutes of research can land you a pretty sweet deal!

It is recommended that you check your email, the website, and discount code websites right before you place your order, as new sales and offers can pop up when you least expect them.

Reward Programs

When it comes to pet food, the best discount you can get on Chewy is with auto-ship. This service allows you to choose how often you want to receive your pet’s favorite food, and the food will automatically be shipped to your door according to your preferences.

With auto-ship, you can get new food shipped out once a month, twice a month, or as often as you like, and do you want to know the best part? Auto-ship makes you eligible for a 5-10% discount on every order, which becomes quite a significant amount over time.

Petco

Petco is a very large pet retail company that can be found in different parts of the world, but it might not be the first name that comes to mind when looking for cheap dog food!

However, Petco has products on sale almost constantly, and they offer their Petco Club members exclusive offers and the option of automatic shipments.

About Petco

Petco sells all types of pet products, pet foods, pet services like grooming, and a few live animals (fish and small animals mostly), and they have a well-developed website that makes it possible to purchase even if you live far away from a physical location.

Their pet food prices are quite average, but when you shop online, you can get lucky and find very good discounts. It is this that qualifies Petco for this list—their weekly discounts, exclusive online sales, and automatic shipments.

Discounts

When you want a good price on your pet food at Petco, the first thing you need to do is to register for their Petco Club. This is a free membership you get when you register on the site, and it can be used both online and in physical stores.

Being such a big company, coupon codes and discounts are usually easy to find also on external websites, and it is always a good idea to keep an eye on these websites in case something was to show up that meets your needs.

Reward Programs

The benefit of the Petco club membership is that you get emails with exclusive offers. Also, you get discount coupons on purchases over a certain amount.

A big bag of pet food is usually enough to earn you a coupon which means your next purchase will get cheaper! The coupons can also be used both online and in-store.

For dog and cat food, Petco also offers an auto-ship program. When you sign up for repeat delivery, you get an impressive 35% off your first order and additional discounts on each order after that.

PetFlow.com

The founders of PetFlow set out with the mission to make quality pet food available to everyone, which they’ve done ever since by offering unbeatable prices. While mostly carrying food for dogs and cats, they do have an excellent selection for dog and cat parents.

About PetFlow

Founded in 2010, PetFlow has built a strong customer base thanks to its reliable deliveries and excellent customer service. They carry approximately 200 brands (for dogs and cats), and they focus on selling high-quality pet food brands.

One thing you get when you shop at PetFlow is a company that cares about your dogs and cats, and they only carry brands whose products live up to their high standards. Despite their selectiveness, they can offer their customers competitive prices that are often a lot cheaper than those found in pet stores.

They have recently started selling products also for small pets, fish, birds, and reptiles, which means you can get products also for pets that aren’t dogs or cats. With this addition, they now compete with much larger companies by offering the same selection.

PetFlow donates part of its profits to help animals in need, and you can make additional donations with your order if you wish. Their customer service can help you find the best food for your pet, and you are attended by knowledgeable customer service agents.

Discounts

When checking their website, you will notice right away that they offer free shipping on large orders, which a big bag of food usually qualifies as. This will save you the shipping costs every time you make an order, and allow you to pay only what you would have paid if you picked the pet food up from a physical store.

Whenever PetFlow offers additional discounts, it is usually displayed with a banner right at the top of the site—making it the first thing you see when logging on. They also give you the option of joining and signing up for a newsletter, to make sure you stay up-to-date with the latest.

It is refreshing to see a company that isn’t trying to hide their discounts or overcomplicate things for the customer, and instead, you are offered a transparent business model where you can almost feel how they have your best in mind. Everyone wants to feed their pet quality pet food, and PetFlow makes it more accessible.

Reward Programs

Regular orders usually arrive within 1-3 business days, but you also have the opportunity to become a member and sign up for automatic shipments, just like with the bigger companies out there. This setup is perfect for someone who tends to forget to order on time, and you choose how often you want your deliveries.

With auto-shipment, you get additional discounts with every order you make, so that you get some money left over to further spoil your pet. PetFlow makes it very easy to be generous to your pet and to make sure that he (or she) gets the nutrition needed to thrive, and you can always reach out to their customer service with questions and concerns.

Which Website to Choose?

The easiest way to pick the right website for you is to search for the pet food you are interested in. PetFlow, for example, only carries food for dogs and cats, which means you will have to go with another option if you are looking for food for a bunny, reptile, or bird.

You are responsible for feeding your pet food it can thrive on, so do your research previously to pick a website, and then just use the search bar to find the food of your choice.

You can also do it the other way around, by having a look at the websites to see which brands fall within your budget, and then do additional research to determine whether it is a good fit for you and your pet.

Conclusion

Saving money is always a plus. By choosing a website that sells your pet’s food cheaper, you will get money left for other things. The extra money can be used for bills and expenses unrelated to your pets, or to buy your pet an extra toy a month.

The three websites listed in this article are all considered reliable and affordable, with options for additional discounts, reward programs, and coupons.

Image by Branislav Nenin via Shutterstock.com