Spot & Tango vs. Ollie 2025: Who's The Most Pawsome?

Spot & Tango and Ollie are among the biggest names in the fresh dog food industry. Both feature a subscription-based service and only work with 100% human-grade ingredients to create high-quality recipes for pups everywhere. 

The services are neck-and-neck in terms of quality, so it may be difficult to choose between them. Ultimately, the decision comes down to your pooch’s taste preferences, but there are a few specific details to take into account.

My extensive research and my colleague's at-home testing places Ollie on top, as it offers a more diverse menu by combining fresh and dry recipes. However, Spot & Tango  comes in a very close second. If you’re on the fence, make sure to read until the end to see which is a better fit for your pet.

At a Glance: Who Won Each Category?

Ingredient Quality:  Both Offer Nutritious Fresh Meals

Both services focus on creating delicious fresh meals for dogs of all ages, starting from puppyhood. The recipes are vet-formulated to fit diverse preferences and needs, and all the ingredients are gently cooked in small batches at low temperatures to optimize nutrient retention. 

Both companies use human-grade ingredients sourced from US farms and fresh-food suppliers. All the recipes meet and exceed AAFCO guidelines for all life stages. Spot & Tango only uses real, high-quality, whole-muscle meats and organ meats, while Ollie’s recipes are all cooked in a USDA-certified kitchen. 

Spot & Tango meals are entirely free of artificial preservatives, ingredients, or colors. Also, there are no fillers, such as soy, corn, or wheat, and all the recipes are gluten-free, except for the Beef & Barley UnKibble.

I also liked the fact that every Spot & Tango recipe contains 50% USDA meat, which naturally contains Taurine. Taurine is a critical ingredient for dogs and helps with digestion, proper heart functioning, vision, and more. If you’re looking for a healthy source of Omega acids, all the UnKibble recipes contain fish oil as well.

In the spirit of catering to all dogs, Spot & Tango has both grain-inclusive and grain-free recipes (like the Turkey and Red Quinoa blend), so if your pup suffers from any grain intolerances, make sure to check the list of ingredients.

Ollie takes the same level of care when choosing the ingredients for its recipes, and most of its suppliers are US-based. The only exception is the premium lamb meat, which comes from sources in the U.S., New Zealand, and Australia.

Every Ollie ingredient, including produce, seeds, and oils, is 100% human-grade and doesn’t contain any by-products, fillers, artificial flavoring, or preservatives. However, keep in mind that 3 out of the 4 recipes include grain-based products. The only grain-free recipe is the Fresh Beef with Sweet Potatoes formula.

Ollie also has 2 Baked formulas designed to be served as is or in combination with fresh food. These are made with real meats and veggies and contain a wide range of vitamins and superfoods, such as fish oil and chia seeds.

I like that the fresh recipes from both brands are gently cooked and flash-frozen for delivery. This way, I don’t have to worry about any harmful bacteria that may develop in raw foods, and the meals stay fresh and safe for consumption. The UnKibble and Baked recipes are slow-cooked at low temperatures and made to be shelf-stable.

Meals and Customization: Ollie Offers More Meal Options

Both companies focus on creating the best meals for your pooch and feature somewhat similar fresh foods, but I liked Ollie the best because you can create a more diverse menu by mixing baked and fresh meals. Spot & Tango doesn’t have this option – you can order either fresh food or UnKibble.

In terms of customization options, you can’t change the composition of the recipe with either service, but you can customize your dog’s meal plan to fit its needs. You do this by filling in a quiz where you describe your dog’s food preferences and more.

The quizzes are short (8 questions for Spot & Tango and 7 questions for Ollie) and include questions on gender, breed, age, activity level, and whether your dog is spayed or neutered. The main difference between these quizzes is that Ollie is more straightforward when it comes to choosing allergies and food sensitivities, while Spot & Tango makes it easier to identify your dog’s body type.

Spot & Tango also has a section in the quiz dedicated to special health conditions, but it provides you with a list of health conditions that don’t have a clear impact on the final meal plan. This was a bit confusing, although Ollie’s was straightforward and easy to understand.

The Spot & Tango menu includes 4 dried recipes (aka the UnKibble) and 3 fresh meals:

• Cod & Salmon (grain-free, min. 29.67% crude protein)
• Beef & Barley (min 26.58% crude protein)
• Chicken & Brown Rice (gluten-free, min 26.58% crude protein)
• Turkey & Sweet Potato (gluten-free, min 25% crude protein)
• Turkey & Red Quinoa (grain-free, min 13.69% crude protein)
• Beef & Millet (grain-free, min 11.85% crude protein)
• Lamb & Brown Rice (min 11.8% crude protein)

The downside is that Spot & Tango doesn’t support a mix-and-match option between the 2 recipe types (dried and fresh), so you have to choose 1 or the other when building your dog’s meal plan.

Ollie, on the other hand, offers 5 fresh meals and 2 dried formulas (aka the Baked items): 

• Fresh Beef with Sweet Potatoes (grain-free, min 9% protein)

• Fresh Chicken with Carrots (min 8% protein)

• Fresh Lamb with Cranberries (min 9% protein)

• Fresh Turkey with Blueberries (min 10% protein)

• Fresh Pork with Apples (min 9% protein)

• Baked Beef with Sweet Potatoes (min 23% protein)

• Baked Chicken with Carrots (min 24% protein)

Both of these brands offer treats that you can add to your plan. Spot & Tango offers 6 different treat recipes (turkey, cheese, chicken, bison, sweet potato, and beef) with minimal ingredients. Unlike Ollie, however, it doesn’t offer any nutritional supplements.

Ollie has a slightly better variety of extras. The menu includes 3 flavors of jerky treats (Chicken and Apple, Beef and Sweet Potato, and Salmon and Coconut), dental chews, and 4 supplements designed to keep your dog happy and healthy (a calming formula, a formula for hips and joints, skin & coat formula, and a probiotic formula).

Ordering and Delivery: Ollie Makes It Easy to Add Multiple Pets

Both Ollie and Spot & Tango are subscription-based services that make it easy to place your first order and make changes as time goes by. However, Ollie makes it easier to create profiles for several dogs from your online account, while you’ll have to call Spot & Tango’s customer service to add a second pet. 

You’ll be assigned a customized meal plan that fits your pup’s caloric needs (based on your answers to the initial quiz) for your first order. However, if your dog doesn’t like a recipe, both brands make it easy to change the meal plan for subsequent orders.

In both cases, you can easily change an order, pause/delay a delivery, adjust the delivery frequency and portion sizes, or cancel a subscription using your online account. However, you’ll have to pay attention to the cut-off dates and times, which are available on your account for each order.

Both brands offer a starter box for first-time buyers. The box includes the necessary amount of food for 2 weeks, feeding instructions, and a scoop to make feeding easier. The starter box is also backed by a 100% money-back guarantee (for both Spot & Tango and Ollie) in case your pooch doesn’t like the food. Just make sure to send in your refund request before the trial period ends (2 weeks from receiving the order).

Lastly, both companies ship to verified addresses in the 48 contiguous U.S. states, so most pups in the country can get delicious food right at their doorstep. In a nutshell, Ollie’s more flexible account management features help place the brand at the top of this category.

Unboxing: Ollie’s Experience Is Better Overall

My colleague who tested both services found that the unboxing experience was quite similar for both Ollie and Spot & Tango, but Ollie’s was better overall. 

Ollie's box was well organized and included feeding instructions. Every food package was labeled with detailed information on nutrients, ingredients, and ideal storage conditions. This was also true for dry foods, which were delivered in zip-locked bags that could be stored in a cool, dry place (like a pantry).

The first box came with a scoop (to make portioning easier) and a “puptainer,” which is a suction-sealed bamboo-crafted container for storage of fresh food while in the fridge. The puptainer was dishwasher safe and made it easier to store leftover dog food in the fridge.

Both companies used a recyclable cardboard box lined with dry ice insulation for fresh foods. In Spot & Tango’s case, the fresh food arrived in sealed packages that needed to be cut open. You’ll also get a food clip with your first order to seal up any leftovers and safely store them in the refrigerator.

If you’ve ordered UnKibble, your first box will also include a personalized scoop, which you can use for accurate portioning. If you’ve placed an order for 2 dogs (like my colleague did) or if you have a large dog, you may receive several boxes, depending on how Spot & Tango decides to pack everything.

Both companies care about their environmental paw print, but Ollie shows more initiative through its store drop-off program for the Baked Bites bags. Overall, both Spot & Tango and Ollie work hard to make most of the packaging materials recyclable, but I think there’s more work to be done.

Meal Prep: Both Brands Are Easy to Serve

Both companies offer fresh, ready-made recipes customized for your dog’s caloric needs. You only have to portion out the food using the instructions and feeding guide (in the box or online). My colleague, who tested both services with his Goldendoodle, found it easy to serve food from both brands.

The Fresh recipes arrived frozen and maintained their freshness during delivery. The dry options (Baked recipes in Ollie’s case and UnKibble from Spot & Tango) came in easy-to-open, resealable bags. 

In both cases, the Fresh needed to be stored in the freezer (unless you plan on feeding it in the next few days). This keeps it fresh and safe to eat for up to 6 months. Meals took around 24 hours to defrost in the refrigerator.

If you forget and your pup threatens to go on strike, you can quickly thaw a sealed packet by running it under hot water for several minutes. Any leftovers are safe to keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. 

You can keep UnKibble or Snacks in a cool and dry place. The dry food stays fresh and safe for up to 12 months before opening and lasts 8 weeks after opening (provided you use the seal to close it).

Pricing: Spot & Tango Is More Budget-Friendly

Ollie and Spot & Tango feature customized meal plans, so the cost varies depending on your dog’s size and caloric needs. It also depends on whether you want to feed your pooch only fresh food or combine dry and fresh.

Ollie offers 3 options that cater to different budgets:

• Full Fresh starting at $1.57 a meal

• Half Fresh starting at $1.00 a meal

• Mixed starting at $1.36 a meal

With the Half Fresh plan, you get half of the quantity of Fresh food your dog needs, and you can combine it with the food your dog usually eats, whether it’s kibble or wet recipes. The Mixed plan combines Fresh and Baked recipes so your pup can enjoy the best of both worlds.

However, it’s important to know that these prices are best fit for small dogs. If your pooch is medium-sized or large, prices can go quite high. For instance, the Full Fresh plan for my Milo (a 25-pound Boston Terrier) was $45.52 per week. The Half Fresh plan was $29.40, while the Mixed one was $36.76 per week.

Treats are $10 per bag (5 oz per bag) and $22 per jar (60 chews per jar) for supplements. These are prices without discounts.

Spot & Tango is the more affordable option. For my 1.5-year-old Boston Terrier, prices for UnKibble start at $1.52 per meal for the Beef & Barley version, and up to $2.23 per meal for Cod & Salmon. With the cheapest option, a 2-week starter box, specifically designed for my Milo, would have cost $25.36/week (price is without a discount).

If you opt for Spot & Tango’s fresh food, the costs vary between $2.28 and $3.48 per meal, depending on which recipe you choose and how much your dog needs. The total cost for 2 weeks with the cheapest option would’ve been $39.87/week for me (no discount applied).

To keep things more affordable, Spot & Tango also offers a Topper plan. With this, you get a smaller quantity of fresh food that you should mix with your pooch’s regular food. This way, your dog still gets to enjoy delicious and nutritious food, and your wallet feels a bit safer.

Adding Spot & Tango treats will cost you between $12 and $16 per bag (each bag weighs between 2.5 and 3 oz), but if you stick to just fresh food or use the fresh food in combination with regular dry foods, Spot & Tango remains more affordable than Ollie.

While both can be quite pricey, you can get some discounts – especially on your first order. Right now, Spot & Tango’s live discount is Get 50% Off + free treat pouch!  Ollie’s is Get 60% off your first box!  With these discounts, my final cost for 2 weeks' worth of fresh food (no treats or supplements) was $31.90 with Spot & Tango and $18.21 with Ollie.

Spot & Tango vs. Ollie – Pros & Cons

Spot & Tango

Pros

• 100% human-grade ingredients, sourced locally

• Personalized meal plans for each dog’s specific needs

• UnKibble is a great compromise between convenience and food quality

Cons

• Higher price point compared to traditional options

• Protein variety is relatively limited

• Can't add fresh and dry food in one order

Ollie

Pros

• Tailored nutrition with vet-formulated recipes

• Flexible meal options (Fresh, Half Fresh, and Mixed)

• Convenient delivery and packaging

Cons

• Premium price point

• Limited recipe variety (only 7 protein options)

• Not all packaging is recyclable

Spot & Tango vs. Ollie – Quick Overview

And The Winner Is: Ollie 

Both services are good value and high quality, but Ollie ranked higher in our at-home testing. It can be slightly more expensive in a head-to-head comparison, but its range of plans and the ability to mix fresh and dry food in 1 order give you options to keep costs down. Our reviewer also really enjoyed the free puptainer and scoop you get with your first order.

Spot & Tango is just as good in terms of the quality of ingredients and food, although you'll have to place 2 orders if you want a mix of fresh and dry food. If budget is your number 1 concern, Spot & Tango usually works out a bit cheaper, too. Both services offer heavily discounted trial orders for new customers, though, so it might be worth letting your pup give them a taste test to decide!

If you want to see how these compare to other services, check out our list of the best fresh dog food delivery services. Both services rank highly, but neither of them took our top spot, so you might find an alternative to pique your interest instead!

FAQ

How good is Spot & Tango UnKibble?

Spot & Tango’s UnKibble is made from 100% fresh, whole ingredients and contains no artificial preservatives, fillers, or additives. The food is gently dried to retain its shape and nutrients and can be used for a steady diet or in combination with fresh food. 

Is Ollie cooked or raw?

All the fresh food recipes made by Ollie are slow-cooked at low temperatures. This way, the food stays fresh and filled with nutrients, and there’s no risk of contamination, as often happens with raw food. However, to keep the meals safe to eat, you have to keep the packs in the freezer. To serve, the food needs to be thawed in the refrigerator.

Are Ollie and Spot & Tango vet approved?

Yes, the fresh and dried meals meet and surpass AAFCO requirements. Plus, both services created their recipes in collaboration with veterinary nutritionists to make sure the meals are appropriate for dogs in all stages of life, of all sizes and breeds. Also, the delivery process is designed to ensure the safety of the food while in transit.