The scores
NutriSource: B (78/100) — Adult Chicken & Rice formula with chicken (whole), chicken meal, brown rice, barley, and chicken fat as the top five ingredients. Marine omega-3s from menhaden fish meal and salmon oil. Six named probiotic strains. Chelated minerals throughout.
Natural Balance: B (78/100) — L.I.D. Sweet Potato & Chicken formula with chicken, chicken meal, sweet potatoes, peas, and potato protein in the top five. Limited-ingredient design optimized for elimination dieting and sensitivity management.
How the ingredients compare
Two genuinely different formulations philosophies — and after the NutriSource reformulation, the score gap reflects that NutriSource is now doing more on every dimension that the rubric tracks.
NutriSource: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Barley, Chicken Fat… Menhaden Fish Meal… Salmon Oil… (six probiotic strains)… (chelated trace minerals)…
Natural Balance: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Sweet Potatoes, Peas, Potato Protein…
Both formulas open with whole chicken — the gold-standard first ingredient. NutriSource then layers chicken meal, two whole grains, and chicken fat into positions 2–5. Natural Balance follows whole chicken with chicken meal, then pivots to sweet potato, peas, and potato protein. The protein lineup is comparable in the top two slots; from position three onward, the two formulas diverge sharply.
NutriSource brings a third animal protein (menhaden fish meal) further down the panel along with dedicated salmon oil for marine EPA/DHA. It also adds six named bacterial fermentation products (probiotics), L-carnitine, taurine, and yucca extract. Minerals are chelated. Natural Balance, by design, brings none of these — the L.I.D. concept depends on a short ingredient list. Potato protein at position five is the controversial choice in the NB panel: it boosts protein numbers via plant-based isolate rather than additional animal sourcing.
Where NutriSource pulls ahead
Whole chicken first plus chicken meal second: NutriSource's reformulated opener pairs whole chicken (named, fresh) with chicken meal (concentrated, dry-weight). Whole chicken signals real meat content; chicken meal multiplies the protein density. The combination is what A-tier formulas like Wellness CORE and Nulo do too — meat first, meal second, supplement layer on top. Natural Balance also leads with whole chicken, but stops at chicken meal in position two and doesn't backfill a third animal protein later in the formula.
Marine omega-3 from two ingredients: NutriSource includes both menhaden fish meal (whole-food source of EPA/DHA) and salmon oil (isolated supplement form). Pairing both ensures consistent marine-omega-3 delivery regardless of how the formula is processed. Natural Balance gets its omega-3s from canola oil — a plant-based ALA source. Dogs convert ALA to EPA/DHA inefficiently, so the two formulas are not comparable on omega-3 functional delivery.
Six-strain probiotic blend: NutriSource's panel names Aspergillus oryzae, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, Trichoderma longibrachiatum, Enterococcus faecium, and Lactobacillus acidophilus. Six strains is unusual depth for a kibble. Natural Balance L.I.D., by limited-ingredient design, includes none.
Chelated minerals throughout: NutriSource uses zinc/iron/copper/manganese proteinate (chelated) forms. These are more bioavailable than the oxide/sulfate counterparts found in budget formulas. Natural Balance uses standard mineral forms. Shop NutriSource on Amazon →
Where Natural Balance holds its own
Limited Ingredient Diet for sensitive dogs: Natural Balance's L.I.D. line is the whole point of its design. By minimizing the total number of ingredients, L.I.D. formulas make it easier for veterinarians and owners to run elimination diets — systematically removing potential allergens to identify what's causing a reaction. If your dog has chronic skin issues, ear infections, or digestive problems that may be food-related, a limited-ingredient formula is a practical diagnostic tool. NutriSource's deeper ingredient panel (with six grain types, six probiotic strains, two fish sources, and yeast cultures) introduces dozens more potential allergens and makes elimination testing harder.
Sweet potatoes as the carbohydrate base: Sweet potatoes are a nutrient-dense carbohydrate source providing beta-carotene (vitamin A precursor), vitamin C, potassium, and dietary fiber. They have a moderate glycemic index. Natural Balance's sweet-potato-led carb strategy gives well-tolerated steady energy with strong micronutrient density per calorie. NutriSource's grain-inclusive approach offers carb diversity but doesn't replicate sweet potato's specific micronutrient profile.
Single-protein discipline: Natural Balance's chicken-only animal protein is genuinely useful when you need to isolate a single protein source for sensitivity testing. NutriSource adds menhaden fish meal further down the panel — great for nutritional diversity, but if your dog is sensitive to fish, it's a non-starter. Shop Natural Balance on Amazon →
The bottom line
This is a twelve-point gap, not a tie. NutriSource (B/78) is the better choice for general adult dog feeding when your dog has no diagnosed food sensitivities — it ships the supplement depth, marine omega-3 strategy, and chelated-mineral discipline that the A tier expects. Natural Balance L.I.D. (B/78) is the better choice when your vet has prescribed an elimination diet, when your dog reacts to multi-ingredient formulas, or when you want a clean, single-animal-protein, grain-free starting point.
The score gap reflects what each formula chooses to do, not which is "wrong." NB's limited-ingredient design intentionally omits the supplement layer that pushes NutriSource into the A tier — that's a feature for the dogs L.I.D. is designed for, and a deduction under a rubric that scores supplement depth.