The scores
Purina Pro Plan Complete Essentials (Savor): C (62/100) — Shredded Blend formula with chicken, rice, whole grain wheat, poultry by-product meal, and whole grain corn as the top five ingredients.
Purina Pro Plan: C (62/100) — Standard adult formula with chicken, rice, poultry by-product meal, soybean meal, and corn protein meal leading the ingredient list.
How the ingredients compare
Both formulas open with chicken and rice — a standard pairing that looks strong on paper. But the similarities end quickly after those first two spots. What each formula does with positions #3 through #5 tells you everything about Purina’s different approaches to the same product line.
Complete Essentials: Chicken, Rice, Whole Grain Wheat, Poultry By-Product Meal, Whole Grain Corn…
Pro Plan: Chicken, Rice, Poultry By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Corn Protein Meal…
Complete Essentials fills its middle positions with whole grains — wheat at #3 and corn at #5. These are inexpensive carbohydrate sources, but at least they’re recognizable whole ingredients. Standard Pro Plan, by contrast, uses that same space for concentrated plant proteins: soybean meal at #4 and corn protein meal at #5. These concentrated protein sources inflate the total protein number on the guaranteed analysis without adding more actual meat.
Both formulas include poultry by-product meal, which is the ingredient that drags down both scores. By-product meal is made from rendered poultry parts — organs, necks, feet, intestines — that aren’t skeletal muscle meat. It’s not dangerous, and it does provide protein, but it’s a lower-quality protein source than named muscle meat or even named organ meats. The fact that it appears at #3 in the standard formula (vs #4 in Complete Essentials) means the standard Pro Plan relies even more heavily on this economy ingredient.
Where Complete Essentials pulls ahead
Whole grain diversity over plant protein padding: Complete Essentials uses whole grain wheat and whole grain corn instead of soybean meal and corn protein meal. While none of these are premium ingredients, whole grains provide fiber, B vitamins, and a more complex carbohydrate profile than refined plant protein concentrates. Whole grain wheat offers soluble fiber that can support digestive regularity, and whole grain corn provides beta-carotene and linoleic acid. These aren’t superfoods, but they’re nutritionally richer than soybean meal, which exists primarily to boost protein numbers cheaply.
By-product meal is pushed one position lower: In Complete Essentials, poultry by-product meal sits at #4; in standard Pro Plan, it’s at #3. Ingredient lists are ordered by pre-cooking weight, so this means Complete Essentials uses proportionally less by-product meal relative to its total formula. The difference is modest — we’re talking about one position — but it suggests that Complete Essentials derives a slightly higher percentage of its protein from the actual chicken listed at #1.
The shredded texture format: Complete Essentials’ Shredded Blend includes both crunchy kibble pieces and softer shredded pieces in the same bag. This isn’t just marketing — the texture variety can genuinely help with picky eaters who get bored with uniform kibble. The shredded pieces also tend to have a higher moisture content during production, which can improve palatability. For dogs that turn their noses up at standard dry food, the mixed-texture approach is a real functional advantage. Shop on Amazon →
Where Pro Plan holds its own
Higher protein concentration on paper: Standard Pro Plan’s use of soybean meal and corn protein meal means its guaranteed analysis typically shows a higher crude protein percentage than Complete Essentials. If you’re comparing nutrition labels, Pro Plan looks like it has more protein. The catch is that this protein comes from plant sources, which have a less complete amino acid profile for dogs than animal-based proteins. Plant proteins lack sufficient taurine, methionine, and other amino acids dogs need — which is why animal sources are always preferred. Still, the total protein number isn’t meaningless, and for dogs that need calorie-dense nutrition, the higher protein concentration has some value.
A more established track record: The standard Pro Plan Adult Chicken & Rice formula has been on the market longer and is one of the most widely fed veterinary-recommended commercial dog foods in the United States. Many veterinarians suggest Pro Plan because of its AAFCO feeding trials and Purina’s extensive nutritional research. While “vet recommended” doesn’t automatically mean the ingredients are premium, the formula has a long track record of producing adequate nutrition for adult dogs across thousands of feeding trials.
Simpler formula, fewer variables: Standard Pro Plan has a more straightforward ingredient list without the texture complexity of the Shredded Blend. For dogs with sensitive stomachs, fewer ingredient variables can mean less risk of digestive upset. The simpler kibble format also stores more consistently — mixed-texture foods can sometimes separate in the bag, with softer pieces settling to the bottom. Shop on Amazon →
The bottom line
This is a tie between two formulas from the same brand that land at exactly the same score for different reasons. Complete Essentials is marginally better in ingredient quality thanks to whole grains instead of plant protein concentrates, and it pushes by-product meal one slot lower. Standard Pro Plan offers a simpler formula with higher protein numbers (even if plant-derived) and a longer track record. Neither formula is a standout — both earn a C for the same fundamental reason: they rely heavily on by-product meal and low-cost fillers to keep prices competitive.
If you’re already buying within the Pro Plan family and want something meaningfully better, consider Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach, which scores a B (76/100) — a full 14 points higher than either of these formulas. It uses salmon as its primary protein and avoids by-product meal entirely, making it the strongest option in the Pro Plan lineup.