What's the main difference between The Honest Kitchen Grain-Free and Sundays?

The Honest Kitchen Grain-Free and Sundays both score A/90 under the KibbleIQ rubric — a tie. The full The Honest Kitchen Grain-Free review and Sundays review break down the rubric-tier reasoning behind each grade.

Should I pick The Honest Kitchen Grain-Free or Sundays?

Both score A/90 under our published rubric, so it's a tie on grade. Pick Sundays for its multi-animal-ingredient density, or The Honest Kitchen Grain-Free when price, availability, single-protein simplicity, or brand preference matters more — both grades come from the same KibbleIQ rubric for direct comparison.

The Honest Kitchen Grain-Free vs Sundays: Dehydrated Showdown

Q: Which is better, The Honest Kitchen Grain-Free or Sundays?

It's a tie. Sundays Air-Dried Beef Recipe and Honest Kitchen Embark Grain-Free Turkey both earn A/90 under the KibbleIQ rubric. Both are dehydrated pantry-stable products: Sundays stacks beef plus beef heart plus beef liver plus beef bone in the top four ingredients — four distinct animal ingredients earning full rubric credit — while Embark runs a clean single-turkey-protein limited-ingredient design with eggs as the secondary animal source. Both clear the A tier; the choice is multi-protein density versus single-protein simplicity.

Disclosure: KibbleIQ is reader-supported. When you buy through affiliate links on this page (such as “Shop on Amazon” buttons), we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Our rankings are not influenced by commissions — we score every product using our published methodology before any commercial relationship is considered.

The short answer: It's a tie — both score A/90 under our Fresh Food Rubric v1.0. Both are dehydrated pantry-stable products: Sundays stacks beef plus beef heart plus beef liver plus beef bone in the top four ingredients — four distinct animal ingredients earning full rubric credit — while Embark runs a clean single-turkey-protein limited-ingredient design, with eggs as the secondary animal source at position ten. Both earn the A tier; the choice is multi-protein density versus single-protein simplicity.

The scores

Honest Kitchen Embark Grain-Free Turkey: A (90/100) — Turkey, organic flaxseed, potatoes, celery, spinach, then eggs at position ten.

Sundays Air-Dried Beef Recipe: A (90/100) — Beef, beef heart, beef liver, beef bone, quinoa, pumpkin — four animal ingredients in the top four.

Both are dehydrated (technically Sundays is air-dried, which is a specific sub-process within the dehydration category) human-grade products scored under the Fresh Food Rubric v1.0.

How the ingredients compare

Embark (Grain-Free Turkey): Turkey, organic flaxseed, potatoes, celery, spinach, carrots, organic coconut, apples, organic kelp, eggs, bananas, cranberries.

Sundays (Air-Dried Beef): Beef, beef heart, beef liver, beef bone, quinoa, pumpkin, fish oil, sunflower oil, zucchini, kale, flaxseed, parsley, dried kelp, turmeric, selenium yeast, blueberries, carrots, apples, tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms, broccoli, oranges, cranberries, spinach, beets, cherries, strawberries.

The structural difference is stark: Sundays leads with four named beef ingredients, while Embark has only turkey at position one before shifting to carbohydrates and vegetables. Sundays also runs a much wider produce layer (shiitake mushrooms, blueberries, pumpkin, zucchini, kale, plus more) and uses quinoa as a single complete-protein pseudo-grain.

Where Sundays pulls ahead

Multi-animal-ingredient stack: The four-deep "beef, beef heart, beef liver, beef bone" structure is the single biggest structural difference between the two. Under our Fresh Food Rubric, multiple named animal ingredients in the top five earn a structural credit — though Embark's clean human-grade single-protein design reaches the same A/90 by a different route. Heart and liver are both nutrient-dense organ meats; bone contributes natural calcium and phosphorus at the ratio dogs evolved to consume.

Broader phytonutrient matrix: Shiitake mushrooms, blueberries, pumpkin, zucchini, kale, broccoli, oranges, cherries, strawberries, beets, tomatoes — Sundays runs a ten-plus produce layer vs. Embark’s more modest six-vegetable-fruit lineup. The wider matrix delivers more phytonutrient variety, more diversified fiber, and more natural antioxidants.

Zero synthetic supplements: Sundays uses whole-food nutrition as its core philosophy — selenium yeast for selenium, turmeric for curcuminoids, shiitake for B-vitamins, and avoids the synthetic vitamin and mineral tail that Embark uses (tricalcium phosphate, choline chloride, zinc amino acid chelate, etc.). For owners who prioritize food-first nutrition over chemical supplementation, this is a major differentiator. Shop on Amazon →

Where Honest Kitchen Embark holds its own

Grain-free formulation: Dogs with documented grain allergies or sensitivities do well on Embark’s flaxseed-plus-potato base. Sundays uses quinoa (a pseudo-grain that’s actually a seed, technically grain-free) — some grain-sensitive dogs tolerate quinoa fine, others don’t.

Turkey protein choice: For dogs with beef sensitivities or owners who prefer poultry-based feeding for other reasons (environmental, palatability rotation), Embark offers a turkey-based option that Sundays doesn’t. Sundays is beef-only in our catalog.

Price: Embark is meaningfully less expensive per pound than Sundays, landing in the $3–5/day range for a medium dog vs. Sundays’ $5–7/day range. For budget-constrained households, Embark is the accessible pantry-stable pick. Shop on Amazon →

The bottom line

Sundays and Embark tie at A/90 on measurable rubric-scored ingredient quality — Sundays via its multi-animal-ingredient top-four stack, Embark via a clean human-grade single-protein design. For nutritional-density maximizers who want several animal ingredients in the bowl, Sundays (A/90) is the natural pick. For grain-sensitive dogs, poultry-preferring dogs, or budget-conscious households, Embark (A/90) is the practical alternative. Both are pantry-stable (rehydrate with warm water before feeding), both use human-grade ingredients, both avoid synthetic preservatives.