Spot & Tango vs. Ollie fresh dog food

Food format: dried UnKibble vs. frozen fresh

The biggest difference is how the food arrives and lives in your kitchen.

Spot & Tango built its current lineup around UnKibble, which it describes as a gently dried food made from whole meat, fruits and vegetables. It ships dry, stores in the pantry, and keeps up to 12 months unopened, then should be used within 8 weeks of opening. Spot & Tango still sells a frozen Fresh line, which keeps up to six months frozen and four days once in the fridge.

Ollie is mainly a frozen fresh food. Meals arrive frozen, go into the freezer, and are thawed in the fridge before serving. Ollie also sells a baked line for owners who want something with crunch.

If freezer space is tight, or you travel with your dog, UnKibble is easier to live with. If your dog prefers a soft, wet texture, frozen fresh is closer to what most owners mean by fresh dog food, and both brands offer it. Both companies use a quiz about your dog’s age, weight, activity and body condition to set portions and price.

Price: which costs less?

Both brands price by your dog’s calorie needs, so the only fair comparison is a quote for your own dog. The starting prices they advertise in October 2026 are:

• Spot & Tango UnKibble: from $1 a day, with the site also advertising from $0.53 a meal.
• Spot & Tango Fresh: from $2 a day.
• Ollie Full Fresh: from $1.57 a meal.
• Ollie Half Fresh: from $1.00 a meal, a half serving meant to be added to your dog’s current food.

Note the units. Spot & Tango quotes per day and Ollie quotes per meal, and most dogs eat two meals a day. Starting prices are for small dogs; a large dog can cost several times more on either plan.

Shipping is free with both. First-order discounts change often: Ollie was advertising 50% off the first box when we checked, and Spot & Tango runs rotating promotions on its trial order. After the first box, both plans renew automatically at full price, so put a reminder on your calendar before the second charge if you’re only trying it.

Recipes and nutrition

Spot & Tango lists three UnKibble recipes: Beef + Barley, Turkey + Sweet Potato, and Cod + Salmon, which is grain-free. It states the recipes are formulated to meet AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for all life stages, including growth of large breed puppies expected to reach 70 pounds or more. That statement matters for puppies, because some foods are only formulated for adult maintenance.

Ollie lists five fresh recipes: beef with sweet potatoes, chicken with carrots, turkey with blueberries, lamb with cranberries, and pork with apples. It says the recipes are developed with veterinary nutritionists, made with human-grade ingredients in USDA facilities, have meat as the first ingredient, avoid corn, wheat and soy, and are WSAVA compliant. Ask Ollie for the AAFCO life stage statement on the specific recipe before feeding it to a puppy, since we couldn’t confirm it on the pages we checked.

Ollie’s five proteins give more room to rotate or avoid an allergen. Lamb and pork are useful options for dogs that react to chicken or beef.

Safety record and company policies

In September 2022 Spot & Tango voluntarily recalled four batches of UnKibble for possible Salmonella and notified customers by email. We found no later recall for the brand. The company makes its food in its own facility in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Ollie has also had a recall. In December 2025 it voluntarily recalled a batch of its Gently Baked Beef Dish with Sweet Potatoes for possible metal pieces. The FDA Enforcement Report lists it as a Class II recall distributed nationwide, with no press release required, and Ollie says it emailed affected customers. Its frozen fresh recipes were not part of the recall, so older claims that Ollie has never had a recall are out of date.

Ownership has changed too. In February 2026 Agrolimen, a family-owned Spanish food group, bought Ollie, which says it continues to run independently.

Spot & Tango publishes more of its policies. It ships to the 48 contiguous states only, and its 14-day Happy Pup Guarantee refunds the first trial order if your dog doesn’t like it and you ask before the first renewal. After that, returns aren’t accepted. Ollie’s shipping area and refund terms were not shown on the pages we could access, so read them during checkout.

Spot & Tango holds an A+ rating as a BBB accredited business, with 26 complaints in the last three years, and a 4.6 out of 5 Trustpilot score from 2,823 reviews. Ollie’s main BBB profile, in New York, is rated B and not accredited, with 16 complaints in three years.