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View 3 More +Dog subscription boxes are perfect for busy pet parents who can’t make frequent trips to the pet store to restock on toys and treats. They are especially useful for playtime enthusiasts and heavy chewers that cycle through toys within days.
The number of companies that curate pet subscription boxes has increased in recent years, so it can be a challenge to pick a subscription service that best suits your dog. So, we’ve researched two popular subscription boxes, Kong Club and BarkBox.
Both subscription boxes share a decent amount of similarities, but they do have some notable differences. Overall, Kong Club is an excellent choice for heavy chewers, while BarkBox excels in catering to dogs that get bored easily.
Keep reading a more in-depth analysis of KONG Club and BarkBox to help you decide which one your pup will love the most.
At a Glance
Let’s look at the key points of each product.
- Subscription Plans: Monthly, 6-month plan, 12-month plan
- Number of Toys: 2 KONG toys
- Number of Treats: 3 KONG treat bags
- Specials: Free KONG Classic toy with the first box
- Customizations: Extreme chewers box, food allergies, dog breed size, behavioral solution boxes
- Subscription Plans: Monthly plan, 6-month plan, 12-month plan
- Number of Toys: 2 toys
- Number of Treats: 2 treat bags, 1 chew
- Specials: Free dog bed with multi-month subscriptions
- Customizations: Food allergies, Dog breed size, toys only, treats only
Overview of KONG Club
KONG has become a household name because of its high-quality, durable toys. With the monthly subscription box, you can now receive two KONG toys every month along with KONG treats.
How To Get Started
KONG Club has all subscribers fill out a profile for their dogs. You can put down your dog’s size so that the toys are suitable for its size. The profile also gathers information on any pet allergies.
At this time, KONG Club doesn’t offer any discounts for multi-pet households, so you would have to fill out completely separate profiles and payment plans for each dog you have.
KONG Club offers monthly, 6-month, and 12-month payment plans, and the price of each box gets cheaper the longer the length of the plan. Once you set up a subscription, KONG Club will automatically enroll you in auto-renewal until you cancel your subscription. If you’re on a multi-month plan and would like to cancel your subscription early, you have to pay a one-time cancelation fee.
Box Contents
Classic KONG toys are known to be very durable. However, if your pup has a particularly strong set of jaws, you can upgrade to their Extreme Chewers box for an additional fee.
KONG Club also has a line of Solutions Boxes, which help address common challenges:
- Chewing
- Boredom
- Separation Anxiety
- Teething
- Barking
- Crate Training
- Weight Management
At this time, KONG Club doesn’t offer any other customizations, such as opting for only toys or only treats.
Since everything in the box are KONG products, they tend to work well together. For example, the treats complement the treat dispensing toys, so they’ll fit easily inside them.
Overall, this box is a no-brainer for KONG fans. However, if you have a dog that gets bored easily, it probably won’t appreciate the KONG Club as much because of the limited selection.
- Customize for dog size
- Customize for food allergies
- Special box for heavy chewers
- Addresses common behavioral challenges
- Toys often complement treats
- Restricted to KONG products
- Early cancellation fees
- No multi-pet discounts
Overview of BarkBox:
BarkBox has an established position in the pet subscription box market because it’s fun for both dogs and their owners to open their boxes. They come with entertaining themed boxes and unique toys that you can’t find anywhere else. The standard BarkBox includes two toys, two treat bags, and one chew.
How To Get Started
BarkBox has new subscribers complete their questionnaire, which takes information like your dog’s size and any food allergies. If you have a heavy chewer, you can subscribe to the Super Chewer Box.
Multi-pet homes can opt for BarkBox’s Double Deluxe. These boxes have twice the number of toys and treats for discounted prices. Subscribers can only select toys for one dog size, so you can’t mix and match toys for different-sized dogs. However, you can mix classic BarkBox toys and Super Chewer toys.
BarkBox offers monthly, 6-month, and 12-month payment plans with discounted prices for multi-month plans. BarkBox doesn’t offer early cancelation. So, you have to pay for all the boxes you initially subscribed to and turn off auto-renewal to stop receiving more boxes.
Along with shipping within the US, BarkBox also ships to Australia and some parts of Canada. If you have an Amazon account, you can sign up through Amazon, but this option is only available within the US.
Box Contents
One of the most appealing features of BarkBox is its unique toys. Many pet stores usually carry the same lineup of toys with very little variation. So, BarkBox is perfect if you’re looking for an extensive rotation of toys and treats.
After your first subscription arrives, you can make even more modifications, such as choosing to receive only toys or only treats. If you’re having trouble deciding which customizations will work best for your dog, you can always speak with BarkBox’s excellent customer service team, Happy Team.
- Customize for dog size
- Customize for food allergies
- Special box for heavy chewers
- Unique rotation of toys
- Can opt for treats only or toys only
- Double Deluxe option for multi-pet homes
- Ships to the US, Australia, and some parts of Canada
- No early cancelation
- Doesn’t address behavioral challenges
How Do They Compare?
You can rest assured in knowing that you’re receiving a discounted deal from both Kong Club and BarkBox. So, the determining factors for choosing a box come down to personal preferences and what you value more from a subscription service.
We’ve made comparisons for several categories that are important to many dog owners, such as price, customizations, and customer service. Take a look at the categories that are most important to you to help you determine if Kong Club or BarkBox is a better fit for your dog.
Price
Edge: BarkBox
We’ve chosen BarkBox because its basic box is priced lower than Kong Club’s basic box. However, considering how durable KONG toys are and how they’re priced individually, you’re still getting a good deal and making significant savings if you subscribe to Kong Club.
Customization
Edge: BarkBox
Both Kong Club and BarkBox allow you to make customizations based on dog size, food allergies, and heavy chewing. However, BarkBox takes customization a few steps further by allowing you to opt for boxes that contain only toys or only treats.
BarkBox also offers a tiny box option for dogs under 9 pounds and has discounted prices for larger boxes, which are great for multi-pet homes. Kong Club requires one-box subscriptions per dog.
Durability
Edge: KONG Box
In general KONG toys are a lot more durable than typical dog toys. So, you may not even have to subscribe to Kong Club’s box for extreme chewers.
BarkBox does offer more variety, but their general toys will not withstand heavy chewing, so you’d have to pay an additional amount to subscribe to a Super Chewer box.
Customer Service
Edge: BarkBox
Both BarkBox and Kong Club have customer support lines and email addresses that you can use to ask questions or resolve issues.
However, BarkBox’s Happy Team goes above and beyond to make things right, and many customer reviews sing high praises for their positive experiences with Happy Team. You can also speak with someone through their live chat feature if you’re not able to make a phone call or wait for an email response.
Return, Replacement, and Refund Policies
Edge: KONG Box
BarkBox doesn’t take any complete boxes or individual items. BarkBox allows you to request replacements if you’re not satisfied with one of its products.
Kong Club will accept any unopened boxes and give a full refund. The customer is responsible for shipping costs and labels. Kong Club has a 60-Day Satisfaction Guarantee and is willing to replace products your dog won’t use as long as you contact Customer Support within 60 days of the date you received the box.
Behavioral Challenges
Edge: KONG Box
At the end of the day, BarkBox can be more entertaining to receive, but if you want to work on addressing behavioral issues, KONG toys are the better option. They’re durable and many are designed for enrichment purposes. They can be more fun to chew and gnaw on, and many toys also dispense treats or can encase KONG treats. You can also subscribe to boxes curated for specific behavioral issues.
With BarkBox, you’re not always guaranteed that you’ll receive a treat-dispensing toy or enrichment toy. So, BarkBox won’t consistently address behavioral challenges or help to redirect these behaviors to a healthier outlet.
What the Users Say
In general, both KONG Club and BarkBox have more positive customer reviews than negative ones. It’s worthwhile to learn what other people’s experiences with these subscription services have been to determine which box would be the better option for your dog.
Customer Satisfaction
Customers happy with KONG Club love that they’re getting a great deal on Kong products and end up saving a lot of money compared to individually purchasing each product.
They also love the high-quality toys that come in each box that can withstand intense play sessions. Kong Club lovers also frequently mention how convenient it is to pair Kong toys with Kong treats because they fit each other seamlessly.
BarkBox customers sing high praises for the excellent customer service they receive from the Happy Team. They can also count on BarkBox to deliver unique toys and high-quality treats catered to food allergies and sensitivities. Customers also mention how making customizations and shipping updates is extremely easy and convenient to complete online and through the BarkBox App.
Customer Complaints
The most common complaint that Kong Club customers have is the lack of variety in the toys. After receiving toys for several months, they can feel repetitive, even if the toys come in different shapes. You also aren’t introduced to many new types of treats.
Kong Club also always includes a rubber toy. So, dog owners who have pets that don’t like playing with rubber toys don’t really view the Kong Club as a great deal because it always comes with one toy that their dog won’t use.
The most common complaints from BarkBox customers relate to canceling subscriptions and the quality of the toys. BarkBox has a wide selection of toys, and the durability of each one varies. Therefore, customers don’t always receive toys that can handle intensive play, such as excessive chewing and extreme pulling.
BarkBox customers have also noted that it can be difficult ending their subscription and have experienced payments automatically getting withdrawn even after they turned off the de. It’s also inconvenient that once customers sign up for a multi-month plan, they can’t cancel their plan and must pay for all the boxes in the plan.
Conclusion
KONG Club and BarkBox appeal to different crowds. If you’re looking for novelty toys and have dogs that are relatively gentle players, you’ll enjoy receiving BarkBox subscriptions. If you’re more focused on accumulating durable toys, Kong Club is the more appropriate subscription service for you.
Either box is also very convenient as they eliminate trips to the pet store, and you don’t really have to worry about running out of treats. They’re both great values, so if you tend to cycle through toys rather quickly, you can end up saving a lot of money with either Kong Club or BarkBox subscriptions.
