We tested some of the most popular automatic dry- and wet-food pet feeders to see which ones are worth the money.
Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Featured in this article Best AI-Enabled Dual Feeder With Camera Petkit YumShare Dual-Hopper 2 Automatic Feeder With Camera Read more $180 $146 (19% off) Amazon Best Automatic Wet-Food Feeder Petlibro Polar Wet Food Feeder Read more $170 Amazon Best Connected App Petlibro Granary 2 Vision Read more $190 $180 (5% off) Amazon Best Feeder for Freeze-Dried Food Neakasa Riko Automatic Cat Feeder Read more $240 Amazon An automatic cat feeder may just change your life. No more begging at 4 am. Plus, it can give you peace of mind while you’re away from your fur baby. As seen with the rise of automatic litter boxes and pet tracking , technology has made it so we can closely monitor our pets without doing a lot of the manual labor normally involved. Gravity-fed automatic dry-food dispensers were invented nearly a century ago, but today most automatic cat feeders use Wi-Fi and connect to a phone app that lets you set a schedule or feed on demand from afar, all while monitoring your pet’s eating habits. Newer models have taken this tech further, like the Petkit YumShare Dual-Hopper 2 Automatic Feeder With Camera ($170) , which has a built-in, AI-enabled camera that analyzes the remaining food in the bowl and stops dispensing to prevent overfeeding. Automatic wet-food dispensers—our top pick in this category is the Petlibro Polar Smart Wet Feeder ($170) —are relatively new, often using ice packs or mini-refrigeration cooling systems to keep the food as fresh as possible. Automatic feeders are also helpful for pet parents who want to monitor their pets’ health, maintain specialized schedules, or foster healthier eating habits. (A customizable automatic cat feeder can help with the endless gorging-vomiting cycle many cats struggle with.) Nearly all of the automatic cat feeders on this list are marketed toward cats, but some can be used with smaller dogs, and I’ve noted these below. Check out our related guides, like the Best Automatic Litter Boxes , Best Cat Water Fountains , Best Smart Cat Collars , and Best Pet Cameras . Updated October 2026: I’ve added the Neakasa Riko Automatic Cat Feeder and Petlibro Granary 2 Vision and removed the out-of-stock Cheerble Match G1. I’ve also updated prices and links throughout. Jump to Section AccordionItemContainerButton LargeChevron Compare Our Picks Others Tested Do Not Recommend Why Use an Automatic Feeder? How I Tested How Long Can I Leave My Cat Alone? Best AI-Enabled Dual Feeder With Camera Photograph: Molly Higgins Courtesy of Petkit Chevron Chevron Save to wishlist Save to wishlist Petkit YumShare Dual-Hopper 2 Automatic Feeder With Camera $180 $146 (19% off) Amazon $170 Petkit $170 $128 (25% off) Chewy This model is an upgrade of one of my favorite models below, the Petkit YumShare Dual-Hopper Automatic Feeder With Camera, with added AI features. It offers a crystal-clear video feed, night vision, customizable meal calls, and a dual-hopper for two types of food. Through the connected app, you can set feeding schedules or feed on demand from both tanks, use two-way audio, and monitor the feeder from your phone. Unlike most other brands, the AI-enabled camera doesn’t require a subscription and can identify up to 20 pets and log when each has eaten. The camera also uses AI to analyze the remaining food in the bowl and will stop dispensing to prevent overfeeding. This feeder performed very well throughout testing, and I appreciate that you don’t need to opt into the subscription plan for AI to recognize different pets. However, I still think the connected Petkit app isn’t as reliable or as easy to use as Petlibro’s app. It can be used with cats or small dogs. Compatible food types Dry; freeze-dried App Yes Power source Power cord Capacity 2 and 3 liters (5 total) Warranty 1 year limited Wi-Fi Compatibility 2.4 and 5 GHz WIRED/TIRED AccordionItemContainerButton LargeChevron WIRED Built-in AI-enabled camera Can store two types of food (including freeze dried) TIRED Need membership plan to access some features App isn’t as user-friendly as some others Best Automatic Wet-Food Feeder Photograph: Molly Higgins Courtesy of Amazon Chevron Chevron Save to wishlist Save to wishlist Petlibro Polar Wet Food Feeder $170 Amazon $170 Petlibro $170 Chewy This updated Petlibro Polar Wet Food Feeder solves nearly every gripe I had with other automatic feeders for storing wet food—it’s essentially a mini-fridge that keeps food fresh, and it’s connected to an app where you can schedule and customize feedings and keep a feeding log. Food is dispensed into three wide, shallow stainless-steel bowls, which means less chance of whisker fatigue with wide bowls or feline acne from bacteria-harboring plastic. When it’s time to feed, the cover slides back from the hole, revealing the food beneath. The refrigerator uses thermoelectric cooling and stays at 50 degrees Fahrenheit or below. Cooling is paused 30 minutes before scheduled feeding time to ensure it’s at the ideal temperature. The bowls are now numbered, so you can easily match feedings to specific bowls in the app. Through the app, you can adjust schedules, manually feed on demand, and control how long it’s open—there’s even a sensor to make sure it doesn’t close while your kitty is feeding. This is the best automatic wet feeder on the market, in my opinion—I even bought a second one for my other cat. It can be used with cats or small dogs. Note: For certain Amazon locations, this feeder is marked as a “Frequently Returned Item.” I haven’t experienced any issues with reliability or performance, and it’s worked well for the past six-plus months of testing. Compatible food types Wet App Yes Power source Power cord, three backup AAA batteries Capacity 0.21 liters (7.4 ounces) Warranty 2 years Wi-Fi Compatibility 2.4 GHz WIRED/TIRED AccordionItemContainerButton LargeChevron WIRED Keeps wet food refrigerated Great connected app TIRED None Best Connected App Photograph: Molly Higgins Photograph: Molly Higgins Chevron Chevron Save to wishlist Save to wishlist Petlibro Granary 2 Vision $190 $180 (5% off) Amazon $200 Petlibro This model is the new-and-improved version of one of my long-standing favorite models below, the Petlibro Granary Smart Camera Feeder. As before, it still has an excellent connected app for scheduling and monitoring feedings, two-way audio, and a 1080p camera with night vision. But this new version also has a built-in bowl scale to track levels and prevent overfeeding, an AI-powered camera that differentiates pets and tracks eating habits, and “smart refill mode” that keeps the bowl filled automatically. These improvements make this feeder one of the best on the market. I love that it now has a built-in scale (that measures food within one gram) to prevent overfeeding, which is especially helpful when you’re out of town and may not be monitoring your pets’ eating habits as closely. The multi-pet recognition is also helpful because, through the app, you can look back at the log and see exactly who is eating and how much they are eating. However, some of the cooler features, like AI camera multi-pet recognition logged by each pet and enhanced eating insights, are only available with the paid subscription service ( $96 to $160/year ). During testing, the only issues I ran into were that the live camera footage was slow to load and sometimes gave me a “timed out” error message, a bright light automatically turned on when the cat approached at night, and there is no window to visually see how much kibble is left in the tank. It can be used with cats or small dogs. Compatible food types Dry kibble, small freeze-dried bits App Yes Power source Power cord, rechargeable battery backup Capacity 5 liters Warranty 2 years Wi-Fi Compatibility 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WIRED/TIRED AccordionItemContainerButton LargeChevron WIRED Good connected app, built-in camera, and two-way audio Measures remaining kibble and adjusts to prevent overfeeding TIRED Camera could be laggy and not load Many of the cooler features can only be unlocked with a paid subscription No windows to visually check the food tank levels Best Feeder for Freeze-Dried Food Photograph: Molly Higgins Photograph: Molly Higgins Chevron Chevron Save to wishlist Save to wishlist Neakasa Riko Automatic Cat Feeder $240 Amazon $300 (20% off) Neakasa I’ve never tested an automatic feeder like this. If you’ve read my cat water fountains guide , you know how crucial it is to keep your cat hydrated to avoid potentially lethal UTIs and blockages (especially in males, like my cat Basil). The Riko has a brand-new design that turns freeze-dried food into wet, soup-like meals at feeding time. Through the connected app, Riko uses the information you provide about your cat(s) to personalize a feeding plan of up to 20 meals a day, with portions ranging from 0.04 to 0.7 ounces—this is also ideal, since experts generally agree that cats prefer smaller, frequent meals. You can also customize the water-to-food ratio, adjustable from 1:1 to 5:1, with a traditional “mix” that grinds freeze-dried and adds water; water-only mode; and food-only mode, which just grinds the freeze-dried pieces. The Riko is only compatible with freeze-dried food and treats measuring less than 0.6 x 1 inch in length/width (more info can be found in the product specifications section ). I used Smalls freeze-dried food ($24) during testing. During testing, I primarily followed Riko’s suggestions for how often and how much to feed, which ended up being about once an hour. I liked that if you didn’t want to plan it yourself, you could put it on autopilot like this, and that there are also options for whether you want it to be a wet mix or not. It’s a great concept in theory, and fresh, hydrating meals are preferable to kibble. However, my cats didn’t like the rehydrated food and refused to eat it, so I’d make sure your cats like this style before buying. (My cats had eaten the Smalls brand in its freeze-dried form previously and liked it.)The whole grinding and rehydrating process takes about five minutes and produces a noticeable grinding noise. Then, a little jingle, and the bowl automatically pops out with the chunky soup. I love this fully automated system and appreciate that Riko is attempting to address cats’ dehydration problems. It’s just a bummer my (very spoiled) cats didn’t take to it. It can be used with cats or small dogs. Compatible food types Freeze-dried App Yes Power source Power cord, battery backup Capacity 3 liters Warranty 1 year Wi-Fi Compatibility 2.4 GHz WIRED/TIRED AccordionItemContainerButton LargeChevron WIRED First feeder of its kind on the market It comes up with a personal feeding plan for your cat Helps keep cats hydrated Adjustable food-to-water ratios TIRED Only works with freeze-dried food The process takes about five minutes The grinding process is loud