PawSync Smart Pet Feeder Review: This smart pet feeder is affordable and trustworthy - Reviewed

The PawSync Smart Pet Feeder is budget-friendly but is it worth it?

Updated October 17, 2024

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If your cat wakes you up at the crack of dawn for breakfast or your work schedule occasionally prevents you from being home at dinner time, an automatic pet feeder will be beneficial—for both you and your pet. These devices dispense kibble on a preset schedule, ensuring your pet gets fed on time every day, even if you’re not home (or still in bed).

However, many automatic pet feeders are rather pricey, often costing $200 or more, which isn’t accessible for all pet owners. If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly pick, the newly-released PawSync Smart Pet Feeder retails for $99. However, we wanted to find out if this affordably-priced option is reliable enough to trust first. I tested the new PawSync Feeder for a few weeks with the help of my cat, Piper, and here’s what we thought about its design and functionality.

Using the PawSync app, you can schedule meals for your pet with this automatic pet feeder.

This affordable automatic feeder stores food, tracks meals and even comes with a compatible smart app.

The PawSync Pet Feeder is a new automatic feeder that can be used for cats and smaller dogs. The feeder can hold around 15 cups of dry kibble in its hopper, and it works best with dry pet food with pieces between 0.2 and 0.6 inches in diameter. The hopper locks tightly to prevent your pet from breaking in, and there’s a desiccant pack in the lid to help keep kibble fresh.

Using the PawSync app, you can schedule meals for your pet, which will automatically be dispensed at the set time. The food will be released into the feeder’s stainless steel bowl, and you can even set up a special “meal call” audio to let your pet know it’s time to eat.

This smart feeder plugs into an electrical outlet for operation, but it also has a battery backup that uses three D batteries. In the event of a power outage, the batteries can power the feeder for up to six days, ensuring your pet doesn’t miss a meal.

Straightforward set-up and easy use are a major plus for this feeder.

Some smart gadgets are complicated to program, but the PawSync Smart Feeder was a breeze to set up.

After I plugged in the feeder and downloaded the app, it only took a minute to sync the device to my phone, and the app walked me through the rest of the setup process. Because the feeder has a digital scale underneath its food bowl, you do have to calibrate it before first use, but this is just a matter of pressing a few buttons. Then it’s ready to go.

Within the PawSync app, you’re able to create a feeding schedule for your pet. The app prompts you to select the following for each schedule:

Once you’ve selected the right settings, you just save the schedule and you’re good to go. There’s also an option in the app to provide an extra, unscheduled meal, and the feeder provides a log of every time food is dispensed and when your pet ate it.

Daily meal times are always accurate and consistent.

Whenever I test an automatic pet feeder, two of my biggest questions include: Does it dispense meals on time? And, does it dispense the correct amount of food? With the PawSync feeder, the answer to both questions is yes.

Over the course of two weeks, this smart feeder provided meals for my cat right on schedule—one at 8 a.m. and a second at 6 p.m. Piper was definitely pleased with the consistent meal times, especially when I slept in on weekends, and when I weighed the food dispensed using a kitchen scale, it was the amount that I had selected in the app. We never had any issues with the feeder jamming, either.

Given the feeder’s consistent and reliable performance, I would feel confident trusting it to feed Piper on time, even when I wasn’t home.

Automatic pet feeders are a worthwhile investment if you aren’t always home at your pet’s preferred meal time, but historically, the best and most reliable models are quite expensive. Two of the best automatic feeders that I’ve tested—the Feeder-Robot and Pet-Libro Automatic Cat Feeder—retail for $299 and $200, respectively.

By comparison, the PawSync Smart Pet Feeder is much more budget-friendly with a price point of $100. It doesn’t have quite as many features as more expensive models, but it still works reliably to ensure your pet never misses a meal.

The PawSync Smart Pet Feeder holds a mere 15 cups of food.

The hopper on the PawSync Smart Feeder can hold around 3.8 quarts or 15 cups of food, but it’s actually quite small compared to other models. For comparison, the Feeder-Robot has a 32-cup hopper, and the PetLibro feeder has an 8-liter or 34-cup capacity.

Because the PawSync’s hopper is around half the size of these other units, you’re going to end up refilling it much more frequently. I tested the feeder for around two weeks, and I had to refill it during that time. With the Feeder-Robot, I generally only needed to top off the food levels once a month or so.

Expect a slight learning curve when it comes to measuring your pets usual feeding habits.

When you’re programming meals into the PawSync app, meal quantity is measured by weight, and the default amount is 0.3 ounces, which is considered “one portion.” For each meal, you can set the feeder to dispense up to 10 portions, or 2.8 ounces.

I generally measure Piper’s food by volume (ie. in cups), so it took some trial and error to figure out the best portion size for her. I ended up setting her twice-daily serving size at 0.6 ounces, but I wish there was a slightly smaller option. I feel like 0.3 ounces isn’t enough, but 0.6 ounces is slightly too much. Other more expensive feeders offer a little more flexibility—for instance, with the PetLibro feeder, each serving size is 1/12 cup, which lets you customize the serving size more precisely.

PawSync Smart Pet Feeder will be your pet's newest friend.

The PawSync Smart Feeder is a simple but reliable automatic pet feeder that’s available for a reasonable price, and I think it’s a great option for anyone who doesn’t want to splurge on a high-end model like the Feeder-Robot. While its kibble hopper is on the smaller side and its meal quantity options are limited, this feeder is easy to use and provides consistent meals for you, and at the end of the day, that’s what really matters. If you’re not going to be home for one of your pet’s meals, you can trust this feeder to ensure your four-legged friend eats on time.

Using the PawSync app, you can schedule meals for your pet with this automatic pet feeder.

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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.

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