Best Automatic Cat Feeder Under $100 (6 Timed and Smart Options Compared)

A basic automatic cat feeder is one of the most useful gadgets you can buy if you work long days, travel for work, or simply want your cat to stop waking you up at 5 a.m. for breakfast. The good news is that you don’t need to spend $200 or more on a premium WiFi model to get reliable scheduled feeding.

The best automatic feeder under $100 will dispense dry food on a schedule, hold enough kibble for several days, and not jam in the middle of the night. Some models in this price range also include app control, voice recording, and battery backup. Here’s what to know, followed by the models worth considering.

📋 In This Guide

1. What You Should Expect for Under $100
2. 1. PETLIBRO Air Automatic Pet Feeder (4L)
3. 2. WOPET Automatic Cat Feeder (6L, WiFi)
4. 3. Faroro Automatic Cat Feeder (4L, Budget Pick)
5. 4. PETLIBRO Granary Automatic Feeder with Camera (5L)
6. 5. VOLUAS Automatic Cat Feeder (2 Cats, Double Bowl)
7. 6. Oneisall Automatic Cat Feeder (6L, Stainless Steel Bowl)
8. Common Questions About Budget Automatic Feeders
9. A Quick Note Before You Travel

What You Should Expect for Under $100

At this price point, all the feeders on the market dispense dry kibble only. Wet food requires refrigeration and an ice pack, which pushes the price above $100 quickly. If you feed wet food exclusively, see our guide to the Best Wet Food Cat Feeder for Workdays: 5 Picks That Keep Meals Fresh While You’re Away instead.

For a dry food feeder under $100, you should look for:

• At least 4 meals per day on a programmable timer
• A stainless steel bowl (plastic bowls hold odor and can cause cat acne)
• A secure lid that cats can’t pry open
• Battery backup in case of a power outage
• Anti-jam design around the dispensing rotor
• A hopper that holds at least 3 liters of kibble (roughly 3 pounds, enough for several days for one cat)

WiFi and app control are optional extras in this price range. Some cheaper app-enabled feeders have poor connection reliability, so don’t pay extra for WiFi unless you specifically want to control feeding from your phone.

1. PETLIBRO Air Automatic Pet Feeder (4L)

PETLIBRO’s Air feeder is the baseline option most people start with. It programs from a top-panel LCD (no WiFi needed), dispenses up to 6 meals a day in small portions, runs on wall power with three D-cell batteries as backup, and has a twist-lock lid that most cats can’t open. The stainless steel bowl is removable for washing.

It’s not the fanciest feeder here, but it’s the one with the most owner reviews and the fewest reports of jamming, especially on standard-sized dry kibble.

• Programs up to 6 meals per day
• Stainless steel bowl
• Twist-lock lid
• Battery backup with D cells
• Voice recorder for a short call-to-eat message

Potential downsides:

• Portion sizes are in small increments (~1 tsp per portion); set multiple portions for larger meals
• No WiFi or app

2. WOPET Automatic Cat Feeder (6L, WiFi)

The WOPET 6L WiFi feeder is one of the lowest-priced app-connected feeders on Amazon. You set schedules, trigger manual feedings, and check feeding history from your phone. The hopper holds six liters of kibble (about five to six pounds), which is enough for a week or more for one cat.

The app works over 2.4 GHz WiFi (most home networks), and the feeder also has a backup battery compartment so it keeps dispensing during a power outage.

• App-controlled scheduling from your phone
• Six-liter hopper
• Dual power (wall plug + battery backup)
• Voice recording

Potential downsides:

• App quality is hit or miss; some owners report disconnections
• The plastic bowl is fine for most cats, but you can replace it with a stainless dish placed underneath if needed
• Large kibble (over 15mm) can jam occasionally

3. Faroro Automatic Cat Feeder (4L, Budget Pick)

If you’re looking to spend less than $50, the Faroro 4L feeder is one of the better budget options. It’s a simple LCD-timer feeder with up to four meals per day, portion control in 1-teaspoon increments, a ten-second voice recording, and a desiccant bag inside the hopper to keep kibble fresh.

It doesn’t have WiFi and the bowl is plastic, but for a cat who just needs breakfast and dinner on time when you’re at work, a basic timer feeder is all you need.

• Under $50
• Up to 4 meals a day
• Desiccant pouch in the hopper
• Battery backup
• Voice recorder

Potential downsides:

• Plastic bowl (put a stainless dish under it if your cat has acne issues)
• No app; all programming from the top panel
• Smaller hopper than the WOPET or PETLIBRO

4. PETLIBRO Granary Automatic Feeder with Camera (5L)

PETLIBRO’s Granary with camera sits at the top of the under-$100 price range when it’s on sale. It includes a small 1080p camera pointing at the bowl, so you can open the app and actually watch your cat eat when the feeder dispenses. It also supports two-way audio, so you can talk to your cat through the feeder if you want.

The camera adds a lot of value if you travel and want to confirm meals are actually landing in the bowl, but it does require a reliable 2.4 GHz WiFi connection.

• Built-in camera with night vision
• Two-way audio
• Five-liter hopper
• Stainless steel bowl
• App-controlled schedules

Potential downsides:

• The camera is fixed and only shows the bowl, not the whole room
• Sits at the higher end of the price range
• Some owners report audio quality is tinny

5. VOLUAS Automatic Cat Feeder (2 Cats, Double Bowl)

If you have two cats who eat the same dry food at the same time, the VOLUAS double-bowl feeder splits each dispensed portion between two bowls. It has the standard LCD timer, up to six meals a day, voice recording, and a four-liter hopper. The dual-bowl splitter is the main reason to pick this one over the single-bowl options.

It’s also one of the lower-priced feeders with a splitter, which makes it popular in two-cat households.

• Splits meals between two bowls
• Up to 6 meals a day
• Voice recorder
• Battery backup

Potential downsides:

• If your cats eat different foods or eat at different speeds, this won’t help (look into microchip feeders instead, which are over $100 — see our Read: Best Microchip Cat Feeder for Multiple Cats guide)
• The splitter doesn’t divide portions perfectly 50/50 every time

6. Oneisall Automatic Cat Feeder (6L, Stainless Steel Bowl)

The Oneisall 6L feeder competes with the PETLIBRO Air on features but typically sells for a bit less. It dispenses up to five meals a day, has a stainless steel bowl, a desiccant pouch in the lid, dual power with battery backup, and a small LCD display for programming. The six-liter hopper means you can fill it and leave for a long weekend without worrying about refills.

• Six-liter hopper (one of the largest in this price range)
• Stainless steel bowl
• Desiccant in lid for freshness
• Up to 5 meals per day

Potential downsides:

• Programming the timer is less intuitive than the PETLIBRO
• Some owners report occasional over-dispensing if kibble is very small

Common Questions About Budget Automatic Feeders

Can these feeders handle any size kibble? Most under-$100 feeders work best with standard round kibble in the 5-12mm range. Very large triangular kibble, freeze-dried chunks, and oddly-shaped food can jam the rotor. If you feed a specialty large-kibble food, test it by hand-feeding portions through the dispenser before relying on it for a weekend trip.

Will my cat be able to break into the hopper? Most determined cats can eventually break into any plastic feeder, but a twist-lock lid stops casual prying. If your cat is a known food thief, look for feeders with reinforced lids or consider placing the feeder inside a low cabinet with a hole cut out for the bowl.

Do I need WiFi? No. Basic LCD-timer feeders work perfectly well without WiFi, and they are more reliable when your internet goes down. Get a WiFi feeder only if you want to trigger feedings remotely or monitor from the app.

What about portion control for weight management? All of the feeders listed here let you set portions in small increments, which is useful for reducing a cat’s daily food amount. Just check the portion size against the food bag’s recommended feeding guide for your cat’s weight.

A Quick Note Before You Travel

An automatic feeder is great for short trips, but if you plan to be away for more than two or three days, you should still have someone stop by to check on your cat. Feeders can jam, power can go out for longer than the battery backup lasts, and water bowls can tip over. An automatic feeder is a supplement to, not a replacement for, a real person checking in.

For more details on feeding solutions, see our full guide to the and our breakdown of Read: Best Wet Food Cat Feeder options if kibble isn’t all your cat eats.