Leaping Bunny vs PETA: how the two cruelty-free programs differ

The core difference: audit versus assurance

Both marks tell a shopper the same headline — not tested on animals — but they verify it very differently. Leaping Bunny operates a Corporate Standard of Compassion for Animals: companies commit to a fixed cut-off date after which neither they nor their suppliers conduct animal testing, monitor their supply chain on an ongoing basis, and submit to independent audits. PETA's program — the Ultimate Cruelty-Free List, renamed from Beauty Without Bunnies on 1 July 2025 — certifies on the strength of a completed questionnaire and a signed statement of assurance. One is an audited system; the other is a documented pledge.

Who can apply — and who cannot

Leaping Bunny certifies a company or brand as a whole, never a single product; its Company FAQ says this is to remove ambiguity for shoppers. Only companies that sell finished products under their own brand name are eligible. Contract manufacturers and ingredient suppliers are not certified, although they sign declarations for the brands they supply. The Standard covers cosmetics, personal care and household products, and it expressly excludes nutritional and ingestible supplements.

PETA lists whole companies and, since October 2018, individual brands that meet its requirements across their entire product line. It offers two designations — animal test-free, and animal test-free and vegan — and limits its list to companies that sell in the countries the program is administered from: the United States, Canada, Germany and India.

This guide describes the Leaping Bunny program for companies based in the United States and Canada, run by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC). Elsewhere the Leaping Bunny is administered by Cruelty Free International, with its own application and fees. For brands based in India, that route and the Indian law beneath it are set out in cruelty-free certification for Indian cosmetics brands.

What each program asks you to document

• Leaping Bunny — a fixed cut-off date. In the program's words, an unchangeable date after which no animal testing can occur at any level, from ingredients to formulations to finished products. It applies across the company's whole range, now and in the future.
• Leaping Bunny — supplier declarations. Signed declarations of compliance from every third-party manufacturer and ingredient supplier, kept on file as the company's Supplier Monitoring System. Raw, unprocessed agricultural ingredients are exempt.
• Leaping Bunny — annual recommitment and audit. Companies recommit every year and agree that the monitoring system may be independently audited: an auditor selects products, asks for proof of purchase for specific ingredients, and checks that the matching supplier has a declaration on file.
• PETA — a company commitment plus supplier agreements. Companies commit never to conduct, commission, pay for or allow tests on animals for ingredients, formulations or finished products, and must hold agreements with suppliers to the same effect. The commitment runs forward from approval: PETA's own page notes that ingredients may have been tested in the past and that its logo recognizes a ban from the time a company is approved.

Selling abroad: China and the European Union

Export markets are where a cruelty-free claim most often breaks. The Leaping Bunny Standard bars a company from allowing animal testing by or for regulatory agencies in foreign countries, and requires a contract addendum with any distributor selling its products outside the United States and Canada. PETA asks companies that do business in China additional questions, because products sold there are likely to be tested, and it moves a company to its list of companies that do test if it allows testing in order to sell where tests are required.

The European Union is a labeling question rather than a testing one. Leaping Bunny's FAQ states that the text “cruelty-free” cannot be used with its logo on packaging distributed in the EU. PETA states that its cruelty-free marks are intended for the United States, Canada and India and no longer for the EU, citing Directive (EU) 2024/825. If the EU is a target market, settle the label wording before the artwork is printed.

Cost, audits and timing

Neither program charges to apply. Leaping Bunny's optional logo license is a one-time fee of $500–$4,500, set by gross annual sales; PETA's is a one-time $350. Audits are the less-known line: under the Leaping Bunny Standard the CCIC pays for the audit of a company with under $10 million in gross annual sales, while a company at $10 million or more commissions its own — which the Company FAQ puts at between $500 and $1,000 (published rates, 2026).

On timing, Leaping Bunny says it processes completed applications weekly and does not expedite. The usual delay is suppliers who have not returned their declarations, so chase those first. Documents gathered for another program cannot be reused: each applicant completes Leaping Bunny's own forms.

Cruelty-free is not the same as vegan

This trips up buyers constantly. Cruelty-free means a product and its ingredients were not tested on animals. Vegan means the product contains no animal-derived ingredients. A lipstick can be cruelty-free and still contain carmine or beeswax; a product can be vegan yet sold in a market where its ingredients were animal-tested. Retail buyers increasingly ask for both marks precisely because one does not imply the other — the ingredient side is covered across the ingredient library.

How to tell whether a cruelty-free label can be trusted

• Look for a named program. Animal-testing claims are not regulated in the way ingredient lists are, so an unbranded “not tested on animals” line is the company's own statement and nothing more.
• Check the program's own list. Leaping Bunny publishes a shopping guide of more than 2,300 certified companies, and PETA runs a searchable database. A brand that shows a logo but is missing from the list is worth a question.
• Ask what the claim covers. A finished product can be untested while its ingredients are not; both programs require the commitment to reach ingredient suppliers.
• Do not read it as vegan. Leaping Bunny says plainly that it is not a vegan certifier, and it certifies companies whose products contain animal-derived ingredients.

How to choose between them

• Ask your buyer first. If a retailer's policy names Leaping Bunny or PETA specifically, that program is what satisfies it — a different mark does not.
• Match rigor to your risk. If your supply chain is complex or your buyers demand audited assurance, Leaping Bunny's monitoring and audits fit; for a simpler line, PETA's statement-based model may be enough.
• Decide whether you also need vegan. If both claims matter, look for a program that reviews them together rather than paying two certifiers.
• Check verifiability and cost together. A one-time license versus an annual review is a different budgeting shape; the published figures sit in the cruelty-free cost guide.

Frequently asked questions