Active catalysts for simultaneous hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) and hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) enable the production of fuels from renewable feedstocks. In this work, zirconia-supported nickel, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, and platinum catalysts were evaluated in the HDO and HDN of n-hexadecanamide (C16 amide). The HDN of 1-hexadecylamine (C16 amine) was studied separately to assess the HDN activity and the preference between C−C and C−N bond cleavage routes without the interference of HDO. The differences in the catalytic activity were mainly attributed to the metal identity. Pt/ZrO 2 and Ru/ZrO 2 exhibited the highest activity toward the conversion of both model compounds. The C16 amide was converted more efficiently than the C16 amine over the studied catalysts, and a high HDO activity did not translate to a high activity in HDN, which was particularly evident in the case of Rh/ZrO 2 . The active metal strongly influenced the preferred reaction routes, as observed from differences in the yields of C15 and C16 n-paraffins and C32 condensation products. Ni/ZrO 2 and Pd/ZrO 2 exhibited the lowest activity and paraffin selectivity in the hydrotreatment of both model compounds. Ru/ZrO 2 and Rh/ZrO 2 favored the formation of n-pentadecane from both the C16 amine and C16 amide, whereas Pt/ZrO 2 produced n-hexadecane and high intermediate yields of the C32 condensation products.