Best Veterinary Practice Management Systems (PIMS) in 2026

Choosing a new PIMS is one of the biggest decisions a practice makes. It's the system your whole team works in every day, and the right one makes the whole practice run better: admin gets done faster, your focus stays on pet outcomes instead of fighting the software, and every service gets billed correctly and paid on time.

This guide ranks the best options for 2026.

The state of the veterinary PIMS market

Veterinary software comes in three buckets:

Legacy, server-based systems

These are old systems that run on a physical server in your practice. They're largely outdated and clunky: dated interfaces, endless clicking, no remote access without a VPN, and when the server crashes, the whole practice stops. Examples of legacy, server-based systems:

• Cornerstone
• Avimark
• RoboVet
• RxWorks
• Impromed

Cloud-based

These were the modern solutions 20 years ago. Today, feature releases have slowed, and for many, the underlying architecture the software is built on cannot support the latest AI functionality. Fixing that would mean rebuilding the foundations, so instead the software stays the same and improvements are few and far between. A few of these vendors are actively improving their software, but many are not.

• ezyVet
• Digitail
• Provet Cloud
• Covetrus Pulse
• IDEXX Animana
• Merlin

AI-native operating systems

AI might be a buzzword, but it's genuinely saving practices hours of admin time every week. The practice management systems built with AI from day one are quickly becoming the go-to choice for modern practices, changing the way teams operate. All-in-one operating systems consolidate many of the standalone tools, so systems are no longer disconnected, and all the data lives in one place, making everyday workflows much faster.

• Lupa

Compare the best veterinary PIMS platforms at a glance

Best AI-native PIMS: Lupa. Lupa is the only PIMS with an AI lab, shipping more AI functionality than any other software in the industry: AI scribe, AI assistant, AI receptionist, AI billing and more.

Best for independent practices: Lupa. Lupa is the all-in-one operating system for independents who want to save time logging into 10+ different systems every week. Bring them all into Lupa.

Oldest practice management systems: Avimark and Cornerstone. Avimark runs in over 11,000 hospitals worldwide; Cornerstone has been in hospitals since 1985. Both are well established.

Best for new practices: Lupa. Lupa is the modern choice for new practices, with launch kits, AI marketing campaigns to increase footfall, and WhatsApp, all built in.

Best for corporate groups and multi-site practices: Lupa. Lupa gives veterinary groups an open platform to standardize operations, act on data across every site, and run the whole group as one.

Best for UK practices: Lupa. Lupa is UK-built, UK-supported, with VetEnvoy, NVS, Zoetis, IDEXX and MWI integrations all built in, without having to leave the PIMS.

Best for US practices: Lupa. Lupa has a rapidly growing US presence, shipping new features quickly, and becoming the go-to for US practices looking for an AI-native practice management system.

Best for hospital vets: Lupa and Instinct. Instinct is a well established modern hospital solution, while Lupa is building hospitalization functionality inside an AI operating system.

Best for teaching and university hospitals: Lupa and Instinct. Instinct is an established hospital system used in teaching settings, while Lupa suits programs that want students learning on the AI-native tools they'll go on to use in practice.

Easiest to use: Lupa. Lupa is intuitive and less click-heavy than alternative practice management systems, while AI functionality saves manual admin time.

Easiest migration from a legacy system: Lupa. Lupa's AI migration engine with 400+ automated checks makes switching as painless as it can be, with a team that's done this 2,500+ times.

Best for telemedicine: Airvet. Purpose-built for practices to run their own video consults and after-hours triage, distributed through MWI Animal Health as its preferred telehealth partner and used by 4,200+ vets.

Best for farm vets: Lupa. Lupa is the PIMS designed from the ground up for farm and ambulatory vets, built alongside industry leaders, and not adapted from a small animal product.

Best for equine vets: Lupa. With a map-based diary with What3words built-in, offline functionality and easy invoicing, equine vets are choosing Lupa.

Best for shelter and rescue medicine: ShelterLuv, or PetPoint for the largest shelters. ShelterLuv is the best-rated option for intake, adoption workflows and medical records built by a shelter vet (4.6/5 on Capterra), while PetPoint carries the largest installed base of any shelter system, free when tied to the 24Petwatch microchip program.

How we evaluated these platforms

We built this guide, so we scored ourselves on the same rubric as every other platform in it.

We weighted largely across six areas.

Real-world evidence. What actually happens when a practice uses the software, day in, day out. We looked at review scores and counts on Capterra, G2 and Vet Software Hub, and read what reviewers said, not just the star rating. We also drew on what we hear directly: conversations with customers and prospects, discussion at industry events, and threads on forums like Reddit.

Cloud architecture. A system still running on a server in the back office can't ship the same pace of improvement as one built to be updated weekly, and it can't be accessed the way a modern practice needs to work. We treated a server-based architecture as a serious mark against a platform, whatever else it does well.

Ease of use. Some members of a veterinary team may not be the most tech-forward, (often reception staff), and once someone has learned a system, they're wary of moving off it. That makes ease of use a make-or-break factor for actually getting a whole team using a new PIMS, not a nice-to-have. We weighted this heavily.

Rate of improvement. How often a platform actually ships new features, not just whether it's technically "cloud". A vendor releasing real improvements every month is investing in keeping up with what a modern practice needs. A vendor that hasn't materially changed its product in years is coasting on the customers it already has, and that decay eventually lands on the practice using it.

All-in-one functionality. Whether insurance claims, payments, lab results, pharmaceutical ordering, inventory and health plans live and work inside the PIMS, in the workflows a practice runs every week, or whether they sit in a separate tool a practice has to open, log into and reconcile by hand. Every one of these that's native instead of bolted on removes a step a practice repeats daily.

Open API. How easily the platform connects to other systems. This matters less for a single independent practice, but it's a real factor for corporate and multi-site groups, who typically partner with or acquire independent practices that each arrive on a different system. Getting all of them talking to each other is a genuine problem for a group, and an open API is what makes that possible.

We did not run hands-on testing of every competitor platform. The ranking draws on public review data, vendor documentation and release notes, and what we hear directly from the market.

This rubric is built around what actually saves a practice time and money, which is also what Lupa is built around. That's not a coincidence, and we're not going to pretend otherwise. Where a specialist system is genuinely the better fit, we say so: shelter and rescue medicine has purpose-built options.

The 10 best veterinary practice management systems in 2026

1. Lupa: Best Veterinary Practice Management System (PIMS)

Lupa is an AI-native veterinary practice management system, founded in 2023 in London by Nicolò Frisiani, Matei Bjola and Raul Lozano Martin. The platform brings records, AI scribing, bookings, billing, payments and client comms into one system, and is used by hundreds of practices around the world.

What customers report. Lupa holds 4.8/5 on Capterra and 4.6/5 on G2. On Capterra, a practice owner wrote: "The interface is incredibly easy to use, scheduling appointments is quick and easy, the set up is quick, and the company are innovative, forward thinking, and responsive. Customer service is fantastic, and they take your suggestions on board for future development." (Caitie., Capterra). On G2, a reviewer noted how easy to use it is: "Genuinely innovative PMS with an interface which is much more intuitive and user friendly than the major competitors. I tested the majority of these PMS in real clinics as a locum before setting up my practice." (G2).

Strengths. AI runs across the whole platform rather than in a separate tool, so a recorded consult can trigger the clinical note, the billing suggestions and the record updates in one pass. Lupa consolidates a complex tech stack into one operating system: the comms tools, payment provider, scribe, marketing and booking systems a practice would otherwise run separately all live inside the PIMS, with the data in one place. WhatsApp, SMS, email and the client app all land in one inbox tied to the client record. Lupa Pay puts card terminals, payment links and a bulk debts dashboard inside the PIMS, so reconciliation is a report download rather than a manual cross-check. New practices open in a day and start seeing clients the same week, with Lupa winning 90% of the new-practice deals it competes for. They also shipped over 70 new features in the last 12 months, against an average of 4 among the common alternatives.

Security. SOC 2 Type II certified and GDPR compliant.

Architecture. Cloud-native.

Best for. Multi-site groups, independent small animal practices and new practices, particularly in the UK, US and Germany. Ideal for practices that want an AI-native all-in-one system and are happy to be on the front foot with innovation, working with a fast-moving future market leader.

Customer evidence. See customer success stories on the Lupa Youtube Channel.

Pricing model. Simple published subscription: £100 per month per site, plus £50 per user per month. See Lupa's Pricing page for more information.

Team. Vets and world-class AI engineers working side by side.

2. ezyVet

ezyVet is a cloud veterinary PIMS founded in New Zealand 20 years ago, and owned by IDEXX since 2021, with a London office opened in 2024 to serve the UK market directly. It's used by clinics and hospital groups internationally.

What customers report. ezyVet holds 4.6/5 on Capterra (278 reviews) and 4.7/5 on GetApp (269 reviews). Reviewers in 24-hour and specialty settings praise uptime: "We are a 24-hour emergency clinic and there is absolutely no down time with ezyVet, which is a must!" Others highlight time saved against older systems: "The time we save on charting is significant compared to Cornerstone." The recurring complaint is complexity: a 12-year relief vet described a process that "requires about seven steps for one thing to get done," and a 30-year vet called out the learning curve bluntly, writing that the system "has no redeeming features" for ease of use. Others flagged declining support: "Over the last year, it also seems like the support has declined."

Strengths. Broad clinical and financial functionality built up over two decades, integration with the wider IDEXX family of diagnostics products, and a large third-party integration marketplace (100+). Configurable for hospital and multi-site requirements.

Where it may fall short. The depth comes with a real learning curve, repeatedly flagged in reviews as requiring more steps and more clicks than newer systems. Spend can balloon: per-user pricing plus paid add-ons means the monthly bill grows quickly as a practice adds staff and features, and since the IDEXX acquisition it's fair to ask how the roadmap balances practice needs against the wider diagnostics business it now sits inside. Very limited native AI at the time of writing, which some reviewers note explicitly as a gap "at this price point." Support quality is reported as inconsistent.

Best for. Emergency, specialty and multi-site hospitals, particularly those already using IDEXX diagnostics, that can invest in configuration and staff training. But lots of this functionality is now being built in as standard with the AI-native platforms.

May not be right for you if. You're a small or single-site GP practice that wants to be running in days rather than weeks, or you want native AI or prioritize ease of use.

Pricing model. Per-user subscription. Published US pricing starts at $260.50 per month (ezyVet, 2026), with add-ons priced separately.

Architecture. Cloud-based.

See how Lupa compares to ezyVet.

3. Avimark

Avimark is a workhorse of the North American market. It has been in practices for decades, remains the most widely installed veterinary PIMS in North America, and is used in more than 11,000 hospitals worldwide according to Covetrus, its current owner. The product's origins trace back to the DOS era, and 599 verified reviews have been analyzed across Capterra and GetApp, the largest review sample of any system in this guide.

What customers report. Long-term users who have built their daily flows around it over many years are comfortable with it. The recurring complaint is age and integration: "It is an outdated platform and does not play well with other more advanced platforms," and several reviewers report a decline in support quality since the Covetrus acquisition.

Strengths. Familiarity. Many vets have used Avimark at some point, given its long history and large install base, and it has the largest peer community of any system in this guide, so troubleshooting help can be easy to find.

Where it may fall short. Avimark is a legacy system, and would not be considered modern by today's standards: server-based, with no native AI, and reviewers note weak integration with modern third-party tools. Some users are concerned about Covetrus's incentives, given the company also sells competing PIMS products and is a wholesaler.

Best for. Stable, cost-sensitive independent practices with staff already fluent in it, that aren't actively pursuing new functionality.

May not be right for you if. You want a modern system: cloud access, modern integrations, or any native AI capability.

Pricing model. One-time license purchase plus ongoing support fees; figures not publicly published.

Architecture. Server-based.

4. RoboVet

RoboVet is a long-standing UK practice management system owned by Covetrus, sold alongside sibling products RxWorks and the newer cloud platform Ascend.

What customers report. RoboVet holds 45 reviews on Capterra UK. Long-term users praise reliability and note that "downtime problems hardly ever occur." The recurring complaint is stagnation: one reviewer wrote that "it is fairly easy to use but it is overall an old system," and that it's "very obvious Covetrus is trying to get as much money out of it before letting it go." A 15-year user flagged weak external integrations, including no native accountancy, card or telephone integration.

Strengths. Genuine long-term reliability and low downtime. Established local UK support.

Where it may fall short. Feature development has slowed to a near-stop, with reviewers explicitly noting the platform "can't be updated any further." Weak native integrations with accountancy, card payment and telephone systems. Equine users report dissatisfaction with a major past upgrade.

Best for. Established UK small-animal independents that value reliability and local phone support over new functionality.

May not be right for you if. You want modern integrations, meaningful analytics, native AI, or a system set up for the years ahead: RoboVet is considered a legacy system, without a long-term product roadmap or active investment.

Pricing model. Perpetual licenses purchased outright, at approximately £500 each.

Architecture. Server-based, with a hosted option available.

5. Instinct

Instinct is a cloud PIMS built for the 24/7 emergency and specialty hospital, part of a group that also includes Plumb's, Clinician's Brief and Standards of Care. It launched a separate primary-care product in late 2025 to expand beyond its ER roots.

What customers report. Reviews on Capterra center on the hospital treatment-sheet workflow, with reviewers reporting fewer missed charges once treatments log to the invoice as they're completed.

Strengths. Treatment-sheet charge capture, so charges are logged as care is given rather than reconstructed later. Embedded Plumb's drug references and dosing safety checks. Real-time patient status boards built for a busy hospital floor.

Where it may fall short. Pricing is reported by reviewers as high for smaller or mid-sized practices. The product is built around the hospital treatment sheet, and its day-to-day GP consult flows are much newer: the primary-care product only launched in late 2025, so those workflows are far less proven than the ER tooling. Imaging integration has been a friction point: one reviewer described losing "a large amount of charge capture" while waiting on a separate x-ray integration. Native inventory management is described as lacking.

Best for. Emergency, specialty, ICU and teaching hospitals running high-acuity caseloads.

May not be right for you if. You run a GP practice, a budget-conscious smaller clinic, or you need deep inventory management and ready-made imaging integration out of the box.

Pricing model. Custom quote; reported by reviewers as priced at the higher end of the category.

Architecture. Cloud-based.

6. Cornerstone

Cornerstone is IDEXX's flagship PIMS, originally built in 1985. IDEXX reports the platform is used by more than 125,000 professionals across leading hospitals, specialty referral centers and corporate groups, making it one of the most widely deployed systems in US veterinary medicine.

What customers report. Cornerstone holds 4.3/5 on Capterra from 183 reviews. Reviewers consistently praise IDEXX diagnostics integration as "outstanding," with one five-location operation reporting a measurable reduction in missed charges after adoption. The recurring criticism is architectural age: one reviewer summarized the product's evolution bluntly, noting it "started life as a diet calculator, but then features were bolted on over the years." Others report the software "constantly freezes" and "requires a physical server that crashes sometimes."

Strengths. The deepest integration with the IDEXX family of diagnostics and imaging products of any system in this guide. Extensive customization and form-building.

Where it may fall short. No native AI. Server-based architecture means no remote access without additional infrastructure, and reviewers report real server-crash risk. The interface and workflow show its age: "too much clicking" is a common theme.

Best for. Established hospitals and groups already invested in the IDEXX diagnostics ecosystem, with the IT resources to maintain server infrastructure, and where the migration to a more modern solution feels too much of a risk and upheaval.

May not be right for you if. You want a modern, easy to use system with native AI, or a system set up for the years ahead. Cornerstone is a 40-year-old legacy platform: it carries four decades of incremental feature additions on a server-based foundation that can't support the AI functionality now arriving across the industry, so choosing it means committing to where veterinary software was, not where it's going.

Pricing model. Subscription plus separate server, maintenance and support costs; Capterra lists a starting figure of approximately $420/month.

Architecture. Server-based.

7. Merlin

Merlin is MWI Animal Health's enterprise PIMS, running on the Vetspace cloud platform. MWI has supported UK veterinary practices for over 25 years and the platform runs across thousands of practice sites in the UK and Ireland.

What customers report. Reviewers praise the bundled ecosystem: "Customer support excellent, always available... Umbrella package - PMS, Wholesaler, Buying Group," and specific functionality: "Inventory management, client communications, insurance claims, the ability to easily attach documents including X-ray images is superb." One reviewer noted automatic inventory-based ordering "saves lots of nurse time."

Strengths. A bundle combining PIMS, wholesaler and buying group services under one MWI relationship. Strong inventory automation. VetConnect PLUS and Dojo POS payment integration.

Where it may fall short. The review sample of 2 reviews is too small to be statistically meaningful. Reviewers note licensing can limit workflow flexibility for a limited number of users, and pricing is described as "perhaps slightly pricier than other providers." The vendor is also a wholesaler, so the PIMS relationship and the supply relationship come intertwined.

Best for. UK practices that want a cloud PIMS bundled with wholesaler and buying-group services under a single distributor relationship.

May not be right for you if. You want AI-native functionality or a system set up for the years ahead: Merlin sits in the older cloud generation, without the AI capability now being built in as standard by the AI-native platforms. Also if you want per-seat pricing flexibility, are budget-conscious, or want a PIMS vendor independent of a pharmaceutical distributor.

Pricing model. Custom quote; not publicly published.

Architecture. Cloud-based.

8. Digitail

Digitail is a veterinary PIMS founded in 2018 in Iași, Romania, by Sebastian Gabor and Ruxandra Pui, with its go-to-market focus on the US and Canada. The company has raised over $37M in total funding, including a $23M Series B in November 2025, and reports supporting 10,000 veterinarians and 3 million pet parents.

What customers report. Digitail holds 4.6/5 on Capterra from 78 reviews. Reviewers praise the design and the client-facing app, and one user reported faster charting. Recurring complaints center on inventory and support responsiveness: "The chat option really isn't truly a chat because it can take days for them to respond," and a 2025 review noted being "very unhappy with the software program and the lack of proper and timely support."

Strengths. A design-forward interface. An AI suite covering SOAP dictation, patient summaries, intake and triage. A client-facing Pet Parent App.

Where it may fall short. Inventory and prescription management come up as weak points in reviews. Support response times are inconsistent, with some users reporting multi-day waits on chat. Some AI features, including voice dictation, reportedly carry add-on fees that raise the effective cost. Specialists and referral hospitals report feature gaps outside core GP workflows.

Best for. US and Canadian GP practices that prioritize a design-led interface and a pet-parent-facing app.

May not be right for you if. You run an inventory-heavy practice, a referral or specialty hospital, or you need consistently fast support response times.

Pricing model. Custom quote, with some AI features priced as add-ons; not publicly published.

Architecture. Cloud-native.

9. Provet Cloud

Provet Cloud is the flagship product of Nordhealth, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, and used by 55,000+ veterinary professionals across 3,000+ clinics, per the company's own figures.

What customers report. Reviewers who rate it highly point to its configurability and flexible workflows. The recurring complaint is implementation and post-launch support: one reviewer described reporting problems bluntly, writing that "customer service is non-existent" after go-live, and an early 1-star review compared the maturity of parts of the product to "a pre pre beta-version."

Strengths. An open REST API. Configurable workflows. An established footprint across the Nordics and continental Europe, where Nordhealth is based.

Where it may fall short. Migration and implementation are the most consistently flagged pain points in reviews. North American users report slower support escalation because engineering is based in Europe. Reporting has been criticized as difficult to reconcile against actual takings.

Best for. European practices that want an open API and configurable workflows, and can commit to a careful migration.

May not be right for you if. You're a small, single-site practice that wants simplicity and hand-holding, or you can't invest the time a careful migration needs.

Pricing model. Per-user subscription; Capterra listings cite figures around $245/user/month for some tiers.

Architecture. Cloud-based.

10. Shepherd

Shepherd is a cloud US veterinary PIMS founded by a practicing vet, with a SOAP-based workflow where the clinical record and the invoice build together as the consult happens.

What customers report. Shepherd holds 4.7/5 on Capterra, though from a small review sample. Reviewers praise the workflow and support responsiveness. The recurring complaint is stability after updates: several reviewers reported "the entire system going down within 24 hours after updates," including multiple multi-hour outages in February 2026.

Strengths. Built by a practicing vet, which shows in workflow decisions reviewers call intuitive. Native texting that removes a third-party SMS cost. Responsive support. AI transcription available on top of the core PIMS.

Where it may fall short. Post-update stability is a real, recurring issue, including full outages. Prescription entry is reported as click-heavy. Accounting is described by one reviewer as "unnecessarily complex." US-only focus, with no UK presence.

Best for. Single-site US GP and urgent-care clinics that prioritize simplicity and native client texting.

May not be right for you if. You run an enterprise or specialty operation needing more complex configuration, you're outside the US, or you can't tolerate occasional post-update downtime.

Pricing model. Subscription; figures not publicly published.

Architecture. Cloud-based.

Honorable mentions

IDEXX Animana: cloud PIMS for the UK/European market with IDEXX diagnostics integration and built-in bookkeeping; reviewers flag reporting flexibility and image storage cost as weak points.

VetIT: UK cloud PIMS built specifically for farm, mixed and equine practice, with an offline "On The Road" mobile app for ambulatory work beyond signal range.

Teleos: UK PIMS in market since 1997, self-described as the largest independent supplier of practice management systems in the UK and Ireland; strong on reliability and vendor independence, thinner on reporting depth and modern integrations.

Covetrus Pulse: the cloud successor to Avimark and Impromed, built for practices already inside the Covetrus supply and pharmacy ecosystem.

HVMS: purpose-built for equine hospitals with three or more vets, with equine-specific billing including split ownership.

ThoroVet / Cassadol: purpose-built for solo ambulatory equine practice, both offline-capable on an iPad and priced for a single-vet operation.

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