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Telemedicine is here to stay, and this is true not only for us but for our adorable little friends, too. Every pet parent knows how stressful it is for animals to visit vet facilities (and, frankly, for everyone involved), so online consultations can be a great way to make life a bit easier for both pets and humans. And on top of this, the newly born vet software market welcomes fresh players with open arms.
Sounds good? Let’s dive into it.
We’ll get straight to the point — 2026 is the perfect year to launch a veterinary mobile app. Here’s why.
On-demand vet software is still an emerging niche, so the market offers huge opportunities for early comers as well as plenty of room for creative solutions and innovative products. No clearly established major players are dominating the pet care market, but the competition is steadily growing due to the increased preference for telemedicine in the aftermath of the pandemic.
And now, let’s talk about the money involved. In 2021, Europeans spent $20.3 billion on pet food and services( FEDIAF), while Americans spent $34.3 billion on vet care & products ( APPA). And in 2022, the veterinary software market size was measured at $538.1 million. This figure is expected to double by 2030, reaching $1,07 billion ( Grand View Research).
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Apart from this, a successful service can count on stable demand that’s here to stay for a long time. Approximately 4.1 million pets are adopted from animal shelters each year in the US alone ( ASPCA) while 46% of European families live with at least one pet in the household ( FEDIAF). Each of these animals needs regular vet care over the entire course of their lives, so there are millions of potential customers interested in long-term cooperation.
There are two types of veterinary mobile apps: client-centered and business-centered. Each offers a drastically different set of features.
Client-centered apps, as the name suggests, cater to the needs of animal parents. They serve as a point of contact between pet owners and the world of veterinary care. At the core of such apps lie various telemedical features, for instance, chat rooms and video conferences.
In addition to this, client-centered software often supplements brick-and-mortar vet centers and offers customers the opportunity to schedule in-person appointments via the Internet. Sometimes, the list of functions also includes an integration with vet pharmacies and online stores.
Business-centered apps are tools that help streamline the business processes of veterinary clinics. This type of software often comes in the form of customer relationship management (CRM) systems that sort, analyze, and prioritize sales leads to boost conversion and enhance loyalty.
But it’s not the only thing they can do. There are business-centered apps that assist in operations & inventory management, make it easier to store and manage health records, or generate reports and analytics. Finally, some veterinary mobile apps provide vets with extensive knowledge bases regarding various medical conditions and medicines.
Both of these segments are full to the brim with opportunities, but in this article, we’ll focus solely on client-centered veterinary mobile apps. The reason is simple: each topic is so extensive and different from one another that cramming them into one text would be a mistake.
Although the market is still young, there already are successful players that have been around for some time. They can provide us with positive references as well as serve as good examples of the key features we’ll be talking about later.
Airvet is a telehealth app that connects its customers with a network of thousands of licensed veterinarians 24/7. There are two ways to communicate with a doctor: you can use an online chat or start a video call. The chat is most suitable for non-urgent questions regarding general care, diet, and behavior while video conferences are reserved for more in-depth consultations.
When the customer starts a video call, the system connects them with the first available veterinarian and automatically opens a case. To connect with a doctor, you need to pay a fixed fee. This case will then stay open for the next 72 hours. During this time, the customer can have a follow-up conversation with the same specialist free of charge.
All health-specific information about their animals is stored in pets’ profiles.
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Modern Animal is a mobile veterinary app that runs alongside an eponymous network of brick-and-mortar vet clinics in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. The whole system operates based on annual subscriptions: once you’ve purchased yours, you get access to 24/7 on-demand video consultations and free-of-charge appointments at any of the network’s locations. One subscription covers only one pet.
The app allows customers to connect with licensed veterinarians via video calls as well as book and manage in-person appointments. In case the pet needs some additional care like dental cleaning or nail trimming, there’s a separate screen where customers can get an estimate on the price of these services.
Finally, all prescriptions, care recommendations, and diagnostic summaries are stored in the pet’s profile and can be easily accessed at any time.
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PetDesk can be best described as a pet care management system. Instead of offering telemedical services of an in-house vet team, it provides a multifunctional platform for users to connect with their primary pet care providers and keep track of all the important information about their beloved animals.
Customers can create custom to-do lists, set various reminders as well as conveniently store lab results, prescriptions, vaccinations, and general recommendations in one place.
If your vet or grooming facility uses PetDesk, the app allows you to easily get in touch with them, schedule appointments, and even refill prescriptions.
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And now, back to telemedicine. Joii Pet Care connects customers with qualified members of the British Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons via video calls. Before the appointment starts, you can upload any pictures you would like your vet to see. Afterwards, the app stores the full treatment plan together with the diagnosis and clinical advice.
The app’s unique selling point, however, is the symptom checker — a free interactive service that outlines a recommended course of action based on the symptoms that the customer has listed.
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On-demand mobile veterinary apps share seven core features, and implementing them is crucial if you want to create a smooth and seamless user journey.
Thankfully, not every case in vet practice is related to diseases. Sometimes, all that customers need is to ask a couple of questions about nutrition, behavior, or medications to simply give their pets the best they can or to see if they have anything to worry about. ͢
Chats are perfect for minor issues and non-urgent questions, but when the customer needs an in-depth consultation, video calls are a much better choice. During a video call, the vet can have a closer look at the animal via the phone camera and ask the pet parent to perform certain instructions.
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If your business also provides in-person consultations at vet facilities, appointment scheduling is a must. Today’s customers are used to booking everything online, and younger generations even regard phone calls as a relic of the past. Keep the process as simple as possible. All in all, it should take no more than three steps: location → specialist → time.
To make the user experience even smoother, you can integrate your vet on-demand app with calendars and various time-planning software.
Keep the checkout simple and intuitive — it shows respect for your clients’ time, and that has a positive impact on loyalty and conversion rates. As a quality-of-life improvement, you can also provide multiple payment options: for example, accept transfers not only from bank cards but also from electronic wallets like Apple Pay or PayPal.
It’s much more convenient for both customers and veterinarians if the information about a particular pet is stored in one place. Virtually all mobile veterinary apps come with pet profiles: easily customizable repositories where the user can specify their animal’s name, age, breed, weight, ID, existing health conditions, food preferences, and other bits of data that can be useful during the examination.
Many customers have more than one pet, so a single account should support multiple pet profiles.
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The most obvious way of using push notifications is to remind customers about upcoming appointments and promote special offers, but their range of applications is actually much broader than that. They can be a handy tool when it comes to pet care activities. For example, customers can ask the mobile app for veterinary care to alert them when it’s time for feeding, going for a walk, or playing. However, nobody likes getting unwanted notifications, so make sure that there’s always an option to turn them off.
With a GPS integration, your customers will be able to quickly find the nearest clinic. It’s critically important in case of an emergency and simply convenient in all other situations where the pet requires an in-person examination.
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In addition to the seven core features we’ve just discussed, you can implement several additional ones that will make the user experience even smoother and help you gain a comp
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