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Veterinary · head to head

Animana vs Hippo Manager

Animana logo

Animana

Veterinary

Browser-based practice management for European small-animal clinics, owned by IDEXX

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Hippo Manager logo

Hippo Manager

Veterinary

Cloud veterinary practice management software with flat per-user pricing

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Animana it runs only in a browser, so a broadband outage stops consulting, invoicing and dispensing at the same time, and there is no offline mode to fall back on.; Hippo Manager pricing is per user, so a practice with a rota of part-time technicians and relief veterinarians pays full seats for people who log in a few times a month.
  • They diverge on capability: Animana covers Cloud clinical records, Hippo Manager covers Cloud patient records.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Animana and Hippo Manager actually diverge.

Attributes where Animana and Hippo Manager differ
AttributeAnimanaHippo Manager
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Veterinary).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Animana

  • Cloud clinical records
  • IDEXX diagnostics integration
  • Multi-country financials
  • Inventory and dispensing
  • Multi-location support

Only in Hippo Manager

  • Cloud patient records
  • Scheduling
  • Invoicing and payments
  • Inventory
  • Laboratory results

Both cover

  • Reporting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Animana

  • A Dutch or Belgian clinic replacing an ageing on-premise system without buying a new servernot Hippo Manager
  • A multi-country European group that needs one system handling several VAT regimesnot Hippo Manager
  • A practice already committed to IDEXX analysers and reference laboratory servicesnot Hippo Manager
  • A clinic wanting staff to work from home or a second site without remote desktop softwarenot Hippo Manager

Hippo Manager

  • A new clinic opening with no server, no IT provider and a need to be running within weeksnot Animana
  • A mobile or house call veterinarian working from a tablet between appointmentsnot Animana
  • A two doctor practice replacing a legacy on-premise system and wanting predictable monthly costnot Animana
  • A veterinary teaching programme needing many inexpensive logins on shared recordsnot Animana

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Animana

  • It runs only in a browser, so a broadband outage stops consulting, invoicing and dispensing at the same time, and there is no offline mode to fall back on.
  • The diagnostics integration is deepest with IDEXX equipment, so a practice that later switches laboratory supplier keeps software built around the supplier it left and loses the smoothest part of the workflow.
  • It is not sold in North America, where IDEXX offers a different cloud product, so a group with clinics on both continents runs two systems and consolidates reporting manually.
  • Reporting is functional rather than deep, and practices wanting detailed business analysis typically export to a spreadsheet or a separate tool.
  • Imaging is handled through integrations rather than natively, so radiography and ultrasound workflows depend on which PACS the practice already owns and how well it connects.

Hippo Manager

  • Pricing is per user, so a practice with a rota of part-time technicians and relief veterinarians pays full seats for people who log in a few times a month.
  • Inpatient and treatment sheet workflows are lighter than in systems built for referral and emergency hospitals, which pushes overnight care onto paper.
  • The integration catalogue is short relative to the larger cloud platforms, so a practice with an existing imaging, communications or payment preference may find no connector.
  • Multi-location reporting is basic, which limits its usefulness to a group beyond a handful of sites that wants consolidated production figures.
  • As a browser only system it stops when the internet does, and a practice without a backup connection loses records, scheduling and invoicing at the same time.

Pricing, plan by plan

Animana

On request
  • Animana$undefined/year
    • Per-user subscription
    • Implementation and data migration quoted separately
    • Support included

Hippo Manager

On request
  • Hippo Manager$undefined/month
    • Flat monthly subscription charged per user
    • Core clinical, billing and inventory functionality included
    • Data conversion and onboarding quoted separately

Which should you pick?

Choose Animana if

  • You need cloud clinical records.
  • You also want idexx diagnostics integration.
Animana review

Choose Hippo Manager if

  • You need cloud patient records.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want scheduling.
Hippo Manager review

Questions people ask

Is Animana or Hippo Manager better?
Neither clearly leads. Animana starts at On request and Hippo Manager at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Animana or Hippo Manager?
Animana starts at On request and Hippo Manager at On request.
Does Animana or Hippo Manager run on more platforms?
Animana runs on Web. Hippo Manager runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Animana best used for?
Animana is most often used for a dutch or belgian clinic replacing an ageing on-premise system without buying a new server, a multi-country european group that needs one system handling several vat regimes, a practice already committed to idexx analysers and reference laboratory services, a clinic wanting staff to work from home or a second site without remote desktop software. Of those, a dutch or belgian clinic replacing an ageing on-premise system without buying a new server and a multi-country european group that needs one system handling several vat regimes are not what Hippo Manager is typically brought in for.
What can Animana do that Hippo Manager cannot?
Animana covers Cloud clinical records, IDEXX diagnostics integration, Multi-country financials, Inventory and dispensing. Hippo Manager covers Cloud patient records, Scheduling, Invoicing and payments, Inventory. Both handle Reporting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Animana: Can I use Animana with non-IDEXX laboratory equipment?

Yes, but the integration is shallower. IDEXX analysers and reference lab results flow in automatically; other suppliers usually need a separate integration and sometimes manual result entry.

Hippo Manager: Is this veterinary software?

Yes. Hippo Manager is a veterinary practice management system for animal clinics, unrelated to similarly named products in other software categories.

Animana: Is Animana available in the United States?

No. IDEXX sells a different cloud practice management system in North America, so Animana is a European purchase only.

Hippo Manager: How is it priced?

As a flat monthly fee per user with the feature set included, rather than a base licence plus paid modules.

Animana: Do I need a server in the practice?

No. Everything runs in the browser. You need reliable internet and enough bandwidth for imaging, not local server hardware.

Hippo Manager: Does it suit an emergency or referral hospital?

Not well. Inpatient workflow depth is limited and specialist practices should look at systems built for that setting.

Hippo Manager: Is there an on-premise version?

No. It is browser only, which means no server to maintain and no offline working.

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