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Veterinary · head to head

AVImark vs VIA Veterinary

AVImark logo

AVImark

Veterinary

Long-running Windows practice management software for veterinary clinics, now part of Covetrus

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
VIA Veterinary logo

VIA Veterinary

Veterinary

Medically oriented veterinary practice management, now owned by Antech and Mars Veterinary Health

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: AVImark the owner markets a different cloud platform as its strategic product, so AVImark development is maintenance paced and buyers should expect a migration conversation rather than a long roadmap.; VIA Veterinary the vendor is owned by Mars Veterinary Health through Antech, the same group that owns Antech Diagnostics, Banfield and VCA, so a practice is buying its record system from its diagnostics supplier and its competitor in the consolidation market.
  • They diverge on capability: AVImark covers Medical records, VIA Veterinary covers Clinical flowsheets.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AVImark and VIA Veterinary actually diverge.

Attributes where AVImark and VIA Veterinary differ
AttributeAVImarkVIA Veterinary
PlatformsWindowsWindows, Web, iPadOS

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 AVImark

  • Medical records
  • Appointment scheduling
  • Invoicing and estimates
  • Inventory and controlled drugs
  • Reminders
  • Add-on modules

Only in VIA Veterinary

  • Clinical flowsheets
  • Integrated SOAP
  • DICOM imaging
  • Laboratory results
  • VIA Cloud
  • VIA Touch
  • Multi-site
  • Open standards integration

What people use each for

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

AVImark

  • A single site clinic that wants the lowest ongoing software cost and already has a server and an IT providernot VIA Veterinary
  • A practice whose staff are fast in AVImark and where retraining cost outweighs the benefits of movingnot VIA Veterinary
  • A rural clinic with poor connectivity that cannot depend on a browser based systemnot VIA Veterinary
  • A practice buying Covetrus pharmacy and supplies that wants prescription workflow in the same systemnot VIA Veterinary

VIA Veterinary

  • An emergency and critical care hospital that runs on treatment flowsheets and a live whiteboard rather than an appointment calendarnot AVImark
  • A multi-doctor specialty referral practice needing DICOM imaging and lab results inside the medical recordnot AVImark
  • A practice already committed to Antech diagnostics that wants first-party laboratory and imaging integrationnot AVImark
  • A multi-site hospital group consolidating separate practice management installations onto one systemnot AVImark

Where each one falls short

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

AVImark

  • The owner markets a different cloud platform as its strategic product, so AVImark development is maintenance paced and buyers should expect a migration conversation rather than a long roadmap.
  • Meaningful capabilities including imaging, client communication and wellness plans are separately priced modules, so the quoted base licence understates what a working configuration costs.
  • It is Windows and server based, which pushes hardware, backup and IT support costs onto the practice and rules out browser or tablet use in the examination room.
  • The interface is keyboard driven and dated, which suits long-serving staff but slows new hires and makes onboarding relief staff harder.
  • Data lives in a local database with limited export tooling, so extracting a clean history when moving to another system is a paid conversion project rather than a download.

VIA Veterinary

  • The vendor is owned by Mars Veterinary Health through Antech, the same group that owns Antech Diagnostics, Banfield and VCA, so a practice is buying its record system from its diagnostics supplier and its competitor in the consolidation market.
  • No pricing is published at all, so licence, implementation, conversion, hardware and support costs all arrive through a sales process and cannot be compared against alternatives before you engage.
  • It remains substantially a Windows on-premises product with a cloud option layered on, so hardware, network and backup remain your operational problem in the traditional deployment.
  • Integration depth with IDEXX diagnostics is the obvious risk given the ownership, and a practice with in-house IDEXX analysers should test that path explicitly rather than assume parity with Antech.
  • The clinical emphasis means front-of-house and client engagement features, including online booking and marketing automation, tend to arrive through third-party integrations rather than natively.

Pricing, plan by plan

AVImark

On request
  • AVImark$undefined/year
    • Licence plus annual maintenance and support agreement
    • Add-on modules priced individually
    • Server, backup and workstation costs borne by the practice

VIA Veterinary

On request
  • VIA Veterinary$undefined/year
    • Pricing available only through a sales process
    • On-premises or VIA Cloud deployment
    • Implementation, data conversion and training quoted per hospital

Which should you pick?

Choose AVImark if

  • You need medical records.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want appointment scheduling.
AVImark review

Choose VIA Veterinary if

  • You need clinical flowsheets.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iPadOS.
  • You also want integrated soap.
VIA Veterinary review

Questions people ask

Is AVImark or VIA Veterinary better?
Neither clearly leads. AVImark starts at On request and VIA Veterinary at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AVImark or VIA Veterinary?
AVImark starts at On request and VIA Veterinary at On request.
Does AVImark or VIA Veterinary run on more platforms?
AVImark runs on Windows. VIA Veterinary runs on Windows, Web, iPadOS.
What is AVImark best used for?
AVImark is most often used for a single site clinic that wants the lowest ongoing software cost and already has a server and an it provider, a practice whose staff are fast in avimark and where retraining cost outweighs the benefits of moving, a rural clinic with poor connectivity that cannot depend on a browser based system, a practice buying covetrus pharmacy and supplies that wants prescription workflow in the same system. Of those, a single site clinic that wants the lowest ongoing software cost and already has a server and an it provider and a practice whose staff are fast in avimark and where retraining cost outweighs the benefits of moving are not what VIA Veterinary is typically brought in for.
What can AVImark do that VIA Veterinary cannot?
AVImark covers Medical records, Appointment scheduling, Invoicing and estimates, Inventory and controlled drugs. VIA Veterinary covers Clinical flowsheets, Integrated SOAP, DICOM imaging, Laboratory results.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

AVImark: Who owns AVImark now?

Covetrus, following its spin-out from Henry Schein in 2019 and its move to private ownership in 2022. It was originally a McAllister Software Systems product.

VIA Veterinary: Who owns VIA?

VIA Information Systems is an Antech company and part of Mars Veterinary Health, the group that also owns Antech Diagnostics, Banfield and VCA.

AVImark: Is AVImark being discontinued?

No announcement of that, but Covetrus positions Pulse as its cloud platform. Ask for written roadmap commitments before signing a multi-year agreement.

VIA Veterinary: Is pricing published?

No. Licence, implementation, conversion and support costs come only through a sales process.

AVImark: Can AVImark be run in the cloud?

Only by hosting it on a remote Windows server. It is not a browser application.

VIA Veterinary: Can it run in the cloud?

Yes, VIA Cloud is offered alongside traditional on-premises installation, with cloud backup included.

AVImark: Is it cheaper than cloud practice management systems?

On licence cost yes, but add server, backup, IT support and paid modules before making the comparison.

VIA Veterinary: What kind of practice is it built for?

Medically intensive practices: emergency, specialty, referral, equine and multi-doctor small animal hospitals where flowsheets and whiteboards drive the day.

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