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Veterinary · head to head

Hippo Manager vs TheraNest

Hippo Manager logo

Hippo Manager

Veterinary

Cloud veterinary practice management software with flat per-user pricing

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
TheraNest logo

TheraNest

Healthcare

Mental health EHR and practice management priced per therapist

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; TheraNest the Essentials plan includes no insurance claims at all, so any practice that bills a payer is effectively on the 59 USD tier or above and the advertised 29 USD entry price does not apply to it.
  • They diverge on capability: Hippo Manager covers Cloud patient records, TheraNest covers Progress notes and treatment plans.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Hippo Manager and TheraNest differ
AttributeHippo ManagerTheraNest
Starting priceOn request$29/month
Pricing modelquotePer user per month
CategoryVeterinaryHealthcare

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Hippo Manager

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

Only in TheraNest

  • Progress notes and treatment plans
  • Insurance claims
  • Client portal
  • Telehealth
  • Group and family sessions
  • Payroll and staff reporting

What people use each for

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

Hippo Manager

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

TheraNest

  • A solo therapist who needs a HIPAA aligned note and scheduling system and does not bill insurance, where the 29 USD entry tier is genuinely sufficientnot Hippo Manager
  • A group practice of six to twenty clinicians that wants per clinician productivity and payroll reporting without buying a separate practice management layernot Hippo Manager
  • A practice moving off paper or a general purpose calendar that needs a client portal for intake forms and consent signaturesnot Hippo Manager
  • A behavioural health organisation that bills a steady volume of insurance claims each month and can size the Advanced allowance against its actual claim countnot Hippo Manager

Where each one falls short

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

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.

TheraNest

  • The Essentials plan includes no insurance claims at all, so any practice that bills a payer is effectively on the 59 USD tier or above and the advertised 29 USD entry price does not apply to it.
  • Telehealth is only in the Premier plan, so a practice that wants video sessions pays 89 USD per therapist per month even if it needs nothing else from that tier.
  • An annual AMA CPT licence fee is billed separately each December on top of subscription cost, which surprises practices that budgeted only the monthly figure.
  • Additional administrative users are chargeable, so a practice with front desk and billing staff who never see clients still pays 19 to 29 USD per head for people who generate no revenue.
  • The product sits inside a consolidated portfolio that has already renamed the parent company from Therapy Brands to Ensora Health, and product investment in a portfolio is directed by the owner rather than by this product line, so roadmap commitments are worth less than they would be from a single product vendor.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

TheraNest

$29/month
  • Essentials$29/month
    • Per therapist
    • Scheduling and client portal
    • HIPAA aligned notes and documentation
  • Advanced$59/month
    • Per therapist
    • 30 insurance claims per month included
    • Custom forms
  • Premier$89/month
    • Per therapist
    • Unlimited insurance claims
    • Billing automation

Which should you pick?

Choose Hippo Manager if

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

Choose TheraNest if

  • You need progress notes and treatment plans.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want insurance claims.
TheraNest review

Questions people ask

Is Hippo Manager or TheraNest better?
Neither clearly leads. Hippo Manager starts at On request and TheraNest at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hippo Manager or TheraNest?
Hippo Manager starts at On request and TheraNest at $29/month.
Does Hippo Manager or TheraNest run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Hippo Manager best used for?
Hippo Manager is most often used for a new clinic opening with no server, no it provider and a need to be running within weeks, a mobile or house call veterinarian working from a tablet between appointments, a two doctor practice replacing a legacy on-premise system and wanting predictable monthly cost, a veterinary teaching programme needing many inexpensive logins on shared records. Of those, a new clinic opening with no server, no it provider and a need to be running within weeks and a mobile or house call veterinarian working from a tablet between appointments are not what TheraNest is typically brought in for.
What can Hippo Manager do that TheraNest cannot?
Hippo Manager covers Cloud patient records, Scheduling, Invoicing and payments, Inventory. TheraNest covers Progress notes and treatment plans, Insurance claims, Client portal, Telehealth.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

TheraNest: Is TheraNest still sold under that name?

Yes. The company rebranded from Therapy Brands to Ensora Health and the product is now marketed as TheraNest by Ensora Health, but you still buy TheraNest.

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.

TheraNest: Can I bill insurance on the cheapest plan?

No. Essentials includes no claims. Advanced includes 30 claims a month and Premier is unlimited.

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.

TheraNest: Are there hidden costs?

Two. Additional admin users are charged per head, and an AMA CPT licence fee is billed annually in December per therapist.

Hippo Manager: Is there an on-premise version?

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

TheraNest: Does it support group practices?

Yes, with per clinician reporting and payroll figures, though every clinician and every admin is a paid seat.

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