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Veterinary · head to head

Instinct Science vs Kareo Clinical

Instinct Science logo

Instinct Science

Veterinary

Veterinary EMR built for emergency and specialty hospitals, plus Plumbs drug reference

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Kareo Clinical logo

Kareo Clinical

Healthcare

Specialized EHR and practice management for independent and small practices

From
$89/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Instinct Science no pricing is published at all, so a practice cannot compare it against published competitors without a demo and a sales conversation.; Kareo Clinical kareo is now part of Tebra and sold under the Tebra brand rather than as a standalone product
  • They diverge on capability: Instinct Science covers Instinct Treatment Plan, Kareo Clinical covers Electronic Health Records.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Instinct Science and Kareo Clinical actually diverge.

Attributes where Instinct Science and Kareo Clinical differ
AttributeInstinct ScienceKareo Clinical
Starting priceOn request$89/month
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Mobile
CategoryVeterinaryHealthcare
FoundedUnknown2010

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Instinct Science

  • Instinct Treatment Plan
  • Charge capture from treatments
  • Instinct EMR
  • Primary care edition
  • Plumbs drug reference
  • ScribbleVet
  • Standards

Only in Kareo Clinical

  • Electronic Health Records
  • Scheduling
  • Patient Portal
  • Medical Billing
  • ePrescribing
  • Analytics
  • Labs
  • Pharmacies

What people use each for

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

Instinct Science

  • A twenty four hour emergency hospital where treatments are ordered on a sheet and currently reconciled to invoices by hand at dischargenot Kareo Clinical
  • A specialty referral centre running multiple services on one hospitalised patient that needs a shared, current treatment plan across shiftsnot Kareo Clinical
  • A hospital losing measurable revenue to missed charge capture on inpatient treatments and fluidsnot Kareo Clinical
  • A practice that already relies on Plumbs for dosing and wants drug reference and interaction checking inside the record rather than in a separate tabnot Kareo Clinical

Kareo Clinical

  • Practice management, scheduling and billing for independent medical practicesnot Instinct Science
  • Electronic health records and e-prescribing for small clinicsnot Instinct Science
  • Insurance claim submission and patient payment collectionnot Instinct Science

Where each one falls short

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

Instinct Science

  • No pricing is published at all, so a practice cannot compare it against published competitors without a demo and a sales conversation.
  • The design centres on inpatient treatment sheets, so an appointment driven general practice pays for strength in a workflow it barely uses and should evaluate the primary care edition on its own merits rather than the hospital reputation.
  • Retail, inventory and reminder marketing workflows are thinner than in long established general practice systems, so a practice with a significant shop or food business may need workarounds.
  • Plumbs and ScribbleVet are separately licensed even though the same company owns them, so the tidy single vendor story still arrives as more than one line on the invoice.
  • It is a smaller vendor than the corporate owned incumbents, which is an advantage on responsiveness and a risk on acquisition, and veterinary software has consolidated heavily in recent years.

Kareo Clinical

  • Kareo is now part of Tebra and sold under the Tebra brand rather than as a standalone product
  • Tebra publishes no rate: pricing varies with provider count, features and implementation requirements and is quoted during a demo
  • Billing counts clinical providers such as MDs, DOs, NPs and PAs, so adding a prescriber raises the bill even though non clinical staff are free
  • Electronic prescribing of controlled substances setup costs about $75 per provider as a one time fee
  • PDMP integration costs $500 one time per facility plus about $50 per user per year

Pricing, plan by plan

Instinct Science

On request
  • Instinct EMR$undefined/year
    • Quoted through a demo and sales process, nothing published
    • Priced by practice size and modules taken
    • Plumbs and ScribbleVet are separately licensed products from the same company

Kareo Clinical

$89/month
  • Clinical Starter$89/month
    • EHR
    • Scheduling
    • Patient Portal
  • Clinical Plus$189/month
    • Everything in Starter
    • Billing
    • Analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Instinct Science if

  • You need instinct treatment plan.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want charge capture from treatments.
Instinct Science review

Choose Kareo Clinical if

  • You need electronic health records.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want scheduling.
Kareo Clinical review

Questions people ask

Is Instinct Science or Kareo Clinical better?
Neither clearly leads. Instinct Science starts at On request and Kareo Clinical at $89/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Instinct Science or Kareo Clinical?
Instinct Science starts at On request and Kareo Clinical at $89/month.
Does Instinct Science or Kareo Clinical run on more platforms?
Instinct Science runs on Web, iOS, Android. Kareo Clinical runs on Web, Mobile.
What is Instinct Science best used for?
Instinct Science is most often used for a twenty four hour emergency hospital where treatments are ordered on a sheet and currently reconciled to invoices by hand at discharge, a specialty referral centre running multiple services on one hospitalised patient that needs a shared, current treatment plan across shifts, a hospital losing measurable revenue to missed charge capture on inpatient treatments and fluids, a practice that already relies on plumbs for dosing and wants drug reference and interaction checking inside the record rather than in a separate tab. Of those, a twenty four hour emergency hospital where treatments are ordered on a sheet and currently reconciled to invoices by hand at discharge and a specialty referral centre running multiple services on one hospitalised patient that needs a shared, current treatment plan across shifts are not what Kareo Clinical is typically brought in for.
What can Instinct Science do that Kareo Clinical cannot?
Instinct Science covers Instinct Treatment Plan, Charge capture from treatments, Instinct EMR, Primary care edition. Kareo Clinical covers Electronic Health Records, Scheduling, Patient Portal, Medical Billing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Instinct Science: Is Instinct only for emergency hospitals?

No, there is a primary care edition, but the product design and its main advantage come from inpatient treatment sheets and hospital workflows.

Kareo Clinical: How much does Kareo Clinical (now Tebra) cost?

Kareo Clinical pricing is not published publicly. Pricing is based on the number of clinical providers in your practice, not seat licenses. Setup includes optional EPCS at $75/provider and PDMP Integration at $500 one-time per facility plus $50/user/year.

Source
Instinct Science: Is pricing published?

No. Everything runs through a demo and a quote.

Kareo Clinical: Does Tebra charge for front desk staff and medical assistants?

No. Tebra provides unlimited non-clinical staff access at no extra cost. Front desk staff, medical assistants, billers, and office admins can all access scheduling, charting, and claims modules without increasing billing.

Source
Instinct Science: Does it include Plumbs?

Instinct Science owns Plumbs, but it is licensed separately rather than bundled into the EMR by default.

Kareo Clinical: Are there reduced rates for low-volume practices on Tebra?

Yes. Practices with providers billing under 100 claims monthly receive lower-tier pricing for those low-volume providers.

Source
Instinct Science: What is the main reason practices switch to it?

Charge capture. Treatments recorded on the digital treatment sheet become charges automatically, which recovers revenue that paper sheets lose.

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