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Veterinary · head to head

Covetrus Pulse vs Onward Vet

Covetrus Pulse logo

Covetrus Pulse

Veterinary

Veterinary operating system with pharmacy and client engagement

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Onward Vet logo

Onward Vet

Veterinary

Small-vendor cloud practice management sold on flat subscription with unlimited users

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Covetrus Pulse ties clinical software to a supply and pharmacy relationship, which is a commercial dependency worth deciding on deliberately; Onward Vet the vendor is small, so support depth, release pace and the ability to absorb a serious outage are all limited compared with IDEXX, Covetrus or the larger cloud vendors.
  • They diverge on capability: Covetrus Pulse covers Practice management, Onward Vet covers Flat practice subscription.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Covetrus Pulse and Onward Vet actually diverge.

Attributes where Covetrus Pulse and Onward Vet differ
AttributeCovetrus PulseOnward Vet
PlatformsWeb, Cloud, iOS, AndroidWeb, 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 Covetrus Pulse

  • Practice management
  • Integrated prescription management
  • Client engagement
  • Analytics

Only in Onward Vet

  • Flat practice subscription
  • Cloud hosted
  • Medical records and SOAP
  • Estimates and treatment plans
  • Client communication
  • Laboratory integration

What people use each for

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

Covetrus Pulse

  • Practices dispensing heavily that want prescriptions filled without leaving the systemnot Onward Vet
  • Groups wanting one platform across clinical, client and pharmacynot Onward Vet
  • Clinics moving off legacy on-premise systems such as AVImarknot Onward Vet

Onward Vet

  • A clinic with a large rota of part-time technicians and receptionists where per-seat pricing is disproportionatenot Covetrus Pulse
  • A single-site practice leaving an ageing on-premise system that no longer wants to maintain a servernot Covetrus Pulse
  • A new practice that needs a working record system quickly without a long configuration projectnot Covetrus Pulse
  • A cost-sensitive clinic that wants cloud practice management without paying for integration breadth it will not usenot Covetrus Pulse

Where each one falls short

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

Covetrus Pulse

  • Ties clinical software to a supply and pharmacy relationship, which is a commercial dependency worth deciding on deliberately
  • Quote-only pricing with no published rates
  • Covetrus also owns older systems, and roadmap attention across a portfolio is a fair question
  • Cloud-only, so consultations depend on clinic connectivity

Onward Vet

  • The vendor is small, so support depth, release pace and the ability to absorb a serious outage are all limited compared with IDEXX, Covetrus or the larger cloud vendors.
  • The integration catalogue is short, so specialist imaging, communication or wellness plan tools that connect to ezyVet or Provet Cloud may need manual handling here.
  • Reporting is basic, so a practice that wants production analysis by veterinary surgeon, detailed inventory valuation or multi-site consolidation will be exporting data to a spreadsheet.
  • There is no on-premise option, so a clinic with an unreliable internet connection has no fallback when the link goes down and the appointment book becomes unreachable.
  • Concentration risk is real with a supplier of this size: acquisition, a change of direction or a funding problem would put your record system into other hands, so test the data export before committing.

Pricing, plan by plan

Covetrus Pulse

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Covetrus Pulse review.

Onward Vet

On request
  • Onward Vet$undefined/year
    • Quoted as a flat monthly practice subscription
    • Unlimited user accounts
    • Cloud hosting, backup and updates included

Which should you pick?

Choose Covetrus Pulse if

  • You need practice management.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, iOS, Android.
  • You also want integrated prescription management.
Covetrus Pulse review

Choose Onward Vet if

  • You need flat practice subscription.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want cloud hosted.
Onward Vet review

Questions people ask

Is Covetrus Pulse or Onward Vet better?
Neither clearly leads. Covetrus Pulse starts at On request and Onward Vet at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Covetrus Pulse or Onward Vet?
Covetrus Pulse starts at On request and Onward Vet at On request.
Does Covetrus Pulse or Onward Vet run on more platforms?
Covetrus Pulse runs on Web, Cloud, iOS, Android. Onward Vet runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Covetrus Pulse best used for?
Covetrus Pulse is most often used for practices dispensing heavily that want prescriptions filled without leaving the system, groups wanting one platform across clinical, client and pharmacy, clinics moving off legacy on-premise systems such as avimark. Of those, practices dispensing heavily that want prescriptions filled without leaving the system and groups wanting one platform across clinical, client and pharmacy are not what Onward Vet is typically brought in for.
What can Covetrus Pulse do that Onward Vet cannot?
Covetrus Pulse covers Practice management, Integrated prescription management, Client engagement, Analytics. Onward Vet covers Flat practice subscription, Cloud hosted, Medical records and SOAP, Estimates and treatment plans.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Covetrus Pulse: What does Covetrus Pulse cost?

Pricing is quoted per practice and not published.

Onward Vet: How is it priced?

As a flat practice subscription with unlimited users, quoted rather than published, which is why it suits clinics with many part-time staff.

Covetrus Pulse: What makes it different?

Covetrus is an animal-health distributor and pharmacy, so prescription fulfilment and home delivery sit inside the same company rather than behind an integration.

Onward Vet: Is it suitable for a multi-site group?

Not really. It is built for single-site independent clinics; consolidated reporting and cross-site inventory are not its strength.

Covetrus Pulse: Is the supply relationship a concern?

It is worth deciding deliberately. The convenience is real, and so is tying your clinical system to a distributor you also buy from.

Onward Vet: What happens if the internet goes down?

You lose access to the appointment book and records. There is no on-premise fallback, so a secondary connection is a sensible precaution.

Onward Vet: Can I get my data out?

Ask for a full export during evaluation and check what format it comes in. With a small vendor this is a question to answer before you sign, not afterwards.

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