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Veterinary · head to head

Hippo Manager vs VetBadger

Hippo Manager logo

Hippo Manager

Veterinary

Cloud veterinary practice management software with flat per-user pricing

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
VetBadger logo

VetBadger

Veterinary

Cloud veterinary practice management sold in user bands rather than per seat

From
$99/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.; VetBadger pricing is banded rather than per seat, so a three-user clinic pays USD 249, the same as a ten-user one, which is roughly USD 83 per user against USD 25 for a practice that fills the band.
  • They diverge on capability: Hippo Manager covers Cloud patient records, VetBadger covers Chart-centric workflow.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Hippo Manager and VetBadger differ
AttributeHippo ManagerVetBadger
Starting priceOn request$99/month
Pricing modelquotePer month by user band

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Hippo Manager

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

Only in VetBadger

  • Chart-centric workflow
  • Banded pricing
  • Chart SMS and email
  • Integrated telehealth
  • Exam reporting
  • QuickBooks sync
  • Cloud hosting
  • Reminders

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 VetBadger
  • A mobile or house call veterinarian working from a tablet between appointmentsnot VetBadger
  • A two doctor practice replacing a legacy on-premise system and wanting predictable monthly costnot VetBadger
  • A veterinary teaching programme needing many inexpensive logins on shared recordsnot VetBadger

VetBadger

  • A two-vet small animal clinic moving off an ageing on-premises server that nobody wants to maintainnot Hippo Manager
  • A practice that wants client texting logged against the medical record rather than sitting in a separate messaging toolnot Hippo Manager
  • A clinic adding telehealth consultations without buying a separate video and payment stacknot Hippo Manager
  • An owner who wants exam and revenue reporting without exporting to a spreadsheet every monthnot 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.

VetBadger

  • Pricing is banded rather than per seat, so a three-user clinic pays USD 249, the same as a ten-user one, which is roughly USD 83 per user against USD 25 for a practice that fills the band.
  • Crossing a band boundary is a step change, so hiring one extra person can raise the software bill by USD 150 or USD 250 overnight with no extra capability in return.
  • The integration list is short compared with the market leaders, and in-house laboratory and imaging equipment support is the usual gap, which can mean manual result entry.
  • It is aimed at general small animal practice, with none of the specialty, referral, equine or ambulatory workflow depth that larger platforms carry.
  • As a smaller vendor it has less migration tooling and fewer conversion specialists than the large incumbents, so moving years of legacy records in is more of a project than a service.

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

VetBadger

$99/month
  • 1 to 2 users$99/month
    • Cloud hosting and backup included
    • Full medical records and scheduling
    • Chart-centric SMS and email
  • 3 to 10 users$249/month
    • Same feature set across the band
    • Flat price whether you have three users or ten
    • Exam detail reporting
  • 11 to 20 users$499/month
    • Multi-user scheduling
    • Full reporting
    • Priority support
  • 21 to 40 users$599/month
    • Largest published band
    • All features included
    • Support for larger single-site practices

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 VetBadger if

  • You need chart-centric workflow.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want banded pricing.
VetBadger review

Questions people ask

Is Hippo Manager or VetBadger better?
Neither clearly leads. Hippo Manager starts at On request and VetBadger at $99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hippo Manager or VetBadger?
Hippo Manager starts at On request and VetBadger at $99/month.
Does Hippo Manager or VetBadger 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 VetBadger is typically brought in for.
What can Hippo Manager do that VetBadger cannot?
Hippo Manager covers Cloud patient records, Scheduling, Invoicing and payments, Inventory. VetBadger covers Chart-centric workflow, Banded pricing, Chart SMS and email, Integrated 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.

VetBadger: How is VetBadger priced?

By user band: roughly USD 99 a month for one to two users, USD 249 for three to ten, USD 499 for eleven to twenty and USD 599 for twenty-one to forty.

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.

VetBadger: Is hosting extra?

No. Cloud hosting and backup are included in the subscription, with no server to buy or maintain.

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.

VetBadger: Does it do telehealth?

Yes, integrated telehealth is included rather than sold as an add-on.

Hippo Manager: Is there an on-premise version?

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

VetBadger: Is it suitable for a specialty or referral hospital?

Not really. It is built for general small animal practice and lacks specialty, referral and equine workflow depth.

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