Shepherd alternatives: 10 veterinary practice management tools compared
Clinics look for a Shepherd alternative when the per-doctor price list stops matching how the practice grows, when they need a vendor outside the United States, or when they want a lab or pharmacy partner wired into the system. Some move to another cloud system with a published floor, others to one that is quoted after a demo.
Short answer: Looking for a replacement for Shepherd? DaySmart Vet, Provet Cloud and Digitail come first in our veterinary practice management software ranking. Our rule for order: vendors outside the big brands go first, and the largest names are not placed in the top three. Start with DaySmart Vet if you want a stated entry price and a free export when you leave. Each of the 10 alternatives sits in Best Veterinary Practice Management Software in 2026 and is described against Shepherd.
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Pricing: Published per doctor per month; other staff included; texting and migration extra
Established in: United States
Built for: Independent general practices with many support staff wanting a posted per-doctor price
Not for: Buyers who want one flat price however many vets they employ
01
Why buyers look past Shepherd
01
The bill follows the number of doctors
Shepherd's single-location table runs from $299 a month for one doctor to $644 for six, with doctors two and three adding $99 each and later ones $49. Relief vets are a separate $99 a month. A practice that adds vets faster than it adds revenue sees the subscription move with every hire.
02
Extras sit outside the subscription
Texting is sold at $99 per 5,000 messages and data migration is a one-time fee of $2,475 paid up front or $230 a month for 12 months. Multi-location groups add $500 per additional server. Clinics comparing total cost have to add these lines to the monthly table.
03
The page is thin on integrations and terms
The Shepherd pages we read show US dollar prices, name no lab, imaging or payment partners on the home page, and state no contract term on the pricing page. Practices outside North America, or tied to a diagnostic supplier, will want those answers in writing before and after a move.
you want the deepest IDEXX diagnostic links and accept a local server
#12
03
What each one does differently
1
DaySmart Vet
United States · Published
DaySmart Vet is the rare competitor whose pricing page quotes a monthly starting figure. It says migration is included and that exporting data on cancellation costs nothing. The product started as Vetter in 2010 and joined the DaySmart family in 2021. Voice-to-notes AI costs extra, and larger teams still negotiate because no multi-doctor figure is printed.
Switch from Shepherd if you want a stated entry price and a free export when you leave.
Finnish in origin and part of the Nordhealth group, Provet Cloud prices per vet each month plus a platform fee, with separate US and UK lists. Core covers single sites; Pro adds the referral portal and multi-location control. Staff who are not vets cost nothing extra. The AI scribe and Provet Pay are sold separately.
Switch from Shepherd if you practise outside the United States and want per-vet pricing with a European base.
Four tiers are named here: Mobile, Growth, Growth AI and Enterprise. Each includes in-house data migration, one-to-one onboarding and round-the-clock support, with unlimited staff users. The plans page shows no amounts, so costs for AI, VoIP, texting and wellness plans have to be put together in a demo. CSV export appears in the feature table.
Switch from Shepherd if you want migration handled by the vendor and a pet parent app in every tier.
NectarVet sells Essentials, Ecosystem and Expert tiers and states a single onboarding fee that covers migration, setup and training. Expert adds an advanced client portal and AI exam tools. The plans page prints no amounts, and the site names no country of establishment, so the contracting entity and data location need confirming.
Switch from Shepherd if you prefer one onboarding fee that bundles migration and training.
A practising emergency vet founded Instinct in 2017, and the company keeps two separate EMR products, one for primary care and one for advanced care. ScribbleVet handles scribing and a treatment-sheet module covers hospital work. The primary-care product is fully cloud-based. The pages we reviewed show no prices.
Switch from Shepherd if your clinic runs specialty or emergency cases with treatment sheets.
Vetspire writes AI Scribe and AI Summary notes straight into the chart and sends two-way texts and emails from the patient record. Client pricing can be set per clinic, service and department, which suits groups with several sites. The fetched pages show neither prices nor a country of establishment.
Switch from Shepherd if you run several clinics and want pricing rules per site.
Under the IDEXX umbrella, ezyVet publishes one starting monthly price and says every feature is open to practices of any size. Diagnostics, imaging and payments connect natively, with more than 100 certified integrations. A clinic that sends samples to other laboratories gets less from that link. Contract terms were not visible on the page.
Switch from Shepherd if you already run IDEXX analysers and want every feature at one price.
Neo is the lighter cloud product in IDEXX's line, covering a dashboard, patient workflow, scheduling, payments and client messaging. The vendor says common tasks run up to five times faster, a figure we could not check. The page shows no prices, and the same company sells ezyVet and Cornerstone, so ask why this one.
Switch from Shepherd if you want a simple cloud system from a diagnostics supplier.
Pulse, once called eVetPractice, connects to the Covetrus online pharmacy, payments, messaging and care plans, and the page says Covetrus AI comes at no extra cost. No prices are printed. The connected services are the draw, and also the dependency, since leaving later means separating pharmacy and payments from the records.
Switch from Shepherd if you buy drugs and supplies from Covetrus and want ordering inside the chart.
IDEXX calls Cornerstone integrated, server-based software, with a long partner list alongside its own diagnostics, imaging, payments and the Vello client app. The server model puts hardware and remote access on the practice. No price appears on the product page. It is the tightest fit for a clinic whose lab bench is already IDEXX.
Switch from Shepherd if you want the deepest IDEXX diagnostic links and accept a local server.
You want a stated entry price and a no-cost export
DaySmart Vet: The pricing page gives a monthly starting figure, includes migration and says exporting data on cancellation costs nothing.
02
You practise outside the United States
Provet Cloud: It is Finnish in origin, lists US and UK prices per vet, and includes staff who are not vets.
03
You want the vendor to carry the migration
Digitail: Every tier includes in-house migration and one-to-one onboarding, with unlimited staff users.
04
You run several clinics with different pricing
Vetspire: Client pricing can be set by clinic, service and department, with AI notes in the chart.
05
Your laboratory work already runs on IDEXX
ezyVet: One starting monthly price, native IDEXX diagnostics, imaging and payments, and over 100 certified integrations.
04
When Shepherd is still the right choice
Shepherd stays the better choice when the practice is a small group of doctors who want a posted price list, unlimited technician and front desk logins, and onboarding at no charge. The vendor states that single locations start billing twelve weeks into onboarding, and that you receive two complimentary data exports if you move on. If your worry is the monthly figure, check the Shepherd Pay discount of $50 a month and the 50 percent programmes for new practices and Pet Assure members first.
05
What moving off Shepherd involves
01
Check what the migration actually carries
Shepherd lists client and patient records, medical and lab history, vaccines, reminders, appointments and balances as migrating, with some exceptions for particular systems. Ask any new vendor for the same list in writing, then compare ten real patient charts before and after the test import.
02
Plan the overlap and the exports
Single locations pay nothing for the first twelve weeks of onboarding, so a late switch can cost you a billing start date. Use your two complimentary exports to take a trial copy early and a final copy at cutover, and keep texting and payment settings on both sides until reminders have been confirmed.
06
Questions about replacing Shepherd
6 answers
How much does Shepherd cost per month?
Shepherd lists $349 a month for one doctor, or $299 with Shepherd Pay, and $644 with Pay for six doctors on a single site. Doctors two and three add $99 each and later ones $49. Other staff are included.
Does Shepherd charge for texting and migration?
Yes. Texting costs $99 per 5,000 messages, and migration is $2,475 paid in full or $230 a month for 12 months. Onboarding and setup carry no charge.
Can I get my data out of Shepherd?
The pricing page says your data belongs to you and that moving to another system earns two complimentary exports. Ask for the file formats before you sign with the new vendor.
Which alternatives publish a price?
DaySmart Vet and ezyVet each state a monthly starting figure, and Provet Cloud prints per-vet prices with a platform fee. Digitail, NectarVet, Instinct Science, Vetspire and the other IDEXX and Covetrus products show no amounts on the pages we read.
Is there a European option?
Provet Cloud was founded in Finland and lists UK prices as well as US ones. Several other vendors in the category do not state a country, so confirm where the contracting company and the data sit.
Do technicians and front desk staff cost extra?
On Shepherd they do not, since unlimited users are included. Provet Cloud also includes staff who are not vets, and Digitail includes unlimited staff users.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Written, edited and fact-checked by Sebastiaan Smits. Last reviewed 8 November 2026. How we review.
