Answer: Compare typical veterinary prices across clinics by treatment type so you can see what a fair cost looks like before you book.
Compare virtual vet services at your actual usage
| Option | Model | Annual cost | Per visit, effective |
|---|
| Service | Price | Includes | Watch-outs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chewy Connect with a Vet | Chat free; video $49.99/visit | Vet tech chat free for Chewy customers; video visits one pet each | Discounts require Autoship/CarePlus membership |
| Pawp | $99/yr base | 24/7 unlimited video and text chat | Emergency Fund tier (~$24/mo) adds the $3,000/yr payout |
| Vetster | $120/yr plan; ~$19.99/mo unlimited; one-time bookings vary | Plan includes 4 same-day video visits, 50% off after | Booking prices vary by vet and time of day |
| Dutch | $132/yr, or $35/mo no commitment | Unlimited video consults for up to 5 pets; behavior-focused; Rx delivered | Prescriptions depend on state VCPR rules |
| Airvet | $35/mo | Unlimited 24/7 on-demand video calls | Also sold as an employee benefit; per-visit pricing exists |
| In-person vet exam | $50–$150 typical | Hands-on exam, diagnostics, prescriptions, treatment | The only option when telehealth hits its limit |
Published list prices as of late 2026 — these services run frequent promotions and change tiers, so treat this as the decision map and verify current pricing before subscribing. Effective per-visit math: a $99 annual plan used twice a month costs $4.13 a visit.
Virtual vet pricing comes in two shapes: pay-per-visit, which is simple but scales linearly, and subscriptions, which front-load a fixed cost and flatten to almost nothing per visit. The right choice depends entirely on how often you'll actually use it — which is why guessing wrong is expensive in both directions.
Annual visits = visits per month × 12. Pay-per-visit options cost (subscription × 12) + per-visit rate × annual visits. Vetster's annual plan includes 4 visits, so it costs $120 + $35 (the discounted rate) × (annual visits − 4) when you exceed four. Effective per-visit cost = annual cost ÷ annual visits.
Set visits per month to what you honestly expect — pet parents with an anxious new puppy say 2, healthy-senior-cat owners say 0.5. The in-person exam rate defaults to $90; adjust to your clinic. The table re-ranks live, and the note under it tells you where the subscription break-even sits at your usage.
One visit a month, 12 a year, with the defaults ($70 Vetster bookings, $90 in-person exams):
The spread between the cheapest and priciest option at identical usage is $981 a year. Halve the usage to six visits a year and the ranking holds but compresses to $441 — subscriptions win by less, and at two visits a year the $99 plan and Chewy's pay-per-visit land within a dollar of each other ($99 vs $99.98), with the free chat still winning outright. That crossover is exactly what the calculator tracks for you.
Typical telehealth vet consults run $25–$80, versus $50–$150+ for an in-clinic exam plus travel. For follow-ups, recheck questions, and triaging whether a visit is needed, the online option is usually much cheaper. Emergency or hands-on care still requires an in-person clinic.
Online vets excel at triage, behavioral questions, diet and medication follow-ups, and deciding whether symptoms need urgent care. They cannot palpate, auscultate, or run labs, so anything suggesting injury, poisoning, or surgery needs an in-person visit. Many owners use the comparison to price both routes before committing.
It depends on jurisdiction — many US states require a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship, sometimes including an in-person exam, before prescriptions are issued. Some telehealth services can prescribe renewals or parasite preventives where state rules allow. Always confirm the service's prescribing policy for your state before booking.