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.
Pay-per-visit video appointments run about $40 to $80, with Chewy's Connect with a Vet at $49.99. Subscriptions undercut that quickly: Pawp costs $99 a year, Vetster's annual plan $120, and Dutch $132 a year for up to five pets — all with unlimited or multi-visit access. At one visit a month, a $99-$132 subscription beats paying per visit by $470 to $740 a year.
Usually, yes — an in-person exam typically runs $50 to $150 per visit before any treatment, while a virtual visit is $40-$80 or effectively $8-$11 per month on a subscription. But they're not the same product: the online vet can't palpate an abdomen, draw blood, or take X-rays. The cheapest good strategy is often telehealth to decide whether the $150 visit is necessary at all.
It depends on your state's rules around the vet-client-patient relationship (VCPR). Many states require an in-person exam before prescriptions are allowed, though some have relaxed this for telehealth. Dutch and similar services work around it by establishing care through their own channels where permitted. Assume advice and triage anywhere, prescriptions state-by-state.
For pure price: Chewy's free vet tech chat if you're already a Chewy customer, then Pawp at $99 a year for 24/7 video and text access. Dutch at $132 a year is the best multi-pet value since one membership covers up to five animals. Vetster's $120 annual plan only beats those if you use fewer than about five visits, because it includes four and discounts the rest.
For triage, absolutely — a 2 a.m. video call that tells you this can wait until morning is worth the subscription on its own. For actual emergencies it's a complement, not a substitute: telehealth can't run labs, stabilize a trauma, or do surgery. Pawp's higher tier pairs 24/7 access with a $3,000-a-year emergency fund, which is one way to bridge the gap.
Rarely by default. Most traditional pet insurance reimburses treatable conditions seen in person and excludes exam fees or telehealth consults unless an add-on covers them. Some wellness riders and newer plans include virtual visits. If telehealth is your main use case, check the policy's exam-fee and telehealth language before buying — the pet insurance cost calculator can frame the premium side.