Covetrus Pulse vs SmartFlow: Complete Comparison 2026

An in-depth comparison of features, pricing, and user experience to help you make the right choice.

Covetrus Pulse

7.3(950 reviews)

Cloud veterinary platform from Covetrus with integrated pharmacy, supply ordering, and practice management from $300/month.

8.3(420 reviews)

Digital patient flowsheets for veterinary hospitals that replace paper ICU charts with real-time electronic monitoring.

Aspect	Covetrus Pulse	SmartFlow
Best For	Practices using Covetrus for supplies that want seamless integration between software and supply chain ordering	Emergency and specialty veterinary hospitals where paper flowsheets are a daily workflow bottleneck
Pricing Model	Subscription	Subscription
Starting Price	$300/mo	$150/mo
Deployment	cloud	cloud
Platforms	WEB, IOS, ANDROID	WEB, IOS, ANDROID
Rating	7.3/10	8.3/10

Integrated pharmacy and supply chain eliminates switching between software for prescriptions and supply ordering
Cloud-based successor to Avimark brings modern architecture to practices familiar with Covetrus products
Prescription fulfillment options include in-clinic dispensing and direct-to-client shipping through Covetrus pharmacy
Lab integration with IDEXX and Antech delivers results to records for both reference and in-clinic labs
Backed by Covetrus's global distribution network with dedicated support for software and supply chain

Deepest value requires using Covetrus as your primary supply distributor — switching costs increase over time
The software-supply bundling can feel like vendor lock-in for practices that want best-of-breed flexibility
Not as cutting-edge in UX as Shepherd or Digitail — the interface is modern but not the newest generation
Pricing at $300-500/month is mid-to-premium without the AI features that newer competitors offer
Transition from Avimark to Pulse has been bumpy for some long-time Avimark users who report feature gaps

Eliminates paper flowsheet errors — digital tracking prevents missed treatments, illegible handwriting, and lost charts
Real-time treatment status visible to the entire care team from any device in the hospital
Integrates with existing PIMS (Cornerstone, eVetPractice, etc.) rather than requiring a platform switch
Medication scheduling with automated alerts prevents missed doses and dosing errors in critical patients
Treatment charges sync to PIMS billing automatically, capturing revenue that paper charts often miss

Not a standalone PIMS — requires a separate system for scheduling, billing, medical records, and other core functions
Only valuable for practices with hospitalized patients — general practices without ICU/hospital have no use for it
Adds another monthly cost ($150/month) on top of existing PIMS subscription
Staff adoption requires changing deeply ingrained paper-based habits which can be initially resistant
Integration quality varies by PIMS — some connections are tighter than others

Product	Pricing Model	Starting Price
Covetrus Pulse	subscription	$300/mo
SmartFlow	subscription	$150/mo

Choose Covetrus Pulse if...

Practices using Covetrus for supplies that want seamless integration between software and supply chain ordering

Choose SmartFlow if...

Emergency and specialty veterinary hospitals where paper flowsheets are a daily workflow bottleneck

Explore more alternatives or read in-depth reviews to make your decision.