otto vs others
Top five alternatives to Otto for veterinary clinics
Finding the perfect technology for your veterinary clinic isn’t easy—until now! We’re bringing you five alternatives to Otto so that you have a clear understanding of which tech best fits your needs.
About Otto (formerly Televet)
Otto helps practices communicate and engage with clients, automate day-to-day tasks and workflows, and capture key patient data. They offer many tools and features for veterinary teams to leverage, including a client-facing mobile app, payment software, and phones.
Why you may need to consider an Otto alternative
Otto works for many veterinary teams, but users have experienced friction with its overall functionality, operational effectiveness, and customer support.
Here’s why you may want to upgrade to a different solution for your clinic:
Front desk efficiency
Veterinary-specific solutions are designed to help front desk staff save time, reduce call volume, and keep operations running smoothly. That’s why, rather than having to juggle multiple interfaces, it’s important for team members to have quick and easy access to the information they need in one convenient place.
Using Otto to manage your day-to-day requires additional filters and extra steps that create a rigid front desk experience—not just for team members, but pet parents as well. The inability to consolidate key details within a single view leads to longer wait times for clients, and stressful interactions for staff.
PIMS integration
A practice information management system (PIMS) is the core of every veterinary clinic, housing critical client and patient information. To automate time-consuming tasks and achieve true operational efficiency, it’s important for teams to invest in technology that works with their specific PIMS.
Most alternatives sync with many known PIMS, but Otto’s software only integrates with seven PIMS. This hampers the effectiveness of the technology and, as a result, decreases productivity in the clinic as well. Without a solid PIMS integration, staff members become overwhelmed as they’re forced to manually use their technology alongside their PIMS.
Mobile app market adoption
How much a product is used often indicates the level of convenience, accessibility, and satisfaction it offers consumers. This is especially true when it comes to digital tools like a client-facing mobile app—more downloads and positive reviews means the more likely the product is superior to other alternatives.
While the Otto pet parent mobile app has a 4.8-star rating in the Apple App Store, this number is only supported by 6,000 reviews. In contrast, better known and superior veterinary mobile apps have over 400,000 reviews and a rating of 4.9 or higher in the same app store. This highlights the need to consider more than an app’s rating, and instead understand its total adoption in the market. For your veterinary clinic, greater mobile app adoption by pet parents attracts more clients and allows them to self-serve instead of calling you, leading to simplified operations and increased revenue.
Customer support
Many former Otto customers have reported dissatisfaction with Otto’s support team.1 From slow response times to not hearing back at all, veterinary staff have been met with more questions than answers when it comes to understanding and using Otto technology. With so much to accomplish in the clinic each day, this lack of support only creates more stress and roadblocks in daily clinic routines.
5 best veterinary alternatives to Otto
There are many competitors that are similar to Otto, and knowing which technology works best for your team depends on the unique challenges you’re facing in the clinic. Configurable veterinary solutions—like PetDesk—are made to specifically solve your team’s pain points and help you reach your goals by letting you adjust the software your way.
If you’re on the fence about Otto or others, here are the top five veterinary technology providers to consider!
1. PetDesk
Communications, phones, direct booking, AI-powered SOAP notes, custom websites and marketing—PetDesk does it all so you can focus on high-quality care. These solutions are built to simplify daily clinic life and make it easier and more convenient for veterinary teams, helping staff accomplish their tasks in one user-friendly place instead of navigating different dashboards. PetDesk has something to help every clinic thrive: whether it’s saving time by letting clients self-serve through an app, speeding up calls with caller ID and screen pop-ups of PIMS data, reducing call volume through 24/7 direct booking, being present with pet parents and patients while AI takes care of SOAP notes, or driving revenue with a done-for-you website and strategic marketing.
Plus, PetDesk solutions integrate with nearly 30 popular PIMS! During your custom demo, you’ll see exactly how these solutions benefit your operations by working with your specific PIMS—before you even sign up.
While PetDesk features are known to be reliable and powerful, they may not be as strong in countries outside of the US and Canada (where only some PetDesk products are offered).
Why choose PetDesk over Otto?
PetDesk
- ✓ Creates an easier experience for front desk professionals every day.
- ✓ PetDesk’s app is widely used and loved by pet parents, which leads to more time and revenue!
- ✓ Offers true online appointment booking. Pairs with over 25 PIMS.
- ✓ Responsive, hands-on support that you can rely on no matter what.
Otto
- × Requires clicking through multiple filters to manage your day.
- × The Otto app has much lower adoption in the market, impacting operational efficiency.
- × Doesn’t directly book appointments. Only works with a few PIMS.
- × Slow response times with an inconsistent support experience.
PetDesk gives you the most so you can stress the least, including:
- Pet parent mobile app
- Auto reminders & confirmations
- Digital payments
- Texting and mass messaging
- Client loyalty programs
- Easy-to-use digital forms
- PIMS-integrated phones
- Voice features & call routing
- 24/7 direct booking
- AI-powered SOAP notes
- Custom-built websites
- Digital marketing
2. Vet2Pet
Vet2Pet helps veterinary professionals focus more on caring for animals and less on time-consuming tasks. With tools for client communication, appointment management, and customer loyalty, Vet2Pet aims to simplify workflows, enhance the pet parent experience, and boost client satisfaction. They support clinic staff by saving valuable time and minimizing phone calls through in-app appointment and record requests, two-way texting, virtual payments, health service reminders, and more.
However, some Vet2Pet features are more basic than those provided by other solutions, and offer less customizations for staff to control their workflow.2
3. Covetrus Comms (formerly Rapport)
Previously known as Rapport, Covetrus Comms reduces manual work and saves time for veterinary professionals by automating client communications, preventing no-shows, driving revenue, and strengthening the connection between clinic staff and pet parents. The platform offers automatic reminders, a desktop assistant, two-way messaging, plus reporting and analytics to know exactly how the software is performing. Covetrus Comms includes an online pet portal and real-time appointment scheduling that allow pet owners to self-serve instead of calling, along with a patient wellness app and reputation management tools to manage client feedback. One downside is that the platform is not as user-friendly as other veterinary solutions are known to be.3
4. AllyDVM
AllyDVM makes client communication easier by letting teams manage and automate all communication channels from one single control center. These tools simplify client engagement and enhance compliance, helping pet parents follow through with their planned visits while cutting down on missed appointments and phone calls. By offering online booking and providing real-time veterinary updates, managing pet visits becomes simpler, owners are more involved, and client relationships grow stronger—all of which help to promote positive pet health.
It’s important to note that, based on user feedback, AllyDVM doesn’t fully integrate with some common PIMS, which makes it more difficult for veterinary teams to use.4
5. Native practice management systems
Whether it’s scheduling, communications, payments, or management, native PIMS (DaySmart Vet, Pulse, Shepherd, ezyVet) can help veterinary professionals run and grow their businesses without third-party involvement. Using the core features and functionality available in your PIMS allows for simple data migration and integrations, saving staff time while increasing productivity. These features help to accomplish a range of important tasks, from managing clinic data and inventory to simplifying client communication.
In many cases, however, the functionality of native PIMS may not be as robust or as fully featured as users may expect in a dedicated client engagement software solution.
Level up your practice to PetDesk!
Don’t settle for “good enough”—make the switch to PetDesk to create a convenient, stress-free, and inviting veterinary environment that meets the needs of every staff member and pet parent. Partner with industry experts who proudly support and are trusted by over 8,500 veterinary teams, and experience a new era of more time, fewer calls, increased revenue, and a healthier work-life balance.
1 Based on feedback from PetDesk customers who have used Otto.