An Open Letter to Veterinary Businesses: Pet Owners Deserve Price Transparency

FareVet calls on veterinary clinics across the US and Canada to embrace price transparency, publish fee ranges, and provide itemized estimates because informed pet owners are better clients

From the desk of FareVet

To the veterinary businesses serving pet owners across North America,

We are writing to you not as critics, but as partners in a mission we believe you share: ensuring that every pet gets the care they need, and that every pet owner can make informed decisions about that care.

The conversation about veterinary price transparency is no longer a fringe concern. It is arriving at your door.

In November 2025, Jersey's competition regulator sent an open letter to veterinary businesses encouraging them to reflect on findings from the UK Competition and Markets Authority's investigation into the veterinary sector. That investigation identified a lack of price transparency, barriers to consumer choice, and a regulatory framework that had not kept pace with how the industry had changed.

The regulator was careful to note it was not accusing local vets of wrongdoing. Its message was about trust, and about what it takes to maintain it.

We are sending the same message to you.

What the Evidence Shows

The UK's findings are not unique to that market. Pet owners across the United States and Canada face the same dynamics every day:

Prices for the same procedure vary dramatically from clinic to clinic, with no publicly available information to help owners understand what is reasonable. Estimates are often provided verbally, after a pet has already been admitted. Itemized bills are inconsistent. Ownership structures, including the growing consolidation of independent practices under large corporate groups, are rarely disclosed proactively.

None of this is the result of bad intentions. It is the result of an industry that grew up without the information infrastructure that patients in human healthcare, however imperfect, have come to expect.

The consequence is a trust gap. And that gap is widening.

A 2018 survey by the Access to Veterinary Care Coalition found that nearly 28 million US households are underserved when it comes to veterinary access. Cost and uncertainty about cost are two of the most cited reasons people delay or forgo care for their animals. When pet owners cannot predict what a visit will cost, many choose not to go at all.

That is bad for pets. It is also bad for your practice.

What Transparency Actually Asks of You

We are not asking you to compete on price in a race to the bottom. We are asking you to compete on trust.

Concretely, what the UK review proposed, and what we are encouraging here, is straightforward:

Publish price ranges for common procedures and services. Not a binding contract, not a guarantee, but a starting point. A range for a wellness exam, a spay, a dental cleaning, a standard X-ray. Enough that a pet owner can arrive with a realistic expectation rather than a blank check.

Provide written estimates before treatment begins. For any procedure above a reasonable threshold, a written estimate protects both parties. It gives the client something to ask questions about. It reduces misunderstanding and conflict at checkout.

Offer itemized invoices. Pet owners should be able to see what they paid for. Not a single line reading "treatment," but a breakdown that lets them understand the value of the care their animal received.

Communicate alternative options. Where a less expensive approach is clinically reasonable, say so. Where a referral to a lower-cost provider is appropriate, offer it. Informed clients who feel respected become loyal clients.

Be clear about ownership. If your practice is part of a larger corporate group, pet owners have a right to know. This is not about stigma. It is about informed choice.

What You Stand to Gain

The instinct in some corners of the profession is to resist transparency as an invitation to price shop. We understand that instinct, but we believe it is wrong.

The clinics that will win the next decade are not the ones that hide their prices. They are the ones that build the deepest trust with the communities they serve.

Transparency is not a threat to that. It is a foundation for it.

Pet owners who understand what care costs, who receive clear estimates, who get itemized bills, and who feel respected through the process do not shop around more. They come back. They refer their neighbors. They leave the reviews that build your reputation.

The opacity that has historically characterized veterinary pricing does not protect you. It creates the conditions for the distrust, the delayed care, and the regulatory attention that the industry is now facing.

Our Role in This

FareVet exists to build the information layer that this industry is missing. We aggregate verified pricing data from clinics across the US and Canada and make it available to pet owners so they can understand costs before they walk through your door.

We are not a review site. We are not a comparison platform designed to commoditize care. We are a transparency infrastructure, and we want you on it.

We are inviting veterinary businesses to engage with us: to share your pricing, to be represented accurately in the data pet owners are already looking for, and to be seen as part of the solution to the trust problem this industry faces.

One of the ways we help clinics act on this is through the FareVet Estimator, a tool that lives on your clinic's website and answers the cost question before it reaches your front desk. Not a static price list. A dynamic experience where pet parents can build a real estimate for the services they're considering, see the total update as they add services, and arrive at your clinic with a clear picture of what to expect. The result is fewer cost-related calls for your team to field, fewer appointment cancellations driven by sticker shock, and clients who show up financially prepared and ready to say yes to care. Transparency, in other words, as an operational improvement, not just a principle.

The choice between transparency and opacity is not as neutral as it may feel. In a world where pet owners are increasingly searching for pricing information before booking an appointment, the clinics that provide it will be found. The ones that don't will be second-guessed.

A Closing Word

Jersey's regulator said it best: "Transparency around pricing and ownership helps consumers make informed choices and strengthens confidence in essential services like veterinary care."

Veterinary care is an essential service. The relationship between a pet owner and their vet is built on trust. That trust is not automatic. It is earned through every interaction, including the ones that happen before a pet ever enters your exam room.

We are asking you to be part of building something better. For your clients, for your patients, and for a profession that deserves the confidence of the communities it serves.

With respect and in partnership,

The FareVet Team

FareVet is a veterinary cost transparency platform helping pet owners across the US and Canada understand what care costs before they approve it. Learn more or list your clinic at farevet.com