thepetbill

Guide · updated

Pet care plans explained: what they cover, what they cost and how to compare them

What a vet's monthly pet care plan includes, what the CMA found about whether plans save money, and the new rules on how practices must show plan contents and savings.

What practices that already publish charge

Fewer than 3 practices that publish this price are on our list so far. Vet businesses with 15 or more practices or out-of-hours centres must publish it, if they offer it, on each practice's website from 23 December 2026, and smaller practices from 23 March 2027.

What others have published:

  • £145.00 to £201.50 a year for a cat, and £165.00 to £220.70 for a small dog: four large groups' plan prices, excluding VAT (annual, so not comparable with a monthly list price) (CMA, Final decision report, Part A (competition concerns), Table 9.2; July 2025, or 2024 averages for one group).

Figures from published reports, not prices we collected, and not a current UK average.

A pet care plan is a subscription. You pay the practice every month, and in return your pet gets a set of routine things, usually the annual booster, a check-up or two, and flea and worm treatment, plus some discounts. More than a third of owners have one: 37% in the CMA's survey, rising to 42% among customers of the large vet groups and 29% at independents (Final report, Part A, paragraph 9.17).

Whether a plan saves you money depends almost entirely on whether you would have bought those things anyway, at that practice's prices. The CMA's new rules force practices to show the numbers you need to work that out. Large vet groups must do so from 23 December 2026, and smaller practices from 23 March 2027 (Order, Art. 3 and 9).

A care plan is not insurance

This trips people up. A plan pays for planned, routine care. Insurance covers the unexpected: accidents, illness, emergencies. The CMA stresses that plans do not cover those, and that many practices encourage owners to take out both (Part A, paragraph 9.2). In its survey, 29% of owners had both a plan and insurance, and 26% had neither in the previous three years (paragraph 9.17).

What plans usually include

The Order defines a pet care plan as a plan offered for a periodic subscription fee "that covers routine medication and services which may include annual vaccinations, checkups, and preventative treatments against fleas, ticks and worms" (Art. 2).

When the CMA analysed the large groups' top-selling plans, the standard inclusions differed slightly between groups but always included an annual vaccination (and kennel cough vaccination for dogs), at least one consultation with a vet or a nurse, twelve months of flea and worm treatment, microchipping and neutering. Many also offered discounts, for example on dental work or other products (Final report, Appendix G, paragraph 1.5).

Plans are usually priced by species and, for dogs, by weight (Part A, paragraph 9.18).

What plans cost

On the new price lists, "Pet care plan(s) (monthly cost)" is one of the 36 standard items, and Schedule 1 requires a link next to it to the page that says what the plan includes.

For a sense of scale, the CMA published annual plan prices for four of the large groups. Excluding VAT, they ranged from £145.00 to £201.50 a year for a cat and from £165.00 to £220.70 for a small dog (Part A, Table 9.2; prices for July 2025, or 2024 averages for one group). Those are annual, not monthly, figures, and they exclude VAT, so they are not directly comparable with the VAT-inclusive monthly price you will see on a price list. Prices vary by practice; see the map for published prices from 23 December 2026.

Do plans save money? What the CMA found

The CMA looked at this carefully, and its answer was: it depends on use.

  • If you use everything in the plan, every top-selling large-group plan it examined saved money against paying the same practice's standalone prices (Appendix G, paragraph 1.9).
  • Most people don't use everything. Microchipping and neutering are one-offs, and extra consultations often go unused in a typical year (paragraph 1.10). One group said around 5% of its plan customers used none of the treatments in their plan (paragraph 1.2(b)).
  • On actual average use, the "average" subscriber saved money on about half of the groups' top-selling plans (paragraph 1.13).
  • Against an owner who buys flea and worm treatment online with a written prescription, the potential savings from a plan were "significantly lower" (paragraph 1.9).

The CMA also recognised benefits that are not about money: plans spread the cost and encourage preventative care (paragraph 1.5(b)). In its survey, owners' reasons for joining included keeping up preventative care (53%), value for money (50%), reassurance (46%), help with financial planning (43%) and the practice's recommendation (40%) (Part A, paragraph 9.19).

Its concern was information. Marketing often highlighted annual savings "without breaking down the costs of individual treatments or products" (Final report summary, paragraph 50).

What practices must now show you

For every plan it sells, a practice must publish the following on the main plan page of its website, and have it in writing at the practice (Art. 2 and 9(3)):

Pet Care Plan Standard Information Why it helps you compare
Every product and service included You can see what you are paying for
How many times you can use each one without paying extra "Includes consultations" becomes a number
Which items are one-offs in a pet's lifetime Neutering and microchipping stop inflating the saving after year one
When each item is available Some benefits only apply at certain ages or times
The total price, monthly and annual No more monthly-only pricing
The standalone price of each included item You can do the sum yourself
Cancellation terms: contract length, auto-renewal, notice, cancellation fees You know how to leave

If the plan includes flea, tick or worm products, the practice must also link to its parasiticide price list, say which products are included, advise you to talk to a vet or a suitably qualified person about which is right for your pet, and give an indicative standalone price for 12 months of those treatments bought from the practice, including any dispensing fees (Art. 9(4)).

If an annual plan renews automatically, the practice must remind you before it renews (Art. 9(12)).

The rules on "save £X a year"

This is the part aimed at headline savings. If a practice says you could save money by joining:

  • A specific claim (for example "save £X a year" or "save X%") must come with an explanation of how the saving was worked out, in the same place (Art. 9(5) and (7)).
  • A general claim ("save money") must link to that explanation (Art. 9(6)).
  • The explanation must make clear when the saving relies on things needed only once in a pet's life, and must also show the saving without those one-offs, with equal prominence (Art. 9(7)).
  • Items for which you would still have to pay extra cannot count towards the saving (Art. 9(8)(a)).
  • For "unlimited" services, the saving must be based on evidenced average use; for unlimited consultations without that evidence, on no more than two consultations a year (Art. 9(8)(c)).
  • A group advertising one plan across many practices cannot claim more than the lowest saving available at any of them (Art. 9(9)).

How to compare two plans

  1. Write down what you would actually use this year: the booster, perhaps kennel cough, how many check-ups, flea and worm treatment.
  2. Price those at the practice's standalone prices, which the plan page now has to show.
  3. Compare that total with the annual plan price.
  4. Then check the flea and worm part against buying online with a written prescription. Our prescriptions guide explains the fee caps.
  5. Ignore one-off items in any year you won't use them.
  6. Read the cancellation terms before you sign.

Questions to ask the practice

  • Which items in the plan are one-offs, and what is the saving without them?
  • How many consultations are included, and are they with a vet or a nurse?
  • Which flea and worm products are included, and could I buy the same thing elsewhere?
  • Is there a minimum term, and what does it cost to cancel early?
  • Does the plan renew automatically?

Frequently asked questions

Is a pet care plan worth it?

On the CMA's analysis, the average subscriber saved money on about half of the large groups' top-selling plans, compared with buying the same things from the practice (Appendix G, paragraph 1.13). It depends on what you use. Work it out with the plan's standalone prices.

Does a pet care plan cover emergencies?

No. Plans cover routine care. Emergency treatment, accidents and illness are what pet insurance is for (Part A, paragraph 9.2).

Can I cancel a pet care plan?

The plan page must set out the cancellation terms: contract length, whether it auto-renews, the notice period and a summary of any cancellation fees (Art. 2).

Do plans include vaccinations?

The large groups' plans the CMA examined always included an annual vaccination, plus kennel cough for dogs (Appendix G, paragraph 1.5). Our guides to cat and dog vaccinations explain what those cost on their own.

Where can I compare plan prices?

On our pet care plans price page once practices publish, from 23 December 2026, with a link to each practice's plan details.

Related reading

Sources

Prices mentioned in this guide

Cat vaccination cost in the UK: kitten course, boosters and what the price includesWhat a cat or kitten vaccination price covers under the new CMA price lists, why a primary course costs more than a booster, and what to ask before you book.Dog and puppy vaccination cost in the UK: primary course, boosters and kennel coughWhat a puppy course, an annual dog booster and a kennel cough vaccine price must include on the new CMA price lists, why the prices differ, and what to ask.What the CMA vet price rules mean for pet ownersFrom 23 December 2026 big vet groups must publish a standard price list. Here is what changes, when, and what you can do with it.How to compare vet prices in the UKA practical checklist for comparing vet price lists fairly, from consultation minutes and vaccine bundles to out-of-hours cover and cremation.Vet consultation fees in the UK: first, repeat, nurse and out-of-hours appointmentsHow much a vet consultation costs, what the CMA found, why first and repeat appointments are priced differently, and why the appointment length now sits next to the price.Low-cost and charity vet care in the UK: who qualifies and where to find the cheapest vetWho qualifies for free or reduced-cost vet care from PDSA, Blue Cross, RSPCA branches, Cats Protection and Dogs Trust, and how to find the cheapest paid practice near you if you don't.