Hound vs Roo vs IndeVets, side by side
| Attribute | Hound | Roo | IndeVets | VeterinaryHires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A veterinary career network covering full-time jobs and relief shifts | A relief staffing and hiring platform that also connects veterinary students with externships | A staffing company that employs relief veterinarians as W-2 employees | A job board built only for veterinary jobs |
| How relief works | Relief posts are free to publish; the practice pays only for bookings | Hospitals post unlimited shifts and pay per confirmed shift at a market price shown before posting | The hospital requests shifts through the staffing portal; the veterinarians who cover them are IndeVets' W-2 employees | Relief roles are listed as standard 30-day job listings; VeterinaryHires is not an employer or staffing agency |
| Permanent hiring | Scout Job Posts at $199 a month (Boosts $499 a month), plus a Try Before You Buy path from relief to permanent | Relief-to-Hire for part- and full-time hiring; placement fees are not stated on the page | Not published | Standard $199 or Featured $399 for a 30-day listing at launch pricing |
| Published prices | $199 a month for job posts, $499 a month for boosts, relief posts free; Groove and network access are custom-priced | Not published — each shift is priced by the market and shown before posting | Not published | $199 Standard, $399 Featured; group plans are $899 or $1,749 a month (launch pricing) |
| When you are charged | For relief, only for bookings (timing not published); job posts and boosts bill monthly | Not until 72 hours before the shift | Not published | When you post — the listing goes live as soon as the Stripe payment goes through |
| Contract | Job posts and boosts are monthly subscriptions; Groove's price is not published | No membership fees and no minimum shift posting requirements | Not published | None on single listings; group plans are monthly and cancel anytime |
| Who pays for the coverage | The practice — it pays only for bookings, at a rate set by shift, hour, production or a custom arrangement | The hospital — it pays per confirmed shift, at the market price shown before posting | IndeVets — it employs the veterinarians and pays their salary and benefits | The practice pays for the listing; VeterinaryHires is not an employer or staffing agency |
| Roles covered | Veterinarians, technicians, assistants, receptionists and managers | Veterinarians, technicians and veterinary students (externships) | Relief veterinarians | Eight roles, from veterinarian and relief veterinarian to kennel attendant |
| Self-reported scale | 7,000+ jobs and shifts, 10,000+ practices and opportunities in all 50 states (self-reported) | Over 5 million hours of relief coverage and over $400 million earned by Roo veterinarians (self-reported) | 250+ veterinarians, 5,000+ partner hospitals and operations in 36 states (self-reported) | None published — VeterinaryHires does not publish candidate or reach counts |
As of October 2026, checked on each company's own website.
What is Hound, and what does it cost a veterinary practice?
Hound describes itself as a veterinary career network covering full-time jobs and relief shifts for veterinarians, technicians, assistants, receptionists and managers.
Its hiring products sit under the Scout name.
Job Posts on Scout cost $199 a month and include PayScore insights, job-view alerts, and the ability to view and message the people who view or apply to your jobs.
Job Boosts, which place a post first in the jobs feed with nationwide matching, are $499 a month.
Relief is a separate product: relief posts are free to publish, and the practice pays only for bookings, at a rate set by shift, hour, production or a custom arrangement.
For ongoing coverage, Groove is an invite-only, private relief coordination platform with unlimited relief for one flat rate, no shift markup fees and no relief-to-permanent placement fees — its price is not published.
Practice and group network access are also custom-priced.
What is Roo, and what does it cost a veterinary practice?
Roo connects veterinary hospitals with relief veterinarians and technicians, and connects veterinary students with externships.
Hospitals post the shifts they need covered and pay only for the shifts they confirm.
Posting is free: Roo says hospitals can post unlimited shifts with zero upfront costs, no membership fees and no minimum shift posting requirements, paying only for shifts they confirm.
Each shift is priced by market factors — the hospital's location, the type of work and the shift length — and Roo shows the price before you post.
You are not charged until 72 hours before a shift.
For permanent hiring, Relief-to-Hire lets a hospital make a part- or full-time hire after working with someone on relief; Roo's page does not state placement fees.
Roo's scale figures — over 5 million hours of relief coverage and over $400 million earned by Roo veterinarians — are self-reported.
How do Hound and Roo charge differently for relief coverage?
Both let a practice post relief shifts without paying to post them, but the payment point differs.
On Hound, relief posts are free and the practice pays only for bookings, at a rate set by shift, hour, production or a custom arrangement.
On Roo, the shift price is calculated from the market — location, type of work and shift length — shown before posting, and the hospital is not charged until 72 hours before the shift.
For recurring coverage the products diverge further.
Hound's Groove bundles ongoing relief into one flat rate with no shift markup fees and no relief-to-permanent placement fees, though it is invite-only and its price is not published.
Roo has no flat-rate ongoing-relief program that we found published on its hospital pages; shifts are booked as they come.
IndeVets works differently again: it employs the veterinarians as its own W-2 staff, and hospitals request shifts through its portal.
What is IndeVets, and when is it the better fit?
IndeVets approaches relief from the employer side: it employs relief veterinarians as W-2 employees who choose to work 1–5 days a week, with a guaranteed salary, health insurance options, PTO and paid holidays, a 401(k) with employer match, a CE allowance and professional liability coverage.
Hospitals request shifts through IndeVets' staffing portal; no hospital prices are published on its site.
Its scale — 250+ veterinarians, 5,000+ partner hospitals, 36 states — is self-reported.
Choose IndeVets over Hound or Roo when you want coverage handled rather than veterinarians booked: the company carries the employment, benefits and scheduling instead of your practice managing individual relief bookings.
Where does VeterinaryHires fit?
Hound, Roo and IndeVets all have a relief-coverage product.
VeterinaryHires is not one of them: it is a job board built only for veterinary jobs, and it is the option for a permanent hire — an associate veterinarian, a technician, a receptionist, or a relief veterinarian you want to recruit directly.
Relief roles are listed alongside permanent ones.
A Standard listing is $199 and a Featured listing is $399 at launch pricing, each a one-time payment that runs for 30 days with no contract; group plans are $899 or $1,749 a month.
Candidates who click Apply go straight to the application link or email address you provide.
Browse the relief veterinarian job page to see how relief listings appear, or read the VeterinaryHires fact sheet for the full detail.
How should you choose between Hound and Roo?
Start from how often you need relief.
For occasional one-off shifts, Roo's model is the simpler buy: posting costs nothing, the price is set by the market and shown up front, and nothing is charged until 72 hours before the shift.
If you would rather set pay by shift, hour, production or a custom arrangement, Hound's free relief posts and pay-per-booking model work that way, and you can convert a relief veterinarian who fits into a permanent hire.
If relief is a standing need rather than a scramble, ask Hound for a Groove quote — one flat rate for ongoing coverage — and compare it against the shift prices Roo shows you.
And keep the relief question separate from the permanent one: if the real goal is a permanent hire rather than coverage, a listing on a veterinary-only job board is the better tool. More Hound alternatives are compared here if you want a wider set.
Which one should you choose?
Choose Hound if…
- You want permanent job posts and relief posts from the same platform, with job posts at $199 a month.
- You want relief posts to be free, with pay set by shift, hour, production or a custom arrangement, and to pay only for bookings.
- You have recurring relief needs and can get into Groove, which prices ongoing coverage as one flat rate with no shift markup fees and no relief-to-permanent placement fees.
- You want to try a relief veterinarian on real shifts before converting them to a permanent hire.
Choose Roo if…
- You are filling one-off shifts and want the price set by the market and shown before you post.
- You want no membership fees, no minimum posting requirements, and nothing charged until 72 hours before a shift.
- You want to evaluate a veterinarian or technician on real shifts before making a part- or full-time hire through Relief-to-Hire.
Choose IndeVets if…
- You want coverage handled by one company whose veterinarians are its own W-2 employees, with benefits and scheduling carried by IndeVets rather than your practice.
- You want recurring coverage supplied by IndeVets' employed veterinarians — who choose to work 1–5 days a week — rather than booking individuals shift by shift.
- You would rather request shifts through a staffing portal — prices are not published — than price shifts yourself.
Choose VeterinaryHires if…
- You are hiring for a permanent role rather than booking coverage — a Standard listing is $199 at launch pricing and runs for 30 days.
- You want a one-time payment with no subscription and no contract.
- You want a veterinary-only board where candidates apply on your own application link.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hound free for relief posts?
Yes.
Hound's relief posts are free to publish, and the practice pays only for bookings, at a rate set by shift, hour, production or a custom arrangement.
The paid products are on the permanent side: Scout Job Posts are $199 a month and Job Boosts $499 a month.
Groove, Hound's invite-only platform for ongoing relief, and practice or group network access are custom-priced, with no published rates.
Is Roo free for veterinary hospitals?
Posting is free: Roo says hospitals can post unlimited shifts with zero upfront costs, no membership fees and no minimum shift posting requirements, and only pay for shifts they confirm.
The shift price itself is set by market factors such as location, type of work and shift length, and it is shown before you post.
Nothing is charged until 72 hours before the shift.
What is Roo's Relief-to-Hire?
Relief-to-Hire is Roo's process for turning relief work into a part- or full-time hire: the hospital works with a veterinarian or technician on real shifts first, then makes the hiring decision based on that experience.
Roo's page does not state what a placement fee costs, so ask Roo directly if a permanent placement is the end goal.
What is Groove on Hound?
Groove is Hound's invite-only, private relief coordination platform for ongoing coverage.
It prices unlimited relief as one flat rate, with no shift markup fees and no relief-to-permanent placement fees.
The price is not published and access is by invitation, so a practice that wants it asks Hound for the price and compares that against booking shifts one at a time.
How is IndeVets different from Hound and Roo?
Hound and Roo let a practice book individual relief veterinarians; IndeVets is the employer.
Its veterinarians are W-2 employees of IndeVets who choose to work 1–5 days a week, with benefits including health insurance, PTO, a 401(k) with match and liability coverage.
Hospitals request shifts through IndeVets' portal; no hospital prices are published.
Can I post relief shifts on VeterinaryHires?
Yes — relief veterinarian jobs are listed on VeterinaryHires like any other role, collected on the relief veterinarian job page.
The difference is the model: VeterinaryHires is a job board, not a shift-booking marketplace.
A Standard listing is $199 at launch pricing for 30 days, candidates apply through your own link, and there is no subscription.
It fits a practice recruiting a permanent or ongoing relief veterinarian rather than filling tomorrow's shift.
Which is cheaper, Hound or Roo?
They charge at different points, so it depends on usage.
Roo shows a market-based price per shift before you post and charges 72 hours before each shift, with no membership fee.
Hound's relief posts are free and you pay only per booking, but permanent job posts are $199 a month, and Groove's flat rate is not published.
Price the same month of shifts on both to compare.
Where these facts come from
- Hound: hound.vet (checked October 5, 2026)
- Hound: hound.vet/employers (checked October 5, 2026)
- Roo: roo.vet (checked October 5, 2026)
- Roo: roo.vet/veterinary-hospitals (checked October 5, 2026)
- IndeVets: indevets.com (checked October 5, 2026)