TL;DR
- • UK vet services rose ~63% from 2016 to 2023 (ONS CPI veterinary services index) — nearly 2× general inflation.
- • Six drivers: corporate consolidation, drug-cost inflation, RCVS-driven staffing standards, advanced medicine, premises costs, and (until 2026) weak price-comparison.
- • The CMA's 2026 remedies — mandatory price lists, ownership disclosure, £21 prescription fee cap — target the consumer side, not the structural cost side.
1. Corporate consolidation
In 2013, ~10% of UK practices were corporate-owned. By 2024 the CMA's market study found that figure had risen above 60%, with six groups dominating: CVS, IVC Evidensia, Linnaeus, Medivet, VetPartners and Pets at Home. Consolidation isn't bad in itself, but the CMA found weak local competition and pricing strategies that assumed owners wouldn't shop around. Our database currently shows roughly 1,524 corporate to 1,734 independent RCVS-registered practices.
2. Drug-cost inflation
The wholesale cost of common veterinary medicines (Apoquel, Bravecto, Librela, Metacam, generic NSAIDs) has risen sharply since Brexit and the post-pandemic supply squeeze. Some commonly-dispensed lines have doubled at wholesale. Until the 2026 CMA prescription-fee cap, owners had limited routes around this because written-prescription fees were often set at a level that made online buying uneconomic.
3. Staffing standards and the workforce squeeze
RCVS Practice Standards have raised the bar for nursing ratios, anaesthetic monitoring, sterile surgical environments and continuing professional development. These are unequivocally good for welfare — but they cost money. At the same time, the profession faces a vet workforce shortfall (BVA estimates a 11% vacancy rate), which has driven up vet and RVN salaries faster than inflation.
4. Advanced medicine is now standard
Treatments routine today simply didn't exist 15 years ago: bedinvetmab (Librela) for canine arthritis, monoclonal antibodies (Cytopoint) for itch, TPLO surgery for cruciate disease, MRI scans in general practice, oncology referrals. Owners benefit enormously — pets live longer, with better quality of life — but the cost base has stepped up. Our cruciate surgery cost guide shows typical spend of £3,500–£5,500.
5. Premises, equipment and compliance
A modern small-animal practice needs digital X-ray, ultrasound, in-house biochemistry, dental radiography, a separate ops theatre, isolation, and increasingly a separate cat-friendly waiting area. Equipment that used to cost £20k now costs £80k; commercial rent has risen sharply outside London too.
6. Weak price signals (the thing the CMA actually changed)
Before 2026, most UK practices didn't publish prices, didn't disclose ownership, and charged variable prescription fees that discouraged online buying. The result: a market with little competitive pressure on price. The CMA's binding 2026 remedies fix that consumer-side problem with:
- Mandatory price lists for common services
- Clear ownership disclosure on every premises
- A ~£21 cap on written prescription fees
- Disclosure of referral options including cost
- Itemised written estimates for treatment over £300
Read our full CMA reforms breakdown and the price transparency law summary.
What this means in real numbers
Across our database of 1,625 priced UK practices:
- Standard consultation: median £59.50, average £61.07 (range £29–£400)
- Annual dog booster: average £71.24
- Bitch spay (medium dog): average £350.28
- Microchip: average £26.39
Within a 10-mile radius of most UK postcodes, the spread between cheapest and dearest is typically 40–70% for the same procedure. That's where shopping around bites.
So are vets profiteering?
Mostly no. The CMA didn't find evidence of excessive overall profit margins; it found a market structure where local competition was weak and consumers lacked the information to push back. Independent vets, in particular, often run on tight margins. The 2026 reforms change incentives without imposing price caps on services — beyond the prescription-fee cap.
What you can do today
- Compare published prices before registering. Search your postcode on our site.
- Get prescriptions written and buy repeat meds online.
- Take out insurance early — see insurance vs self-insurance.
- Check care-plan maths — see our breakdown.
- Use charity routes if eligible (PDSA, Blue Cross, RSPCA).
FAQs
Will prices come down because of the CMA reforms?
Not overnight. Expect compression at the top end of pricing as published prices invite comparison; the bottom end (already competitive) won't change much. Prescription fees should fall immediately for any practice that was charging above £21.
Why is my vet so much more expensive than the next town?
Mostly local competition density and ownership mix. Towns with more independents and more competing practices tend to have tighter pricing.
Are emergency fees fair?
OOH care is genuinely expensive to provide — overnight staffing, on-call clinicians, equipment idle most of the day. £200–£350 consultation fees are typical and broadly defensible; what isn't defensible is failing to disclose them in advance, which the new rules address.
About the data: All UK average prices are from our live database of practice-published prices, refreshed June 2026. ONS inflation figures from the CPI veterinary services sub-index. This is general information, not advice.