Pet Friend

Overview

Pet Friend brings animal-care and organization-management work into one platform for shelters and rescue groups. It is best suited to teams coordinating adoptions, care, fosters, and volunteers together. The trade-off is a paid-only starting point of $25 a month.

Key features

The adoption portal gives organizations a public-facing channel, while intake and outcome tracking supports the work of following animals through shelter processes. Together, these functions suit teams managing more than adoption listings alone.

Kennel management and medical records cover operational care; foster and volunteer management extend the platform to the people helping deliver it. That breadth may suit organizations seeking a shared system for these responsibilities. A team that needs only one function may find the paid plans difficult to justify.

Pricing

There is no free plan. A 14-day trial gives teams a short period to assess the service before paying. Monthly subscriptions are billed monthly and can be cancelled anytime; annual plans are billed annually and accept payment by card, check, or PO.

PlanPrice and termStorageMonthly data usageRescue$25 a month10 GB50 GBShelter$50 a month10 GB100 GBShelter Plus$100 a month10 GB100 GBRescue (annual)$300 a year10 GB50 GBShelter (annual)$600 a year10 GB100 GBShelter Plus (annual)$1,200 a year10 GB100 GBRescue is the lowest-cost fit for organizations whose monthly data use stays within 50 GB. Shelter doubles that allowance to 100 GB for $50 a month, while storage remains 10 GB on both. Shelter Plus costs twice Shelter at $100 a month without increasing either stated allowance, so the listed limits alone do not establish a reason to pay the premium.

The annual Rescue, Shelter, and Shelter Plus plans carry the same storage and monthly data allowances as their monthly counterparts, with prices of $300.00 USD, $600.00 USD, and $1,200 a year respectively. Choose an annual term only if that commitment and its payment options suit the organization; monthly plans retain the stated cancel-anytime term.

Platforms

Pet Friend runs on Android, iOS, and the web, giving teams access across mobile and browser platforms.

Who it's for

Pet Friend is a stronger fit for shelters and rescue organizations coordinating animal records, housing, adoption, foster care, and volunteers in one service. Its entry plan may work for smaller data needs, but the service is less compelling for groups that need only a public adoption portal or that require a no-cost option.

Pros and cons

Pros: Adoption, intake and outcome tracking, kennel management, medical records, foster management, and volunteer management cover a broad set of shelter operations.

Pros: Android, iOS, and web support serves teams working across those platforms.

Cons: There is no free plan, and the 14-day trial is the only stated way to try it before paying.

Cons: Every plan has 10 GB storage; moving from Shelter to Shelter Plus raises the price without raising the stated 100 GB monthly data allowance.

Alternatives

Animal Shelter Software is a useful place to compare more options in this category.

Choose Cara instead if a free tier matters: its free plan supports up to five animals and includes a public adoption portal, application management, basic email notifications, and Cara branding. Its paid Pro plan is $34.99 a month.

RescueRM has a free web plan with up to two team members, one AI match per 48 hours, and six assistant queries per 48 hours. Consider it when those free-plan limits better match your needs.

PawPlacer is the clearest choice for avoiding subscription cost: its free plan is free forever and includes all features, full exports and SDK/API, and no contracts or usage limits.

ShelterBuddy is another paid option for Android, iOS, and web. Pact is a paid web option. RescueGroups.org Data Management Service has a free web plan, while RescueBase is a freemium web option.

Verdict

Choose Pet Friend if your shelter or rescue group wants adoption, animal-care, foster, and volunteer management together and can budget for a paid platform. The main reason to choose it is the breadth of operational functions across mobile and web; the main reason to look elsewhere is the lack of a free plan, especially if your needs are narrower or the stated storage and data limits do not fit.