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Healthcare · head to head

Athenahealth vs Halaxy

Athenahealth logo

Athenahealth

Healthcare

Cloud-based medical practice management

From
$140/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Halaxy logo

Halaxy

Healthcare

Practice management for allied health that charges nothing for the software and earns on payments

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Halaxy has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Athenahealth high implementation costs ranging up to $50,000+ for enterprise deployments; Halaxy the software being free does not mean the platform is cheap: a clinic taking most payments by card pays roughly 1.5 to 1.9 per cent plus a fixed fee on every transaction, which on a high volume practice comfortably exceeds what a flat AUD 60 per practitioner subscription would have cost.
  • They diverge on capability: Athenahealth covers Electronic Health Records, Halaxy covers No licence fee.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Athenahealth and Halaxy actually diverge.

Attributes where Athenahealth and Halaxy differ
AttributeAthenahealthHalaxy
Starting price$140/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownFree software, revenue taken on payments and credits
Free tierNoYes
Founded1997Unknown

Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Healthcare).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Athenahealth

  • Electronic Health Records
  • Medical Billing
  • Patient Engagement
  • Telehealth
  • Analytics
  • Labs
  • Pharmacies
  • Clearinghouses

Only in Halaxy

  • No licence fee
  • Integrated claiming
  • Credit-based extras
  • Online booking
  • Clinical notes and templates
  • Card payments
  • Multi-practitioner diary
  • Patient portal

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Athenahealth

  • Patient Carenot Halaxy
  • Medical Recordsnot Halaxy
  • Practice Managementnot Halaxy
  • Telehealthnot Halaxy

Halaxy

  • A solo psychologist starting out who wants Medicare and private health claiming without committing to a monthly subscription before there is any incomenot Athenahealth
  • A physiotherapy clinic that wants patient reminders, online booking and card payments reconciled against invoices in one systemnot Athenahealth
  • An NDIS provider that needs claim generation and service agreement tracking built into the same record as clinical notesnot Athenahealth
  • A multi-location allied health group in Australia that wants one diary across sites without paying per practitioner licencesnot Athenahealth

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Athenahealth

  • High implementation costs ranging up to $50,000+ for enterprise deployments
  • Pricing tiers not transparently listed, requiring custom quotes

Halaxy

  • The software being free does not mean the platform is cheap: a clinic taking most payments by card pays roughly 1.5 to 1.9 per cent plus a fixed fee on every transaction, which on a high volume practice comfortably exceeds what a flat AUD 60 per practitioner subscription would have cost.
  • Credits are prepaid and consumed by ordinary daily activity including SMS reminders and Medicare claims, so running out mid-week silently stops reminders going to patients, which shows up as no-shows rather than as an error message.
  • Features that competitors treat as standard, including two-way calendar sync, API access and a dedicated SMS number, are locked behind the credit subscription, so the headline free tier is thinner than it first appears.
  • Claiming, funding and payment integrations are deeply Australian, so practitioners in the UK, Canada or the United States get the diary and notes but very little of the automation that makes the product worth choosing.
  • Because the vendor earns on payment volume, its interests and yours diverge on card processing: switching to a cheaper acquirer breaks the automatic reconciliation that is the main operational reason to stay on the platform.

Pricing, plan by plan

Athenahealth

$140/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Athenahealth review.

Halaxy

Free
  • HalaxyFree
    • Unlimited practitioners with no subscription fee
    • Diary, patient records, clinical notes and invoicing
    • Online booking page
  • Premium subscription$25/month
    • Priced at 25 credits per month, so roughly AUD 4 to 6 depending on credit rate
    • Two-way calendar sync
    • White-label branding

Which should you pick?

Choose Athenahealth if

  • You need electronic health records.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want medical billing.
Athenahealth review

Choose Halaxy if

  • You need no licence fee.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want integrated claiming.
Halaxy review

Questions people ask

Is Athenahealth or Halaxy better?
Neither clearly leads. Athenahealth starts at $140/month and Halaxy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Athenahealth or Halaxy?
Halaxy has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $140/month for Athenahealth and Free for Halaxy.
Does Athenahealth or Halaxy run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Halaxy for free?
Yes. Halaxy has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Athenahealth starts at $140/month.
What is Athenahealth best used for?
Athenahealth is most often used for patient care, medical records, practice management, telehealth. Of those, patient care and medical records are not what Halaxy is typically brought in for.
What can Athenahealth do that Halaxy cannot?
Athenahealth covers Electronic Health Records, Medical Billing, Patient Engagement, Telehealth. Halaxy covers No licence fee, Integrated claiming, Credit-based extras, Online booking.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Athenahealth: What platforms does Athenahealth serve?

Athenahealth's athenaOne serves small to medium-sized physician practices and hospitals with integrated clinical, financial, and operational workflows.

Source
Halaxy: Is Halaxy genuinely free or is there a hidden subscription?

The core practice management software has no subscription fee for any number of practitioners. Halaxy earns from card processing fees, prepaid credits for SMS and claiming, and an optional premium subscription priced at 25 credits a month.

Athenahealth: What is the pricing model for athenaOne?

Athenahealth uses customized pricing with percent-based or encounter-based models. Starting price reported at $140/month with implementation costs ranging from $5,000-$20,000 for small businesses.

Source
Halaxy: What does it actually cost a busy clinic?

Budget for card fees of roughly 1.5 to 1.9 per cent plus 75 cents to a dollar per transaction, plus credits at about AUD 0.15 to 0.22 each for every SMS, claim and telehealth session. A clinic with heavy card volume can pay more in total than a flat-rate competitor.

Athenahealth: Does Athenahealth include revenue cycle management?

Yes, athenaOne includes network-driven claims scrubbing with 95%+ first-pass rates, denial management, and A/R optimization.

Source
Halaxy: Can I use it outside Australia?

Yes for the diary, notes, invoicing and booking. No for Medicare, DVA, NDIS and Australian health fund claiming, which is where most of the value sits.

Athenahealth: What patient engagement features does Athenahealth offer?

Athenahealth provides athenaCommunicator for patient portals, automated appointment reminders, online scheduling, telehealth integration, digital intake, and broadcast messaging.

Source
Halaxy: Does it handle NDIS?

Yes, including NDIS claim generation, service agreements and plan management alongside clinical records.

Athenahealth: How many pre-built integrations does Athenahealth have?

Athenahealth's marketplace includes over 250 pre-integrated third-party apps, allowing practices to extend functionality without custom development.

Source
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