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Healthcare · head to head

Athenahealth vs Shepherd

Athenahealth logo

Athenahealth

Healthcare

Cloud-based medical practice management

From
$140/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Shepherd logo

Shepherd

Veterinary

Cloud veterinary practice management built by a practising vet

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Athenahealth high implementation costs ranging up to $50,000+ for enterprise deployments; Shepherd quote-only pricing with no published rates
  • They diverge on capability: Athenahealth covers Electronic Health Records, Shepherd covers Consultation-first records.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Athenahealth and Shepherd actually diverge.

Attributes where Athenahealth and Shepherd differ
AttributeAthenahealthShepherd
Starting price$140/monthOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Cloud
CategoryHealthcareVeterinary
Founded1997Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Shepherd

  • Consultation-first records
  • Charges from treatment
  • Inventory
  • Cloud-based

What people use each for

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

Athenahealth

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

Shepherd

  • Practices losing revenue to treatment delivered but never billednot Athenahealth
  • Clinics replacing on-premise legacy systemsnot Athenahealth
  • Independent practices wanting something designed around clinical work rather than administrationnot 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

Shepherd

  • Quote-only pricing with no published rates
  • A smaller vendor than the established systems, with a correspondingly shorter track record
  • Cloud-only, so consultations depend on clinic connectivity

Pricing, plan by plan

Athenahealth

$140/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Athenahealth review.

Shepherd

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Shepherd review.

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 Shepherd if

  • You need consultation-first records.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want charges from treatment.
Shepherd review

Questions people ask

Is Athenahealth or Shepherd better?
Neither clearly leads. Athenahealth starts at $140/month and Shepherd at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Athenahealth or Shepherd?
Athenahealth starts at $140/month and Shepherd at On request.
Does Athenahealth or Shepherd run on more platforms?
Athenahealth runs on Web, iOS, Android. Shepherd runs on Web, Cloud.
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 Shepherd is typically brought in for.
What can Athenahealth do that Shepherd cannot?
Athenahealth covers Electronic Health Records, Medical Billing, Patient Engagement, Telehealth. Shepherd covers Consultation-first records, Charges from treatment, Inventory, Cloud-based.

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
Shepherd: What does Shepherd cost?

Pricing is quoted per practice and not published.

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
Shepherd: What makes it different from other veterinary systems?

It was designed by a practising vet around the consultation workflow, so charges accrue from recorded treatment rather than being entered as a separate billing step.

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
Shepherd: Is it cloud-only?

Yes, which removes server maintenance and makes connectivity a dependency.

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
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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