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Cliniko vs GNU Health

Cliniko logo

Cliniko

Healthcare

Clinic management software for health practitioners

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
GNU Health logo

GNU Health

Healthcare

Free hospital and health information system from a small NGO, built on the Tryton framework

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cliniko priced in practitioner bands rather than per seat, so a clinic adding a sixth practitioner jumps from $95 to $145 a month; GNU Health development depends on GNU Solidario, a very small nonprofit funded by donations and training, so release cadence and long-term continuity are tied to a handful of people rather than to an engineering organisation.
  • They diverge on capability: Cliniko covers Appointment Scheduling, GNU Health covers Electronic medical record.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cliniko and GNU Health actually diverge.

Attributes where Cliniko and GNU Health differ
AttributeClinikoGNU Health
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, MobileLinux, Web, Self-hosted
Founded2012Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Cliniko

  • Appointment Scheduling
  • Online Booking
  • Client Management
  • Invoicing
  • Patient Portal
  • Telehealth
  • Payment processors
  • Online forms

Only in GNU Health

  • Electronic medical record
  • Hospital management
  • Laboratory information system
  • Social medicine modules
  • Tryton business modules
  • Health federation
  • ICD and standards support
  • Modular installation

What people use each for

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

Cliniko

  • Practice management for allied health clinicsnot GNU Health
  • Appointment scheduling and online bookingsnot GNU Health
  • Clinical notes and patient recordsnot GNU Health
  • Telehealth consultationsnot GNU Health
  • Invoicing and payment tracking for a multi-practitioner clinicnot GNU Health

GNU Health

  • A public hospital in a low-resource setting that cannot fund commercial EMR licensing and has in-house Linux capabilitynot Cliniko
  • A ministry building a national health network where source code inspection and data sovereignty are policy requirementsnot Cliniko
  • A university teaching health informatics that needs a complete, inspectable system rather than a vendor demonstrationnot Cliniko
  • A community health programme that needs socioeconomic determinants recorded alongside clinical datanot Cliniko

Where each one falls short

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

Cliniko

  • Priced in practitioner bands rather than per seat, so a clinic adding a sixth practitioner jumps from $95 to $145 a month
  • The top published band stops at 200 practitioners
  • SMS is charged separately at 10 cents a message
  • Telehealth requires entering card details before it unlocks, even during the trial
  • There is no free tier, only a 30 day trial

GNU Health

  • Development depends on GNU Solidario, a very small nonprofit funded by donations and training, so release cadence and long-term continuity are tied to a handful of people rather than to an engineering organisation.
  • It is built on Tryton, a framework few health IT staff know, so hiring or contracting people who can extend and maintain it is materially harder than for a mainstream stack.
  • Installation, upgrades and database administration assume Linux and Python competence, which puts the real cost on staffing rather than on licensing and defeats hospitals that lack that team.
  • The interface is functional rather than designed, and clinician acceptance is a genuine deployment risk compared with commercial systems that have invested heavily in usability.
  • Certification, regulatory conformance and interoperability testing that some jurisdictions demand of clinical systems are not provided by a vendor, so the adopting institution has to carry that work and that liability itself.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cliniko

Free
  • 1 Practitioner$45/month
  • 2-5 Practitioners$95/month
  • 6-8 Practitioners$145/month
  • 9-12 Practitioners$195/month

GNU Health

Free
  • GNU HealthFree
    • GNU GPL licence
    • All modules included
    • No patient, bed or user limits
  • Support and training$undefined/year
    • Paid support and implementation from GNU Solidario
    • Training courses and certification
    • Quoted per institution

Which should you pick?

Choose Cliniko if

  • You need appointment scheduling.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want online booking.
Cliniko review

Choose GNU Health if

  • You need electronic medical record.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want hospital management.
GNU Health review

Questions people ask

Is Cliniko or GNU Health better?
Neither clearly leads. Cliniko starts at Free and GNU Health at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cliniko or GNU Health?
Cliniko starts at Free and GNU Health at Free.
Does Cliniko or GNU Health run on more platforms?
Cliniko runs on Web, Mobile. GNU Health runs on Linux, Web, Self-hosted.
Can I use Cliniko for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Cliniko best used for?
Cliniko is most often used for practice management for allied health clinics, appointment scheduling and online bookings, clinical notes and patient records, telehealth consultations. Of those, practice management for allied health clinics and appointment scheduling and online bookings are not what GNU Health is typically brought in for.
What can Cliniko do that GNU Health cannot?
Cliniko covers Appointment Scheduling, Online Booking, Client Management, Invoicing. GNU Health covers Electronic medical record, Hospital management, Laboratory information system, Social medicine modules.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cliniko: How much does Cliniko cost for a practice?

Cliniko uses per-practitioner pricing: 1 practitioner $45/month, 2-5 practitioners $95/month, 6-8 practitioners $145/month, 9-12 practitioners $195/month, 13-25 practitioners $295/month, 26-200 practitioners $395/month.

Source
GNU Health: Who develops GNU Health?

GNU Solidario, a Spanish nonprofit NGO, as an official GNU package under the GPL.

Cliniko: Does Cliniko offer a free trial?

Cliniko is free to try for the first 30 days with no credit card required initially. A credit card is required to unlock features like Telehealth after the trial begins.

Source
GNU Health: Is there commercial support?

Yes, in a limited form, from GNU Solidario itself and a small number of implementers. It is not a vendor support organisation.

Cliniko: What is included in all Cliniko plans?

Every Cliniko subscription includes complete feature access, unlimited admin and reception users, unlimited locations, unlimited file storage, unlimited patients, 24/7 monitoring, automatic backups, regular updates, and 24/7 customer support.

Source
GNU Health: What is it built on?

Tryton, a Python business application framework, which is where its accounting, stock and HR modules come from.

Cliniko: Does Cliniko charge extra for SMS and what discounts apply?

SMS messaging costs 10 cents per message (pre-paid credits required). Annual billing includes one month free every year. Charities and educational institutions qualify for free access. Cliniko commits to no feature-specific fees beyond SMS and offers no annual commitment discounts.

Source
GNU Health: Is it suitable for a large hospital?

It is deployed in hospitals, but the deciding factor is whether you have internal Linux, Python and Tryton capability rather than the size of the institution.

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