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Healthcare · head to head

Cliniko vs Halaxy

Cliniko logo

Cliniko

Healthcare

Clinic management software for health practitioners

From
Free
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

  • 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; 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: Cliniko covers Appointment Scheduling, Halaxy covers No licence fee.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cliniko and Halaxy actually diverge.

Attributes where Cliniko and Halaxy differ
AttributeClinikoHalaxy
Pricing modelsubscriptionFree software, revenue taken on payments and credits
PlatformsWeb, MobileWeb, iOS, Android
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 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.

Cliniko

  • Practice management for allied health clinicsnot Halaxy
  • Appointment scheduling and online bookingsnot Halaxy
  • Clinical notes and patient recordsnot Halaxy
  • Telehealth consultationsnot Halaxy
  • Invoicing and payment tracking for a multi-practitioner clinicnot 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 Cliniko
  • A physiotherapy clinic that wants patient reminders, online booking and card payments reconciled against invoices in one systemnot Cliniko
  • An NDIS provider that needs claim generation and service agreement tracking built into the same record as clinical notesnot Cliniko
  • A multi-location allied health group in Australia that wants one diary across sites without paying per practitioner licencesnot 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

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

Cliniko

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

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 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 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 Cliniko or Halaxy better?
Neither clearly leads. Cliniko starts at Free and Halaxy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cliniko or Halaxy?
Cliniko starts at Free and Halaxy at Free.
Does Cliniko or Halaxy run on more platforms?
Cliniko runs on Web, Mobile. Halaxy runs on Web, iOS, Android.
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 Halaxy is typically brought in for.
What can Cliniko do that Halaxy cannot?
Cliniko covers Appointment Scheduling, Online Booking, Client Management, Invoicing. Halaxy covers No licence fee, Integrated claiming, Credit-based extras, Online booking.

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
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.

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
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.

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
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.

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
Halaxy: Does it handle NDIS?

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

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