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Healthcare · head to head

Cliniko vs Onward Vet

Cliniko logo

Cliniko

Healthcare

Clinic management software for health practitioners

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Onward Vet logo

Onward Vet

Veterinary

Small-vendor cloud practice management sold on flat subscription with unlimited users

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cliniko has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; Onward Vet the vendor is small, so support depth, release pace and the ability to absorb a serious outage are all limited compared with IDEXX, Covetrus or the larger cloud vendors.
  • They diverge on capability: Cliniko covers Appointment Scheduling, Onward Vet covers Flat practice subscription.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cliniko and Onward Vet actually diverge.

Attributes where Cliniko and Onward Vet differ
AttributeClinikoOnward Vet
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, MobileWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryHealthcareVeterinary
Founded2012Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Cliniko

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

Only in Onward Vet

  • Flat practice subscription
  • Cloud hosted
  • Medical records and SOAP
  • Estimates and treatment plans
  • Client communication
  • Laboratory integration

What people use each for

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

Cliniko

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

Onward Vet

  • A clinic with a large rota of part-time technicians and receptionists where per-seat pricing is disproportionatenot Cliniko
  • A single-site practice leaving an ageing on-premise system that no longer wants to maintain a servernot Cliniko
  • A new practice that needs a working record system quickly without a long configuration projectnot Cliniko
  • A cost-sensitive clinic that wants cloud practice management without paying for integration breadth it will not usenot 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

Onward Vet

  • The vendor is small, so support depth, release pace and the ability to absorb a serious outage are all limited compared with IDEXX, Covetrus or the larger cloud vendors.
  • The integration catalogue is short, so specialist imaging, communication or wellness plan tools that connect to ezyVet or Provet Cloud may need manual handling here.
  • Reporting is basic, so a practice that wants production analysis by veterinary surgeon, detailed inventory valuation or multi-site consolidation will be exporting data to a spreadsheet.
  • There is no on-premise option, so a clinic with an unreliable internet connection has no fallback when the link goes down and the appointment book becomes unreachable.
  • Concentration risk is real with a supplier of this size: acquisition, a change of direction or a funding problem would put your record system into other hands, so test the data export before committing.

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

Onward Vet

On request
  • Onward Vet$undefined/year
    • Quoted as a flat monthly practice subscription
    • Unlimited user accounts
    • Cloud hosting, backup and updates included

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 Onward Vet if

  • You need flat practice subscription.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want cloud hosted.
Onward Vet review

Questions people ask

Is Cliniko or Onward Vet better?
Neither clearly leads. Cliniko starts at Free and Onward Vet at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cliniko or Onward Vet?
Cliniko has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cliniko and On request for Onward Vet.
Does Cliniko or Onward Vet run on more platforms?
Cliniko runs on Web, Mobile. Onward Vet runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Cliniko for free?
Yes. Cliniko has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Onward Vet starts at On request.
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 Onward Vet is typically brought in for.
What can Cliniko do that Onward Vet cannot?
Cliniko covers Appointment Scheduling, Online Booking, Client Management, Invoicing. Onward Vet covers Flat practice subscription, Cloud hosted, Medical records and SOAP, Estimates and treatment plans.

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
Onward Vet: How is it priced?

As a flat practice subscription with unlimited users, quoted rather than published, which is why it suits clinics with many part-time staff.

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
Onward Vet: Is it suitable for a multi-site group?

Not really. It is built for single-site independent clinics; consolidated reporting and cross-site inventory are not its strength.

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
Onward Vet: What happens if the internet goes down?

You lose access to the appointment book and records. There is no on-premise fallback, so a secondary connection is a sensible precaution.

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
Onward Vet: Can I get my data out?

Ask for a full export during evaluation and check what format it comes in. With a small vendor this is a question to answer before you sign, not afterwards.

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