Is Cliniko or Shepherd better?

Neither clearly leads. Cliniko starts at Free and Shepherd at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Cliniko or Shepherd?

Cliniko has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cliniko and On request for Shepherd.

Does Cliniko or Shepherd run on more platforms?

Cliniko runs on Web, Mobile. Shepherd runs on Web, Cloud.

Can I use Cliniko for free?

Yes. Cliniko has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Shepherd 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 Shepherd is typically brought in for.

What can Cliniko do that Shepherd cannot?

Cliniko covers Appointment Scheduling, Online Booking, Client Management, Invoicing. Shepherd covers Consultation-first records, Charges from treatment, Inventory, Cloud-based.

Healthcare · head to head

Cliniko vs Shepherd

Cliniko

Healthcare

Clinic management software for health practitioners

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Shepherd

Veterinary

Cloud veterinary practice management built by a practising vet

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

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; Shepherd quote-only pricing with no published rates
They diverge on capability: Cliniko covers Appointment Scheduling, Shepherd covers Consultation-first records.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cliniko and Shepherd actually diverge.

Attributes where Cliniko and Shepherd differ
Attribute	Cliniko	Shepherd
Starting price	Free	On request
Pricing model	subscription	quote
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Web, Mobile	Web, Cloud
Category	Healthcare	Veterinary
Founded	2012	Unknown

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 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.

Cliniko

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

Shepherd

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

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

Cliniko

Free

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

Shepherd

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Shepherd review.

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 Shepherd if

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

Shepherd review

Questions people ask

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

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

Shepherd: What does Shepherd cost?

Pricing is quoted per practice and not published.

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

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.

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

Shepherd: Is it cloud-only?

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

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

Cliniko vs Shepherd

Cliniko

Shepherd

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Cliniko

Only in Shepherd

What people use each for

Cliniko

Shepherd

Where each one falls short

Cliniko

Shepherd

Pricing, plan by plan

Cliniko

Shepherd

Which should you pick?

Choose Cliniko if

Choose Shepherd if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Cliniko

More on Shepherd

Keep looking

Other head to heads