Softwr

Healthcare · head to head

Epocrates vs Halaxy

Epocrates logo

Epocrates

Healthcare

Mobile clinical reference and decision support app

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: Epocrates pricing page not publicly accessible; 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: Epocrates covers Drug Reference, Halaxy covers No licence fee.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Epocrates and Halaxy actually diverge.

Attributes where Epocrates and Halaxy differ
AttributeEpocratesHalaxy
Pricing modelfreemiumFree software, revenue taken on payments and credits
PlatformsMobileWeb, iOS, Android
Founded2000Unknown

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 Epocrates

  • Drug Reference
  • Interactions
  • Dosing Calculators
  • Disease Information
  • Medical Procedures
  • Patient Education
  • EHR Systems
  • HIPAA

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.

Epocrates

  • Patient Carenot Halaxy
  • Medical Recordsnot Halaxy
  • Practice Managementnot Halaxy
  • Telehealthnot 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 Epocrates
  • A physiotherapy clinic that wants patient reminders, online booking and card payments reconciled against invoices in one systemnot Epocrates
  • An NDIS provider that needs claim generation and service agreement tracking built into the same record as clinical notesnot Epocrates
  • A multi-location allied health group in Australia that wants one diary across sites without paying per practitioner licencesnot Epocrates

Where each one falls short

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

Epocrates

  • Pricing page not publicly accessible

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

Epocrates

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Drug references
    • Calculators
    • Interactions
  • Premium$99/year
    • Enhanced content
    • Offline access

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 Epocrates if

  • You need drug reference.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Mobile.
  • You also want interactions.
Epocrates 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 Epocrates or Halaxy better?
Neither clearly leads. Epocrates 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, Epocrates or Halaxy?
Epocrates starts at Free and Halaxy at Free.
Does Epocrates or Halaxy run on more platforms?
Epocrates runs on Mobile. Halaxy runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Epocrates for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Epocrates best used for?
Epocrates is most often used for patient care, medical records, practice management, telehealth. Of those, patient care and medical records are not what Halaxy is typically brought in for.
What can Epocrates do that Halaxy cannot?
Epocrates covers Drug Reference, Interactions, Dosing Calculators, Disease Information. Halaxy covers No licence fee, Integrated claiming, Credit-based extras, Online booking.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Epocrates: How much does Epocrates cost?

Epocrates pricing information is not available to public access. Users must authenticate or contact the vendor to view pricing details.

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.

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.

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.

Halaxy: Does it handle NDIS?

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

Share

Related pages

More on Epocrates

More on Halaxy

Keep looking

Other head to heads