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Healthcare · head to head

Meru Health vs Zanda Health

Meru Health logo

Meru Health

Healthcare

Twelve week therapist led mental health programme combining an app, a clinician and HRV biofeedback

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zanda Health logo

Zanda Health

Healthcare

Practice management and clinical notes for allied health clinics, formerly Power Diary

From
$19/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Meru Health the programme is twelve weeks and then it ends, which fits an episode of treatment but not a chronic condition needing maintenance, so relapse after week twelve lands on whatever pathway the buyer has funded next, if any.; Zanda Health the 2024 rename from Power Diary means most third party reviews, integration guides and community answers still sit under the old name, so buyers researching Zanda Health find a thin trail and may wrongly conclude it is a new and unproven product.
  • They diverge on capability: Meru Health covers Twelve week structured programme, Zanda Health covers Unlimited admin users.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Meru Health and Zanda Health actually diverge.

Attributes where Meru Health and Zanda Health differ
AttributeMeru HealthZanda Health
Starting priceOn request$19/month
Pricing modelquotePer user per month

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Meru Health

  • Twelve week structured programme
  • Licensed therapist
  • Psychiatric consultation
  • HRV biofeedback device
  • Daily in app practice
  • Meru Health Advanced
  • Payer contracting
  • Outcome measurement

Only in Zanda Health

  • Unlimited admin users
  • Australian funder billing
  • Clinical note templates
  • Two way SMS
  • Telehealth Pro
  • Practitioner rostering
  • Client portal
  • BizzyAI Scribe

What people use each for

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

Meru Health

  • A health plan that wants a mental health intervention it can underwrite as a bounded episode rather than an open ended benefitnot Zanda Health
  • An employer whose staff need treatment rather than wellbeing content, with a therapist and a prescriber in one pathwaynot Zanda Health
  • A member who needs medication review alongside therapy, which most app based mental health products cannot providenot Zanda Health
  • A health system seeking to offload moderate depression and anxiety from a psychiatry service with long waitsnot Zanda Health

Zanda Health

  • A five physiotherapist clinic in Melbourne that bulk bills Medicare and wants claiming inside the diary rather than a separate portalnot Meru Health
  • A psychology group practice with more reception staff than clinicians, where per seat pricing elsewhere would double the billnot Meru Health
  • A UK osteopathy practice moving off paper diaries that needs online booking and card payment without an implementation projectnot Meru Health
  • A multi site podiatry business that needs room and equipment allocation alongside practitioner availabilitynot Meru Health

Where each one falls short

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

Meru Health

  • The programme is twelve weeks and then it ends, which fits an episode of treatment but not a chronic condition needing maintenance, so relapse after week twelve lands on whatever pathway the buyer has funded next, if any.
  • Whether the employer, the health plan or the member pays depends on the contract route, and members frequently do not know which applies to them until they receive a bill or discover they do not.
  • A structured programme demands daily engagement, and members who cannot sustain that get much less than the outcome data implies, because the published results reflect members who completed.
  • The heart rate variability device is a differentiator but also a logistics and support burden, adding shipping, returns and device support to what would otherwise be a software deployment.
  • Meru is small relative to Lyra, Spring Health and the large payer owned behavioural health offerings, so an employer choosing it takes on more vendor concentration risk in a category that has seen frequent consolidation.

Zanda Health

  • The 2024 rename from Power Diary means most third party reviews, integration guides and community answers still sit under the old name, so buyers researching Zanda Health find a thin trail and may wrongly conclude it is a new and unproven product.
  • North American billing is not properly served: there is no claims clearinghouse and superbill handling is basic, so a United States practice will need a separate revenue cycle tool and will pay for two systems.
  • Pricing is quoted in United States dollars while the company, support hours and product depth are Australian, so buyers outside those two time zones get support with an overnight lag on urgent clinical scheduling problems.
  • SMS is billed per message beyond the plan allowance and a dedicated number is required in the United States and Canada, so a busy clinic sending reminders and follow ups accumulates a variable monthly cost that is not visible in the headline plan price.
  • Reporting is adequate for a single clinic but weak for a group: cross site financial consolidation and practitioner productivity comparison generally end up exported to a spreadsheet, which becomes a monthly manual job as soon as you pass a handful of locations.

Pricing, plan by plan

Meru Health

On request
  • Meru Health$undefined/year
    • Contracted per completed programme or per member per month depending on buyer type
    • Health plan contracts bill differently from employer contracts
    • Member cost sharing depends on whether access comes via insurance or an employer benefit

Zanda Health

$19/month
  • Starter$19/month
    • One practitioner
    • One administrative user
    • 1,000 appointments per year
  • Growth$49/month
    • Base fee plus 19 USD per additional practitioner per month
    • Unlimited free administrative users
    • Unlimited appointments
  • Telehealth Pro add-on$9/month
    • Per practitioner
    • Unlimited video consultations
    • Recording and waiting room

Which should you pick?

Choose Meru Health if

  • You need twelve week structured programme.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want licensed therapist.
Meru Health review

Choose Zanda Health if

  • You need unlimited admin users.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want australian funder billing.
Zanda Health review

Questions people ask

Is Meru Health or Zanda Health better?
Neither clearly leads. Meru Health starts at On request and Zanda Health at $19/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Meru Health or Zanda Health?
Meru Health starts at On request and Zanda Health at $19/month.
Does Meru Health or Zanda Health run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Meru Health best used for?
Meru Health is most often used for a health plan that wants a mental health intervention it can underwrite as a bounded episode rather than an open ended benefit, an employer whose staff need treatment rather than wellbeing content, with a therapist and a prescriber in one pathway, a member who needs medication review alongside therapy, which most app based mental health products cannot provide, a health system seeking to offload moderate depression and anxiety from a psychiatry service with long waits. Of those, a health plan that wants a mental health intervention it can underwrite as a bounded episode rather than an open ended benefit and an employer whose staff need treatment rather than wellbeing content, with a therapist and a prescriber in one pathway are not what Zanda Health is typically brought in for.
What can Meru Health do that Zanda Health cannot?
Meru Health covers Twelve week structured programme, Licensed therapist, Psychiatric consultation, HRV biofeedback device. Zanda Health covers Unlimited admin users, Australian funder billing, Clinical note templates, Two way SMS.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Meru Health: Is Meru Health still operating?

Yes. It launched Meru Health Advanced in May 2026 and expanded its Harvard Pilgrim Health Care collaboration in 2025. It has not wound down.

Zanda Health: Is Zanda Health the same as Power Diary?

Yes. Power Diary rebranded to Zanda Health in 2024. Same company, same product line, same data.

Meru Health: How long is the programme?

Around twelve weeks. It is a bounded treatment episode rather than open ended therapy, which is why health plans will contract for it.

Zanda Health: Do receptionists count as paid users?

No. On the Growth plan administrative users are unlimited and free. Only practitioners are charged.

Meru Health: Who pays?

It depends on the contract. Meru sells to both health plans and employers, and member cost sharing differs between those routes. Confirm which applies before enrolling.

Zanda Health: Does it handle Medicare bulk billing?

Yes, Medicare Online, DVA and bulk billing claims are submitted from within the platform for Australian practices.

Meru Health: Does it include medication?

Psychiatric consultation is part of the programme where medication is indicated, which distinguishes it from app plus coaching products that cannot prescribe.

Zanda Health: Is it suitable for a United States practice?

Only partly. Charting, scheduling and telehealth work, but there is no claims clearinghouse, so US insurance billing needs a separate system.

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