Cliniko vs Fresha

Choosing Between Cliniko and Fresha for Your Healthcare & Allied Health Business

An honest comparison of Cliniko and Fresha for Australian mid-market Australian businesses. See feature ratings, pricing, pros and cons to make the right choice - or let our Harvard-educated experts help you decide.

Features compared

50+

Clients advised

98%

Client retention

12+

Years experience

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Feature Comparison

Side-by-side feature analysis for Cliniko and Fresha.

Industry fit

Cliniko

Cliniko provides industry fit functionality, popular with Healthcare & Allied Health businesses

Fresha

Fresha provides industry fit functionality, popular with Healthcare & Allied Health businesses

Day-to-day industry fit workflows feel different between Cliniko and Fresha - watch a recorded walkthrough of each before judging which fits your team.

Job management

Cliniko

Limitation: Inventory management for product sales (supplements, braces, etc.) is basic and requires workarounds or third-party tools

Fresha

Completely free software subscription with no monthly fees, making it the most cost-effective salon management platform available

Fresha highlights job management as a core strength. Cliniko offers the capability but does not position it as a primary differentiator.

Quoting and invoicing

Cliniko

Cliniko provides quoting and invoicing functionality, popular with Healthcare & Allied Health businesses

Fresha

Fresha provides quoting and invoicing functionality, popular with Healthcare & Allied Health businesses

quoting and invoicing capabilities vary by plan tier on both platforms. Confirm the specific features you need are available at your target price point before committing.

Scheduling and dispatch

Cliniko

Cliniko provides scheduling and dispatch functionality, popular with Healthcare & Allied Health businesses

Fresha

Fresha provides scheduling and dispatch functionality, popular with Healthcare & Allied Health businesses

Both platforms cover the scheduling and dispatch basics. The edges - automations, reporting depth, mobile parity - are where their opinions show.

Mobile field access

Cliniko

Letter and report templates with merge fields generate professional referral letters and clinical reports in seconds

Fresha

Clean, modern interface with an excellent mobile app experience for both staff and clients is genuinely well-designed

Both platforms are strong here. Cliniko emphasises this as a core strength, and Fresha also invests heavily in mobile field access. Review each platform's approach to see which aligns with your team's workflow.

Compliance features

Cliniko

Limitation: Marketing and patient recall features are limited, often requiring integration with Mailchimp or similar for targeted campaigns

Fresha

Fresha provides standard security controls. Contact the vendor for detailed compliance certifications

compliance features support varies across Cliniko and Fresha's plan tiers. Check whether the capabilities you need are on the plan you can actually afford.

Reporting

Cliniko

Letter and report templates with merge fields generate professional referral letters and clinical reports in seconds

Fresha

Fresha includes reporting capabilities. Feature depth varies by plan tier

reporting capabilities vary by plan tier on both platforms. Confirm the specific features you need are available at your target price point before committing.

Client management

Cliniko

Limitation: Inventory management for product sales (supplements, braces, etc.) is basic and requires workarounds or third-party tools

Fresha

Completely free software subscription with no monthly fees, making it the most cost-effective salon management platform available

Fresha highlights client management as a core strength. Cliniko offers the capability but does not position it as a primary differentiator.

Inventory and materials

Cliniko

Limitation: Inventory management for product sales (supplements, braces, etc.) is basic and requires workarounds or third-party tools

Fresha

Fresha provides inventory and materials functionality, popular with Healthcare & Allied Health businesses

Both platforms cover the inventory and materials basics. The edges - automations, reporting depth, mobile parity - are where their opinions show.

Integrations with accounting

Cliniko

Purpose-built for allied health with patient records, treatment notes, telehealth, and Medicare/DVA claiming built into the workflow

Fresha

Completely free software subscription with no monthly fees, making it the most cost-effective salon management platform available

Both platforms are strong here. Cliniko emphasises this as a core strength, and Fresha also invests heavily in integrations with accounting. Review each platform's approach to see which aligns with your team's workflow.

Ease of setup

Cliniko

Cliniko provides onboarding resources. Setup complexity depends on your configuration requirements

Fresha

Fresha provides onboarding resources. Setup complexity depends on your configuration requirements

If ease of setup is a daily-use area for your team, the onboarding curve and keyboard ergonomics matter more than feature counts - trial both with a real operator, not an evaluator.

Value for money

Cliniko

Solo from approximately $55/month (1 practitioner), Team from approximately $109/month (2-5 practitioners), Growing from approximately $179/month (6-10 practitioners), Large from approximately $279/month (AUD). Annual billing discounts.

Fresha

Software subscription: Free. Fresha Payments: 1.29% + $0.00 per in-person transaction. New client marketplace fee: 20% commission. Optional add-ons: blast marketing campaigns priced per message. No monthly subscription fee.

Pricing models differ significantly. Compare the total cost of ownership including add-ons and per-user fees, not just the headline price.

Pricing Comparison

General pricing information for each platform.

Cliniko

Pricing may vary based on team size, features, and region. Contact the vendor for the latest Australian pricing.

Fresha

These figures are estimates based on publicly available pricing. Actual costs depend on your usage, team size, and any negotiated rates.

Pros & Cons

An honest look at the strengths and limitations of each platform.

Cliniko

Pros

Purpose-built for allied health with patient records, treatment notes, telehealth, and Medicare/DVA claiming built into the workflow
Online booking with practitioner availability, service selection, and intake forms reduces receptionist workload and fills empty appointment slots
Telehealth video consultations are included at no extra cost, allowing practitioners to offer remote consultations without a separate Zoom subscription
Letter and report templates with merge fields generate professional referral letters and clinical reports in seconds
Australian data hosting with encryption at rest and in transit meets Australian privacy and health records requirements

Cons

Per-practitioner pricing can be expensive for multi-disciplinary practices with many part-time practitioners
Inventory management for product sales (supplements, braces, etc.) is basic and requires workarounds or third-party tools
Marketing and patient recall features are limited, often requiring integration with Mailchimp or similar for targeted campaigns
Customisation of clinical templates requires understanding of Cliniko template syntax, which has a learning curve

Fresha

Pros

Completely free software subscription with no monthly fees, making it the most cost-effective salon management platform available
Integrated payment processing through Fresha Payments means no separate merchant account or gateway is required
Marketplace listing exposes your business to Fresha millions of users searching for local beauty and wellness services
Automated marketing with email and SMS campaigns for no-shows, rebooking, and birthday promotions included at no platform cost
Clean, modern interface with an excellent mobile app experience for both staff and clients is genuinely well-designed

Cons

Revenue model is transaction-based (fees on payments processed through Fresha Payments), which can add up for high-revenue businesses
New client marketplace bookings incur a 20% commission fee, which significantly impacts margin on first-time client appointments
Data portability is limited compared to paid platforms, making it harder to switch away once business data is embedded in the system
Customisation options for booking pages and client communications are more limited than paid alternatives like Timely

Best For

Which tool suits which use case.

Choose Cliniko if you need

✓ Healthcare & Allied Health businesses
✓ Field service operations
✓ Moderate data needs (patients, appointments)
✓ Teams needing extensive third-party integrations
✓ Specialised compliance

Choose Fresha if you need

✓ Teams needing extensive third-party integrations
✓ Complex data models (appointments, clients, services and more)
✓ Industry-specific workflows
✓ Specialised compliance
✓ Healthcare & Allied Health businesses

Expert Verdict

Our Harvard-educated consultants' take on this comparison.

Clever Ops Recommendation

Choose Cliniko if Australian allied health practices (physio, chiro, osteo, psychology, speech pathology) that need integrated patient management, online booking, and telehealth with Australian compliance built in. Choose Fresha if beauty and wellness businesses that want full-featured salon software without monthly subscription fees, particularly those that benefit from marketplace discovery of new clients. Avoid Cliniko if medical practices needing GP-specific features (prescribing, pathology ordering) where Best Practice or Medical Director are more appropriate, or fitness businesses where Mindbody is better suited. Avoid Fresha if high-volume businesses where transaction fees exceed what a subscription platform would cost, or businesses wanting full control over their brand experience without marketplace commissions. If you are still weighing the trade-offs, Clever Ops offers a free assessment where our Harvard-educated consultants map your requirements to the right platform.

Migration Notes

What to know about switching between Cliniko and Fresha.

Migrating Between Cliniko and Fresha

Clever Ops takes a low-risk approach to migrating between Cliniko and Fresha. We run both systems in parallel during the transition, transferring appointments, products in stages and verifying data at each step. Your team continues working in the existing system until the new one is fully validated. The process typically takes 4-8 weeks, followed by 3 months of hands-on support.

Cliniko vs Fresha FAQ

Yes. Both platforms share 2 common data object types (including appointments, products), which simplifies field mapping. Clever Ops runs a structured migration process: discovery, data mapping, test migration, verification, and cutover. Most migrations complete within 4-8 weeks, with 3 months of post-migration support included.

Yes. Cliniko provides a REST API and Fresha provides a REST API, so we can build reliable integrations between them. Common sync patterns include appointments, products. Our integrations include error handling, retry logic, and monitoring. Clients typically save 8+ hours/week once the integration is live.

Both Cliniko and Fresha provide standard security measures including encryption, access controls, and compliance certifications. Cliniko uses a REST API and Fresha uses REST, both supporting secure data transfer. For Australian businesses handling sensitive data under the Privacy Act, data residency and local support are worth verifying with each vendor. Clever Ops, based in Gippsland, Victoria, can review each platform's security posture against your compliance requirements during a free assessment.

Yes. Cliniko provides a REST API and Fresha provides a REST API, so automations can be built via Zapier, Make, or custom integrations. Common automated workflows include syncing appointments, products between both platforms. Clever Ops builds these automations for mid-market Australian businesses, saving teams 8+ hours/week on average.

Fresha is generally simpler to set up. Cliniko typically requires more configuration and may benefit from expert implementation support. Clever Ops provides implementation services for both platforms, typically completing setup within 2 weeks.

We audit your current workflows, team size, budget, and growth plans, then recommend the platform that fits. Our advice is vendor-neutral: we do not earn commissions from Cliniko, Fresha, or any vendor. Our Harvard-educated consultants have helped 50+ businesses make informed technology decisions over 12+. Book a free assessment to get started.

Yes, both platforms are used by Australian businesses. Cliniko is popular with Healthcare & Allied Health in Australia. Fresha is widely used by Healthcare & Allied Health and Retail & E-commerce. Key Australian considerations include AUD pricing, local support hours, GST handling, and data residency. Cliniko offers Australian-specific pricing. Clever Ops, based in Gippsland, Victoria, factors these nuances into every recommendation.

Fresha is more commonly used in Retail & E-commerce. Cliniko is stronger in Healthcare & Allied Health. That said, popularity alone should not drive your decision. The right tool depends on your specific processes and integration needs. Clever Ops can advise based on what we have seen work for similar businesses.