Cliniko vs Loom: Which Tool Wins for Australian Businesses in 2026?
Our Harvard-educated consultants have implemented both Cliniko and Loom for Australian businesses. Here is what 12+ of experience has taught us about choosing between them.
Feature Comparison
Side-by-side feature analysis for Cliniko and Loom.
Industry fit
Cliniko
Cliniko provides industry fit functionality, popular with Healthcare & Allied Health businesses
Loom
Loom provides industry fit functionality, popular with Professional Services businesses
Day-to-day industry fit workflows feel different between Cliniko and Loom - 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
Loom
Loom provides job management functionality, popular with Professional Services businesses
Cliniko and Loom take different philosophical approaches to job management; the better fit is usually the one that matches how your team already thinks about the problem.
Quoting and invoicing
Cliniko
Cliniko provides quoting and invoicing functionality, popular with Healthcare & Allied Health businesses
Loom
Loom provides quoting and invoicing functionality, popular with Professional Services businesses
quoting and invoicing support varies across Cliniko and Loom's plan tiers. Check whether the capabilities you need are on the plan you can actually afford.
Scheduling and dispatch
Cliniko
Cliniko provides scheduling and dispatch functionality, popular with Healthcare & Allied Health businesses
Loom
One-click screen and camera recording eliminates the scheduling overhead of synchronous meetings for status updates, walkthroughs, and feedback
Loom highlights scheduling and dispatch as a core strength. Cliniko offers the capability but does not position it as a primary differentiator.
Mobile field access
Cliniko
Letter and report templates with merge fields generate professional referral letters and clinical reports in seconds
Loom
Loom manages videos, folders, workspaces, comments and 2 more object types
Cliniko highlights mobile field access as a core strength. Loom offers the capability but does not position it as a primary differentiator.
Compliance features
Cliniko
Limitation: Marketing and patient recall features are limited, often requiring integration with Mailchimp or similar for targeted campaigns
Loom
Loom provides standard security controls. Contact the vendor for detailed compliance certifications
Cliniko and Loom take different philosophical approaches to compliance features; the better fit is usually the one that matches how your team already thinks about the problem.
Messaging features
Cliniko
Limitation: Marketing and patient recall features are limited, often requiring integration with Mailchimp or similar for targeted campaigns
Loom
Loom provides messaging features functionality, popular with Professional Services businesses
On paper messaging features looks similar across Cliniko and Loom, but the admin experience, reporting, and permission model tend to be the real differentiators.
Video and audio quality
Cliniko
Telehealth video consultations are included at no extra cost, allowing practitioners to offer remote consultations without a separate Zoom subscription
Loom
Automatic transcription with chapters makes video content searchable and skimmable, reducing the time viewers spend finding relevant sections
Both platforms are strong here. Cliniko emphasises this as a core strength, and Loom also invests heavily in video and audio quality. Review each platform's approach to see which aligns with your team's workflow.
File sharing
Cliniko
Cliniko provides file sharing functionality, popular with Healthcare & Allied Health businesses
Loom
Limitation: Video quality and file sizes can strain bandwidth for teams with limited internet connectivity, particularly in regional areas
Cliniko and Loom take different philosophical approaches to file sharing; the better fit is usually the one that matches how your team already thinks about the problem.
Team channels
Cliniko
Cliniko includes team collaboration features. Multi-user capabilities vary by plan tier
Loom
Limitation: Video quality and file sizes can strain bandwidth for teams with limited internet connectivity, particularly in regional areas
On paper team channels looks similar across Cliniko and Loom, but the admin experience, reporting, and permission model tend to be the real differentiators.
Search and history
Cliniko
Cliniko provides search and history functionality, popular with Healthcare & Allied Health businesses
Loom
Automatic transcription with chapters makes video content searchable and skimmable, reducing the time viewers spend finding relevant sections
Loom highlights search and history as a core strength. Cliniko offers the capability but does not position it as a primary differentiator.
Security and compliance
Cliniko
Best for Australian allied health practices (physio, chiro, osteo, psychology, speech pathology) that need integrated patient management, online booking, and telehealth with Australian compliance built in.
Loom
Loom provides standard security controls. Contact the vendor for detailed compliance certifications
If security and compliance 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.
Pricing Comparison
General pricing information for each platform.
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.
Pricing is indicative only and subject to change. We recommend contacting the vendor for a tailored quote based on your Australian business needs.
Loom
Free plan: 25 videos, 5 min limit. Business from approximately $20/user/month, Enterprise custom pricing (AUD). Annual billing discounts available. Unlimited recording length and storage on paid plans.
Prices shown are approximate and may differ based on your plan, team size, and billing cycle. Verify directly with the vendor for current AUD 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
Loom
Pros
- One-click screen and camera recording eliminates the scheduling overhead of synchronous meetings for status updates, walkthroughs, and feedback
- Automatic transcription with chapters makes video content searchable and skimmable, reducing the time viewers spend finding relevant sections
- Viewer insights show who watched, for how long, and which sections they replayed, giving senders data on engagement
- Comments and reactions on timestamped moments turn videos into async conversation threads, keeping context attached to the content
- Browser extension and desktop app make recording frictionless, with instant shareable links that do not require recipients to install anything
Cons
- Free plan limits recordings to 25 videos and 5 minutes each, which is too restrictive for most professional use cases
- Video quality and file sizes can strain bandwidth for teams with limited internet connectivity, particularly in regional areas
- No built-in editing beyond basic trimming means polished presentations still require a separate video editing tool
- Viewer analytics are useful but basic compared to dedicated video hosting platforms like Wistia or Vidyard for marketing use cases
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 Loom if you need
- ✓ Team collaboration
- ✓ Education organisations
- ✓ Teams needing extensive third-party integrations
- ✓ Moderate data needs (videos, folders)
- ✓ Professional Services businesses
Expert Verdict
Our Harvard-educated consultants' take on this comparison.
Clever Ops Recommendation
Cliniko and Loom solve different problems: Cliniko handles industry tools, while Loom covers communication. Most mid-market Australian businesses benefit from running both with a proper integration layer. Cliniko is the right pick when Australian allied health practices (physio, chiro, osteo, psychology, speech pathology) that need integrated patient management, online booking, and telehealth with Australian compliance built in. Loom fits when remote and hybrid teams that want to replace unnecessary meetings with async video updates, walkthroughs, and feedback, particularly in product, engineering, and customer success roles. Clever Ops can design the integration architecture and implement both, typically within 4-8 weeks.
Migration Notes
What to know about switching between Cliniko and Loom.
Migrating Between Cliniko and Loom
Clever Ops takes a low-risk approach to migrating between Cliniko and Loom. We run both systems in parallel during the transition, transferring your core data 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 Loom FAQ
Yes. Cliniko provides a REST API and Loom provides a REST API, so we can build reliable integrations between them. Common sync patterns include contacts and key records. Our integrations include error handling, retry logic, and monitoring. Clients typically save 8+ hours/week once the integration is live.
Cliniko handles industry tools (patients, appointments, invoices), while Loom covers communication (videos, folders, workspaces). The key is connecting them so data flows automatically between both systems. Clever Ops builds these integrations, eliminating manual data entry and reducing errors across your operations.
Yes. Both platforms share several common data object types (including contacts and core records), 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.
ROI depends on three factors: how well the platform is configured, how thoroughly your team adopts it, and how tightly it integrates with your other tools. Cliniko delivers value through Purpose-built for allied health with patient records, treatment notes, telehealth, and Medicare/DVA claiming built into the workflow. Loom delivers value through One-click screen and camera recording eliminates the scheduling overhead of synchronous meetings for status updates, walkthroughs, and feedback. A poorly set-up tool delivers less value than a well-implemented one, regardless of platform. Clever Ops focuses on maximising your return through proper implementation and ongoing optimisation.
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, Loom, 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. Loom is widely used by Professional Services and Education. 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.
For Healthcare & Allied Health, the answer depends on your operational model. Cliniko is best for Australian allied health practices (physio, chiro, osteo, psychology, speech pathology) that need integrated patient management, online booking, and telehealth with Australian compliance built in. Loom is best for remote and hybrid teams that want to replace unnecessary meetings with async video updates, walkthroughs, and feedback, particularly in product, engineering, and customer success roles. Clever Ops has helped businesses across Healthcare & Allied Health choose the right stack. Book a free assessment for advice specific to your situation.
Cliniko strengths: 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. Loom strengths: One-click screen and camera recording eliminates the scheduling overhead of synchronous meetings for status updates, walkthroughs, and feedback. Automatic transcription with chapters makes video content searchable and skimmable, reducing the time viewers spend finding relevant sections. The features that matter most depend on your team's daily workflows and growth plans. Clever Ops can help you map your requirements to the right platform.
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