Cliniko vs SimplePractice (2026): which fits your clinic?
On this page
Cliniko and SimplePractice are the mirror image of each other, which is why comparing them is more useful than it first looks. Cliniko is allied-health-first and built for Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada; SimplePractice is mental-health-first and built for the United States. Where one is strong, the other is usually thin. That makes the decision unusually clean — once you are honest about your discipline and your country.
If you are a physiotherapist, chiropractor or massage therapist outside the US, Cliniko is usually the answer. If you are a counsellor, therapist or psychologist in the US who takes insurance, SimplePractice usually is. The edge cases are US allied-health clinics and non-US mental-health practices, and those are the ones worth reading carefully.
The short answer
Choose Cliniko if
You are allied health, outside the US
Physiotherapy, chiropractic, massage, OT or speech, in Australia, New Zealand, the UK or Canada. Flat per-practitioner pricing, unlimited appointments and SMS reminders included, and a clean system you can train a new receptionist on in a day.
Choose SimplePractice if
You are US mental health
Counselling, therapy or psychology in the United States, with insurance or telehealth in the mix. Deep note templates for the work, native US insurance billing on higher tiers, and the cheapest credible start in the category.
The two products, briefly
Cliniko is deliberately plain and fast. It is built around scheduling, invoicing and payments for allied-health clinics, with a per-practitioner price, unlimited appointments and unlimited SMS reminders included. It is strong across Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and it is easy to learn. Its limits are equally clear: it is not a US insurance claim system, and it is not built around the deep clinical templates a mental-health practice expects.
SimplePractice grew up serving private mental-health practices. It has a large library of note and intake templates for that work, a clean client portal, built-in telehealth on eligible tiers, and US insurance billing on the higher plans. It is US-centric by design: its insurance and compliance model, its telehealth infrastructure and its support are all built around the American market. For an allied-health clinic outside the US, that is the wrong centre of gravity.
Pricing: flat per practitioner vs tiered per clinician
Cliniko charges one flat price per practitioner, with unlimited appointments and SMS included. SimplePractice charges per clinician on a tier ladder, where telehealth and insurance billing sit on higher plans. On entry-tier list price the two land close together; the difference shows up in what each includes at that price.
| Platform | How it prices | Entry point | What is included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cliniko | Flat per practitioner, per month | ~$45/practitioner/mo | Unlimited appointments and unlimited SMS reminders included; no setup fee; free trial. |
| SimplePractice | Per clinician, tiered (Starter / Essential / Plus / Premium) | ~$29–$99/clinician/mo | Telehealth and US insurance billing gated to higher tiers; per-clinician add-ons compound. |
Indicative annual cost on published list prices (checked November 2026), excluding insurance add-ons, payment processing and any SMS overage:
| Platform | 1 practitioner | 3 practitioners | 6 practitioners |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cliniko | ~$540/yr | ~$1,620/yr | ~$3,240/yr |
| SimplePractice | ~$590/yr | ~$1,760/yr | ~$3,530/yr |
The two are close on list price at every headcount, which is exactly why price should not be your deciding factor here. What changes the real number is what you need at that price: a US insurance practice on SimplePractice needs a higher tier than the entry number suggests, while a high-volume clinic on Cliniko is not paying separately for SMS. Price your actual workflow, not the headline.
Where Cliniko wins
Allied-health discipline fit
Cliniko is built around the way physio, chiro, massage, OT and speech practices actually run: multiple practitioners, multiple appointment types, invoices and payments. If that is your clinic, the core workflow fits without the workarounds a mental-health system demands.
Predictable per-practitioner pricing
One price per practitioner, unlimited appointments, no tier gate that suddenly removes a feature. For a clinic that hates surprise line items, that predictability is worth real money.
Unlimited SMS reminders included
Reminders are included rather than metered, and no-shows are the most expensive leak in a small clinic. A practice sending thousands of texts a month can save more here than it saves on the subscription.
Regional fit outside the US
Cliniko is especially strong in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, with support and currency handling built around those markets. If you are outside North America, that is a genuine advantage over a US-centric product.
Where SimplePractice wins
Native US insurance billing
For a US mental-health practice that takes insurance, SimplePractice’s claims workflow is part of the product on higher tiers. Cliniko does invoicing and payments well but is not a US claim-submission system, so this is a decisive gap for a claims-heavy American practice.
Mental-health templates
SimplePractice’s note and intake templates are built for counselling and therapy encounters. You are not rebuilding a DAP or SOAP structure from scratch, which is exactly the work an allied-health tool leaves to you.
Telehealth and polish
Telehealth is built in on eligible plans, the client portal is clean, and the mobile experience is well made. For a partly or fully remote US practice, this is a low-friction setup.
Lowest credible entry price in the US
The starter tiers are the cheapest way to run a real US practice, and for a solo clinician seeing a modest caseload that difference is real money.
Feature by feature
| Cliniko | SimplePractice | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat per practitioner | Per clinician, tiered |
| Best region | Australia, NZ, UK, Canada | United States |
| Discipline fit | Allied health (physio, chiro, massage, OT, speech) | Mental health (counselling, therapy, psychology) |
| US insurance billing | Invoicing and payments; not claim submission | Built in on higher tiers |
| Telehealth | Through integrations / limited | Built in on eligible tiers |
| Charting | Allied-health templates, simpler | Deep mental-health templates |
| SMS reminders | Unlimited, included | Reminders included; SMS may be metered |
| Rooms & equipment | Locations; limited granularity | No |
Cells marked with a caveat are the ones you should confirm on the vendor’s current page or in a trial, because feature gating changes between plans and regions more often than the marketing pages admit.
Which one should you pick
You are a physio, chiro or massage clinic outside the US. Cliniko. Allied-health fit, predictable per-head price, unlimited SMS, and a support footprint in your market.
You are a US counsellor or therapist, cash or insurance. SimplePractice. The right templates, native US insurance billing on higher tiers, and the cheapest credible start.
You are a US allied-health clinic. Neither is a perfect fit: Cliniko is the better scheduling core but lacks US claims, and SimplePractice is the wrong discipline. Look at an allied-health system with US billing, or pair Cliniko with a clearinghouse.
You are a non-US mental-health practice. SimplePractice if you need its templates and telehealth and can live with US-centric billing; otherwise Cliniko for the simpler operational core.
You send a lot of SMS reminders. Weight Cliniko’s unlimited SMS heavily. It is the quiet line item that decides the real cost.
The honest summary
These two rarely compete for the same clinic. Cliniko is the better operational core for allied health outside the US; SimplePractice is the better clinical and billing fit for US mental health. Choosing between them usually means choosing your country and your discipline, not your feature list.
If you want one line: Cliniko for non-US allied health; SimplePractice for US mental health. Then run the eight tasks from our chiropractic guide or the acupuncture guide on your finalist before you pay.
Questions we get asked
Is Cliniko or SimplePractice cheaper?
On list price they are close at every headcount. The real difference is what each includes: Cliniko bundles unlimited SMS and unlimited appointments per practitioner, while SimplePractice’s insurance billing and telehealth sit on higher tiers. Price your actual workflow, not the entry number.
Can Cliniko submit US insurance claims?
No. Cliniko handles invoices, payments and receipts, and it is fine for cash-pay and self-claiming patients who need a superbill. It is not a US claim-submission system. A US insurance-heavy practice should use a claims-first tool or SimplePractice’s higher tier instead.
Can SimplePractice handle physiotherapy or chiropractic charting?
Only by building your own templates. SimplePractice is mental-health-first, so orthopedic exams, ROM fields and treatment plans are not native. If your clinical record is the point, an allied-health-first tool is a better fit.
Which is better outside the US?
Cliniko. It is built for Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada, with regional support and currency handling. SimplePractice’s insurance and compliance model is US-centric, which is a poor fit elsewhere.
Which has better telehealth?
SimplePractice, on the tiers that include it, has the more integrated telehealth experience. Cliniko’s telehealth is more limited and often runs through integrations. If most of your work is remote, confirm the current terms on each vendor’s pricing page.
Can I migrate between them?
Yes. Both import and export client records. Prepakaged sessions and treatment-plan balances rarely migrate cleanly, so expect to re-enter those by hand. Do the switch in a slow month, never in January.
Related: Jane App vs Cliniko and SimplePractice vs Jane App — the other two head-to-heads in this set; plus best software for acupuncture clinics and best software for chiropractors.
Next: what clinic software actually costs in 2026, including the four line items that double a small clinic’s bill.