Cliniko is a cloud practice management system priced per practitioner band; Front Desk by Smartsoft is a Windows desktop system sold as a perpetual licence or a per-user subscription, and the choice between them is mostly a choice between hosting models. Both run the diary, notes, invoicing and reminders an Australian allied health clinic needs. They differ on where the data lives, who does the backups, how claiming terminals connect, what the bill looks like after three years, and how much of the system other software can reach.
This comparison is factual and sourced from both vendors' own pages, checked on 21 August 2026. It is not a ranking; prices and features change, so confirm anything decisive on the vendor's page. The right answer depends on whether the clinic wants a server it controls or a subscription it does not have to think about.
What Is the Actual Difference Between Cliniko and Front Desk?
Cliniko is cloud-only, built by Melbourne company Red Guava and launched in June 2011. It runs in the browser, is hosted on AWS, and stores Australian accounts' data in Australia. The vendor backs it up daily and runs the upgrades.
Front Desk is Smartsoft's desktop product, which the company describes as the leading Australian desktop allied health practice management system for more than 25 years. It is designed to operate in the Microsoft Windows environment on a Microsoft SQL Server database, installed on the clinic's own PC or server (or a terminal server the clinic arranges for remote access). Current release is Front Desk 21.3. Smartsoft's cloud product is a separate system, PracSuite, so "Front Desk Cloud" is not a product; a Front Desk clinic that wants cloud either moves to PracSuite or to another vendor.
That single difference drives most of the rest: backups, remote access, telehealth, integrations and pricing model all follow from desktop versus cloud.
How Do Cliniko and Front Desk Compare on Price?
Cliniko publishes one price list, in US dollars, by number of practitioners, with every feature, unlimited admin users and unlimited locations included: USD 45 per month for one practitioner, 95 for two to five, 145 for six to eight, 195 for nine to twelve, 295 for thirteen to twenty-five, and 395 for up to 200. SMS credits are 10 US cents per message. There is a 30-day trial and no contract. Note that the page states prices in USD, so the AUD cost moves with the exchange rate.
Front Desk offers two models on its pricing and ordering page. Purchase: a single-user licence at AUD 3,995 (including four training hours and a three-month care plan), additional user licences from 685, additional clinic licences on application. Subscription: from 90 per month for one user, 75 per user for two users, down to 35 per user at ten users (rates for the counts in between are quoted by Smartsoft), plus a 359 setup fee. Ongoing support after the initial period is an Extended Care Plan from 59 per month. Online booking (the Patient Booking Gateway) is an add-on from 63 to 69 per month, the WebPlus appointment book is 890, and SMS costs 10 to 16 cents ex GST depending on bundle.
Worked example, one practitioner with online booking and reminders: Cliniko is USD 45 per month all-in. Front Desk on subscription is roughly AUD 90 plus 63 per month plus the 359 setup, or AUD 3,995 up front plus the care plan and the booking add-on. Worked example, a five-practitioner clinic across two sites: Cliniko is USD 95 per month with both locations included; Front Desk needs five user licences or subscriptions, an additional clinic licence (price on application), and the booking add-on.
The pattern: Front Desk's perpetual licence can be cheaper over many years for a stable single-site clinic that never adds users; Cliniko's banded subscription is cheaper and more predictable for clinics that grow, add sites, or do not want an IT provider.
Feature by Feature
| Feature | Cliniko | Front Desk (Smartsoft) |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Cloud (AWS), Australian data region | Windows desktop or server, SQL Server; clinic-managed |
| Pricing | USD 45 to 395 per month by practitioner band, all features | AUD 3,995 licence plus 685 per extra user, or from 90 per user per month plus 359 setup; add-ons priced separately |
| Appointment diary | Day, week, practitioner views; recurring and group bookings | Day, week or month view; group bookings |
| Online booking | Included | Patient Booking Gateway add-on, from 63 to 69 per month |
| SMS and email reminders | Included; SMS 10 US cents | Included; SMS 10 to 16 cents ex GST; sent the day before at a set time |
| Online intake forms | Customised intake forms, questionnaires and surveys | Not documented on Smartsoft's help site |
| Clinical notes | Templates, body charts | Templates, body charts, integrated word processor |
| Telehealth | Built in, up to four participants | Third-party only (Physitrack, Coviu, Zoom), set up outside Front Desk |
| Invoicing | Invoices, online payments via Stripe | Invoices, EFTPOS, BPAY, future billings, quotations, stock control |
| Reporting | Standard reports, CSV export | Reports to PDF, Excel and CSV; Insights dashboard |
| Multi-location | Unlimited locations included | Additional clinic licence, price on application |
| Waitlist | Yes | Yes |
| Letters | Templates, emailed from the account | Integrated medical word processor |
Claiming: HICAPS, Tyro Health, Medicare, DVA, NDIS, Workers Compensation
This is where the two diverge most, and where a clinic should check its own mix of payers before choosing.
HICAPS terminal. Front Desk is certified for integration with the HICAPS terminal for EFTPOS, health fund claiming and Medicare Easyclaim. Cliniko phased out HICAPS in February 2023 in favour of HealthPoint claiming through Tyro Health. A clinic whose front desk lives on a HICAPS terminal will feel that difference on day one.
Tyro Health. Both connect. Cliniko processes Medicare bulk bill, patient claims and DVA through a Tyro Health account. Front Desk's Tyro Health integration covers Medicare Easyclaim bulk bill, part paid, patient paid and private health claims.
Medicare and DVA online claiming. Smartsoft's FAQ states that Medicare and DVA Online Claiming is no longer supported directly in Front Desk; Easyclaim via a terminal is the route. Cliniko's route is Tyro Health.
NDIS. Cliniko is explicit that NDIS claims cannot be made through Cliniko; it supports tracking and invoicing, with the claim lodged in the NDIS portal or via a plan manager. Front Desk's NDIS handling is not documented on its help site.
Workers' compensation. Front Desk has a WorkCover Queensland electronic invoicing integration. We found no equivalent Cliniko help article; invoices are produced in Cliniko and lodged through the scheme's own channel.
Private health claiming for insurer-funded patients outside these terminals, and the reconciliation of what insurers actually pay, is a separate workflow in both systems; see the hidden cost of underpaid claims. For the wider setup around either system, see billing, payments and claims for a small allied health clinic.
Integrations and Automation
Cliniko has a documented REST API (API key authentication, 200 requests per minute per user, regional endpoints such as api.au1.cliniko.com) and a connected-apps directory listing 97 applications across nine categories, including Tyro Health, Physitrack and Xero, with invoices and payments pushed to Xero automatically.
Front Desk lists fourteen integration articles: Xero (self-installed, Front Desk 21.0 or later), Physitrack (exercise programme PDFs uploaded automatically to the patient file), HICAPS, MailChimp, WorkCover Queensland, barcode scanners and calendar feeds. We could not find a public API for Front Desk on Smartsoft's sites.
Practically, that means tools that sync with the diary through an API, such as AI booking assistants (Vascue's two-way WhatsApp front desk included), connect to Cliniko and Nookal rather than to Front Desk. A Front Desk clinic that wants that class of automation is looking at PracSuite or a cloud move.
Security, Backups and Data Ownership
Backups. Cliniko states its data is backed up daily by the vendor. Front Desk ships a backup utility, but Smartsoft is clear that backups must be actively managed by the practice or its IT provider, typically to a USB or external drive. For a two-person clinic without IT support, this is the most important line in the comparison.
Access control. Cliniko offers two-factor authentication and passkeys. Front Desk documents granular user permissions and a comprehensive audit log covering logins, deletions and report generation; two-factor authentication is documented for PracSuite rather than for Front Desk.
Certifications. Cliniko cites the ISO 27001 certification of its AWS hosting rather than its own; Smartsoft makes no ISO claim for Front Desk. Neither is a reason to choose either product; ask both for their current security documentation.
Getting your data out. Cliniko provides self-serve CSV exports of patients, appointments, invoices and the waitlist, plus attachments as a ZIP. Front Desk's export is a SQL database backup obtained through Smartsoft, which may charge for decryption.
Switching. Cliniko runs a free managed transfer from Front Desk: clients, appointments, notes (as plain text), attachments and letters move; all financial history is excluded, and decryption of the Front Desk database is a billable Smartsoft service. We found no published guidance for moving the other way.
Which One Should a Clinic Choose?
Choose Front Desk when the clinic wants the database on its own premises, runs its front desk around a HICAPS terminal, prefers a one-off licence to a subscription, has an IT provider who will own backups and upgrades, and does not plan to add sites or remote staff. Clinics with a decade of Front Desk history and trained staff have a real switching cost, and the product is still actively released.
Choose Cliniko when the clinic has or plans more than one location, has practitioners or admin working remotely, wants telehealth and online intake built in, wants predictable per-practitioner pricing with no IT overhead, or intends to connect other software (accounting, exercise prescription, booking assistants) through an API.
If the deciding factor is "we want Front Desk but in the cloud", the honest answer is that Smartsoft's path is PracSuite, and it should be evaluated on its own terms rather than assumed to be Front Desk with a browser.
FAQ
Is Front Desk cloud-based? No. Front Desk is a Windows desktop and server application on a SQL Server database, installed and backed up by the clinic. Smartsoft's cloud product is PracSuite, a separate system. Remote access to Front Desk is possible through a terminal server the clinic sets up.
How much does Cliniko cost in Australian dollars? Cliniko publishes prices in US dollars: USD 45 per month for one practitioner, up to USD 395 for 26 to 200 practitioners, with all features and unlimited locations included. The AUD amount depends on the exchange rate on the billing date.
Can we move from Front Desk to Cliniko without losing data? Clinical data moves: Cliniko runs a free managed transfer of clients, appointments, notes, attachments and letters. Financial history does not transfer, and Smartsoft charges to decrypt the database for export, so keep Front Desk read-only for the period you need invoice history.
Does Vascue work with Front Desk? Not directly. Vascue's two-way booking sync is built on the Cliniko and Nookal APIs, and we could not find a public API for Front Desk. Front Desk clinics usually reach us when they are evaluating a cloud move; we are happy to walk through what the booking and claims workflows look like on Cliniko or Nookal before you decide.
Book a demo and we will show the front desk running on whichever system your clinic keeps.
