Bella Booking vs Cliniko
An honest comparison to help you choose the right salon software for your business.
Quick facts at a glance
A side-by-side overview of key differences
Prices shown in AUD (inc. GST)
Bella Booking: Starter plan for 1-3 team members, Professional for 4+ (unlimited). Competitor pricing from official sources, verified January 2026. Bella Booking features updated April 2026.
Which is right for you?
An honest look at when each platform makes sense
Consider Bella Booking if...
- More affordable (A$25-79/month vs US$45-395/month)
- Zero commission on any bookings
- Simpler interface — no clinical features cluttering the experience
- Built-in online payments with Stripe (native, not bolt-on)
- Deposit collection at booking time
- Packages and memberships with recurring billing
- Gift cards (digital, with online purchase)
- Loyalty programme included (Professional plan)
- AI Assistant for business insights
- Two-way SMS with dedicated business phone number
- Embeddable booking widget for your website
- SMS reminders included (50-500/month vs pay-per-message)
- Find a Time wizard with gap-fill scoring
- Schedule optimisation modes
- Service variants with client eligibility (initial vs return pricing)
- Prepaid session packages
- Digital tipping
- Accessibility features (dark mode, dyslexia fonts, themes)
- Easy 1-on-1 onboarding and free data migration
Consider Cliniko if...
- You need clinical documentation and SOAP notes
- You require Medicare, DVA, or WorkCover billing
- Telehealth consultations are part of your practice
- You need clinical letter templates for referrals
- HIPAA compliance is a requirement
- You want patient outcome tracking
We believe in helping you find the right fit, even if it's not us.
Detailed feature comparison
A comprehensive look at what each platform offers
Scheduling & Booking
Client Management
Team Management
Payments & POS
Communication
Business Management
Platform & Support
Unique Features
Pricing breakdown
What you'll actually pay
Prices shown are starting prices and include GST. Bella Booking Starter includes up to 3 team members; Professional includes unlimited team members. Competitor pricing may vary based on team size.
Bella Booking
Solo (1 team): A$25/month AUD • Starter (1-3 team): A$47/month AUD • Professional (4+): A$79/month AUD
Cliniko
Additional costs to consider
- • SMS: A$0.10 per message
- • Medicare claiming: A$0.30 per claim
- • Telehealth: included in all plans
Pricing information based on publicly available data as of May 2026. Visit each provider's website for current pricing.
Cost comparison by team size
Team Size Pricing Comparison
Monthly cost for different numbers of bookable team members
Note: "Team members" means bookable staff
Team member limits apply to staff who can be booked for appointments. Non-bookable users (receptionists, managers who don't take appointments) don't count toward limits.
| Team Size | Bella Booking | Cliniko | Savings with Bella |
|---|---|---|---|
1 person | A$25/mo(Solo) | A$45/mo A$45 (solo plan) | Save A$20/mo |
3 people | A$47/mo(Starter) | A$95/mo A$95 (Growing plan, up to 5 practitioners) | Save A$48/mo |
6 people | A$79/mo(Professional) | A$150/mo A$150 (Established plan, up to 8 practitioners) | Save A$71/mo |
12 people | A$79/mo(Professional) | A$250/mo A$250 (Large plan, up to 12 practitioners) | Save A$171/mo |
Annual savings with Bella Booking
For a team of 6-12 bookable members
Up to A$2052
per year
Bella Booking: Official pricing (Starter A$47/mo, Professional A$79/mo)
Cliniko: Official pricing page • Last verified: May 2026
Pricing may change. Please verify current prices on official websites before making decisions.
What Cliniko does well
We believe in honest comparisons. Here's what Cliniko excels at:
- 1Purpose-built clinical documentation (SOAP notes, treatment templates)
- 2Medicare, DVA, and WorkCover billing integration
- 3Clinical letter templates for referrals and discharge summaries
- 4Telehealth built into all plans
- 5HIPAA compliant for health data
- 6Native iOS and Android mobile apps
- 7Australian-made with Melbourne-based support
- 8Trusted by 65,000+ healthcare professionals
- 9Stable pricing (unchanged since 2011)
Cliniko might be better if...
We believe in helping you find the right solution, even if it's not us. Here are some scenarios where other options might serve you better:
- 1SOAP notes and clinical documentation templates
- 2Medicare, DVA, and WorkCover billing
- 3Telehealth (built-in video consultations)
- 4Clinical letter templates (referrals, discharge summaries)
- 5Patient outcome measures tracking
Still not sure? - we'll give you an honest assessment of whether Bella Booking is right for your business.
Switching from Cliniko?
We make it easy. Free data migration and 1-on-1 onboarding included with every plan.
How to switch from Cliniko
Step-by-step guide to export your data and move to Bella Booking. We offer free data migration and 1-on-1 onboarding with every plan.
- 1
Export your patients
Settings → Data Exports → Patients. Exports CSV with contact details, date of birth, referral source, and custom fields. Clinical notes are NOT included in the CSV export.
- 2
Export your appointments
Settings → Data Exports → Individual Appointments. Set a date range and export. Includes practitioner, service type, date, time, and status.
- 3
Export your invoices (optional)
Settings → Data Exports → Invoices. Useful for financial records but not required for migration.
- 4
Note your service types
Settings → Services. Screenshot or list your appointment types, durations, and prices. Cliniko has no dedicated service export, so capture this manually.
- 5
Email everything to hello@bellabooking.com
Send the CSVs plus your service list from the email on your Cliniko account. We validate, dedupe, and import everything within one business day.
A note on appointment history
We generally recommend not importing old appointment history. Importing past appointments can trigger unintended automated messages (reminders, follow-ups) and cause data inconsistencies. Your clients and services are the essential data for a clean start. If you do want some history carried over, we recommend a tight recent range (e.g. the last 3 months) — our migration team will ensure no notifications are sent accidentally.
Good to know
Clinical notes (SOAP notes, treatment records) cannot be exported in bulk from Cliniko. If you need historical clinical documentation, you may need to export individual patient files. Bella does not import clinical notes as it does not have clinical documentation features — this data stays in Cliniko or your records archive.
Official export documentation: Cliniko help centre
Can't export your data?
No problem — we can work with anything. Screenshots of your service list, a link to your public booking page, a photo of your price board, or even a typed-up list. Send us whatever you have and we will build your account from it.
Need help with the migration?
Our team will handle the data import, set up your services, and walk you through everything — included free with every plan. We accept data in any format — CSV, Excel, screenshots, photos, links, or anything else you can send.
Sources: Information gathered from www.cliniko.com. Last verified: May 2026.
Found an error? and we'll correct it promptly.
Important Notice
The information about Cliniko on this page is based on publicly available data as of May 2026 and is provided for general comparison purposes only. Pricing, features, and policies may change at any time without notice. We make reasonable efforts to keep this information accurate, but we cannot guarantee its completeness or current accuracy.
Always verify directly with Cliniko before making any business decisions. This comparison reflects our understanding and may not capture all nuances of their offerings.