Pulse Health vs Cliniko: Which Practice Management System is Better for UK Physio Clinics?

Two Different Approaches to Practice Management

Cliniko has been a leading practice management system since 2012. It is Australian-built, well-established, and trusted by thousands of clinics worldwide including many in the UK. Pulse Health launched in 2025, purpose-built for UK physiotherapy, chiropractic, and MSK clinics with AI at its core.

Both are cloud-based. Both handle scheduling, billing, and clinical notes. The differences are in the details, and those details matter.

Pricing Comparison

For a 5-practitioner clinic, Pulse Health is approximately 47 percent cheaper than Cliniko when you factor in exercise prescription and SMS costs.

AI Features

This is the biggest differentiator. Cliniko has no AI features. Pulse Health includes:

• AI Clinical Scribe: Record consultations, get structured SOAP notes automatically
• AI Clinical Assistant: Differential diagnosis suggestions, treatment plan recommendations
• AI Receptionist: Automated phone answering and appointment booking via voice AI
• AI Email Drafting: Generate referral letters and patient correspondence

If you are spending 45 minutes per day on notes, the AI scribe alone justifies switching.

Clinical Features

Both platforms offer clinical note templates, but with different approaches:

• Cliniko: Custom letter templates, treatment note templates, basic body charts. Mature and flexible.
• Pulse Health: SOAP templates with AI-assist, body charts with annotation, side-by-side note view (previous notes on left, current on right), outcome measure tracking built in.

UK-Specific Features

Cliniko is built for a global market. Pulse Health is built for UK clinics specifically:

• Insurance claims: Healthcode CSV export, insurance lifecycle tracking, authorised session counting
• UK date and currency formatting: GBP, DD/MM/YYYY, UK timezone throughout
• GDPR compliance: UK data hosting, consent management, data retention policies
• NHS referral workflows: GP letter templates, discharge summaries

Where Cliniko Wins

Cliniko has a larger ecosystem of integrations, more third-party add-ons, a larger user community, and over a decade of refinement. If you want a battle-tested system with proven reliability, Cliniko delivers.

Where Pulse Health Wins

AI features, UK-specific design, integrated exercise prescription without add-on costs, and flat-rate pricing that does not penalise clinic growth. If you want a modern system that saves time on documentation and costs less as you scale, Pulse Health is the stronger choice.

Verdict

For a solo UK physiotherapist who wants simplicity and a global community, Cliniko remains a solid choice. For multi-practitioner UK clinics that want AI-powered efficiency, lower total costs, and UK-specific features, Pulse Health offers more value per pound.