MyTCM vs Cliniko for acupuncture and TCM clinics in Canada
2026 pricing and feature comparison. By Oscar Poon, founder of MyTCM.
The short answer
Cliniko is general practice management software that prices in US dollars in tiers by practitioner count: $45 for one practitioner and $95 for two to five. MyTCM is built for TCM and covers up to 5 users at a location for $56 Canadian a month. Cliniko's pricing page does not address insurance billing.
What each one really costs
Cliniko charges by the number of practitioners, so cost rises as you add people. Users and practitioners are counted differently: Cliniko counts practitioners, MyTCM counts all users including staff.
| MyTCM | Cliniko | |
|---|---|---|
| One practitioner | Single License, $56 CAD a month | Single, USD $45 a month |
| Two to five practitioners | Up to 5 users at 1 location for one flat price, no per-practitioner fee | Small, USD $95 a month |
| Six to eight practitioners | Site License, $99 a month for 2 locations and up to 10 users | Medium, USD $145 a month |
| SMS reminders | Unlimited email and SMS reminders included | 10 cents per message from pre-paid credits |
| Insurance billing | ICBC available today (email on every license, web portal on Site License). More insurers and MSP are being added | Not addressed on its pricing page |
| Free trial | 30 days | 30 days |
Cliniko prices are USD from its pricing page. Annual billing gives one month free.
Anyone can build an EMR with AI. Solving day-to-day clinic problems requires real clinic management experience.
A chart, a calendar and an invoice are the easy part of clinic software. What makes practitioners choose MyTCM is that it was designed around the specific problems of a TCM clinic, so each one takes a fraction of the time and effort.
Oscar Poon, MyTCM's founder, is in the process of becoming certified as a CIPP/C, the Canadian privacy professional designation. He has not passed the exam yet. He also spent 10 years managing 3 acupuncture clinics, and that experience shaped how every part of MyTCM works.
Problems MyTCM is built to solve
Where a Cliniko cell says "not described", the pages we read did not mention it. Ask Cliniko before you decide.
| Problem | How MyTCM solves it | Cliniko |
|---|---|---|
| Charting in Chinese when records and insurers need English | Mandarin and English voice dictation, a Chinese to English SOAP report, and a trilingual interface (English, Traditional and Simplified Chinese) | Not described on the pages we read |
| Building presets before the software saves you time | Pairs an ICD code and a TCM pattern with suggested acupoints and herbs without presets, built from more than 10 Canadian and Chinese textbooks and 20 years of clinical documentation from three Vancouver clinics | Not described on the pages we read |
| Paying more every time you add a practitioner | One flat price covers up to 5 users at a location | Tiered by practitioner count: $45 for one, $95 for two to five, $145 for six to eight |
| Splitting revenue and paying practitioners | One-click payment, payroll and revenue-split reports | Not described on the pages we read |
| Getting help fast when something breaks | Direct tech support on WhatsApp, 6 AM to 9 PM Pacific | Not described on the pages we read |
| Owning and keeping your patient data | You own the database, set up on accounts in your name, stored in Montreal. MyTCM accesses it only as the Data Processing Agreement you sign before set up allows | Not described on the pages we read |
Where Cliniko is strong
- A 30 day trial and no setup fee.
- Simple tiered pricing where every plan has every feature.
Where MyTCM is strong
- Charting built around TCM: ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes, TCM patterns, 361 acupuncture points and Pinyin plus Latin herb names.
- Auto diagnosis and treatment pairing that suggests acupoints and herbs from the ICD code and pattern, without presets.
- Mandarin and English voice dictation and a Chinese to English SOAP report.
- Unlimited appointments and one flat price for up to 5 users at a location, so adding practitioners costs nothing extra.
- Direct tech support on WhatsApp, 6 AM to 9 PM Pacific.
- You own the database. Your data is stored in Montreal, Canada.
- ICBC billing available today, with more insurers being added.
Choose Cliniko if
- You want simple tiered pricing and a general-purpose product.
- You do not chart in Chinese or need TCM pairing.
Choose MyTCM if
- Your practice is TCM and you chart in Chinese or English.
- You want Canadian dollar pricing and Canadian data storage.
- You want unlimited email and SMS reminders included.
Ask any vendor before you sign
These questions apply to us too.
- Which Canadian payers can I bill directly today, and which are still planned?
- What is the total monthly price for my number of practitioners and staff?
- Where is my patient data stored, and can I export it if I leave?
Frequently asked questions
How much does Cliniko cost?
USD $45 a month for one practitioner, $95 for two to five and $145 for six to eight. SMS is 10 cents a message.
Does Cliniko handle Canadian insurance billing?
Its pricing page does not address insurance billing. Ask the vendor which Canadian payers it supports.
Sources
MyTCM is not affiliated with Cliniko. Vendors change prices without notice, so confirm current pricing on their site.