Clearwave vs Phreesia
Two Patient Access & Intake vendors, side by side. Facts from public sources; judgments are ours.
At a glance
Derived from public facts · a rough scale, not a ranking
| Clearwave | Phreesia | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Not published · Reported $300-800/month plus setup fees | Subscription (per user or PMPM) · Custom quote, roughly $250+ monthly plus transaction fees |
| Speed to go live | Managed project, PM system integration | Standard EHR-integrated intake rollout |
| Automation model | Software platform · Self-service check-in and eligibility | Software platform · Intake, payments, and messaging |
| Built for | Mid-size groups, Enterprise systems | Small practices, Mid-size groups, Enterprise systems |
| Security posture | HIPAA | SOC 2 Type II, HITRUST, PCI DSS, HIPAA |
| Company maturity | 22 yrs (est. 2004) | 21 yrs (est. 2005) |
| Financial backing | PE-backed | Public (NYSE: PHR) |
| Named customers | 4 named | 2 named |
| Published results | Specific numbers public | Specific numbers public |
| Documented integrations | 5 listed | 5 listed |
| Third-party validation | None found | None found |
Bottom line
- Pick Clearwave if you're a high-volume specialty practice that wants kiosk and mobile check-in to collect copays and verify insurance before the patient sits down.
- Pick Phreesia if you want a proven, heavily certified intake and payments layer tied to your EHR and can live with custom quotes and module fees.
Clearwave
Self-service registration and eligibility for specialty care
- Founded
- 2004
- HQ
- Atlanta, GA
- Stage
- PE-backed
- Raised
- n/a
What it does
- Self-service patient check-in via kiosk, tablet, and mobile
- Real-time, multi-payer insurance eligibility verification at registration
- 24/7 patient self-scheduling with practice-defined rules
- Voice AI answers and books high-volume phone calls
- Point-of-service payment collection and copay capture
- Automated patient communications and recalls
Where it's strong
- Twenty years of focus on specialty practice registration, with strong results in ophthalmology and orthopedics (Thomas Eye Group saw a 174% jump in monthly online-scheduled visits).
- Runs eligibility checks automatically at check-in, catching coverage issues before the visit instead of after the claim.
- Integrates with 50+ practice management and EHR systems common in specialty care.
What buyers should weigh
- Built for high-volume specialty practices; hospitals and small primary care offices are not its center of gravity.
- It stops at the front door: no claims, denials, or back-end RCM capabilities.
- PE ownership and a mature product mean expect steady iteration, not fast reinvention, plus per-location pricing that adds up.
Named customers
Thomas Eye Group · Newport Orthopedic Institute · The Eye Care Institute · Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Specialists of Green Bay
Integrations
Phreesia
Public company powering patient intake and payments
- Founded
- 2005
- HQ
- Wilmington, DE
- Stage
- Public (NYSE: PHR)
- Raised
- n/a
What it does
- Digital patient intake, registration, and consent management
- Insurance eligibility verification and card capture
- Patient payments, payment plans, and receivables financing (AccessOne)
- Automated appointment scheduling, reminders, and waitlist fill
- Patient surveys, screenings, and post-visit engagement
- Handles roughly 1 in 6 US patient visits
Where it's strong
- Massive proven scale: over 180 million patient visits enabled in 2025 and deep bidirectional integrations with every major EHR.
- Now GAAP profitable ($480.6M revenue, $2.3M net income in fiscal 2026), so vendor viability risk is low.
- The AccessOne acquisition adds patient payment plans and financing, making it a fuller patient-payments platform.
What buyers should weigh
- Part of its business model is pharma-sponsored patient messaging, which some organizations find uncomfortable in an intake tool.
- Pricing runs higher than point solutions, and smaller practices may pay for breadth they will not use.
- It covers intake, access, and payments but is not a denials or back-end RCM solution.
Named customers
HeartPlace · Summit Orthopedics
Integrations
Compare against the rest of Patient Access & Intake
Deciding between these two?
First Pass tracks Patient Access & Intake every week: funding, launches, and what changed since this page was written.