Aglow and Clinic App are both Australian membership and loyalty platforms that run alongside your existing booking system. The main difference is compliance: Clinic App builds its loyalty and membership rules around TGA and AHPRA advertising restrictions from the start, while Aglow is a general beauty and salon membership tool. Both suit a broad beauty business; only one is purpose-built for a cosmetic or injectable clinic.
Updated 12 August 2026
First, credit where it is due. Aglow has proven the model in Australia: a membership and loyalty layer that runs alongside your booking system rather than replacing it, signing up hundreds of clinics and salons. That validation is good for everyone, because it means the category is real and clients want it. The question is not whether a membership layer works. It is which one fits a cosmetic or injectable clinic best.
Where Aglow and Clinic App agree
Both products start from the same sensible idea, and they share the most important design choice:
- A layer, not a replacement. Both sit on top of your existing booking software (Timely, Phorest, Fresha and similar), so you are not ripping out your diary.
- Memberships and loyalty. Both let clinics offer paid memberships, rewards and a branded client experience to drive repeat visits.
- Australian-built. Both are made here, which matters for support, payments and time zones.
If the choice were only about running a membership program, you would be splitting hairs. For a cosmetic clinic, it is not only about that.
The difference that matters: compliance
Cosmetic injectables are Schedule 4 prescription-only medicines in Australia. The TGA and AHPRA restrict how clinics can advertise and incentivise them: no naming brands, no prices, no before-and-afters, no testimonials, and no rewards tied to a specific prescription treatment. A membership or loyalty program that touches injectables the wrong way is a compliance risk, and that risk lands on the clinic.
This is where the two diverge. Clinic App is built to lead on exactly this point. The loyalty model, the messaging and the member perks are designed around TGA and AHPRA rules from the start, so a cosmetic clinic is not left to work out for itself whether its own rewards program is offside.
A 2025 review found flagged advertising terms on 98 of 100 Australian clinic websites. For an injectable clinic, "membership software that happens to work in Australia" is not the same as "membership software built around the rules that govern injectables." The second is the one that keeps your name off a regulator's list.
Side by side
| Aglow | Clinic App | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian-built | Yes | Yes |
| Runs alongside your booking system | Yes | Yes |
| Memberships & loyalty | Yes | Yes |
| Branded client app | Yes | Yes |
| Leads on TGA / AHPRA compliance | Not the headline | Yes, by design |
| Built specifically around injectable-clinic rules | General beauty + clinics | Cosmetic / injectable focus |
| Named injectable feature | Treatment Wallet | Compliance built into the whole membership, not a single feature |
| Best suited for | Broad beauty & salon businesses | Cosmetic, skin & injectable clinics |
Aglow proved Australian clinics want a membership layer. The next question for an injectable clinic is sharper: is the loyalty built around the rules that govern your treatments, or around them?
Which one is right for you
If you run a broad beauty or salon business and want a proven membership platform, Aglow is a strong option and worth a look. If you run a cosmetic, skin or injectable clinic where TGA and AHPRA exposure is a real and present concern, you will likely value a platform that treats compliance as the foundation rather than a footnote. That is the slice Clinic App is built for. For a broader look at the category, see our guide to clinic membership software in Australia and our roundup of loyalty program apps for AU clinics.
Switching from Aglow to Clinic App
Moving your membership platform is not something to do lightly, and it does not need to happen overnight. Most clinics that switch start with a call to map their existing membership tiers, perks and billing cadence, then run the new program alongside the old one for a short handover so no client loses access mid-cycle. Because Clinic App sits on top of the same booking system you already use, Timely, Phorest, Fresha and similar, the switch does not touch your diary, your bookings or your existing client records.
The main reason clinics switch is compliance, not price. A clinic that has built loyalty perks around specific injectable treatments under a general membership framework often only finds that gap when a regulator or a competitor raises it. Moving to a platform designed around TGA and AHPRA advertising rules closes that gap without a clinic having to redesign its whole program from scratch.
Frequently asked questions
What is Aglow?
Aglow is an Australian beauty and clinic membership software platform that runs alongside booking systems like Timely, Phorest and Fresha, letting clinics offer paid memberships and loyalty to their clients.
How is Clinic App different from Aglow?
Both are Australian retention layers that sit on top of your booking system. Clinic App leads explicitly on TGA and AHPRA compliance for cosmetic and injectable clinics, building the loyalty and membership model around Australian advertising rules rather than leaving compliance to the clinic.
Do I have to replace my booking system to use either?
No. Both Aglow and Clinic App are designed to run alongside your existing booking software, not replace it.
Does Aglow support TGA and AHPRA compliance for injectables?
Aglow markets a general beauty and salon membership platform, including a Treatment Wallet feature for injectables, but explicit TGA and AHPRA compliance is not the headline of its offer. Clinic App builds loyalty and membership rules around those advertising restrictions from the start, which matters most for clinics that run injectable treatments.
What happens to my membership data if I switch from Aglow to Clinic App?
Switching does not touch your booking system or client records, because both platforms sit alongside your booking software rather than replacing it. Clinic App's team maps your existing membership tiers and perks during onboarding so members keep the same benefits under the new program.
