TigerConnect is hospital software with hospital pricing: nothing published, an enterprise sales process and role-based routing that a 5 to 20 person practice rarely uses. For a small clinic, Yodl ($10 a month for 5 users, BAA on every plan) and Celo (free up to 10 users, BAA from $49 a month) cover secure staff chat at a published price. Hypercare adds on-call schedules from $8 to $10 per user.
Why people look for an alternative to TigerConnect
TigerConnect is the best-known clinical communication platform in US healthcare, and for a hospital it earns that. Messages go to a role (the charge nurse, the on-call hospitalist) instead of a person, teams follow the on-call schedule, unanswered messages escalate, alerts arrive from nurse call systems, and patient context comes from the EHR. It publishes a standard BAA that forms part of its service agreement and holds HITRUST certification.
The reasons a small clinic keeps looking are practical:
- There is no pricing page as of November 2026; the URL returns a 404, and the product page offers datasheets and a demo. You cannot sign up and pay.
- The buying process is built for health systems, and a clinic with one manager and no IT department carries it alone.
- The strongest features need an on-call schedule, a nurse call system or an EHR integration budget.
One definition first. A BAA (Business Associate Agreement) is the contract HIPAA requires before a vendor can store protected health information, or PHI: information that identifies a patient and relates to their care. Every tool below is judged on whether it signs one, and on which plan. Prices change, so verify on each vendor's site. See also Yodl vs TigerConnect.
The alternatives at a glance
Prices are for 5 people as of November 2026, read from each vendor's own site. Check the vendor's page again before you buy.
| Tool | Price for 5 people as of November 2026 | Signs a BAA | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yodl | $10/mo flat (5 users, 20 GB) | Yes, every plan | Small practices that want channels at a flat price |
| Hypercare | Starter $8 to $10 per user/mo = about $40 to $50/mo | Yes, Starter and up (not the trial) | Clinics with on-call rotations or pagers |
| Celo | Free up to 10 users; Growth $49/mo billed annually, up to 20 users | Yes, Growth and up | Care teams that also chat with outside providers |
| Zenzap | Business+ $50 total/mo for up to 5 users; BAA add-on price not published | Add-on, by contacting sales | Teams moving off WhatsApp groups |
| QliqSOFT | Quote-based, per seat per month | Yes, every customer | Home health, hospice and home-based care |
| Buzz by Skyscape | Nominal fee, amounts not published | Yes, via its sales team | Practices that want messaging, fax and video visits in one app |
| symplr Clinical Communications | Contact sales | Site does not say | Health systems replacing Halo Health |
Small-office tools with a published price
Yodl
Yodl is Slack-style chat for small healthcare teams: public and private channels, direct and group messages, threads, 20 GB of files per location, full-text search and channel roles so a viewer can read the schedule channel without posting. The Team plan is $10 a month for 5 users, extra users are $2 each, and the BAA is signed on every plan. You get an audit viewer with CSV export, retention controls and legal hold. You do not get role-based routing, device alerts, EHR integration or calls.
Hypercare
Hypercare is the closest thing to TigerConnect with a price on the page. Starter is listed at $8 USD a month, with a second price set at $10, and the page does not label which is annual and which is monthly. Plus ($15 or $19) adds on-call schedules and integrations; pager replacement is $10 per paid user per month. A signed BAA comes with every paid plan but not the 90-day trial, and cancellation yields credits rather than refunds.
Celo
Celo sells flat team plans with user caps. The Free plan covers up to 10 users with HIPAA compliant messaging, read receipts and a secure photo and video library, but its feature list has no BAA line. Growth is $49 a month billed annually for up to 20 users and lists the BAA; Business is $99 for up to 30 users plus $3 per extra user. Monthly amounts are not displayed.
Zenzap
Zenzap is a WhatsApp-style messenger with AI agents, to-dos and calls. Business+ is $50 total a month for up to 5 users with the annual toggle selected, and a Free plan allows unlimited users with 1 GB. HIPAA compliance with a signed BAA is a paid add-on sold through sales, and the add-on price is not published. Its WhatsApp chat migration tool is a draw; price the add-on first.
Clinical platforms that still sell through sales
QliqSOFT
QliqSOFT's QliqCHAT is secure team texting with per-user key encryption, and a BAA is included with every customer relationship. Pricing is quote-based per seat per month plus a one-time implementation fee sized to your organization. Its sweet spot is home health, hospice, home infusion and specialty pharmacy, where its patient conversations and HIPAA camera pay off. A clinic that never sends staff into homes pays for features it does not use.
Buzz by Skyscape
Buzz is aimed at any group or team within a medical practice: secure messaging and calls, BuzzVideo patient visits by link, BuzzFax and document sharing, with role-based access per organization. Skyscape offers a BAA through its sales team. The pricing page says only that Buzz is offered at a nominal fee, with no amounts, so you have to ask. There is no desktop app mentioned, only the browser.
symplr Clinical Communications
symplr Clinical Communications is the former Halo Health product: role-based messaging to a person, role or team, code team mobilization and physician scheduling workflows. It is sold to ambulatory, acute and post-acute organizations through a demo request with no public pricing. The page describes a HIPAA, HITRUST and SOC 2 compliant solution but does not mention a BAA, so ask for one in writing. A TigerConnect peer, not a small-clinic alternative.
How to choose
Before you book any demo, including ours, answer these:
- Does the vendor sign a BAA on the plan you can afford, and is the trial covered?
- What does it cost for your headcount today and after two hires?
- Do you need staff-only chat, or messaging with patients and outside providers too?
- Does it work on personal phones and in a browser without an IT project?
- Does anyone hold an on-call rotation? If not, skip routing features.
- Can you export the audit log and set retention, and what happens when you cancel?
Yodl's plan is $10 a month for 5 people, signs the BAA on day one; details are at yodl.cc/pricing.
TigerConnect is hospital software with hospital pricing. A clinic that is not a hospital needs secure channels with a BAA at a price it can read on a web page, which is what Yodl, Celo and Hypercare offer. Save the hospital platforms for when you have on-call rotations and nurse call systems to connect.
Frequently asked questions
Does TigerConnect publish its pricing?
No. There is no pricing page, and the product page points to datasheets and a demo request. Expect an enterprise sales conversation.
What is the cheapest TigerConnect alternative with a BAA?
Celo's Free plan covers 10 users, but its BAA appears on Growth at $49 a month billed annually. Among plans that include the BAA at the entry price, Yodl is $10 a month for 5 users. Prices as of November 2026.
Do I lose role-based messaging if I switch to a small-office tool?
Yes. Yodl, Celo and Zenzap send messages to people and channels, not roles. Hypercare's Plus plan keeps on-call schedules if you need them.
Can a small clinic still buy TigerConnect?
TigerConnect lists physician groups and surgery centers among its customers and states no size minimum. You can ask; the process is built for larger buyers.
Is Yodl a clinical communication platform?
No. Yodl is staff-to-staff team chat with a signed BAA. It does not integrate with your EHR, route alerts or message patients.