Switching EHR platforms — or choosing one for the first time — is one of those decisions that follows you for years. A psychologist in solo private practice recently described it this way: “I spent three months on the wrong platform, migrated everything, lost two weeks of productivity, and paid double in fees I didn’t see coming.” That story is more common than it should be.
Both SimplePractice and TherapyNotes dominate the behavioral health EHR market in 2026, and both are genuinely good platforms. But they’re built around different philosophies. SimplePractice is polished, flexible, and consumer-friendly — it prioritizes client experience and ease of use. TherapyNotes is structured, compliance-focused, and billing-first — it was literally co-founded by a clinical psychologist and has deep roots in insurance-driven practice workflows.
This comparison of SimplePractice vs TherapyNotes for psychologists breaks down both platforms across every dimension that matters: pricing (including the hidden costs most reviews don’t mention), documentation and SOAP note tools, insurance billing, telehealth, AI documentation features, client experience, and support. By the end, you’ll know exactly which platform fits your practice — and which one you’ll regret choosing.
⚡ QUICK ANSWER In the SimplePractice vs TherapyNotes comparison for psychologists, TherapyNotes is the stronger choice for insurance-heavy practices that need structured clinical documentation, built-in e-prescribing, and 24/7 phone support, starting at $69/month for solo clinicians. SimplePractice wins for practices that prioritize a polished client portal, integrated telehealth on a cleaner interface, and flexible note templates, starting at $49/month for the Starter tier (though most psychologists need the $69/month Essential plan). Both offer 30-day free trials with no credit card required.
Why Psychologists Need a Specialty-Specific EHR
Generic medical EHR platforms are built for high-volume physician workflows — fast charting, prescription management, lab orders. Psychological practice is fundamentally different. Your documentation is narrative and nuanced: progress notes capture session content, diagnostic reasoning, treatment planning, and risk assessments in ways that a check-box medical template simply can’t accommodate. Your billing involves behavioral health-specific CPT codes, prior authorizations, and payer rules that differ from standard medical billing. And your client relationships require a different kind of portal experience — one built around privacy, consent, and therapeutic alliance rather than episode-of-care efficiency.
Both SimplePractice and TherapyNotes were designed specifically for behavioral health. Neither forces you to adapt to a medical workflow. The question isn’t which platform is better in absolute terms — it’s which one is better for how your practice actually runs. A psychologist running a cash-pay practice with 20 clients needs different features than one submitting 80 insurance claims per month at a group practice.
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How We Evaluated SimplePractice vs TherapyNotes for Psychologists
This comparison draws on published pricing pages, official feature documentation, verified user reviews from Capterra, G2, and Software Advice, and independent EHR analysis from EHR Source (reviewed February 2026). We evaluated both platforms across these six dimensions:
- Pricing and total cost of ownership (including add-ons and hidden fees)
- Clinical documentation (SOAP notes, treatment plans, templates)
- Insurance billing and claims management
- Telehealth capabilities
- AI documentation tools
- Client portal and patient experience
- Customer support quality and availability
Where pricing has changed recently, we note the most current verified figure and advise verifying on the provider’s website before purchasing.
SimplePractice — Full Review
SimplePractice is the largest EHR platform built specifically for mental health and wellness professionals, with over 225,000 practitioners on the platform as of 2026. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Santa Monica, California, it’s widely considered the most polished, consumer-friendly EHR in behavioral health. Its strength is the completeness of its ecosystem — scheduling, documentation, telehealth, billing, client portal, therapist directory (Monarch), and even a website builder all live under one subscription.
Key Features
SimplePractice’s client portal and intake workflow are widely regarded as the best in the behavioral health EHR category. When a new client signs up, they complete intake forms, consent documents, insurance card uploads, and payment method entry through a mobile-optimized portal before their first session — reducing phone calls and front-desk time significantly. The platform includes HIPAA-compliant telehealth with no client download required, built-in screen sharing and a virtual waiting room, and real-time calendar sync. Documentation supports SOAP, DAP, and free-text note formats with templates configurable per appointment type.
On the AI documentation front, SimplePractice has integrated AI-assisted note drafting on its higher-tier plans, allowing clinicians to generate draft progress notes from session inputs. The platform’s Monarch directory lists your practice profile for prospective clients searching by location, specialty, and insurance — effectively a built-in marketing channel included with Essential and Plus plans. A professional website builder is also included, which is a genuine differentiator for psychologists building their private practice brand online.
Pricing
SimplePractice uses three tiers for solo practitioners:
- Starter: $49/month — Basic documentation, scheduling, and core features. Does NOT include telehealth, insurance billing, or custom intake forms. Most psychologists find this plan insufficient within the first week of their trial.
- Essential: $69/month — Adds telehealth, insurance billing and claims submission, the client portal, and custom intake forms. This is the minimum viable plan for most psychologists in 2026.
- Plus: $99/month — Adds group practice management, additional clinicians at $39/month each, advanced reporting, and API access.
Additional costs to factor in: electronic claims cost $0.25 per claim (or you can use Office Ally separately at no charge), and payment processing fees run approximately 3.15% + $0.30 per transaction through the integrated Stripe-based system. E-prescribing is available as an add-on at $49/month plus a $89 one-time setup fee. Annual billing offers two months free across all plans. A 30-day free trial is available with no credit card required.
Best For
Solo psychologists and small groups of 1–5 clinicians who prioritize ease of use, a polished client-facing experience, and want one platform to handle every aspect of their practice without a steep learning curve. Also ideal for cash-pay or lightly-insured practices, and psychologists building a new private practice who benefit from Monarch directory exposure and the website builder.
Limitations
SimplePractice is not ONC-certified, meaning it cannot participate in federal Promoting Interoperability programs — a consideration for psychologists in health system partnerships. Clinical documentation lacks built-in treatment plan builders with goal-tracking linked to progress notes, standardized outcome measure integration baked into the workflow, or DSM-5 diagnostic decision support. For high-volume insurance billing, the platform’s claims management depth is below what TherapyNotes offers — no automated denial management, no secondary claims workflows, and no detailed accounts-receivable aging analysis. Phone support is not available on lower-tier plans. Group practices with 10+ clinicians frequently report outgrowing the platform’s administrative reporting and supervision tools.
TherapyNotes — Full Review
TherapyNotes was co-founded in 2010 by Brad Pliner (technology) and Dr. Debra Pliner (clinical psychologist), and that origin story shows in the product. It’s a platform built from clinical reality, not from a UX designer’s sketch of what healthcare software should look like. The result is a system that feels more structured and slightly less glamorous than SimplePractice, but delivers depth where it counts: insurance billing, compliance-grade documentation, and support that’s actually available when you need it.
Key Features
TherapyNotes’ documentation toolset is purpose-built for behavioral health compliance. The platform includes structured note templates for progress notes, treatment plans, psychological evaluations, and psychotherapy notes — with goal-tracking linked between treatment plans and session notes. Built-in outcome measures (PHQ-9, GAD-7, and others) can be sent through the client portal and are scored automatically, giving psychologists trackable outcome data without a separate tool. The platform supports SOAP, DAP, and narrative note formats with customizable templates.
TherapyFuel — TherapyNotes’ AI documentation suite launched in 2025 — is one of the platform’s major 2026 differentiators. TherapyFuel includes ambient session transcription via TherapyFuel Scribe (for in-person and TherapyNotes Telehealth sessions), AI-generated SOAP note drafts from session summaries, AI-generated treatment plans with goals and objectives, contact note generation from secure messages, automated insurance card data extraction from photos, and customizable tone and voice settings per clinician. TherapyFuel costs $40/month per enrolled clinician, but basic contact note generation and client history summaries are unlocked for all clinicians in the practice when at least one clinician subscribes.
TherapyNotes also includes native e-prescribing — a significant advantage for psychologists who also prescribe (or work in practices with prescribers) — through a partnership with DrFirst that enhances pharmacy network connectivity and automates prior authorizations. Customer support is available 24/7 via phone and email, including the ability for support staff to remotely connect to a user’s device for troubleshooting — a meaningful differentiator in a market where many competitors offer email-only support with multi-day response windows.
Pricing
TherapyNotes pricing is structured by practice type:
- Solo clinician: $69/month — Includes documentation, scheduling, telehealth (basic tier), client portal, and billing.
- Group/Enterprise plan: $79/month for the first clinician, plus $50/month for each additional clinician, with unlimited non-clinical users included.
- TherapyFuel AI add-on: $40/month per enrolled clinician
- Electronic claims: $0.14 per claim, or approximately $65/month for an unlimited claim plan (worthwhile at approximately 465+ claims/month)
- SMS reminders: $0.14 per message
- Advanced telehealth: $15/month per clinician for enhanced features
A 30-day free trial is available with no credit card required. No long-term contract is required — cancel anytime.
Best For
Psychologists running insurance-heavy practices where clean claims submission, compliance documentation, and audit-ready note structure are critical priorities. Group practices up to 20 providers where the flat per-clinician pricing and unlimited non-clinical users offer meaningful cost advantages. Practices where e-prescribing is a workflow requirement. Any psychologist who has experienced poor EHR customer support and wants 24/7 phone access as a baseline guarantee.
Limitations
TherapyNotes’ interface is functional but less modern than SimplePractice’s — users transitioning from consumer-grade software often experience a brief adjustment period. The telehealth module requires a third-party integration (historically Zoom) for full-featured video sessions, though the platform has expanded its native telehealth capabilities. TherapyFuel Scribe has received mixed reviews during its rollout — some users report inconsistency in real-time session capture. The platform has no API, which limits automation possibilities for practices trying to integrate with external tools. Some users at larger practices report performance slowdowns during peak usage periods.
Side-by-Side Comparison Table
| Feature | SimplePractice | TherapyNotes |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $49–69/mo | $69/mo |
| Extra Clinicians | $39/mo each | $50/mo each |
| Insurance Billing | $0.25/claim | $0.14/claim or $65/mo |
| Telehealth | Built-in (Essential+) | Native + integrations |
| AI Documentation | Included (higher plans) | $40/mo add-on |
| E-Prescribing | Add-on | Built-in |
| Client Portal | Polished | Secure |
| SOAP Notes | Flexible | Structured |
| Outcome Measures | Limited | Built-in |
| Treatment Plans | Basic | Advanced |
| Therapist Directory | ✅ Monarch | ❌ |
| Website Builder | ✅ | ❌ |
| Support | Email/chat | 24/7 phone |
| API / Automation | Zapier (limited) | ❌ |
| Free Trial | 30 days | 30 days |
| HIPAA | HITRUST | HITRUST |
SimplePractice
TherapyNotes
Best Overall: TherapyNotes – strongest clinical tools, billing, and compliance.
Best Budget: SimplePractice – lower entry price with solid core features.
Best for Growth: SimplePractice – built-in marketing, website, and directory tools.
Best for Clinical Depth: TherapyNotes – advanced treatment plans and outcome tracking.
Pricing as of April 2026 — verify current rates on each provider’s website before purchasing.
Which Should You Choose?
The right answer depends almost entirely on how your revenue is structured and how you prioritize client experience versus billing depth.
Choose SimplePractice if:
- More than 60% of your revenue comes from private-pay clients
- You’re building a new practice and want a polished client-facing first impression
- You value an intuitive, modern interface that you and your clients will actually enjoy using
- Monarch directory exposure and a built-in website matter to your marketing strategy
- You’re a solo practitioner or small group of 2–5 clinicians
Choose TherapyNotes if:
- More than 60% of your revenue comes from insurance billing
- Compliance-grade, structured documentation is critical (audits, supervisory oversight, group practice)
- You need or anticipate needing e-prescribing as a workflow feature
- 24/7 phone support is non-negotiable for your practice
- You run a group practice with multiple providers and need robust non-clinical user access
If you’re still genuinely undecided, take advantage of both 30-day free trials and run your real workflow — submit actual test claims, write a real progress note, and put a test client through the intake portal. The platform that feels natural after two weeks is the right one.
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Software as a Business Deduction
For U.S.-based psychologists operating as sole proprietors, single-member LLCs, or professional corporations, your EHR subscription qualifies as an ordinary and necessary business expense deductible in full under IRS guidelines. Depending on your practice structure, setup fees and onboarding costs may also be deductible in the year incurred. On an annual SimplePractice Essential subscription, that’s $828 in deductions. On TherapyNotes solo + TherapyFuel for one clinician, it’s $1,308 in deductible expenses. Always confirm the details with your CPA. [READ: IRS Publication 535 — Business Expenses → irs.gov]
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between SimplePractice and TherapyNotes for psychologists?
SimplePractice and TherapyNotes are both HIPAA-compliant EHR and practice management platforms built for behavioral health. The core difference is in philosophy: SimplePractice prioritizes a polished client experience, flexible documentation, and ease of use, making it ideal for private-pay or hybrid practices. TherapyNotes prioritizes structured clinical documentation, deep insurance billing workflows, built-in e-prescribing, and 24/7 phone support, making it the stronger choice for insurance-heavy and group practices. Both offer scheduling, telehealth, progress notes, and insurance billing, but TherapyNotes goes deeper on compliance and billing, while SimplePractice goes further on client-facing features.
Which is cheaper — SimplePractice or TherapyNotes?
For a solo psychologist at the entry level, SimplePractice’s Starter plan ($49/month) is technically cheaper than TherapyNotes ($69/month). However, the Starter plan excludes telehealth, insurance billing, and custom intake forms — features most psychologists need. Once you add those with the Essential plan ($69/month), both platforms cost the same for a solo clinician. For group practices, TherapyNotes charges $50/month per additional clinician with unlimited non-clinical users; SimplePractice charges $39/month per clinician but restricts additional clinicians to the Plus plan ($99/month base). Insurance claim fees also differ: SimplePractice charges $0.25/claim versus TherapyNotes’ $0.14/claim — a meaningful difference at high claim volumes.
Does SimplePractice have better telehealth than TherapyNotes?
SimplePractice has a slight edge in telehealth polish — sessions are native to the platform, require no client download, and include a virtual waiting room. TherapyNotes has expanded its native telehealth capabilities but historically required third-party integration with Zoom for full-featured sessions. Both platforms are HIPAA-compliant and sufficient for standard one-on-one therapy sessions. The difference is minimal for most psychologists, but SimplePractice’s telehealth experience is generally rated as smoother from the client’s perspective.
Does TherapyNotes have AI documentation features?
Yes. TherapyNotes offers TherapyFuel, an AI documentation suite priced at $40/month per enrolled clinician. TherapyFuel includes TherapyFuel Scribe (ambient session transcription for in-person and TherapyNotes Telehealth sessions), AI-generated SOAP note drafts from session summaries, AI treatment plan generation with goals and objectives, contact note generation from secure messages, and automated insurance card data extraction. Basic contact note generation and client history summaries are free for all clinicians in a practice when at least one clinician subscribes to TherapyFuel. SimplePractice also offers AI-assisted documentation features on higher-tier plans.
Can TherapyNotes handle group practices with multiple psychologists?
Yes. TherapyNotes’ Group and Enterprise plan is designed for multi-provider practices, starting at $79/month for the first clinician plus $50/month for each additional clinician. Unlimited non-clinical users (schedulers, billing staff, office managers) are included at no extra charge, which is a significant cost advantage over SimplePractice for practices with dedicated administrative staff. TherapyNotes also supports role-based permissions, internal team messaging, and practice-wide reporting. Larger group practices with complex supervisory workflows or 20+ providers may want to evaluate enterprise-grade behavioral health platforms beyond either of these two tools.
Is SimplePractice or TherapyNotes better for insurance billing?
TherapyNotes is the stronger insurance billing platform. It was designed from the ground up with insurance workflows in mind — claim creation pulls directly from your progress notes, reducing manual data entry and errors. The platform includes real-time eligibility verification before sessions, integrated clearinghouse submission, automated ERA/EOB posting, and per-claim fees as low as $0.14 (or a flat $65/month unlimited plan for high-volume practices). SimplePractice’s billing module handles insurance claims on the Essential and Plus plans but lacks advanced denial management, secondary claims workflows, and AR aging analysis. If insurance billing is your primary revenue driver, TherapyNotes has a clear and consistent edge.
The Bottom Line
For psychologists in 2026, SimplePractice and TherapyNotes each do their job well — they just do different jobs. SimplePractice gives you the most polished, client-friendly practice management experience in behavioral health, with a strong client portal, clean telehealth, and a Monarch directory listing that can meaningfully help you fill your caseload. TherapyNotes gives you the most structured, insurance-billing-ready, compliance-grade EHR in the category, backed by 24/7 phone support and a documentation depth that holds up under payer audits.
The decision rule is simple: if most of your revenue comes from insurance, TherapyNotes is worth every cent of the difference. If most of your revenue comes from private-pay clients and you care deeply about first impressions, SimplePractice is the better-fit platform.
Both platforms offer a 30-day free trial with no credit card required — start SimplePractice’s free trial here to test the client portal and note templates with your real workflow, or explore TherapyNotes’ free trial here to see the billing depth and documentation structure for yourself.