EHR decision for practice owners
SimplePractice vs TherapyNotes: cost by practice shape
By Marcus Reilly, Practice Operations Editor. Vendor list prices and fees checked on public US pages in September 2026.
You're holding two EHR quotes and you still cannot tell which one costs less for your practice. SimplePractice vs TherapyNotes looks like a feature tie until you price seats, claims, group add-ons, and supervision against the shape you actually run.
A four-clinician group that prices only the solo marketing numbers can pick the wrong invoice. A cash-pay solo can have the opposite winner. Use the three picks and the table, then choose. SimplePractice and TherapyNotes are systems of record. Both sell AI add-ons (SimplePractice Note Taker and Care Aide; TherapyNotes TherapyFuel). Emosapien is a complementary clinical layer, not an EHR.
Quick verdict
Three clear picks, not one forced winner
The client-facing product is the buying job
Starter is $49/month with telehealth listed on every plan. Pick it when portal, online booking, and the mobile app matter more than the last dollars on the seat, or when moving the record would cost more than a cheaper TherapyNotes invoice.
Seats, claims, or co-sign drive the invoice
Four treating seats publish at $229 versus $321 on SimplePractice Plus. 14-cent claims stay cheaper on every volume in the worked examples, including after October 1, 2026. Supervision rules can change per payer and per note.
You want a clinical layer beside the EHR you keep
Keep SimplePractice as the chart and calendar, or TherapyNotes as the chart and claims. Emosapien is not a third EHR. It is the agent team that runs intake, session support, notes, plans, and between-session work around that record.
Decision table
Seats, claims, groups, and records side by side
Each cell is a published vendor fact, not a feature slogan. Verify the named official vendor source before you sign.
Starter $49, Essential $79, Plus $99. The September 2026 pricing page lists telehealth as a core feature on every plan.
Solo $69 for a single user. Basic telehealth is in every plan. There is no cheaper video-off SKU on the cited public price list.
Team members only on Plus. Support lists a $99 Plus base plus $74 per added clinician at 2-5 clinicians, or $321 for four treating seats ($99 + 3 x $74). Practice managers are $39 per person per month.
Group plan: $79 for the first clinician plus $50 per additional clinician. Four clinicians: $229. Unlimited non-clinical users are included.
Through September 30, 2026: Starter $0.50/claim; Essential 10 included then from $0.35; Plus 35 included then from $0.25. From October 1, 2026: $0.39 from the first claim on every plan, with volume breaks, and no included free claims. Insurance Navigator is listed at $1.79 per submitted claim.
14 cents per electronic claim, 14 cents per ERA, 14 cents per eligibility request, $1 per mailed paper claim. That fee structure is separate from the monthly seat.
Included on Plus. $20 per clinician per month add-on on Essential. Not available on Starter. Up to 15 clients per group appointment, including group telehealth.
Group Therapy is an appointment type in the standard product. Couples and family work can be charted on one patient or as a group appointment with a note per participant.
On Plus, supervisors, billers, and schedulers add at no extra seat cost. A supervisee can have one supervisor. Supervisees sign and share; the supervisor comments, requests edits, or signs.
Supervisor is a role. Settings include access, review-and-approve, and review-and-co-sign. You can set whose credentials go on the claim, including per-payer, and change supervision on a single note.
Account Owner or a practice manager with export permission can run a Complete, Sessions, or Contacts export while the account is open. Complete includes notes, claims, invoices, appointment memos, and stored documents. The calendar itself is not listed as its own export type.
Export before you cancel. After the termination date, TherapyNotes retains customer data for a legal retention period, then deletes it. An unpaid account is treated as abandoned on day 61 and then terminated. Read-only storage is $9/month for the first user and $3/month per additional user.
| Decision point | SimplePractice | TherapyNotes |
|---|---|---|
| Solo subscription Published monthly list price for one clinician before claims and add-ons | Starter $49, Essential $79, Plus $99. The September 2026 pricing page lists telehealth as a core feature on every plan. | Solo $69 for a single user. Basic telehealth is in every plan. There is no cheaper video-off SKU on the cited public price list. |
| Four-clinician seats What you pay to put four treating clinicians on the same account | Team members only on Plus. Support lists a $99 Plus base plus $74 per added clinician at 2-5 clinicians, or $321 for four treating seats ($99 + 3 x $74). Practice managers are $39 per person per month. | Group plan: $79 for the first clinician plus $50 per additional clinician. Four clinicians: $229. Unlimited non-clinical users are included. |
| Claims charges Per-claim clearinghouse fees on top of the subscription | Through September 30, 2026: Starter $0.50/claim; Essential 10 included then from $0.35; Plus 35 included then from $0.25. From October 1, 2026: $0.39 from the first claim on every plan, with volume breaks, and no included free claims. Insurance Navigator is listed at $1.79 per submitted claim. | 14 cents per electronic claim, 14 cents per ERA, 14 cents per eligibility request, $1 per mailed paper claim. That fee structure is separate from the monthly seat. |
| Group appointments Scheduling, notes, and billing for more than one client in the same slot | Included on Plus. $20 per clinician per month add-on on Essential. Not available on Starter. Up to 15 clients per group appointment, including group telehealth. | Group Therapy is an appointment type in the standard product. Couples and family work can be charted on one patient or as a group appointment with a note per participant. |
| Supervision and co-signature How a supervisor reviews, signs, and bills a supervisee note | On Plus, supervisors, billers, and schedulers add at no extra seat cost. A supervisee can have one supervisor. Supervisees sign and share; the supervisor comments, requests edits, or signs. | Supervisor is a role. Settings include access, review-and-approve, and review-and-co-sign. You can set whose credentials go on the claim, including per-payer, and change supervision on a single note. |
| Access if you leave What you can take with you after you cancel | Account Owner or a practice manager with export permission can run a Complete, Sessions, or Contacts export while the account is open. Complete includes notes, claims, invoices, appointment memos, and stored documents. The calendar itself is not listed as its own export type. | Export before you cancel. After the termination date, TherapyNotes retains customer data for a legal retention period, then deletes it. An unpaid account is treated as abandoned on day 61 and then terminated. Read-only storage is $9/month for the first user and $3/month per additional user. |
Vendor facts are based on public US pages checked September 2026, including each vendor's pricing page, plan FAQs, group-appointment docs, supervision docs, and export or termination docs. Functionality and terms can change after publication.
Starter beats Solo by $20/month ($49 vs $69) with telehealth on both sides. Essential loses to Solo by $10/month ($79 vs $69) before claims. Video is not the reason to leave Starter: the September 2026 SimplePractice pricing page lists telehealth as a core feature on every plan.
Seat gap at four treating clinicians: $92/month in TherapyNotes favor ($321 versus $229), before a single claim. That gap grows if you also pay SimplePractice $20/clinician for groups on Essential or $39 per practice manager (September 2026). TherapyNotes Group includes unlimited non-clinical users.
One clinician, 80 electronic claims/month on Essential: $79 + (70 x $0.35) = $103.50 through September 30, 2026, because 10 claims are included. From October 1, 2026: $79 + (80 x $0.39) = $110.20, with no included claims (SimplePractice insurance pricing update, September 2026). Same 80 claims on TherapyNotes Solo: $69 + (80 x $0.14) = $80.20. On that 80-claim Essential example, TherapyNotes wins by about $23/month through September 30 and about $30/month after October 1, before ERA. ERA on those claims at 14 cents adds $11.20 ($91.40 total). At 200 claims on a four-clinician group, add about $78 in SimplePractice claim fees at $0.39 versus $28 in TherapyNotes claim fees at $0.14, on top of the seat gap.
List prices: SimplePractice pricing (telehealth listed as a core feature on every plan), SimplePractice plan FAQs (including the $39 practice-manager seat), TherapyNotes pricing, and TherapyNotes subscription options, including the $9/$3 storage rate if you keep read-only access instead of canceling. Claim-fee change: SimplePractice insurance pricing update. Plan matrix: SimplePractice features by plan.
Workflow feel
Before, during, and after the session
The EHR job and the clinical-layer job show up at different points in the day. Price the record first; this is only the rhythm around it.
Who owns the calendar and the intake
The EHR holds the calendar, client portal, and online booking. That is the system clients use to get on the books.
The chart and the schedule are the same product. Group appointment types and supervisor roles already live on the record.
The Intake Agent can turn portal history and goals into a pre-session brief tied to the treatment plan. It does not book the hour.
Where video, notes, and AI sit
Telehealth is listed as a core feature on every plan. The note belongs in the chart. SimplePractice Note Taker and Care Aide are AI add-ons, not the EHR itself.
Basic telehealth is in every plan. The progress note is a TherapyNotes document. TherapyFuel is the AI add-on on that stack.
Optional CBT, ACT, and DBT micro-prompts, pattern detection, and live notes run on Professional and Enterprise, therapist-controlled and off by default. Video still runs in the EHR you keep.
Sign-off, claims, and the next visit
Claims, Plus supervision sign-off, and a Complete export while the account is open stay in SimplePractice. The calendar is not listed as its own export type.
14-cent claims, co-sign rules, and export-before-you-cancel stay in TherapyNotes. Read-only storage is $9/month for the first user if you keep access instead of leaving.
The Scribe Agent drafts SOAP, DAP, BIRP, or GIRP for clinician review and EHR write-back. Planning, Engagement, and Insight keep the plan, check-ins, and measures attached to that note.
SimplePractice edge
Where SimplePractice is the stronger fit
- → You are a solo clinician who can run on Starter at $49/month, including the telehealth the September 2026 pricing page lists on every plan.
- → Client portal, online booking, and the mobile app matter more than the last $10 to $90 of seat cost (SimplePractice features by plan, September 2026).
- → You want group appointments and will pay for Plus anyway, so the $20 Essential add-on is not in play (September 2026).
- → You already run SimplePractice and the switching cost of moving the record would swamp a cheaper TherapyNotes seat.
TherapyNotes edge
Where TherapyNotes is the stronger fit
- → You are adding clinicians: four treating seats publish at $229/month versus $321 on SimplePractice Plus (September 2026).
- → Insurance is most of your revenue. 14-cent claims plus 14-cent ERA beat SimplePractice claim fees on every volume in the worked examples, including after the October 1, 2026 SimplePractice change.
- → You supervise associates and need co-sign, approve, or bill-as-supervisor rules that can change per payer and per note (TherapyNotes supervision, September 2026).
- → You want unlimited free non-clinical users (TherapyNotes Group) rather than a paid practice-manager seat (September 2026).
After the vendor shortlist
Where Emosapien fits after this comparison
Run Emosapien alongside whichever EHR you pick: keep SimplePractice as the chart and calendar, or TherapyNotes as the chart and claims, and add Emosapien as the clinical layer.
- ✓ Agent team. Intake, Therapy, Planning, Scribe, Engagement, and Insight cover the week, not a single scribe parked in the chart.
- ✓ Modality packs. CBT, ACT, and DBT packs shape Assessment (cognitive restructuring, defusion, distress tolerance) instead of a generic medical template.
- ✓ In-session prompts. Real-time micro-prompts, pattern detection, and live notes are therapist-controlled, off by default, and listed on Professional and Enterprise.
- ✓ Between-session engagement. Guided check-ins, journaling, activities, and progress tracking plot against treatment-plan goals and feed the next session brief.
- ✓ Measurement in the notes. Treatment plans and measures stay tied to the notes, then write back to the EHR you already picked.
Emosapien is not an EHR: no scheduling, no claims, and it is not the system of record.
Start on the free plan and run this test yourself
Keep SimplePractice or TherapyNotes as the chart. Use the free plan to see whether the agent team belongs beside that record.
Start on the free plan and run this test yourselfFrequently asked questions
If you can live on Starter, SimplePractice at $49/month is $20 below TherapyNotes Solo at $69/month, and the September 2026 SimplePractice pricing page lists telehealth on every plan. If you need Essential extras (reminders, Wiley planners, secure messaging; features by plan), TherapyNotes Solo at $69 is $10 below Essential at $79. Add claims on top if you bill insurance.
TherapyNotes Group publishes $79 for the first clinician and $50 for each additional clinician, or $229 for four (September 2026). SimplePractice adds treating clinicians only on Plus and lists $99 Plus plus $74 per added clinician at 2-5 seats ($321). Confirm the live invoice.
TherapyNotes charges 14 cents per electronic claim, plus 14 cents per ERA and per eligibility request (September 2026). SimplePractice claim fees depend on plan through September 30, 2026, then move to $0.39 from the first claim on October 1, 2026, with volume breaks and no included free claims (insurance pricing update).
Yes, with different gates. SimplePractice includes groups on Plus, sells them as a $20 per clinician add-on on Essential, and omits them on Starter, with a 15-client cap (September 2026). TherapyNotes includes a Group Therapy appointment type in the standard product, with a note per participant.
TherapyNotes exposes supervisor access, approve, and co-sign levels, including bill-as-supervisor and per-payer settings (September 2026). SimplePractice on Plus lets a supervisee share a note with one supervisor, who can comment, request edits, or sign (SimplePractice supervision). If co-sign rules drive your credentialing, read both vendor help centers during the trial.
Export while the account is still open on either product. SimplePractice Complete export is an Account Owner or permitted practice-manager job and lists notes, claims, invoices, and appointment memos, not a separate appointment-calendar file (September 2026). TherapyNotes tells you to export before canceling, retains data for a legal period after termination, then deletes it; unpaid accounts are abandoned on day 61 (account termination). If you want read-only access instead of canceling, TherapyNotes storage is $9/month for the first user and $3/month per additional user on the public price list.
Pick the EHR first. Keep SimplePractice as the chart and calendar, or TherapyNotes as the chart and claims. Emosapien is not an EHR: no scheduling, no claims, not the system of record. It is the clinical layer beside that record: an agent team, CBT/ACT/DBT packs, optional in-session support on Professional and Enterprise, and between-session check-ins tied to the plan.