TherapyNotes Review 2026: Is It Worth It for Private Practice?
TherapyNotes has been around since 2010, which in EHR years makes it a veteran. It’s the second most commonly used platform in private practice therapy behind SimplePractice, and it has a dedicated following among clinicians who prioritize documentation depth over interface polish.
This review covers what TherapyNotes actually does well, where it falls short, how it compares to SimplePractice, and who it’s the right fit for. No vendor relationship influenced this assessment.
TherapyNotes Pricing (2026)
TherapyNotes pricing is one of its genuine advantages:
| Plan | Monthly Price | Includes |
| Solo Clinician | ~$59/month | Everything — full documentation, insurance billing, telehealth, client portal |
| Group (2 clinicians) | ~$99/month | All features for both clinicians |
| Additional clinicians | ~$30/month each |
What stands out: There are no tiers. No “you have to upgrade to get insurance billing.” Everything is included at one price. For a therapist billing insurance from day one, this is meaningfully more cost-effective than SimplePractice, which requires the Plus plan (~$99/month) to access the same functionality.
A 30-day free trial is available. Take it seriously before committing — two weeks of real clinical use tells you more than any review.
Documentation: TherapyNotes’ Strongest Feature
Clinical documentation is where TherapyNotes most clearly earns its reputation.
Note Templates
TherapyNotes ships with templates for the most common note types: individual therapy progress notes, group notes, psychiatric evaluations, intake assessments, and treatment plans. These templates are more fully developed than SimplePractice’s equivalents.
More importantly, the template customization system is genuinely flexible. You can build structured templates with conditional sections, checkboxes, and text fields that match your actual clinical workflow — not just a blank text area with a label on it. For clinicians who want documentation to feel systematic rather than freeform, this matters.
Treatment Plans
Treatment plan integration is one of TherapyNotes’ most notable advantages over SimplePractice. Goals, objectives, and interventions defined in the treatment plan are accessible when writing progress notes, making it easier to maintain session-to-session continuity in the clinical record. Insurance auditors and licensing board reviewers can see clearly that your notes connect to your stated treatment goals.
SimplePractice has treatment plan functionality, but the session-level linkage is less developed.
Note Locking and Signing
Notes are locked and signed digitally, creating a finalized, legally defensible record. Unsigned notes are flagged in your dashboard — a useful accountability mechanism that prevents documentation backlogs from silently accumulating.
Insurance Billing
TherapyNotes includes full insurance billing on all plans. This is not a premium add-on.
The clearinghouse integration handles electronic claim submission to most major commercial payers. ERA (Electronic Remittance Advice) and EOB (Explanation of Benefits) processing are handled within the platform — you can reconcile payments without leaving the system.
User feedback on TherapyNotes billing is consistently positive relative to competitors. The interface is clearer than SimplePractice’s billing module, and error handling on denied claims is more straightforward. For a therapist new to insurance billing, having phone support available (see below) while learning the system is a meaningful advantage.
Medicare and Medicaid: TherapyNotes works with Medicare and many Medicaid plans. Verify your specific state’s Medicaid compatibility before assuming — Medicaid billing varies significantly by state.
Scheduling and Client Portal
Scheduling
TherapyNotes’ calendar is functional and complete. Multiple appointment types, recurring sessions, configurable reminders (email and SMS), and multi-location support are all included. It’s not as visually polished as SimplePractice’s calendar, but it works.
One area where TherapyNotes has an edge: waitlist management. If you have more demand than availability, TherapyNotes handles waitlists more cleanly than SimplePractice.
Client Portal
The TherapyNotes client portal covers the essentials: intake document completion, appointment viewing, secure messaging, and billing statements. E-signatures work. It functions.
It’s noticeably less polished than SimplePractice’s portal, particularly on mobile. Some clients find it harder to navigate. If your client population skews toward less tech-savvy individuals, this gap is worth factoring in.
Telehealth
TherapyNotes added built-in HIPAA-compliant telehealth in recent years. It works, it’s included at no extra cost, and it doesn’t require clients to download anything.
That said, telehealth has historically been TherapyNotes’ weakest area. Video quality and connection stability are generally good, but the client-side experience is less intuitive than SimplePractice’s built-in telehealth. If you’re running a primarily telehealth practice, test this thoroughly during your trial.
Customer Support
This is a genuine differentiator. TherapyNotes offers phone support during business hours — something SimplePractice does not provide.
For new therapists navigating insurance billing, documentation setup, or technical issues mid-day, being able to call someone matters. Live chat and email are also available. Response times are generally good, and the support staff tends to be knowledgeable about clinical documentation contexts — not just generic SaaS support.
The Help Center is solid, with a well-organized article library covering most common questions.
TherapyNotes vs. SimplePractice: The Honest Summary
| Category | TherapyNotes | SimplePractice |
| Pricing (with insurance billing) | ~$59/mo ✅ | ~$99/mo |
| Documentation depth | ✅ Stronger | Basic |
| Treatment plan integration | ✅ Better | Functional |
| Client portal experience | Functional | ✅ Stronger |
| Scheduling UX | Good | ✅ Better |
| Telehealth | Adequate | ✅ Stronger |
| Phone support | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Insurance billing | ✅ All plans | Plus plan only |
Choose TherapyNotes if: You’re billing insurance, you care about documentation quality and clinical record integrity, you want phone support, or you’re building toward a group practice.
Choose SimplePractice if: You’re primarily self-pay, you want the smoothest client intake experience, or telehealth is a large part of your practice.
What TherapyNotes Does Well That Nobody Mentions
Billing reports. TherapyNotes’ financial reporting is more detailed than most competing platforms. If you track revenue, outstanding balances, and insurance aging with any rigor, the reporting tools are noticeably better than SimplePractice’s.
Multi-discipline support. TherapyNotes works well for practices that include psychiatrists or nurse practitioners alongside therapists. If you’re ever building toward a multi-discipline model, the platform has the documentation templates to support it.
The Bottom Line
TherapyNotes is a mature, well-built platform that earns its position as the second most popular EHR in private practice. It’s not the prettiest, and the client-facing portal experience lags behind SimplePractice. But for documentation depth, insurance billing value, and clinical record integrity, it’s the stronger platform — and the pricing, with insurance billing included at base rate, is genuinely better for most practices.
If you’re a new therapist who will be billing insurance and takes documentation seriously, TherapyNotes deserves the top spot on your shortlist.
👉 Try TherapyNotes free for 30 days →
Affiliate disclosure: TherapistDesk may earn a commission on referrals through this link, at no cost to you. This review was written independently — no compensation influenced its content.