SimplePractice vs TherapyNotes 2026: Which Is Better for Your Practice?
These two platforms together cover the majority of private practice therapists in the US. They’re both HIPAA-compliant, both well-established, both legitimate choices — and they’re genuinely different in ways that matter depending on how you work.
The question isn’t which one is better in the abstract. It’s which one is better for your practice: your billing model, your documentation style, your client population, your tech tolerance.
This comparison goes through every category that matters. Where the platforms differ, we’ll tell you why — and who benefits from which approach.
Pricing
SimplePractice
SimplePractice uses a tiered model:
| Plan | Monthly Price | What You Get |
| Starter | ~$29/mo | Basic features, client limits, no insurance billing |
| Essential | ~$69/mo | Unlimited clients, telehealth, full portal, payments |
| Plus | ~$99/mo | Adds insurance claim filing, ERA/EOB |
Most solo therapists land on Essential. If you’re billing insurance, you’ll need Plus — which brings your total to ~$99/month, or ~$1,188/year.
Annual billing discounts are available (~10–15% off).
TherapyNotes
TherapyNotes uses simpler, more transparent pricing:
| Plan | Monthly Price | What You Get |
| Solo | ~$49–59/mo | Everything — all features, insurance billing included |
There’s no gating. You get insurance billing, full documentation, telehealth, and all features on the base plan. No paying more to unlock what you actually need.
Verdict on price: For self-pay or light-insurance practices, SimplePractice Essential (~$69) and TherapyNotes (~$59) are close. For practices billing insurance significantly, TherapyNotes is more cost-effective — you get everything at ~$59/month vs. SimplePractice’s ~$99/month Plus plan.
Scheduling and Calendar
Both platforms handle the scheduling basics: multiple appointment types, recurring sessions, automated reminders, calendar sync.
SimplePractice Scheduling
SimplePractice’s calendar is genuinely excellent. It’s fast, clean, and intuitive — the kind of interface where you figure things out without reading the help docs. Client self-scheduling through the portal is configurable, and the appointment reminder system (email + SMS) works reliably.
One useful feature: you can set different availability windows per appointment type. Your intake appointments and regular sessions can have different scheduling windows, which is particularly useful for therapists who limit new client slots.
TherapyNotes Scheduling
TherapyNotes scheduling is functional and complete but less polished visually. It covers everything you need: recurring appointments, multiple clinicians, location management, automated reminders. If you’re coming from a clinical background and don’t particularly care about interface elegance, it does the job.
TherapyNotes also has a robust waitlist management feature — something SimplePractice doesn’t handle as cleanly.
Verdict: SimplePractice wins on scheduling UX. TherapyNotes wins on waitlist management. For most solo therapists, SimplePractice’s calendar will feel more natural.
Client Portal and Intake
This is one of the clearest differences between the two platforms — and it matters to how clients experience your practice.
SimplePractice Client Portal
SimplePractice’s client portal is one of its strongest features. When you add a new client, you can send an automatic invitation that walks them through completing all intake paperwork digitally: informed consent, privacy notice, credit card authorization, any custom intake forms. Everything is e-signed and filed automatically.
The portal experience is smooth, mobile-friendly, and genuinely easy for clients to navigate. For practices where intake paperwork used to require emailing PDFs, chasing signatures, or paper forms — the SimplePractice portal eliminates that entirely.
Custom forms are flexible and relatively easy to build. Many therapists add symptom checklists, specialty-specific intake questions, or telehealth consent forms as part of the standard new client package.
TherapyNotes Client Portal
TherapyNotes has a functional client portal that covers the essentials: intake document completion, appointment information, secure messaging, billing statements. It works. It’s just notably less polished than SimplePractice’s portal — particularly on mobile.
Some clients find the TherapyNotes portal navigation confusing compared to SimplePractice’s. For tech-averse client populations, this gap is meaningful.
Verdict: SimplePractice’s client portal is significantly stronger. If client intake experience matters to your practice (and it should), this is a meaningful difference.
Clinical Documentation
Here’s where the comparison flips.
SimplePractice Documentation
SimplePractice includes standard note templates (SOAP, DAP, and a few others) and a custom template builder. You can create your own templates and save them for repeated use. The documentation system is easy to learn and covers the needs of most generalist outpatient practices.
The gaps: the template builder is basic. You can’t create highly complex structured templates or embed logic. Treatment plans exist but aren’t deeply developed — they work, but session-to-session linkage between treatment plan goals and progress notes requires manual attention. Outcome measure tracking isn’t built in natively.
For many therapists, this is fine. For therapists who want clinical documentation to be a strength of their system rather than an administrative function, it’s limiting.
TherapyNotes Documentation
TherapyNotes was built by clinicians with documentation at the center. The note template system is more configurable. Treatment plans are more developed — it’s easier to connect specific goals to specific sessions in a way that’s visible across your clinical record. The session-to-session continuity of the clinical record is genuinely better.
TherapyNotes also has more built-in support for specialty documentation: group therapy notes, psychiatric evaluation templates, and more structured workflows for complex cases.
If you’re a therapist who takes documentation seriously — who sees notes as clinical tools, not just administrative requirements — TherapyNotes is the stronger platform.
Verdict: TherapyNotes wins on documentation depth and clinical record quality. This is one of the strongest reasons to choose it over SimplePractice.
Telehealth
Both platforms have built-in HIPAA-compliant video. Both offer client-facing links that don’t require app downloads.
SimplePractice Telehealth
Reliable. Clean interface. Clients join from the link in their appointment reminder — no portal login required if they use the direct link. Chrome works best. The built-in telehealth has been the platform’s standard for years and generally works without drama.
Basic features only: no waiting rooms, no co-host, no group video (unless you’re on a group practice plan). For individual therapy, it’s fine.
TherapyNotes Telehealth
TherapyNotes added telehealth more recently than SimplePractice. It works and it’s HIPAA-compliant, but it has historically lagged behind SimplePractice in reliability and client experience. The gap has narrowed over the past year but hasn’t fully closed.
If telehealth is a major part of your practice, SimplePractice still has the edge.
Verdict: SimplePractice wins on telehealth, particularly for telehealth-primary practices.
Insurance Billing and Payments
This category matters a lot if you’re billing insurance.
SimplePractice Billing
Available on the Plus plan (~$99/month). SimplePractice integrates with major commercial payers through a built-in clearinghouse. Electronic claim submission, ERA/EOB receipt, and payment reconciliation are all handled in the platform.
The self-pay billing side is particularly strong: automated invoicing, integrated Stripe payment processing, autopay setup (client’s card charged after each session with consent), and superbill generation for clients seeking out-of-network reimbursement.
The ERA/EOB interface has a learning curve — it’s functional but takes getting used to. Denied claims require manual follow-up.
TherapyNotes Billing
Available on all plans — no upgrade required. TherapyNotes has been around longer and the billing infrastructure is mature and reliable. The clearinghouse integration handles most major commercial payers well. ERA/EOB management is often cited as easier to navigate than SimplePractice’s.
Phone support for billing questions — which SimplePractice doesn’t offer — is a real advantage when you’re learning insurance billing for the first time.
Verdict: For heavy insurance billing, TherapyNotes is the stronger choice: better price, included at all plan levels, more reliable infrastructure, and phone support for when you’re stuck. For self-pay or light insurance, SimplePractice’s billing workflow is excellent.
Customer Support
| SimplePractice | TherapyNotes | |
| Phone support | ❌ No | ✅ Yes (business hours) |
| Live chat | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Email support | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Help center | ✅ Extensive | ✅ Good |
| Onboarding webinars | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Community forum | ✅ Active | Moderate |
Verdict: TherapyNotes wins on support, specifically because of phone support. For new therapists navigating billing questions or setup issues, being able to call someone is meaningful.
Side-by-Side Summary
| Category | SimplePractice | TherapyNotes |
| Pricing (insurance billing) | ~$99/mo | ~$59/mo ✅ |
| Pricing (self-pay) | ~$69/mo ✅ | ~$59/mo |
| Scheduling UX | ✅ | Good |
| Client portal | ✅ | Functional |
| Clinical documentation | Basic | ✅ |
| Treatment plans | Functional | ✅ |
| Telehealth | ✅ | Good |
| Insurance billing | Plus plan | ✅ All plans |
| Self-pay billing | ✅ | Good |
| Phone support | ❌ | ✅ |
| Interface polish | ✅ | Functional |
The Decision
Choose SimplePractice if:
👉 Try SimplePractice free for 30 days →
Choose TherapyNotes if:
👉 Try TherapyNotes free for 30 days →
One More Consideration: Don’t Overthink It
Both platforms are legitimate. Both will serve a well-run private practice. The real cost isn’t which one you pick — it’s spending three months deciding and using a Google Calendar and a personal Gmail in the meantime.
Use the free trial period seriously. Set up your calendar. Run through an intake. Write some notes. You’ll know within two weeks whether a platform fits how your brain works.
Then commit and stop second-guessing.
Prices approximate as of March 2026; verify at each platform’s website. TherapistDesk may earn affiliate commissions on referral sign-ups. We reviewed both platforms independently — no vendor relationships influenced this comparison.