I recently completed another hands-on review of SimplePractice as part of our 2026 update, giving us a fresh look at how it performs for solo and small therapy practices . We’ve been reviewing and using SimplePractice in real practice scenarios since 2022, and across that time, it has consistently stood out as a dependable, all-in-one EHR for clinicians who want scheduling, documentation, telehealth, billing, and client communication in one system.
In our testing, SimplePractice performs especially well in the areas therapists tend to care about most: reliable scheduling, manageable insurance billing, and scalability as your practice grows. Its biggest drawback remains cost, particularly for private-pay-only clinicians or those needing fewer features, since many competitors offer similar core features at a lower monthly price. My SimplePractice review looks at where SimplePractice delivers lasting value, where tradeoffs appear with competitors, and what practices it ultimately makes the most sense for.
SimplePractice At a Glance
Cost: $49 – $99+ monthly
Best For: Solo and small practices that want an all-in-one EHR with strong billing, scheduling, and client-facing tools
Pros & Cons of SimplePractice
Pros - Clean, modern interface that’s easy to learn
- Strong insurance billing tools for solo clinicians
- Excellent scheduling, reminders, and calendar tools
- Mobile apps for both clinicians and clients
- All plans include their website builder and directory listing
Cons - More expensive than some competitors once add-ons and insurance billing fees are factored in
- Not as flexible or customizable for large, complex practices
- Not very useful for prescribers or MDs
Preview SimplePractice
SimplePractice is designed to be a dependable, all-in-one EHR for mental health practices that want most of their operations in one place. It’s especially well-suited to solo clinicians and small practices that value ease of use, reliability, and strong insurance workflows over deep customization or bargain pricing.
SimplePractice’s scheduling, reminders, telehealth access, and billing features all work together cleanly, and the system rarely feels overcomplicated. The mobile apps (client portal, video platform, and provider app) are also among the best in the EHR space, making it easier for both clinicians and clients to stay engaged.
The main consideration when looking into SimplePractice is the cost. While its base pricing looks straightforward, real-world costs depend on how often you bill insurance, whether you add additional clinicians, and which features you need unlocked. For many practices, that tradeoff is worth it, but it’s important to understand those total costs upfront before making a decision.
For clinicians who want a polished, all-in-one system they can settle into for years without frequent migrations, SimplePractice remains one of the safest and most comprehensive choices available.
Detailed Review of SimplePractice
SimplePractice is a strong all-around EHR for solo and small therapy practices that want an all-in-one system to handle scheduling, documentation, telehealth, billing, and client communication without a lot of setup or technical overhead. For many clinicians, especially those seeing a mix of private pay and insurance clients, it strikes a practical balance between ease of use, feature depth, and long-term reliability.
That said, SimplePractice isn’t always the most affordable option, and some features are plan-dependent or usage-based, which makes pricing an important factor. In the detailed review below, we break down how SimplePractice performs in key areas of importance to therapy practices, including how it performs in day-to-day practice, where it saves time, where limitations show up, and which types of practices are most likely to get long-term value from it.
Review our scoring criteria for EHRs, EMRs, and PMS for therapists.
Review our complete editorial policies here.
Client Management & Intake Management
SimplePractice makes it easy to add, organize, and maintain client records without requiring much manual setup. New clients can complete most of the intake process through the client portal before their first session, including demographic information, intake questionnaires, consent forms, and required disclosures. Electronic signatures are supported throughout, which helps reduce paperwork and manual uploads.
For common clinical scenarios, SimplePractice includes ready-made intake forms for individuals, couples, and minors, so you don’t need to build forms or workflows from scratch for various types of clients. Completed documents are stored directly in the client record, where they’re easy to review, download, or export as needed with an intuitive interface.
Once a client is in the system, records are organized clearly and are easy to navigate. You can search and filter clients by name, appointment history, or insurance information, which makes it manageable even as a caseload grows.
SimplePractice also supports bulk data import and controlled access for multi-provider practices, along with detailed audit logs that track who accessed or edited a record and when. That level of visibility is especially important for practices that share records or supervise clinicians.
Overall, SimplePractice handles client records in a way that feels thorough without being cumbersome. It earned 5 out of 5 stars for client records and data management and 4.5 stars for intake and assessment features based on our scoring criteria.
Scheduling & Calendar Management
SimplePractice’s scheduling tools cover what most solo and small practices need very well. From a single calendar interface, you can manage recurring appointments, multiple locations, telehealth sessions, and couples or group appointments (groups require SimplePractice’s Plus plan).
Clients can request appointments through the client portal using rules you control, which helps reduce scheduling back-and-forth. A client waitlist is available on SimplePractice’s Essential and Plus plans, allowing you to fill cancellations automatically.
Time zone handling is flexible but does require a bit of manual setup. SimplePractice uses one practice time zone as a default, then clinicians and clients can each be assigned their own time zone so calendars, portal views, and reminders display correctly. This works well for cross-state telehealth as long as time zones are configured accurately when the client is entered into the system.
Appointment reminders, text confirmations, secure messaging, and advanced calendar filters are available on Essential and Plus plans, while reminders are limited to telehealth appointments only on the Starter plan.
SimplePractice reliably handles booking, reminders, conflicts, and multi-time-zone telehealth, all of which are areas where scheduling often meets the most friction in a real practice environment. That earned SimplePractice 5 out of 5 stars for scheduling and calendar features based on our scoring criteria.
Clinical Documentation & Treatment Planning
SimplePractice’s clinical documentation tools are designed to minimize writing while still giving clinicians control over how notes and treatment plans are structured and completed. Diagnosis, treatment planning, and progress notes all live in a single workflow, and new treatment plans can be auto-populated from previous ones to reduce repetitive work.
SimplePractice offers a strong library of customizable note templates, including SOAP, DAP, and group therapy notes. Templates can be duplicated, rearranged, and rebuilt from scratch, which makes it easier to standardize documentation without locking clinicians into rigid formats.
Another plus is SimplePractice’s integration with Wiley Treatment Planners, available starting on the Essential plan. Wiley allows clinicians to build structured treatment plans by selecting from a large library of presenting problems, behaviors, goals, objectives, and interventions, all of which remain fully editable. Once created, Wiley goals automatically carry into progress notes, making it easier to track treatment progress over time.
SimplePractice also includes built-in scored assessments like the PHQ-9 and GAD-7. While you can’t create custom scored measures, these assessments provide automatic scoring and visual progress tracking, which can be useful for both clinical insight and documentation.
Security and compliance are tightly integrated into documentation. All access and changes are logged automatically, which is especially important for practices with multiple providers or shared records.
For clinicians who want even more automation, SimplePractice offers an optional AI Notetaker that can generate draft notes from session transcripts. It’s entirely opt-in and priced separately (+$35 per provider monthly), making it easy to ignore if it doesn’t fit your practice style.
SimplePractice balances structure and flexibility better than most EHRs and meaningfully reduces documentation time without sacrificing clinical control. It earned 4.5 out of 5 stars for clinical documentation and treatment planning on our scoring criteria.
Telehealth & Client Engagement
SimplePractice includes built-in telehealth on all of its plans, making it easy to offer virtual sessions without relying on a separate video platform. Sessions can be joined through a direct link that you can copy and share with your clients however you prefer, which lowers friction and helps reduce missed or delayed appointments from clients having to log in or create an account unexpectedly. Telehealth works in a web browser on desktop or mobile, and clients can also join through the SimplePractice mobile app.
The telehealth experience itself is straightforward and familiar, with a layout similar to common video tools such as Zoom. Clients enter a virtual waiting room before sessions begin, and clinicians have access to practical in-session tools like screen sharing, chat, session timers, and adjustable video quality. Background blur, noise reduction, and basic layout options help sessions run smoothly even with variable internet connections.
Beyond video sessions, SimplePractice supports ongoing client engagement through secure messaging, appointment reminders, and mobile app access (features vary by plan). These tools help keep communication centralized within the EHR rather than split across email, text, or third-party apps.
SimplePractice’s telehealth tools focus on reliability and ease of access rather than advanced customization or specialized features. It may not appeal to clinicians looking for highly configurable virtual care workflows or extensive client engagement, but for most therapy practices, it delivers a dependable telehealth experience integrated directly into daily operations. Based on our scoring criteria, SimplePractice earned 4.5 out of 5 stars for telehealth and client engagement.
Insurance Billing
SimplePractice’s insurance billing feature is one of its biggest strengths for practices that want to submit claims, track status, and reconcile payments without needing a separate billing system or a lot of exporting/importing forms. From the billing dashboard, you can submit and monitor electronic claims, generate superbills for out-of-network clients, and record insurance payments/ERAs inside the client record.
Insurance billing costs depend heavily on the SimplePractice plan chosen:
- Starter plan ($49 monthly): Insurance billing is pay-per-use ($0.50/claim and $0.25/manual status check).
- Essential plan ($79 monthly): Includes 10 claims/month, then $0.35/claim plus $0.15/check.
- Plus plan ($99 monthly): Includes 35 claims/month, then $0.25/claim, and includes status checks.
Benefit check results can vary by payer, so some may still require confirming details directly with the insurer.
If you’d rather outsource insurance follow-up, SimplePractice also offers an optional Managed Billing service to Plus plan subscribers for an additional fee of about 6% of all collections, plus an upfront setup fee.
Client Payment Methods, Collection, & Processing
SimplePractice offers flexible tools for collecting client payments, whether you’re fully private pay or billing insurance with copays and balances due. Invoices can be generated automatically or sent manually, and payments can be recorded for cash, check, or card, keeping everything tied to the client record.
For online payments, SimplePractice supports credit cards, debit cards, and HSA/FSA cards. Card payments are processed through SimplePractice’s integrated system with a fee of 3.15% + $0.30 per successful transaction. Practices that prefer to use an outside payment processor can still record external payments manually to keep financial records accurate.
Clients can view invoices, make payments, and manage balances directly through the client portal or mobile app, which reduces follow-up work and helps payments stay timely. Practices can also apply credits to client accounts for prepayments, refunds, or other adjustments.
SimplePractice’s payment tools aren’t the cheapest option for high-volume card processing, but they’re tightly integrated into the rest of the platform and easy for clients to use. For most solo and small practices, that balance of convenience and flexibility works well, helping earn SimplePractice a 4.5 out of 5 for billing features based on our scoring criteria.
Reporting & Administrative Tools
SimplePractice includes a solid set of practice management tools that help clinicians stay organized without needing a separate system. Practices can assign roles to others with different access levels, ensuring clinicians, administrators, and billing staff only see what’s relevant to their work.
Reporting and analytics are strongest on the Plus plan, which unlocks a real-time analytics dashboard covering appointments, revenue trends, and insurance activity. These reports are useful for spotting no-shows, tracking income over time, and understanding how services are performing. On lower tiers, SimplePractice still includes basic business and administrative reports, which are sufficient for many solo practices that just want clear visibility into scheduling and finances.
For group practices, it’s worth noting that expanded reporting, internal staff messaging, and advanced access controls require the Plus plan.
Overall, SimplePractice offers practical reporting and administrative tools that scale well from solo to small group practices. It earned 4 out of 5 stars for practice management and reporting based on our scoring criteria, with points mainly deducted for cost rather than capability.
Marketing & Business-Building Features
SimplePractice includes several built-in tools aimed at helping clinicians establish and grow their practice without relying on separate marketing tools. These include a simple website builder, a listing in the Therapy Finder directory, and built-in contact and appointment request forms that can be embedded on external sites. For many solo clinicians, this removes the need to pay for a separate website platform or directory listing early on.
While these tools aren’t meant to and likely won’t replace a full marketing suite for more complex practices, they do cover the essentials: giving prospective clients a way to find you, learn about your services, and request appointments securely. Client announcements also allow practices to communicate policy updates, availability changes, or administrative reminders at scale, which becomes especially useful as a caseload grows.
Compared to many competing EHRs, which focus almost exclusively on documentation and billing, SimplePractice’s business-building features stand out as a meaningful advantage. For clinicians starting or growing a practice, these tools can reduce both cost and complexity by keeping marketing, scheduling, and client intake in one system.
Support, Onboarding, & Training
SimplePractice is designed to be quick to learn, and most clinicians can get up and running without much formal onboarding. The interface is intuitive, and core workflows are easy to find and understand even for users who aren’t especially tech-savvy.
When support is needed, SimplePractice offers a large, well-organized help center with searchable documentation and step-by-step guides. It also provides free on-demand training sessions led by software specialists, which are useful for learning specific features or clarifying workflows without needing one-on-one support.
In addition to official resources, SimplePractice maintains an active community forum where clinicians can ask questions and share solutions. In practice, this often leads to faster answers than submitting a support ticket, especially for common setup or workflow questions.
SimplePractice doesn’t offer dedicated account managers or white-glove onboarding for smaller practices, but for solo and small group clinicians, the combination of intuitive design, strong self-serve resources, and live training is usually sufficient. Based on our criteria, SimplePractice earned 4 out of 5 stars for support, onboarding, and training.
SimplePractice Mobile Apps
SimplePractice offers one of the more complete mobile experiences among mental health EHRs, with dedicated apps for clinicians and clients included on all plans. Rather than trying to replicate the full desktop experience, the mobile apps focus on the tasks that are most useful on the go.
For clinicians, the mobile app is best suited for schedule management, secure messaging, viewing client information, and handling basic administrative tasks. It’s not designed for full clinical documentation (most note writing and treatment planning still works best on desktop) but it’s reliable for staying connected between sessions or checking details quickly.
The client-facing app allows clients to view appointments, complete paperwork, make payments, and access telehealth without needing a computer. Telehealth sessions can be joined directly from the app or via a browser link, keeping access simple and flexible for clients with different devices.
Overall, SimplePractice’s mobile apps don’t replace desktop use, but they meaningfully extend the platform’s usability beyond the office. Compared to many competitors that offer limited or no mobile support, SimplePractice’s mobile experience is a clear advantage and contributes to its strong score for user experience and accessibility.
SimplePractice Cost & Pricing Plans
SimplePractice pricing plans cost $49–$99 monthly, with a few common add-ons and usage-based fees for insurance claims and benefit checks.
- Starter – $49 monthly
- Best for mostly private-pay solo clinicians who only need core tools like scheduling, telehealth, and a client portal. Limited automation and the highest per-claim insurance costs. Not the practical choice for most practices.
- Essential – $79 monthly
- The most practical option for most solo practices. Includes appointment reminders, client messaging, waitlists, customizable notes, and lower insurance claim costs. This one is the best choice for most full-time therapists.
- Plus – $99 monthly
- Designed for insurance-heavy practices, group therapy, or practices with multiple clinicians. Includes more claims, built-in benefit checks, advanced calendar tools, and team features. The Plus plan is only really necessary when you have multiple providers or need all the features SimplePractice offers.
If you’re a typical solo therapist doing a mix of telehealth, private pay, and some insurance, the Essential plan ($79 monthly) is usually the practical middle ground. The Starter plan ($49 monthly) is workable for private-pay-only practices, but it has real workflow limitations that show up quickly. The Plus plan ($99 monthly) is most worth it for insurance-heavy practices (because of included claims and included benefit checks) and for any practice that has multiple clinicians.
Here’s the full breakdown of SimplePractice pricing plans:
Starter Plan – $49 monthly
SimplePractice’s Starter plan fits solo clinicians who are mostly private pay and only need core tools: client portal, scheduling, telehealth, basic documentation, and marketing tools. It can work for occasional insurance, but it’s the least cost-effective tier for billing: $0.50 per electronic claim and $0.25 per manual insurance status check.
A realistic fit for the Starter plan is a part-time, telehealth-first, cash-pay solo therapist that submits only a handful of insurance claims per month.
The Starter plan stops making sense as soon as you want time-savers and more customization. Appointment reminders are telehealth-only on Starter, and you don’t get secure messaging, a client waitlist, customizable notes/assessments/treatment plans, or Wiley Treatment Planners. Starter is also solo-practice only. Groups of providers require the Plus plan.
Essential Plan – $79 monthly
SimplePractice’s Essential plan fits solo clinicians who want SimplePractice to save time, in addition to the basics. It’s usually the best fit for a typical solo practice doing a mix of telehealth + private pay + some insurance, because it unlocks the features most clinicians eventually want (reminders, messaging, waitlist, and more customization control). Insurance billing on the Essential plan includes 10 claims/month, then per-claim pricing starts at $0.35/claim. Manual insurance status checks also cost less than Starter at $0.15/check.
A realistic fit for the Essential plan is a full-time solo therapist who wants appointment reminders, client messaging, and more control over documentation, and submits insurance claims regularly but doesn’t need additional provider accounts.
The Essential plan stops making sense when you’re filing enough claims that Plus starts paying for itself (somewhere around 150 claims per month, unless you do a lot of status checks), when you run groups often enough to want group telehealth included instead of as an add-on, or when you plan to add clinicians later (adding clinicians requires Plus).
Plus Plan – $99 monthly
SimplePractice’s Plus plan fits clinicians who are more insurance-forward, want the most complete feature set, run groups regularly, or have multiple providers in their practice. It can be worth it surprisingly early if you bill insurance consistently because it includes more claims up front and lowers per-claim costs. It’s also the only plan that supports groups of providers. Insurance on Plus includes 35 electronic claims/month, then per-claim pricing starts at $0.25/claim. Manual insurance status checks are included on this tier.
A realistic fit for the Plus plan is a solo or small group of therapists who bill insurance for a meaningful portion of sessions (or runs regular groups), want fewer billing headaches, and don’t want to outgrow their plan within a year.
The Plus plan stops making sense if you’re mostly private pay and don’t plan to bill insurance regularly or run groups—at that point, Essential usually covers what you need at a lower monthly cost.
A Note for Group Practices
SimplePractice is solo-practice only on its Starter and Essential plans. If you plan to add clinicians to your practice, you’ll need the Plus plan, and pricing becomes the base plan plus a per-clinician rate (starting at +$74 per clinician).
Additional SimplePractice Costs to Budget For
Even on the right plan, these are the common extras that change what you’ll really pay for SimplePractice:
- Card processing: 3.15% + $0.30 per successful transaction
- AI Note Taker: $35/month per clinician
- ePrescribe: $49/month per clinician + a one-time $89 setup fee
- Group telehealth (Essential only): $20/month per clinician add-on; included with Plus
- Insurance usage-based fees: per-claim costs (after included claims) and status-check costs (depends on plan)
User Reviews
Across review platforms, SimplePractice’s user feedback is largely consistent. Clinicians tend to express strong satisfaction with usability and day-to-day workflows, while some share frustration around pricing vs. value, support responsiveness, and long-term scalability as practices grow. Taken together, these reviews reinforce SimplePractice as a reliable, easy-to-adopt EHR for therapy-focused solo and small practices, while highlighting real tradeoffs for insurance-heavy, multi-provider, or medically complex practices.
Trustpilot | 3.4 out of 5 stars | ~1,580 reviews
- Positive reviews most often come from solo clinicians and small practices who value SimplePractice’s ease of use and all-in-one design. Long-term users frequently mention reliable scheduling, documentation, billing, and telehealth, along with time savings from having core workflows centralized in one system.
- Critical reviews most often focus on customer support responsiveness, particularly when urgent billing or account issues arise. Pricing increases over time are another frequent concern, especially for established clinicians who feel pushed into higher tiers for features they don’t use. A smaller but notable subset of negative reviews comes from prescribers or medically integrated practices, who report that SimplePractice lacks deeper medical record functionality and can be difficult to configure for Medicare billing.
SoftwareAdvice | 4.6 out of 5 stars | ~2,800 reviews
- Positive reviews on SoftwareAdvice are overwhelmingly positive and tend to come from therapy-focused clinicians. Users consistently praise SimplePractice for being intuitive, quick to learn, and well-suited for solo and small practices. Scheduling, documentation, client communication, and telehealth are frequently cited as reliable and easy to use, with many reviewers noting meaningful time savings after switching.
- Critical reviews on SoftwareAdvice are less frequent but generally center on pricing as practices grow and limitations for more complex workflows. Some users mention that advanced reporting, integrations, or medical features may fall short for larger group practices or clinics with prescribers.
Apple App Store | High aggregate ratings across all apps
SimplePractice’s mobile apps receive consistently high ratings on the Apple App Store, with strong adoption across both clinician and client-facing tools. As of this review:
- Clinician app: 4.7 out of 5 stars (34K+ reviews)
- Client portal app: 4.9 out of 5 stars (24K+ reviews)
- Telehealth app: 4.7 out of 5 stars (330K+ ratings)
These ratings suggest that SimplePractice’s mobile experience is generally stable and well-received, particularly for scheduling, telehealth access, and basic account management Taken together, the App Store ratings reinforce SimplePractice’s strength in user experience and accessibility, especially on the client side.
Alternatives & Competitors
SimplePractice is a strong all-around EHR, but it isn’t the best fit for every practice. Below are some of the most relevant SimplePractice alternatives for clinicians comparing workflow fit, pricing, and long-term flexibility.
My Best Practice
- Cost: ~$59/month for solo setup with telehealth and no insurance billing
- Compared to SimplePractice: Lower per-claim insurance billing costs, but less modern design and fewer client-facing tools
My Best Practice gives therapists strong documentation tools, with notes, assessments, and treatment plans that can all be customized in simple, intuitive ways. Built-in agendas, homework, and progress-tracking fields make it easier to plan and run well-structured sessions, which appeals to clinicians who want their EHR to actively support session flow and clinical organization.
SimplePractice, by comparison, offers a broader set of business and client-facing tools. Its mobile apps are nicer to use for clinicians and clients, and features like the website builder, therapist directory, client announcements, and advanced calendar tools reduce the need for third-party services. For a solo practice that offers both in-person and telehealth sessions and only sees cash-pay clients, they’d spend about $79 monthly with SimplePractice Essential but only about $59 monthly with My Best Practice.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Strong session structure tools (agendas, homework, progress tracking)
- Intuitive customization for notes and treatment plans
- Lower monthly cost for core clinical features ($59 vs. $79+ for SimplePractice)
- Less emphasis on add-ons and upsells
Cons - Mobile apps are more limited
- No built-in marketing tools (website, directory, announcements)
- Interface feels more utilitarian
- Smaller overall feature ecosystem
Carepatron
- Cost: ~$29–$39/month for a solo setup with telehealth and basic billing
- Compared to SimplePractice: Much lower monthly cost, but fewer automation and business tools
Carepatron offers a full and capable EHR at a significantly lower price point than SimplePractice. Scheduling, documentation, telehealth, billing, and a client portal are all included without requiring higher-tier upgrades, which makes it appealing for solo clinicians focused on keeping overhead low.
SimplePractice, by comparison, offers more automation, more refined client-facing tools, and stronger practice management features. A solo clinician using SimplePractice’s Essential plan would typically spend about $79 monthly, while a similar setup in Carepatron often lands closer to $29–$39 monthly. But, Carepatron’s reporting, workflows, and overall feature set are more limited, and it lacks built-in marketing tools like a website builder or therapist directory.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Very low monthly cost for a full EHR
- Telehealth and billing included without upgrades
- Large shared template library
- Simple setup for solo practices
Cons - Limited automation and reporting
- No built-in marketing tools
- Fewer advanced practice management features
Sessions Health
- Cost: ~$39–$59/month for a solo setup with telehealth and insurance billing
- Compared to SimplePractice: Lower monthly cost and simpler workflows, but fewer automation and business tools
Sessions Health focuses on providing a straightforward EHR without unnecessary layers of complexity. Core features like scheduling, documentation, billing, and a client portal are easy to use and quick to learn, which appeals to clinicians who want their EHR to stay out of the way.
Compared to SimplePractice, Sessions Health is typically cheaper for solo clinicians, even once telehealth and insurance billing are factored in. A comparable solo setup might cost around $39–$59 per month with Sessions Health, versus about $79 per month on SimplePractice’s Essential plan. Sessions Health offers fewer automation tools, limited customization, and no built-in marketing features like a directory or website builder.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Lower monthly cost for solo practices
- Simple, easy-to-learn interface
- Straightforward insurance billing
- Minimal setup and maintenance
Cons - Limited automation and customization
- No built-in marketing tools
- Fewer reporting and analytics options
- Less scalable for growing practices
Practice Better
- Cost: $65/month for a solo clinician on the Professional plan
- Compared to SimplePractice: Stronger program and engagement tools, but typically more expensive once insurance billing is added
Practice Better goes beyond standard therapy documentation and billing. It includes tools for programs, courses, wellness tracking, habit and goal monitoring, and client engagement features that SimplePractice doesn’t offer. Most therapy practices will land on the Professional plan at $65 per month for a solo clinician.
Compared to SimplePractice, Practice Better is usually the more expensive option once you factor in insurance billing, which requires a third-party service like Claim.MD. SimplePractice’s closest comparable plan is Essential at $79 per month, which includes built-in insurance billing (with per-claim fees), a broader set of practice management tools, and stronger marketing features like its therapist directory and website builder. For clinicians running hybrid therapy-plus-wellness practices, Practice Better’s additional engagement tools may justify the higher total cost.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Strong tools for programs, courses, and client engagement
- Well-suited for hybrid therapy and wellness models
- Built-in goal, habit, and progress tracking
- Modern, client-friendly interface
Cons - Insurance billing requires a third-party service
- Higher total cost for insurance-based practices
- Fewer built-in marketing tools
Why You Can Trust My Review
This review is based on repeated, hands-on use of SimplePractice over several years. I’ve been reviewing and updating coverage of SimplePractice since 2022 and have returned to the platform multiple times to test new features, pricing changes, and workflow updates as the product has evolved.
Across those review cycles, I’ve worked through core practice workflows including scheduling, documentation, telehealth, insurance billing, and client management. I’ve created test clients, run mock sessions, and evaluated how SimplePractice performs in realistic day-to-day scenarios. Because I’ve also tested and reviewed a wide range of mental health EHRs, I’m able to evaluate SimplePractice in context.
History & News
Year Founded: 2012
Founders: Howard Spector, Ralph Zimmerman
Headquarters: Santa Monica, California
SimplePractice was founded in 2012and grew rapidly as an EHR designed specifically for mental health and wellness practices.1 Over time, it expanded from a solo-practice tool into a full practice management platform, adding features like telehealth, insurance billing, client portals, and marketing tools.
In August 2023, SimplePractice announced a strategic purchase of key assets from Luminello, an electronic medical records and practice management platform primarily used in psychiatric settings.2 The acquisition signaled an effort to expand SimplePractice’s capabilities for prescribers and medication-management workflows.
SimplePractice operates as part of EngageSmart, a customer engagement and payments software company. In January 2024, EngageSmart completed a take-private acquisition by Vista Equity Partners, making SimplePractice part of a privately held software portfolio backed by a large enterprise technology investor.3
Privacy Policy Updates & Provider Concerns
In 2023, SimplePractice updated its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, requiring providers and clients to accept revised language in order to continue using the platform.4,5 The updates prompted widespread discussion among clinicians online, particularly around how data may be used in aggregated or de-identified form and how clearly those practices were communicated.
SimplePractice states in its privacy policy that it does not sell protected health information and that it remains HIPAA-aligned. The company also indicates that any data used for analytics or product improvement is de-identified and aggregated.
While many clinicians accepted these clarifications, the episode underscored broader concerns within the mental health community around data governance, transparency, and how EHR vendors communicate changes to privacy and data-use practices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SimplePractice worth the cost for solo therapists?
SimplePractice is often worth the cost for solo therapists who want an all-in-one system. For a typical solo clinician using telehealth and billing insurance occasionally, most end up on the Essential plan at $79 per month, plus per-claim fees. That’s more expensive than some competitors, but it includes features that many lower-cost EHRs charge for separately.
Compared to alternatives like My Best Practice or Practice Better, SimplePractice generally costs more at the base level but includes stronger scheduling tools, better mobile apps, and built-in business features like a website builder and therapist directory. Solo therapists who are mostly private pay and want minimal features may find better value elsewhere, but clinicians who bill insurance regularly or want a platform they’re unlikely to outgrow often find SimplePractice’s higher monthly cost easier to justify long term.
Is SimplePractice HIPAA compliant?
Yes. SimplePractice is designed to be HIPAA compliant and includes standard safeguards such as encrypted data storage, secure access controls, audit logs, and HIPAA-compliant telehealth. It also offers Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) to covered entities as required.
Like with any EHR, HIPAA compliance also depends on how the platform is used. Clinicians are responsible for configuring access appropriately, using secure devices and passwords, and following best practices when communicating with clients.
How Do I Cancel My SimplePractice Subscription?
Canceling a subscription with SimplePractice is easy. Simply navigate to the settings tab, select “Subscription Information,” and then select “Cancel my account.”
ChoosingTherapy.com strives to provide our readers with mental health content that is accurate and actionable. We have high standards for what can be cited within our articles. Acceptable sources include government agencies, universities and colleges, scholarly journals, industry and professional associations, and other high-integrity sources of mental health journalism. Learn more by reviewing our full editorial policy.
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SimplePractice. (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved from: https://www.simplepractice.com/about-us/
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Nasdaq. (2023, August 3). SimplePractice announces strategic purchase of assets of Luminello. Retrieved from: https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/simplepractice-announces-strategic-purchase-of-assets-of-luminello-2023-08-03
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BusinessWire. (2024, January 26). Vista completes acquisition of EngageSmart. Retrieved from: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240126667600/en/Vista-Equity-Partners-Completes-Acquisition-of-EngageSmart
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SimplePractice. (n.d.). Privacy policy. https://www.simplepractice.com/privacy/
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SimplePractice. (n.d.). Terms of service.Retrieved from: https://www.simplepractice.com/terms/
We regularly update the articles on ChoosingTherapy.com to ensure we continue to reflect scientific consensus on the topics we cover, to incorporate new research into our articles, and to better answer our audience’s questions. When our content undergoes a significant revision, we summarize the changes that were made and the date on which they occurred. We also record the authors and medical reviewers who contributed to previous versions of the article. Read more about our editorial policies here.
Author: Matthew Church, MS
Medical Reviewer: Melissa Boudin, PsyD
Primary Changes: Rewrote entire article based on most recent experience with SimplePractice, updated style and re-scored based on most updated scoring criteria.
Author: Matthew Church, MS (No change)
Medical Reviewer: Melissa Boudin, PsyD (No change)
Primary Changes: Fact checked and updated where necessary.
Author: Matthew Church, MS (No change)
Medical Reviewer: Melissa Boudin, PsyD (No change)
Primary Changes: Added review summary block, new format for star rating breakdown, and all related page features.
Author: Matthew Church, MS
Medical Reviewer: Melissa Boudin, PsyD
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