SimplePractice vs TherapyNotes vs Jane Compared

SimplePractice vs TherapyNotes vs Jane: EHR for Therapists Compared SimplePractice, TherapyNotes, and Jane are electronic health record (EHR) and practice-management platforms built for therapists — they handle scheduling, documentation, billing, and client communication in one system. Each supports a Business Associate Agreement, which matters because all three store protected health information and need a signed BAA with any vendor that touches that data . This is a different category of tool from pair your EHR with review monitoring, which is where this comparison ends up — an EHR manages clinical and billing workflows, while a separate tool tracks how your practice appears publicly on Google and elsewhere. The two don't overlap, but they do work together. What SimplePractice, TherapyNotes and Jane offer All three cover the same core job — scheduling, progress notes, billing and claims, client portals, and telehealth — with differences in interface, specialty-specific templates, integrations, and which additional features (like a built-in client-facing directory or marketing tools) are bundled versus sold separately . SimplePractice and TherapyNotes are both widely used across individual and group therapy practices in the US; Jane is used across a broader range of health and wellness professions beyond mental health, which shows up in some of its template and workflow choices . None of the three is a one-size-fits-all answer — the right pick depends on practice size, specialty, and which specific billing or documentation workflows matter most to you. A few dimensions are worth comparing directly with each vendor rather than taking any secondhand summary at face value: how insurance claims submission and eligibility checking work (built in versus requiring a separate clearinghouse), whether group-practice features like supervisor oversight and per-clinician billing are included or an add-on, how client-facing scheduling and intake paperwork are handled, and what the telehealth video experience actually looks like from both the clinician and client side . A solo practitioner evaluating these platforms is often optimizing for a different set of features than a group practice with multiple clinicians and a front-desk staff member handling billing, so a feature that's a selling point for one practice type may be irrelevant to another. It's also worth asking each vendor directly about data export: if you ever switch platforms, how easily can you get your client records, notes, and billing history out in a usable format. This isn't a dramatic concern most practices think about at signup, but it matters enough at the point of switching that it's worth a two-minute question up front rather than a surprise later . Pricing Published pricing for all three platforms changes often enough, and varies enough by plan tier and add-ons, that any specific number is a liability to publish without a source and a date attached . Treat any pricing comparison you read, including this one, as a starting point for checking current numbers on each vendor's own pricing page rather than a figure to budget around directly. Beyond the headline subscription price, ask about costs that tend to show up later: per-clinician pricing for group practices, fees for electronic claims submission or clearinghouse connections, credit card processing rates for client payments, and whether telehealth video is included or billed separately . Two platforms with similar headline pricing can end up costing noticeably different amounts once a practice's actual claims volume and payment processing are factored in, which is only visible by asking each vendor for a total cost estimate based on your specific practice size rather than comparing list prices alone. Business Associate Agreements (BAA) with your EHR Because these platforms store clinical notes, billing information, and other protected health information, they fall under HIPAA's Business Associate requirements, and most offer a BAA as part of their standard or higher-tier plans . Ask directly which tier includes the BAA and what it actually covers before assuming it's bundled into whatever plan you're evaluating — this is one detail worth confirming in writing rather than inferring from marketing copy. A signed BAA is a baseline requirement, not a one-time checkbox you can forget about after signing up. If a platform changes its service offering, adds a new integration or feature that touches client data differently, or you add a new staff member who needs access, it's worth confirming the BAA still covers the actual way you're using the platform today. The same applies to any third-party integration you connect to your EHR — a scheduling widget, a payment processor, a fax-to-email service — each one that touches PHI needs its own BAA coverage, whether that comes from the EHR vendor's own agreement extending to the integration or a separate agreement with that third party . The same question applies to any other vendor that touches client data in any way, not just the EHR itself. A practice's review-monitoring tool is a useful point of contrast here: review monitoring tracks public reviews and mentions, not clinical records or billing data, so it doesn't sit in the same category of concern as an EHR . That distinction is worth understanding clearly rather than assuming — ask any vendor directly what data it touches and whether a BAA applies, rather than treating "mental health industry" as a blanket signal that every tool needs one . A tool that only reads publicly posted reviews and public directory listings is working with information that's already public, which is a meaningfully different category from a tool that stores session notes or billing records. Choosing between them If you're a solo practitioner just starting a private practice, the deciding factor is often simplicity of setup and whether the platform's default templates match your specialty well enough that you're not rebuilding intake forms and note templates from scratch — see how to start a private practice in therapy for where EHR selection fits into the broader startup checklist alongside licensing, liability insurance, and insurance credentialing. If you're running or joining a group practice, weigh per-clinician pricing, supervisor and oversight features, and how billing rolls up across multiple providers more heavily, since those are the features that tend to differ most between platforms built primarily for solo practitioners versus those built with groups in mind. None of the three platforms is inherently the "right" choice independent of your specific practice — a feature that's a dealbreaker for a group practice with complex supervision needs may never come up for a solo telehealth-only practitioner. A short trial or demo with your actual intake and billing workflow in mind, rather than a feature checklist alone, tends to surface the differences that matter more reliably than any written comparison. Most of these platforms offer a free trial period, and running your actual initial client intake workflow through that trial — not just clicking through the settings — is the fastest way to find out whether a platform's templates and defaults genuinely fit your specialty or will need ongoing customization. If you're already using an insurance-credentialing platform like Headway or Alma, check how that integrates (or doesn't) with whichever EHR you're considering, since some practices end up duplicating client intake information across two systems that don't talk to each other, which creates both extra work and a second place where a data-entry error can slip in . See Headway vs Alma for more on how that category of platform fits alongside an EHR rather than replacing it. What to ask before switching EHR platforms Practices already using one of these three platforms sometimes consider switching after a pricing change, a feature gap, or simple frustration with the interface, and the switching decision deserves more scrutiny than the initial choice did, because an active practice has client records, in-progress treatment, and billing history riding on the migration going smoothly. Before committing to a switch, get specific, written answers from the new platform on: how existing client records and notes migrate, whether there's a transition period where you're effectively running both platforms at once, how active insurance claims in progress on the old platform get resolved, and whether your BAA coverage has any gap during the transition . A practical middle path some practices use is running a new platform in parallel for new clients only, while existing clients stay on the original system until their treatment naturally concludes or a mutually convenient point to migrate arrives. This avoids the highest-risk scenario — moving active clients' records mid-treatment — at the cost of running two systems simultaneously for a period. Pairing an EHR with review monitoring An EHR keeps your clinical and billing operations running; it has no visibility into what's happening on Google, Psychology Today, or anywhere else a prospective client might be reading about your practice before they ever book a session. A review and mention inbox covers that separate, public-facing side — watching for new reviews across platforms and catching anything that needs a careful, privacy-conscious reply, per how therapists should respond to online reviews. Running both together means the clinical side of your practice and the public-facing side are each handled by the tool actually built for it, rather than trying to stretch an EHR into a role it wasn't designed for. This pairing matters more in this industry than in most others, precisely because the public-facing side carries real privacy risk of its own — a careless reply to a Google review can disclose a treatment relationship just as surely as a data breach in an EHR can disclose a diagnosis, even though the two live in completely different systems. Therapist reputation management: an ethics-first guide covers how monitoring, directory consistency, and reply discipline fit together as one practice-wide approach. For a related but distinct comparison, see Headway vs Alma, which covers insurance-credentialing platforms rather than EHRs, and Psychology Today profile tips for the discovery-directory side of a practice's online presence. Common questions about EHR selection for therapists Can I switch EHR platforms without losing client records? Most platforms offer some form of data export, but the format and completeness of that export varies, and migrating active clients mid-treatment adds real friction regardless of how clean the export is . Ask about this before signing up, not after you've decided to leave, since the answer affects how much leverage you have if a platform changes its pricing or features in a way you don't like later. Do I need a separate BAA for telehealth video if it's built into my EHR? If the telehealth video feature is part of the same platform and covered under its existing BAA, a separate agreement typically isn't needed, but if you use a third-party video tool instead of the EHR's built-in option, that third party needs its own BAA coverage . Does an EHR with a BAA mean my practice is automatically HIPAA compliant? No — a BAA with your EHR vendor is one necessary piece, not a substitute for your practice's own HIPAA policies, staff training, and handling of records and communications outside the EHR itself. A compliant platform used carelessly doesn't make a practice compliant, and this is a question worth discussing with your own legal or compliance advisor rather than inferring from any vendor's marketing claims . Can I use a free scheduling or note-taking tool instead of a dedicated EHR to save money early on? Generic scheduling and note tools that aren't built for healthcare typically don't offer a BAA and aren't designed with HIPAA's documentation and access-control requirements in mind, which makes them a risky substitute even for a very small or just-starting practice . The administrative savings rarely outweigh the compliance exposure, and migrating off a non-compliant tool later, once you have active client records in it, is harder than starting with a proper EHR from day one. Where review monitoring fits in your setup checklist If you're building out a new practice's tech stack, the EHR decision tends to come early, alongside liability insurance and a decision on insurance credentialing — see how to start a private practice in therapy for that fuller checklist. Review and reputation monitoring is a reasonable addition to that same setup phase rather than an afterthought, since a Google Business Profile and any directory listings tend to start accumulating visibility (and occasionally reviews) as soon as they're created, whether or not anyone is actively watching them. Setting up review monitoring at the same time as your EHR means you're not retroactively trying to figure out what's already been said about your practice once a prospective client mentions having read reviews — you're already watching, and already have a reply approach in place that never confirms a client relationship, per how therapists should respond to online reviews. The two systems never need to share data or integrate with each other; they just need to both be running from the start. Every review, mention and AI answer in one place → Try Tailwind free. Tailwind runs $5 a month per tool, or $50 a month for the Full plan covering everything, with the first month free and no card required to start.