The 7 Best AI Scribes for Therapists in 2026 (Honestly Compared)

If you became a therapist to sit with people — not to spend your evenings typing SOAP notes — AI scribes are the single most useful thing to come out of the current AI wave. They listen to (or read a summary of) a session and hand you a draft progress note in seconds. Used well, they give clinicians back three to six hours a week.

The category is also crowded and confusing. We track 21 AI scribes in our directory; these seven are the ones therapists ask about most.

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Quick comparison

Mentalyc — best for insurance-heavy practices

Mentalyc is the most established scribe built only for mental health. It drafts notes in SOAP, DAP, BIRP and dozens of therapy-specific formats, builds treatment plans, and tracks client progress across sessions — genuinely useful when an insurance audit or supervisor asks you to show your work.

Its privacy posture is a real differentiator: audio is auto-deleted within days, notes are de-identified, and a BAA is signed at signup.

The catch: it stays narrowly focused on documentation. If you want scheduling or billing in the same tool, look elsewhere. The cheapest tier also caps you at 40 notes per month — fine for a small caseload, tight for a full one.

Best for: insurance-billing therapists who need audit-ready documentation. Try Mentalyc

Upheal — best analytics (and the best free plan in mental health)

Upheal is the most ambitious tool on this list. Beyond solid notes in every common format (including EMDR and couples), it analyzes sessions — talking ratios, themes, cadence — and is steadily growing into a lightweight AI-native EHR with scheduling, telehealth, and billing.

Pricing is unusual and friendly: a real free plan, then $1 per session capped around $69/month, so a light month costs you little.

The catch: the analytics are fascinating but not essential, and if you only want notes, the extra platform features can feel like scope creep.

Best for: therapists who are curious about their own process, and anyone who wants to start free. Try Upheal

Berries — best whole-workflow assistant

Berries covers session prep, documentation, treatment planning, and follow-up in one flow. It doesn't store session audio at all, signs a BAA at signup, and its mobile recording flow is one of the smoothest we've seen. Around $39/month puts it mid-pack on price.

The catch: younger company than Mentalyc or SimplePractice, and fewer EHR integrations than the general-medical scribes.

Best for: clinicians who want one assistant across the whole session lifecycle. Try Berries

Heidi Health — best free tier, period

Heidi is a general-medical ambient scribe processing millions of consults a week, and its free plan includes unlimited notes — easily the most generous on this list. Paid tiers (from ~$99/mo) add EHR integrations including Epic and athenahealth.

The catch: it isn't mental-health-specialized. You'll spend time customizing templates to get DAP or BIRP output that feels right, and therapy-specific niceties (treatment plans, progress tracking) are thinner.

Best for: budget-conscious therapists willing to tune templates — and anyone who wants to try AI notes without paying. Try Heidi

Freed — best self-serve simplicity

Freed is beloved by independent clinicians for a reason: transparent pricing ($39/mo for 40 notes, $79/mo unlimited), zero audio retention after the note is generated, a BAA included with every subscription, and templates that learn your style. It just works.

The catch: like Heidi, it's general-clinical rather than therapy-specific, and there's no free tier — only a trial.

Best for: solo practitioners who want zero friction and predictable billing. Try Freed

Twofold and AutoNotes — best on a tight budget

Twofold and AutoNotes (from ~$15/mo) both target behavioral health specifically and cost roughly half of the mainstream options. AutoNotes is notable for generating notes from a short typed summary — no recording required — which sidesteps consent conversations entirely, and it supports both US HIPAA and Canadian PHIPA practices.

The catch: simpler drafts and fewer bells and whistles. Many therapists start here and upgrade later.

Which AI scribe should you pick?

• Solo, cash-pay, want simple: Freed or Berries
• Insurance-heavy, audit-conscious: Mentalyc
• Want to start free: Upheal (mental-health-specific) or Heidi (unlimited free notes)
• Tight budget: AutoNotes
• Group practice on an EHR already: check whether your EHR has a native AI add-on first — see our EHR comparison

Whichever you choose: sign the BAA before recording a single real session, and tell clients you're using an AI scribe. Our HIPAA guide for AI notes covers exactly what to check.

Browse all 21 scribes with pricing and HIPAA status in the AI Scribes & Notes category, or see every tool in the directory.

FAQ

Do AI scribes work for telehealth sessions? Yes — all seven capture telehealth audio, and several (Upheal, Mentalyc) were designed telehealth-first. Freed and Heidi also handle in-person ambient capture well.

Do I need client consent to use an AI scribe? Practically, yes — and ethically it's the right call. Recording consent requirements vary by state, and a documented consent conversation protects you. AutoNotes-style summary-based tools avoid recording entirely.

Will insurance auditors accept AI-drafted notes? Auditors care that notes are accurate, signed, and support medical necessity — not who typed the first draft. You remain responsible for reviewing and finalizing every note.

What happens to the session audio? It varies — this is the question to ask every vendor. Freed and Berries don't retain audio; Mentalyc auto-deletes within days. Always confirm retention policy in writing.