Mentalyc and Upheal are the two AI note-takers therapists compare most โ and for good reason. Both were built exclusively for mental health (unlike general-medical scribes such as Freed or Heidi), both sign a BAA, and both produce genuinely usable notes in SOAP, DAP, BIRP and therapy-specific formats. But they've evolved in different directions, and the right pick depends on how you practice.
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At a glance
| Mentalyc | Upheal | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $14.99/mo (annual, 40 notes) | Free plan, then $1/session |
| Price ceiling | Pro tiers ~$39+/mo | Capped around $69/mo |
| Free plan | Trial only | Yes โ genuinely useful |
| Note formats | SOAP, DAP, BIRP + dozens of therapy formats | SOAP, DAP, BIRP, EMDR, couples + more |
| Treatment plans | Yes | Yes |
| Session analytics | Progress tracking across sessions | Talking ratios, sentiment, themes, cadence |
| Platform ambitions | Stays focused on documentation | Growing into an AI-native EHR (scheduling, telehealth, billing) |
| Audio handling | Auto-deleted within days; notes de-identified | BAA-covered processing |
| BAA | Yes, at signup | Yes |
Where Mentalyc wins
Documentation depth. Mentalyc has been doing therapy notes longer than almost anyone, and it shows in the format library โ dozens of note types, psychotherapy note summaries, and treatment plans that hold up when someone else reads them.
Audit-readiness. It tracks client progress across sessions in a way that maps to what insurance reviewers and supervisors actually ask for. If you bill insurance heavily, this is the killer feature.
Privacy posture. Audio auto-deleted within days, de-identified notes, BAA at signup. Mentalyc leads with privacy, and for a lot of clinicians that settles it.
Entry price. $14.99/month (annual, 40-note cap) is one of the lowest paid entry points among serious mental-health scribes โ a good fit for part-time caseloads.
Where Upheal wins
The free plan. Upheal's free tier is real, not a demo. For a therapist who wants to trial AI documentation for a month before spending anything, this is the lowest-risk path in the category.
Usage-based pricing. $1 per session, capped around $69/month, means a light month costs you almost nothing โ nice for variable caseloads, group practices with per-clinician variation, or interns.
Session analytics. Nothing else in the category does what Upheal's analytics do: talking ratios, themes, sentiment, and cadence across a course of treatment. It's the closest thing to a mirror for your own process.
One-platform trajectory. Upheal is adding scheduling, telehealth, and billing. If you'd rather run your practice in one AI-native tool than stitch a scribe onto an EHR, Upheal is building toward that.
Where each falls short
Mentalyc is documentation-only โ no scheduling, no billing โ and the entry tier's 40-note cap disappears fast with a full caseload, pushing you toward the ~$39+ Pro tiers.
Upheal can feel like more product than you asked for. If you want notes and nothing else, the analytics and platform features are pleasant clutter, and per-session pricing on a very full caseload lands near mainstream subscription prices anyway.
Verdict
- Choose Mentalyc if you bill insurance, care about audit-ready progress tracking, or want the strongest privacy story with the cheapest paid entry point.
- Choose Upheal if you want to start free, like usage-based pricing, are curious about session analytics, or want your scribe to grow into your practice platform.
Honestly, you can't pick badly here โ both are BAA-signing, therapy-specific tools at the top of the category. Trial both against the same (mock) session and see whose drafts sound most like you.
Want more options? See our full AI scribes comparison, browse the AI Scribes category, or start with the best AI tools for therapists overall.
FAQ
Is Mentalyc or Upheal HIPAA compliant? Both sign BAAs and are designed for PHI. Remember that HIPAA compliance is about your setup too โ signed BAA, client consent, reviewed notes. See our HIPAA guide for AI notes.
Can I use them without recording sessions? Yes โ both accept dictated or typed session summaries as input, not just live audio, which many therapists prefer for sensitive sessions.
Which is cheaper for a full caseload? At roughly 25+ sessions/week, Mentalyc's Pro tier (~$39+/mo) usually beats Upheal's capped ~$69/mo. For light or variable caseloads, Upheal's per-session pricing wins.
Do they integrate with my EHR? Both produce copy-paste-ready notes for any EHR rather than deep native integrations. If in-EHR notes matter most, see whether your EHR has a built-in AI add-on โ our EHR comparison covers that.