How we picked
Therapy notes are not medical visit notes. A 50-minute session is mostly conversation, the content is unusually sensitive, and clients may be recorded talking about trauma, relationships or substance use. That changes what matters in an AI scribe. We looked at scribes in our directory, including those built into therapy EHRs, and read each vendor's help and pricing pages in November 2026.
- Therapy note formats. SOAP, DAP and BIRP progress notes, treatment plans and intake summaries, not just medical SOAP notes.
- Consent tooling. A ready-made client consent form or script, and clear guidance for states that require all-party consent to record.
- What happens to the audio and transcript. How quickly audio is deleted, whether transcripts are kept, and whether they are used to improve the product.
- Telehealth and in-person capture. Most therapists do both.
- Couples and groups. Many scribes still handle only one-to-one sessions.
- Where the note ends up. Drafting inside your EHR saves copy and paste and keeps the record in one place.
The best AI scribes for therapists
1. SimplePractice Note Taker: best for SimplePractice users and couples or group work
SimplePractice sells Note Taker as an add-on that drafts a progress note from a recorded session, using your previous note for the client as a style guide. It works with SimplePractice Telehealth (up to 4 hours) and in person through the mobile app (up to 2.5 hours), and SimplePractice says it can be used for couple and group appointments. Clients see nothing different during a video session. SimplePractice provides a Consent for Use of AI Tools form and flags states that require consent to record. As of November 2026, Note Taker costs $35 per clinician per month after a 30-day free trial, or comes inside Care Aide at $59. The drawback: since June 17, 2026, new Note Taker users are opted in by default to SimplePractice keeping de-identified transcripts to improve its AI. Audio is deleted once the transcript is made, and you can opt out per clinician, client or session.
2. TherapyNotes TherapyFuel: best for TherapyNotes practices that want more than a scribe
TherapyNotes bundles its AI tools as TherapyFuel. TherapyFuel Scribe transcribes in-person or TherapyNotes Telehealth sessions, and TherapyFuel can draft progress notes from the transcript or from a short summary you type. It also drafts treatment plans, pre-session summaries and contact notes from secure messages. ReFuel lets you regenerate sections of TherapyNotes, SOAP, DAP, BIRP and custom templates, and Clinical Voice settings tune tone and length. As of November 2026, TherapyFuel is $40 per clinician per month, and you choose which clinicians subscribe. The main drawback: TherapyNotes says TherapyFuel is not yet available for group therapy sessions.
3. ICANotes AI Scribe: best for ICANotes users who want drafts held for review
ICANotes offers an AI Scribe for in-person and telehealth sessions; for telehealth you share the browser tab with audio. Output is saved as a draft and only enters the record after the clinician reviews and accepts it, and it works on Progress Note and Complete Evaluation note types. ICANotes puts consent squarely on the clinician: its help center says to explain that the session may be recorded and that AI drafts the note, and not to use the feature for a client who does not consent. Its marketing says audio is discarded after the note is generated. As of November 2026, the AI Scribe is $49 per user per month on top of an ICANotes plan. The drawback is that it is limited to two note types and only useful if ICANotes is your EHR.
4. Freed: best standalone scribe for therapists on other EHRs
Freed is a general clinical scribe with a mental health workflow: you can upload your own templates and use Learn Format to match your style, set up separate intake and ongoing-session structures, and ask it to make notes more general or strip identifying details. It shows prior visit summaries, goals and risk themes before each session. Freed provides a patient script for asking permission, can insert a consent statement into each note, and says audio is deleted automatically after the note is complete. As of November 2026, Starter is $39 a month for up to 40 notes, Core adds unlimited notes, and Premier, which adds push to browser-based EHRs, is $104 a month billed annually or $119 monthly. There is a 7-day free trial. The drawback is that it is not built only for therapy, and EHR push costs the top tier.
5. Heidi: best for trying an AI scribe free
Heidi offers a free seat with unlimited transcription and a weekly allowance of other features, which makes it an easy way to see whether AI notes suit your practice. Its template community includes psychologist session notes with mental state examination and risk sections, counselling templates, DAP and BIRP formats and EMDR notes, and Heidi says it can organize dialogue from multi-person sessions. As of November 2026, Heidi's US pricing page offers a 14-day trial of the paid Clinician seat but shows no dollar price; Teams pricing is through sales. The drawback is that it is a general medical scribe without a therapy EHR behind it, so notes are copied into your system.
What therapists should look for in an AI scribe
- Your consent form. Get written, specific consent before the first recorded session. Several states require all parties to consent to recording, and some now require clients to be told when AI is used in their care. Use the vendor's form as a starting point and check your state board's rules.
- Audio and transcript retention. Ask how long audio and transcripts are kept, whether any copy is retained to improve the product, and whether you can opt out. SimplePractice deletes transcripts after 7 days or at note sign-off for users who opt out of retention.
- Psychotherapy notes vs progress notes. If you keep separate process notes, decide where they live. A scribe should feed your progress note, not create a second record that blurs the line between the two.
- Groups and couples. Confirm the scribe supports them before you rely on it. TherapyFuel does not yet handle group sessions.
- Insurance-ready output. Drafts must still show medical necessity, interventions and response. Review every note before signing.
- Clients who decline. You need an easy way to turn the scribe off for one client or one session.
AI scribe pricing (what therapists typically pay)
As of November 2026, scribes built into therapy EHRs cost $35 to $49 per clinician per month: SimplePractice Note Taker $35, TherapyNotes TherapyFuel $40 and ICANotes AI Scribe $49, each on top of the EHR subscription. Standalone scribes run from $39 a month for Freed Starter (40 notes) to $104 to $119 a month for Freed Premier with EHR push. Heidi has a free tier, with paid seats quoted through its pricing page. Most vendors offer a free trial of 7 to 30 days, which is long enough to test consent workflow and note quality on real sessions.