For independent therapists · sourced comparison · verified June 2026

Before you trust an app with your clients' data, ask it eight questions.

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Run the audit on us first. We answer all eight, in writing.

Most behavioral-health platforms can't answer all eight cleanly. VibeCheck can: executed BAAs, HIPAA-eligible architecture, and an AI office that runs on your own Mac or PC as a free download, so your clients' words never leave your machine. Built by a practicing LCSW who runs his own caseload on it. Then there's the part no one else ships in one product: an AI office that runs your back office, and a client app for the 26 days between sessions.

$77.77/mo per clinician seat · cancel anytime · HIPAA-eligible architecture with executed BAAs

THE AUDIT

Eight questions. Eight straight answers.

The questions a clinician should ask any platform before handing it a client's data. Here are ours, in writing. Ask every other platform the same eight, and compare the answers.

  1. Is there an executed BAA?Yes. PHI in VibeCheck is covered by our executed Business Associate Agreements. Shaula is office staff — she runs on your own computer, never touches PHI, and never speaks to your clients, so she needs none.
  2. Where does the client data actually live?Your clients' clinical data lives in VibeCheck — encrypted at rest, under our executed BAAs. Shaula runs on your own computer and never touches client data.
  3. Is PHI encrypted at rest?Yes, encrypted at rest (pgcrypto) in VibeCheck, with patent-pending PHI isolation.
  4. Who is the AI talking to, the clinician or the client?Shaula speaks only to you, never to your clients. The between-session companion is clinician-governed, with the guardrails set by you, never engagement-seeking, and never an AI therapist.
  5. Can the AI act on its own?No. It drafts; you review and sign every output. It can never finalize a note or send on your behalf.
  6. What's the SOC 2 status?SOC 2 Type II is in progress. We say "in progress," not "certified," on purpose.
  7. Is the AI included, or an add-on?Included. Not a $40–50/mo scribe add-on like the platform tools charge (their own pricing pages, June 2026).
  8. Who built it?A practicing therapist. Matthew Sexton, LCSW, NATC, who runs his own practice on it — the story.

Every answer here is one you can hold us to in writing. The next sections show the rest of the field, named, with their own published numbers.

THE FIELD

We compared the whole field.

Not three cherry-picked names. The twelve a therapist actually weighs: SimplePractice, TherapyNotes, Jane, TheraNest, Sessions Health, Carepatron, Mentalyc, Upheal, Headway, Grow Therapy, Alma, and Quenza. Three honest things came out of it.

1 · Nobody bundles all three

Practice tools, an AI assistant, AND a between-session client app — nobody else puts them in one product, anywhere on that list. Every other route is two or three subscriptions stitched together.

2 · We're not the cheapest, and won't pretend to be

Carepatron has a free tier. Sessions Health is $39/mo (their own pricing pages, verified June 2026). If you want the budget lane, it's real. Our case is one bundle and the 26 days.

3 · The 26 days are ours alone

What a client actually holds between sessions — daily check-ins, an AI companion, a pattern mirror, crisis support. On the client side, the board goes empty for every name above.

THE CLIENT SIDE

The empty board.

Eight things a client could hold in their hands between sessions. Here's who ships them. A ✓ means the client gets it; a ✕ means it isn't on the client side of that product. Verified June 2026 — sources at the bottom of the page.

What the client holds VibeCheck SimplePractice TherapyNotes · Jane · Sessions Health · Carepatron client portals Mentalyc · Upheal AI scribes, no client app Quenza worksheet pathways · no AI · billed per client
Daily check-ins (STOICK method) the daily loop, not a quarterly form pathways are scheduled worksheets, not check-ins
AI companion the client talks to clinician-channeled — your voice, your guardrails no AI
Journaling + pattern mirror
Homework worked in-app, with AI support worksheet pathways — no AI support
Self-assessments auto-scored PHQ-9, GAD-7, 16 instruments assessment library inside pathways
Crisis support always on (988 / 741741) built into the client app, with human escalation no crisis rails
Graduation tail after discharge support doesn't stop at the last session
Pattern notes back to the clinician what changed, what's stuck, what slipped

Everyone else's client experience is a portal for forms and invoices.

Headway, Grow Therapy, Alma, and TheraNest aren't in the grid because their client side is booking and paperwork — same empty board. Quenza is the only one even playing: scheduled worksheet pathways on a per-client meter (Capterra, June 2026).

MONEY

How they charge.

No adjectives. Their own published numbers, dated, with the links at the bottom of the page.

The marketplaces

Headway and Grow Therapy hand you free software, then keep roughly 20–30% of every insurance reimbursement, for as long as you see that client (healthaidaily.com, verified June 2026).

The platforms

SimplePractice runs $49–99/mo, and the AI scribe is about $50/mo on top. TherapyNotes is $69/mo plus $40–50/mo for the AI (their own pricing pages, June 2026).

The meters

Quenza charges per block of clients — about $130/mo at 40 clients (Capterra, June 2026). The bill tracks the caseload.

Ours

VibeCheck: $77.77/mo per clinician seat, exact. One product, one price. AI included. Shaula's office included. The client companion included. Clients unlimited. The price has cents because it's honest. The full VibeCheck EMR is part of the same package at the same seat price — it's the next section down — and every detail is on the pricing page.

THE EMR

And when you're ready to replace the whole thing.

VibeCheck EMR is everything VibeCheck does today plus the entire practice — charting, scheduling, copays, and claims that go from drafted to paid. We take 0% of what you collect: copays run on your own Stripe, insurance reimbursements go from the clearinghouse straight to you, and card processing passes through at the raw 2.9% + 30¢ — never marked up. Claims can cost $0 with your own free clearinghouse (Office Ally is one); the AI drafts every note and you sign every one — it can never finalize. Included in the one $77.77/mo per-seat price — in final validation, coming soon.

0% of your collections — ever

Your money never touches our hands. The marketplaces keep 20–30% of every insurance reimbursement, for as long as you see that client — about $1,600–2,400 a month at $8,000/mo billed (healthaidaily.com, June 2026).

The raw card rate, passed straight through

2.9% + 30¢, never marked up. SimplePractice runs 3.15%, TherapyNotes 3.1% — above the raw rate (their own pages, June 2026). Per-claim can be $0 with your own free clearinghouse.

AI scribe included, not an add-on

The AI drafts every note and you sign every one — it can never finalize. SimplePractice and TherapyNotes sell the scribe as a +$40–50/mo add-on (their own pricing pages, June 2026).

One product, one price. $77.77/mo per clinician seat covers all of it — the companion and Shaula today, the EMR the day it ships. That's not a teaser rate — it's the price.

Every figure above is the company's own published number — SimplePractice's 3.15% and $0.25/claim, TherapyNotes' 3.1% and $0.14/claim, the Headway/Grow 20–30% cut — linked in the sources below, verified June 2026. Clients are unlimited: you're priced on seats, never caseload. And the honest part: VibeCheck EMR isn't open for customers yet. It's built FHIR-native, in final validation, and coming soon. Start on VibeCheck today — same $77.77/mo per seat now and when the EMR ships.

INCLUDED

Shaula comes with it.

The AI office, included in the one $77.77 seat price — the client companion and VibeCheck EMR alike — nine capabilities, from your practice website and weekly blog to decks, proposals, and your newsletter. Bought piece by piece, that stack runs $250–400 a month. Shaula drafts, you approve. Nothing publishes without your yes.

Meet Shaula →
THE CLOSE

Everything. $77.77 a seat.

You read the board. The 26 days are sitting there, empty, on every other platform. Fill them by Friday. One price — $77.77/mo per clinician seat, cancel anytime. VibeCheck EMR is in final validation and coming soon — included in that same seat price the day it ships.

Prices exact, never rounded. HIPAA-eligible architecture with executed BAAs. Patent pending — U.S. Provisional 64/059,214. Built by Matthew Sexton, LCSW, NATC, who runs his own practice on it — the story.

RECEIPTS

Sources, dated.

Every competitor figure on this page is linked to its source — the company's own pages where published; Capterra and healthaidaily.com otherwise.

All verified June 2026 · re-verified before every update

FAQ

Common questions.

What makes VibeCheck different from SimplePractice or TherapyNotes?

SimplePractice and TherapyNotes are practice-management platforms — scheduling, notes, and billing tools for the clinician. Their client side is a portal for forms and invoices. VibeCheck is built around the other 26 days a month, when the client is between sessions: daily check-ins, an AI companion the client can talk to, homework worked in-app, crisis support always on (988/741741), and pattern notes back to the clinician. The AI is included in one price instead of sold as a $40–50/mo add-on.

Is VibeCheck the cheapest option?

No. Carepatron has a free tier and Sessions Health is $39 a month (their own pricing pages, verified June 2026). If you want the budget lane, it exists and we will say so. VibeCheck is $77.77 a month per clinician seat with the AI and Shaula included, and it is the only platform in the field whose client app covers the other 26 days between sessions. And the sticker price is only half the math anyway: ask what your client is holding on the 26 days between sessions.

Does VibeCheck replace my EHR?

Not yet — today VibeCheck sits beside whatever you run, on purpose: the client companion and Shaula's office are live now. The full VibeCheck EMR — system of record, billing built in — is in final validation and coming soon, included in the same $77.77/mo per-clinician-seat price the day it ships. One product, one price; nothing extra to upgrade to.

What does VibeCheck cost?

One price: $77.77 a month per clinician seat — exact, never rounded. Everything is included: the AI, Shaula's office, the client companion, and the full VibeCheck EMR when it ships (it's in final validation now). Clients are unlimited — you're priced on seats, never caseload. You sign up with a card and can cancel anytime. Details on the pricing page.