By Robbie Edwards — Founder of AfterSession
Last updated August 5, 2026
Last verified: August 2026. Pricing and features in this category change frequently. Confirm current details with each vendor before deciding.
The best AI note-taking tools for therapists in 2026 are Mentalyc, Upheal, Twofold Health, Berries, Freed, and AfterSession. Each is built for a different kind of practice: Mentalyc for template variety, Upheal for practices that want telehealth and scheduling in one platform, Twofold for unlimited notes at a low flat rate, Berries for mental-health-only specialization, Freed for clinicians who want native EHR push, and AfterSession for clinicians who don't want their sessions recorded at all.
A disclosure before anything else: I built AfterSession. That means you should read this page with appropriate skepticism, and it also means I've spent a lot of time inside these products. I've signed up for every tool on this list and used them. Where a competitor is better than AfterSession for a particular need, this page says so — partly because that's the honest thing to do, and partly because a comparison page you can't trust isn't worth writing.
Cheapest unlimited option: AfterSession ($29.95/mo first user, $19.95 each additional)
Widest template library: Mentalyc (20+ therapy-specific templates)
Most complete platform: Upheal (notes + telehealth + scheduling + payments)
Best for group practices scaling up: Twofold Health (flat rate, unlimited)
Mental-health-only focus: Berries
Best EHR integration: Freed (native push on Premier tier)
Only tool that never records the session: AfterSession
| Tool | Records session? | Note formats | BAA | Pricing (as of Aug 2026) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AfterSession | No — works from your written or spoken recap | SOAP, DAP, BIRP, GIRP, PIE | Yes, at signup | $29.95/mo first user, $19.95 each additional — unlimited notes | Clinicians who won't record clients |
| Mentalyc | Yes (audio auto-deleted ~3 days) | SOAP, DAP, BIRP + 17 more | Yes, paid plans | $19.99–$119.99/mo by note cap | Therapists wanting template variety |
| Upheal | Yes (deleted by default) | 170+ preset sections, custom prompts | Yes | $1/session, capped $69/mo | Practices wanting an all-in-one platform |
| Twofold Health | Yes (audio not stored) | SOAP, DAP, BIRP, custom | Yes, at signup | $49/mo annual, $69/mo monthly | Group practices wanting flat-rate unlimited |
| Berries | Yes (recordings not stored) | Mental-health formats | Yes | ~$79/mo Pro | Therapists wanting a mental-health-only tool |
| Freed | Yes (temporary, then auto-deleted) | SOAP, DAP, BIRP | Yes, organizations | $39 (40 notes) / $79 / $104+ | Clinicians who need native EHR push |
Pricing and features change frequently in this category. Figures verified August 2026 from vendor sites and public comparison sources. Check each vendor directly before deciding.
Scroll the table horizontally to see all columns.
Almost every tool on this list works the same way architecturally: it records your session, transcribes the audio, and generates a note from the transcript. What varies is how long the audio is kept afterward — Twofold and Berries say they don't store recordings, Mentalyc auto-deletes within about three days, Upheal deletes by default, Freed deletes after processing.
That's a meaningful difference in data retention, and the vendors above deserve credit for taking it seriously.
But it's a retention policy, not an architectural difference. In all of those tools, the client's actual words are captured, transcribed, and processed at some point in the pipeline.
AfterSession works differently: the session is never captured at all. You finish the session, then you write or speak a short recap in your own words, and the AI structures that recap into a note. The client's speech never enters the system, because it was never recorded.
Neither approach is universally correct. Recording-based tools capture detail a post-session recap can miss, and for clinicians comfortable recording, they can be faster. But if you've decided you don't want to record clients — for consent reasons, for population-specific reasons, or because it changes the feel of the room — then retention policies don't solve your problem, and most of this category isn't built for you.
If you don't want to record your sessions →
AfterSession is the tool built for this. You write a few sentences or record a voice memo after the session; the note comes from your summary, not from the client's words.
If you want the widest range of note templates →
Mentalyc. Twenty-plus therapy-specific formats covering CBT, DBT, EMDR, psychodynamic, and more. If your work spans modalities, this is the deepest library available.
If you want one platform for notes, telehealth, scheduling, and payments →
Upheal. It's the closest thing to a mini-EHR in this group. Worth knowing before you commit: Upheal's billing counts telehealth calls and scheduled sessions as billable sessions even when no note is generated, so estimate cost from your calendar rather than your note count.
If you're a group practice that wants predictable flat-rate pricing →
Twofold Health. $49/mo annual with unlimited notes and treatment plans, and group plans include an org-wide BAA.
If you want a tool that does mental health and nothing else →
Berries. It's built end-to-end for therapists, psychiatrists, and social workers, with a genuinely generous free trial (20 sessions plus 10/month, no credit card).
If you need notes pushed directly into your EHR →
Freed's Premier tier ships native EHR push. Most tools in this category, including AfterSession, use copy-paste into your EHR.
If cost is the deciding factor →
AfterSession at $29.95/mo is the lowest-priced option in this comparison, and additional users in a practice are $19.95 each.
What it is: An AI note tool that generates SOAP, DAP, BIRP, GIRP, and PIE notes from a therapist's post-session recap — typed or spoken. No session recording, no transcription of the client.
Strengths: The only tool here that never captures the session. HIPAA-aligned infrastructure with a BAA signed automatically on paid subscription. Client data stays inside a HIPAA-eligible boundary and is never used to train AI models. Lowest price in the category — see pricing and plans. Optional client organization with pronouns and client type, and insurance-audit formatting for paneled clinicians.
Limitations, honestly: A recap-based note only contains what you put in the recap. If you want a tool that captures verbatim client language you didn't write down, this isn't it. No native EHR integration — notes are copied into your EHR. No telehealth, scheduling, or billing. It's built by one person, which means fast, direct support and a smaller feature surface than venture-funded competitors.
Best for: Private-practice clinicians who won't record clients, and anyone who wants documentation help without a platform.
What it is: A documentation-only AI platform with the widest therapy-specific template library in the category.
Strengths: Twenty-plus templates spanning most therapy modalities. Supports individual, couples, family, child, and group sessions, including supervision notes — the broadest session-type support available. Multiple input modes (recording, upload, dictation, typed summary). Stays documentation-only by design and sends notes to any EHR via a Chrome autofill extension, so you keep your existing billing workflow.
Limitations: Pricing is tiered by note caps, so heavy caseloads push you up the ladder. Audio is retained roughly three days before deletion. Public review ratings are mixed on support responsiveness.
Best for: Therapists who work across many modalities and want the note format to match the work.
What it is: The most platform-like tool in the group — AI notes plus telehealth video, scheduling, a client portal, and payments.
Strengths: Golden Thread ties treatment plans to progress notes across sessions, which is genuinely useful for demonstrating medical necessity. Session analytics. 170+ preset note sections plus custom AI prompts. A free feature-limited tier lets you try it without a card.
Limitations: The per-session billing counts scheduled sessions and telehealth calls, not just generated notes. Family therapy support was still listed as in progress on their public roadmap as of mid-2026, with group, supervision, and minor-client support in the backlog. The template system is powerful but reportedly takes several attempts to tune. Onboarding asks a lot of questions before you can generate your first note.
Best for: Solo clinicians or small practices who want to consolidate tools onto one platform.
What it is: A flat-rate AI scribe covering therapy and broader outpatient work.
Strengths: $49/mo annual with unlimited notes, treatment plans, and custom templates, with a BAA at signup. Four capture methods including uploading handwritten notes via OCR. Doesn't store audio. Publishes group-practice pricing publicly. 24/7 human support on every plan.
Limitations: Not exclusively mental-health focused — it serves multiple outpatient specialties, which is a strength for mixed practices and a dilution for therapy-only work. Copy-paste into EHR rather than native integration.
Best for: Group practices that want predictable costs and unlimited usage.
What it is: A mental-health-only AI scribe.
Strengths: Exclusive focus on therapy, psychiatry, and social work. SOC 2, HIPAA, and PHIPA compliance. Doesn't store session recordings, and PHI isn't used for AI training. Unusually generous free trial — 20 sessions plus 10/month with no credit card.
Limitations: Higher price point than several alternatives at around $79/mo. Smaller feature surface than the platform-style tools.
Best for: Therapists who want a tool that does one thing for one profession.
What it is: A widely-used AI scribe spanning multiple clinical specialties including behavioral health.
Strengths: Native EHR push on the Premier tier — one of the few tools here that writes directly into an EHR rather than requiring copy-paste. Free Chrome extension for injecting notes into web-based EHRs. HIPAA and SOC 2 Type II. Tiered pricing including a lower-cost Starter option.
Limitations: Not mental-health-specific, so templates are more general. The Starter tier caps at 40 notes/month. EHR push is gated to the highest tier. Freed's terms explicitly disallow 42 CFR Part 2 data, which matters for substance-use treatment settings.
Best for: Clinicians who want notes to land in their EHR without copy-paste.
Does it require recording your clients?
This is the first question, because it determines which half of the market you're shopping in. If recording is off the table for you, most of this category won't fit regardless of features.
How is audio handled?
If you do use a recording tool, ask specifically: is audio stored, for how long, where, and is it used for model training? Retention policies vary widely and vendors state them differently.
Is a BAA included, and at what tier?
Several vendors sign a BAA automatically on any paid plan. Others gate it behind higher tiers or enterprise contracts. A BAA is not optional for handling PHI — confirm before you enter a single client detail.
Does it support your session types?
Individual work is universally supported. Couples, family, group, minor clients, and supervision notes are not. If your caseload includes any of these, verify support explicitly rather than assuming.
Do the notes hold up for insurance?
If you're paneled, look for whether the tool produces documentation that establishes medical necessity, ties symptoms to diagnosis, justifies the billed CPT code, connects to treatment goals, and documents risk assessment. A clean note isn't automatically an audit-ready note.
What does it actually cost at your volume?
Note-capped tiers, per-session billing, and flat rates produce very different bills at the same caseload. Estimate from your real weekly session count.
There isn't a single best tool. The right choice depends on whether you're willing to record sessions, what session types you run, whether you take insurance, and your budget. Mentalyc has the widest template library, Upheal is the most complete platform, Twofold is the best flat-rate value, and AfterSession is the option for clinicians who don't want to record clients.
It depends entirely on the vendor. A tool is HIPAA-appropriate if it runs on HIPAA-eligible infrastructure, encrypts data in transit and at rest, signs a Business Associate Agreement, and doesn't use your client data to train AI models. Verify each of those individually rather than trusting a compliance badge.
Most do, but not all. Recording-based tools transcribe the session and generate a note from the transcript. AfterSession works from your own post-session recap instead, so the client's speech is never captured. If recording isn't acceptable in your practice, that architectural difference matters more than any retention policy.
As of August 2026, roughly $20 to $120 per clinician per month. AfterSession is $29.95/mo for the first user and $19.95 for each additional, with no note cap. Mentalyc ranges $19.99–$119.99 depending on note volume. Twofold is $49/mo annual. Upheal is $1/session capped at $69/mo. Berries is around $79/mo. Freed ranges $39–$104+.
Only if they contain what auditors look for: medical necessity, diagnosis tied to observable symptoms, CPT code justification, connection to treatment plan goals, and documented risk assessment. Some tools format for this explicitly; many produce clean notes that would still leave gaps in a chart review. Ask specifically.
Yes, though it's easier with some than others. Documentation-only tools that copy into your existing EHR leave nothing behind when you leave. Platform tools that hold your scheduling, telehealth, and billing create more switching friction. Worth considering before you consolidate.
This comparison was last verified in August 2026. Pricing and features in this category change frequently — confirm current details with each vendor before deciding. If you spot something inaccurate about your product, get in touch and I'll correct it.
AfterSession turns a short post-session recap into a structured note. The session itself is never recorded.
Start Free TrialBy Robbie Edwards — Founder of AfterSession