TheraNest vs SimplePractice: Honest Comparison for Solo Therapists (2026)
TheraNest and SimplePractice are two of the most established EHRs in the mental health space. Both have been around long enough to be stable and well-supported, both serve solo therapists and group practices, and both will keep your practice running day to day.
The differences are real but specific. This is an honest comparison to help you decide — without pretending either one is a bad choice.
Quick Verdict
SimplePractice generally offers the more polished, modern experience — especially the client portal, mobile app, and telehealth. TheraNest is often slightly cheaper at the entry level and stands out for its integration with Wiley Treatment Planners, which is a meaningful advantage if you rely on structured treatment planning.
Pick SimplePractice for UX and client experience; pick TheraNest for value and Wiley Planners.
Pricing
| Plan | TheraNest | SimplePractice | |------|-----------|----------------| | Entry | ~$39/mo (small client volume) | ~$29/mo (Starter, limited) | | Mid | scales with active clients | ~$69/mo (Essential) | | Top (solo) | ~$60+/mo | ~$99/mo (Plus) | | Telehealth | Add-on | Add-on / higher tiers | | Free trial | Yes | Yes (30 days) |
A key structural difference: TheraNest historically prices by active client count, so your bill scales with caseload. That can be cheaper for a small or part-time practice and more expensive as you grow. SimplePractice prices by feature tier regardless of caseload.
Run the numbers against your actual client volume — TheraNest can be the better deal for a lean practice, while a busy full-time caseload may make SimplePractice's flat tiers more predictable.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | TheraNest | SimplePractice | |---------|-----------|----------------| | Clinical notes & templates | Strong | Strong, customisable | | Wiley Treatment Planners | Yes (standout) | No | | Insurance billing & claims | Yes | Yes | | Telehealth (built-in) | Add-on | Yes | | Client portal | Functional | Polished, modern | | Online self-booking | Limited | Yes | | Mobile app | Basic | Strong | | Automated reminders | Yes | Yes |
Where TheraNest pulls ahead: the Wiley Treatment Planners integration. If your documentation workflow benefits from evidence-based, structured treatment goals and objectives, having Wiley built in is a genuine time-saver that SimplePractice doesn't match. TheraNest's per-client pricing can also be friendlier for part-time clinicians.
Where SimplePractice pulls ahead: the overall experience. The client portal, self-scheduling, document handling, telehealth, and mobile app are more refined. For a practice that wants clients to self-serve and a smoother day-to-day interface, SimplePractice feels more modern.
HIPAA Compliance
Both TheraNest and SimplePractice are built for healthcare and will sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) — execute it before you store any client PHI. Both provide:
- Encryption in transit (TLS) and at rest (AES-256)
- Two-factor authentication
- Role-based access for group practices
- Audit logging
- US-based, reputable cloud hosting
On core security, they're comparable. Neither is meaningfully "more compliant" than the other for a typical solo practice.
The important caveat remains: your EHR's compliance is not your practice's compliance. The BAA covers the vendor. You're still on the hook for your own Security Risk Analysis, written policies, workforce training, an incident response plan, and BAAs with all your other vendors. OCR investigations rarely turn on which EHR you chose — they turn on whether you did the practice-wide work.
Who Should Choose Which
Choose TheraNest if:
- You use (or want) Wiley Treatment Planners
- You have a smaller or part-time caseload where per-client pricing saves money
- You prioritise solid clinical documentation over consumer-grade polish
Choose SimplePractice if:
- You want the most modern client experience and self-booking
- You value a strong mobile app and built-in telehealth
- You'd rather have flat, feature-based pricing as your caseload grows
Wiley Treatment Planners, Explained
The Wiley Treatment Planners integration is TheraNest's signature differentiator, so it's worth understanding what it actually is. Wiley's PracticePlanners are widely used, evidence-informed libraries of treatment goals, objectives, and interventions organised by presenting problem. Built into your EHR, they let you assemble structured treatment plans by selecting from validated language rather than writing every plan from scratch.
For clinicians who value structured, defensible documentation — or who simply want to save time on treatment planning while keeping it clinically sound — this is a meaningful productivity and quality boost. SimplePractice has strong, customisable templates, but it doesn't offer the Wiley library. If treatment-plan documentation is a regular pain point for you, that single feature may decide the comparison.
Pricing Math: A Worked Example
Because TheraNest historically prices by active client count and SimplePractice prices by feature tier, the cheaper option genuinely depends on your caseload. A rough illustration:
- Part-time practice (~20 active clients): TheraNest's per-client model often lands lower than SimplePractice's Essential tier — TheraNest can be the value pick.
- Full-time practice (50+ active clients): As your caseload climbs, TheraNest's per-client cost rises while SimplePractice's tier stays flat — the gap narrows or reverses.
The lesson: don't compare sticker prices in the abstract. Estimate your real active-client count, then price both against it. Confirm current pricing on each vendor's site, since plan structures change.
Migration and Lock-In
As with any EHR switch, moving between TheraNest and SimplePractice isn't seamless. Appointments and client demographics can usually be migrated with help or CSV import; historical clinical notes typically export as PDFs rather than re-importable structured records. Budget for a transition period where you keep read access to your old system, and remember that exporting and retaining records is also a HIPAA retention requirement, not just a convenience.
Common Questions
Does SimplePractice have anything like Wiley Planners? Not built in. Its templates are flexible and you can create reusable treatment-plan templates, but you won't get Wiley's prewritten, evidence-informed goal and intervention libraries.
Is TheraNest harder to learn? Both have a learning curve typical of clinical software. SimplePractice's interface is generally considered more intuitive for newcomers; TheraNest is straightforward once configured, especially if Wiley Planners are central to your workflow.
Can group practices use either? Yes — both support multiple clinicians with role-based access, which is also a HIPAA access-control requirement. Pricing scales differently: TheraNest by active clients, SimplePractice by tier and seats.
Which is better for insurance billing? Both handle claims and ERAs competently. Test each against your specific payers during the free trial rather than assuming — payer quirks matter more than the platform here.
The Bigger Picture
Both platforms cover the EHR layer competently. But your EHR is one vendor among several — your email, scheduling, storage, billing clearinghouse, and any contractors all touch PHI too, and each needs its own BAA and its own consideration in your risk analysis.
That practice-wide view is what separates "I use compliant software" from "my practice is compliant."
Take Yundra's free 25-minute HIPAA Risk Assessment to map your entire compliance picture — across all five categories — and get a specific, prioritised action plan.