Zedule vs SimplePractice | Honest comparison
SimplePractice is the leading clinical management platform for mental health practitioners — therapists, counsellors, social workers — covering booking, charting, billing, telehealth, and insurance. Zedule is a booking platform with no clinical features. The choice comes down to whether you need the EHR or just the scheduling layer.
Updated May 5, 2026
SimplePractice is the standard for solo and small mental-health practices in the US. They’ve spent a decade building for the specific workflow of therapy and counselling — booking, sessions, notes, billing, telehealth, all integrated.
Zedule doesn’t try to be a clinical platform. We’re for businesses where booking is the bottleneck and clinical records either don’t apply or live in another system.
Side-by-side
| Zedule | SimplePractice | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $100/yr | $69-99/mo + add-ons ($828-1,188+/yr) |
| HIPAA BAA | Not in V1 | Yes |
| Booking + reminders | Yes | Yes |
| Progress notes / charting | No | Yes |
| Treatment plans | No | Yes |
| Insurance billing | No | Yes |
| Telehealth video (HIPAA-compliant) | No | Yes |
| Client portal (existing clients) | Limited (booking page only) | Yes |
| New-client acquisition page | Yes (branded booking page) | Limited |
| Branded customer experience | Custom hex | Limited |
| BYO email/SMS | Yes | Limited |
| Setup time | ~30 min | ~1-2 days |
Where SimplePractice wins
- HIPAA + BAA. Required for US therapy practices.
- Progress notes and treatment plans. Built for the therapist workflow — DAP/SOAP notes, treatment goals, session history.
- Insurance billing. Direct billing, claim filing, EOB tracking.
- Telehealth video. Built-in HIPAA-compliant video.
- Client portal. Existing clients log in to message, reschedule, pay, view history.
- Compliant by design. Audit logs, security policies, the works.
Where Zedule wins
- Pricing for non-clinical use. $100/year vs $828-1,188/year.
- New-client acquisition page. Custom-branded booking page with full embed; better for getting new clients in the door. SimplePractice’s portal is built for existing clients, not acquisition.
- BYO messaging. Confirmations from your domain.
- Per-tenant data isolation. Cloudflare D1 per business.
- Setup speed. 30 minutes vs 1-2 days.
Which one to pick
Pick SimplePractice if:
- You’re a US therapist/counsellor needing HIPAA + BAA.
- Insurance billing is a core revenue process.
- Progress notes and treatment plans are part of your daily workflow.
- Telehealth video has to be HIPAA-compliant and built in.
- You’re building a clinical practice end-to-end, not just a booking page.
Pick Zedule if:
- You’re outside the US healthcare system (cash-pay international practices).
- You handle clinical records on a separate EHR or on paper.
- The booking layer is what’s broken and you’d rather not pay for a full clinical platform.
- You want a better customer-facing page than SimplePractice’s portal.
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Related reading
Frequently asked questions
- How much does SimplePractice cost?
- SimplePractice Solo is $69/month, Plus is $99/month, with add-ons for additional clinicians. Annual cost: $828-1,188+ for solo. Zedule is $100/year flat. SimplePractice is 8-12× more expensive but handles many more clinical workflows.
- Is Zedule a fit for a therapy practice?
- Only for the booking layer. If you need progress notes, treatment plans, insurance billing, or HIPAA compliance, SimplePractice is the right primary platform. Some therapists run Zedule for the booking page (better branding, BYO email) alongside SimplePractice for clinical records — the data flow is manual but workable.
- Does SimplePractice have a customer-facing booking page?
- Yes — they have a 'Client Portal' where existing clients can book and message. New-client booking is more limited. Zedule's booking page is purpose-built for new-client acquisition with branding and embed support.
- What about telehealth?
- SimplePractice has built-in HIPAA-compliant video. Zedule doesn't host video. If telehealth is core to your practice, SimplePractice handles it natively.
- Why would a therapy practice use Zedule?
- If you're outside the US healthcare system (no insurance billing needs), if you handle clinical records on paper or a separate EHR, or if the customer-facing booking experience matters more than the clinical bundle. Zedule's branded page beats SimplePractice's portal for new-client acquisition.
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