SimplePractice vs Zanda (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick SimplePractice: it is first in our ranking of therapy and clinic software (Zanda is third), and it grades higher too, 2.8 against 2.6.
Checked Oct 24, 2026 · graded Oct 24, 2026 by ToolGPA
SimplePractice grades higher on ease of use. Zanda grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
SimplePractice
Practice management and EHR for private-practice therapists
Zanda
Browser-based practice software for allied health and therapy clinics
Which one is for you
Pick SimplePractice if
- Fits if you're a solo US therapist who bills insurance and wants claims in the same account as your notes
- Works for groups of up to five clinicians who want a published price: Plus is $99 plus $74 a clinician
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay on Starter: reminders, calendar sync, secure messaging and treatment plans start on Essential at $79
- Pricey if you want AI notes, as Note Taker is $35 a month and Care Aide $59 plus $49 per extra clinician
- Watch out: claims are 39¢ each, cards 3.15% + 30¢, and every clinician pays a $20 yearly fee for CPT codes
- Watch out: ePrescribe is $49 a month plus an $89 setup fee, and group sessions and extra clinicians need Plus
- Not for you if your group has six or more clinicians and you want a price up front, as those go through sales
Pick Zanda if
- Fits if you're a solo practitioner who wants unlimited clients for $19 a month
- Works for allied health and mental health clinics juggling several practitioners and rooms
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a phone app, as Zanda runs only in the browser
- Tight if you stay on Starter: one practitioner, one location and 1,000 appointments; more needs Growth at $49
- Watch out: texts need a dedicated number at $4.99 a month with 35 credits, then 9¢ an SMS
- Pricey if you scribe every session: 4 AI Scribe sessions a month are free, then AI Pro is $19 a user, Telehealth Pro $9
- Watch out: claims carry a $50 enrollment fee, 15¢ a claim and 10¢ an ERA, and Stripe takes 2.9% + 30¢ plus 50¢
How we grade them
| 2.8GPASimplePracticeGood | 2.6GPAZandaGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $49 a month after a first 3 months at half price, between this category's middle ($39) and its dearer quarter ($59). Reminders and calendar sync need Essential at $79, and on top come 39¢ a claim and a $20 yearly CPT fee per clinician. | BStarter is $19 a month for one practitioner with unlimited clients and 1,000 appointments, inside this category's cheaper quarter ($25). Five practitioners on Growth come to $125, or $25 each. Texts, AI Pro and Telehealth Pro are extra. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 30-day trial with no card, and no free plan. The half-price first 3 months only applies if you start paying within 7 days of signing up. | CA 14-day trial with no card needed, and no free plan, so you're paying from week three. |
| Features | BScheduling, paperless intake, progress notes, measurement-based care, telehealth, insurance claims and card payments all come on Starter. Nothing in the listing is missing from the job; the gaps are plan locks and add-ons. | BScheduling with waitlists and rooms, a booking portal, note templates, body charts, scored forms, invoicing, US claims through a clearing house, telehealth and BizzyAI writing. AI scribing stops at 4 sessions a month without AI Pro. |
| Ease of use | ASimplePractice rates 4.7 on the US App Store from 33,999 ratings, which puts it at A on our ease ladder. | CNo App Store rating on record. Rooms, locations, note templates, forms and the clearing house enrollment all need setting up first. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, plus a clinician app for iPhone, iPad and Android with the calendar, notes, messages and payments. No desktop app, and the listing names no integrations or API. | BIt runs in the browser on computers, tablets and phones, with Stripe, Zoom, Xero, Mailchimp, Google Calendar and Outlook. There are no native apps for any device. |
| Best for | solo US therapists who bill insurance | allied health and therapy clinics in the browser |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: SimplePractice and Zanda. How we grade
Price against what you get
SimplePractice starts at $49 a month and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Zanda starts at $19 a month and scores 2.7.
SimplePractice scores higher, and starts $30 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other therapy and clinic software on the chart, none scores higher than SimplePractice for less, and none scores higher than Zanda for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
At a glance
| SimplePractice | Zanda | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $49 per month (Starter), after a first 3 months at $24.50 | $19 per month (Starter, one practitioner) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial, no credit card required | 14-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | SimplePractice, LLC | Zanda Health Pty Ltd |
| Price read from | simplepractice.com | zandahealth.com |
| Checked | Oct 24, 2026 | Oct 24, 2026 |
Worth knowing
SimplePractice
- Insurance claims cost $0.39 each, card payments 3.15% + $0.30, and each clinician pays an annual $20 fee for CPT code access.
- Reminders, calendar sync and client messaging start on Essential; group sessions and extra clinicians need Plus.
- AI notes are extra: Note Taker is $35 a month, Care Aide $59 a month plus $49 per extra clinician. ePrescribe is $49 a month plus an $89 setup fee.
- The 50% discount applies only if a paid account starts within 7 days of the trial; groups of 6 or more clinicians are priced by sales.
Zanda
- Starter covers one practitioner and 1,000 appointments, with one physical location; unlimited appointments and more locations need Growth.
- Text messages need a dedicated number at $4.99 a month, which includes 35 credits; each further SMS costs $0.09.
- Card payments go through Stripe at 2.9% + 30¢ for domestic cards, plus a 50¢ Stripe Connect fee listed on the pricing page.
- There are no native mobile apps; Zanda runs in the browser on computers, tablets and phones.
Key features
SimplePractice
- Client portal and online booking
- Clients request appointments online and complete paperless intake documents through a client portal website. Essential adds email, text and voice reminders and calendar sync.
- Notes and treatment plans
- Progress notes, a template library and measurement-based care come on every plan; customizable treatment plans and Wiley Treatment Planners start on Essential.
- Built-in telehealth
- Video sessions are included on every plan. Plus adds group appointments and group telehealth.
- Insurance claims and payments
- Claims are filed from the account at $0.39 each and clients pay online by card. Insurance Navigator, listed as coming soon, adds claim checks and benefits verification at $1.79 a claim.
- Care Aide and Note Taker
- Paid AI add-ons. Note Taker drafts progress notes from a recorded session or dictation; Care Aide adds live telehealth support, treatment plans in beta and client-ready summaries.
- Clinician mobile app
- An iPhone, iPad and Android app to manage the calendar, write and review session notes, share documents, send secure messages and take payments.
Zanda
- Scheduling and client portal
- A calendar with waitlists, rooms and recurring appointments, and a portal where clients book, pay, fill in forms, share files and join telehealth calls.
- Notes, forms and body charts
- Session note templates and body charts, plus online forms for intake, consent and scored assessments. Note templates can be customized on Growth.
- BizzyAI
- Every plan includes unlimited AI writing, 4 AI Scribe appointments a month and insights across a client's last 3 sessions. AI Pro, $19 per user a month, removes the scribe cap.
- Telehealth
- Built-in HIPAA-compliant video with a free option, Telehealth Pro with unlimited calls at $9 per practitioner a month, or your own Zoom account.
- US insurance claims
- An integrated clearing house with a $50 enrollment fee, $0.15 per claim and $0.10 per ERA. Preparing claims, CMS-1500 forms and eligibility requests are free.
- Practice operations manual
- 100+ policy and procedure templates for writing down how the practice runs, with AI tools for the manual on Growth.
Plans
SimplePractice
Starter$49
per month
Unlimited clients, telehealth, progress notes, insurance claims, online payments, intake forms and a client portal. $24.50 a month for the first 3 months.
Essential$79
per month
Adds free email, text and voice reminders, calendar sync, treatment plans, Wiley Treatment Planners and secure messaging. $39.50 for the first 3 months.
Plus$99
per month, plus $74 per additional clinician
Adds group appointments, group telehealth, a premium support line and advanced analytics. $49.50 for the first 3 months; groups of 6+ can get custom pricing.
Zanda
Starter$19
per month for 1 practitioner and 1,000 appointments
Unlimited clients, 1 free admin user, 100 GB storage, reminders, intake forms, progress notes, billing and the booking portal. $9.50 for the first 6 months.
Growth$49
per month, plus $19 per additional practitioner
Unlimited appointments, admin users and storage, multiple locations, rooms, advanced waitlist, custom note templates, team messaging and full reports.
Ways to pay less
SimplePractice
- Other savings
50% off the first 3 months
Starting a paid account within 7 days of signing up halves the first 3 months: $24.50 for Starter, $39.50 for Essential and $49.50 for Plus, then the regular price.
Zanda
- Other savings
50% off the first 6 months for October starts
Practices that start in October pay half for 6 months: Starter $9.50 a month, and Growth $24.50 plus $9.50 per extra practitioner, then the regular price.
- Other savings
No subscription fees until November
An end-of-summer offer on the US pricing page waives subscription fees until November and adds 500 free SMS credits.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, SimplePractice or Zanda?
As of Oct 24, 2026, Zanda is cheaper to start with: $19 a month, against $49 a month for SimplePractice. SimplePractice starts at $49 per month (Starter), after a first 3 months at $24.50, and Zanda starts at $19 per month (Starter, one practitioner).
Which has a free plan, SimplePractice or Zanda?
As of Oct 24, 2026, neither SimplePractice nor Zanda has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do SimplePractice and Zanda run on?
As of Oct 24, 2026, only SimplePractice lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.