Practice Better vs. SimplePractice
SimplePractice is excellent at what it was built for. If your practice runs on programs and protocols instead of weekly sessions, here's what changes.
Nicole Harlow
SimplePractice is everywhere. Your therapist friend uses it. Your colleague from grad school uses it. It shows up in every "best EHR" list you've skimmed this month.
And it's a great platform. The question is whether it's a great platform for the way you practice.
The quick answer
Choose SimplePractice if your practice looks like therapy: recurring sessions, treatment plans, progress notes and insurance claims at volume.
Choose Practice Better if your care runs on programs, protocols and ongoing client support between sessions: functional medicine, nutrition, health coaching, naturopathic and integrative practices.
Side by side
Pricing in USD as of October 2026, monthly billing. Check the live pricing pages before you decide.
| Practice Better | SimplePractice | |
|---|---|---|
| Built around | Programs, protocols and client relationships between visits | Session-based care, treatment plans and insurance |
| Entry plan | $35/mo Starter (10 clients) | $49/mo Starter |
| Mid-tier | $69/mo Professional · $99/mo Plus | $79/mo Essential · $99/mo Plus |
| Extra practitioners | Team plan $155/mo for 2, +$50 each | +$74/mo each on Plus |
| Programs and courses | Core feature | Not a core feature |
| Treatment plans | Protocols and templates | Customizable notes and treatment plans, Wiley Treatment Planners (Essential and up) |
| Insurance | Superbills and CMS-1500; claims through Claim.MD | Built in; from $0.39 per claim as of October 1, 2026 |
| Reminders | Included | Telehealth only on Starter; full reminders on Essential and up |
| Labs and supplements | Fullscript, Rupa Health, Evexia | Not a focus |
| Free trial | 14 days (30 on Team) | 30 days, no card required |
Sources: Practice Better pricing · Practice Better features · SimplePractice pricing · SimplePractice plans · SimplePractice insurance pricing
Where SimplePractice shines
If insurance is a big part of your revenue, SimplePractice has built a serious engine for it. Claims, claim status checks and a pricing structure designed for practices running claims every week.
It's also built for session-based clinical documentation, with customizable notes, treatment plans and Wiley Treatment Planners. A 30-day trial with no card required makes it easy to try. And it's HIPAA compliant and HITRUST certified, with a BAA accepted at signup (SimplePractice BAA).
Where Practice Better shines
Practice Better was built for care that unfolds over weeks and months. Programs and courses, protocols, journaling and group sessions are core to how it works. Lab and supplement workflows sit right inside it with Fullscript, Rupa Health and Evexia.
For a functional or nutrition practice selling packages and guiding clients through a protocol, that structure is the whole point. It's our platform of choice for exactly that kind of practice.
What we see in real accounts
The mismatch shows up fast. A health coach on a therapy-first platform ends up running programs in a separate course tool and sending protocols by email attachment. Her clients have two logins. Her assistant has four places to check.
If your offer is a program, your platform should treat a program as a first-class thing.
The gap neither one fills
Both are excellent clinical platforms. Neither one was built to run everything around the practice management: the inquiry at 9pm, the follow-up after a discovery call, the client who finished her package in spring and never rebooked.
That's the operational layer, and it's where Lead Better HQ comes in.
Already on Practice Better and wondering what's falling through the cracks? We'll go through your business the way a new patient does and send you a short video of what we find.
Lead Better HQ is an independent company and an official Practice Better partner. We're a Practice Better affiliate, which means we may earn a commission if you sign up through our links. It never changes your price or what we recommend.
Common questions
Is SimplePractice more expensive than Practice Better?
At the entry level, slightly ($49 vs. $35). At the top of the solo range they meet at $99/mo. Insurance-heavy practices should also factor in SimplePractice's per-claim pricing, which changed on October 1, 2026.
Can I use Practice Better if I bill insurance?
Yes. It supports superbills and CMS-1500 forms, with claims through Claim.MD for US practitioners. If insurance is the core of your revenue, compare the claims workflow carefully.
Which is better for health coaches and nutritionists?
Practice Better. Programs, protocols and group sessions are built in.
Does SimplePractice have a free trial?
Yes, 30 days with no card required. Practice Better offers 14 days, or 30 on the Team plan.
Nicole Harlow, CEO Lead Better HQ
18 years building businesses that let me go outside ✌️
Systems geek. Secret introvert.
Nicole Harlow is the founder of Lead Better HQ, where her team builds the operational system around clinical care so practitioners can go outside.
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