How Harbor compares
Every claim sourced from the competitor's public pricing or help pages. Where we don't have public verification, we say unknown. We are not in the business of selling against competitors with FUD — only honest differentiation.
| Harbor | TherapyNotes | SimplePractice | Headway | Alma | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI receptionist (inbound calls) | Built-in (Ellie) | No (3rd-party integration) | No (3rd-party integration) | No | No |
| AI note drafting | Included | $40/mo add-on | $35/mo add-on | Included | Included |
| Patient-level AI opt-out | Yes — every AI surface | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Golden thread enforced at sign | Yes (gated at note sign) | Treatment-plan linking exists; enforcement unknown | No (user-acknowledged gap) | Documented commitment; in-EHR enforcement unknown | unknown |
| Per-clinician note style | Yes (per-practice prompt) | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Audit log anomaly review | Yes (built-in dashboard) | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| AI accuracy monitoring (sampling) | Yes (built-in dashboard) | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Insurance billing | Self-managed (Stedi) | Self-managed | Self-managed | Payer-paid platform | Payer-paid platform |
| Credentialing service | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Patient referral network | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Telehealth | Built-in | Free basic + $15 Premium | Built-in | Built-in | Built-in |
| Native mobile apps | Web (mobile responsive) | iOS + Android | iOS + Android | unknown | unknown |
| Price (with AI add-on) | $397/mo founding · $597 standard | $109/mo ($69 + $40 AI) | $114/mo ($79 + $35 AI) | $0 (% commission) | $125/mo |
Sources: TherapyNotes pricing page; SimplePractice pricing page; Headway help center; Alma for-providers page. Full citation list available on request.
Choose Harbor if…
- You want your practice to feel like a real practice, not a side gig. The AI receptionist means your phone is answered with warmth at 7am, at 9pm, on Saturday — patients aren't sent to voicemail.
- You want independence from aggregator platforms. YOU are the practice, YOU own the patient relationship, YOU set the rate, YOU keep 100%.
- You want AI you can actually audit. Every AI decision is logged, every patient can opt out, every output is reviewable.
- You want to launch fast. 30-minute setup; take calls the same day.
Choose TherapyNotes if…
You want a mature, well-tested EHR that's been the solo-BH default for over a decade. Stable feature set. Strong note templates. Predictable pricing. AI is an add-on so you can adopt it on your timeline.
Trade-off vs Harbor: no integrated AI receptionist; AI features are à-la-carte rather than baked in.
Choose SimplePractice if…
You want a polished, designer-feel UX with strong patient portal + telehealth. Massive ecosystem of integrations. Mobile apps that work on a phone.
Trade-off vs Harbor: no integrated AI receptionist; AI notes are an add-on; golden-thread enforcement isn't there yet.
Choose Headway / Alma / Grow Therapy if…
You're early-career or don't want to deal with insurance panels. They credential you in 5–7 days, give you patient referrals, handle the billing, and pay you a per-session rate.
Trade-off: they're the billing entity, take a percentage, and own the patient relationship. A different bet than Harbor's — both valid.
What Harbor does NOT do
Being explicit so you can decide if we fit:
- No native mobile apps. Mobile-responsive web only.
- No credentialing service. You bring your panels.
- No prescribing module. Pair with a separate ePrescribe vendor.
- No 24/7 phone support tier today. Email-only, business hours, with P0 on-call paging.
- No HIPAA-compliant SMS yet. A2P 10DLC is in flight; email is the primary reminder channel.
- No public referral network. You bring your own patients.