How Harbor compares
These are the three behavioural-health EHRs a therapist actually chooses between. They are capable, well-established platforms and for many practices one of them is the right answer. Every claim below is sourced from the vendor's own published pricing or documentation; where a capability is not publicly published, we say so rather than assume. The distinction is straightforward: they are electronic health records. Harbor is an electronic health record with a front office attached.
SimplePractice
The market leader for solo and small practices. Polished UX, strong patient portal, real mobile apps, large integration ecosystem.
$49-$99/mo
TherapyNotes
The long-standing behavioral-health default. Mature, stable, excellent note templates, predictable pricing.
$69/mo
TheraNest (Ensora)
Now Ensora Mental Health after the Therapy Brands rebrand. The budget end of the market -- per-therapist tiers with billing features laddered across them.
$29-$89/mo
| Harbor | SimplePractice | TherapyNotes | TheraNest | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI receptionist for inbound callsAnswers the phone, screens, and books -- not a chatbot on the website. Standalone AI answering services exist and can bolt onto any of these; the question below is what happens after the call. | Built in (Ellie), 24/7 | No | No | No |
| The call writes straight into the recordAn answering layer takes a message and hands it to someone. Harbor books the appointment, opens the chart, and sends the intake, because the record is the same system. | Yes -- booking, chart, and intake in one system | No front desk; an answering service would sit outside the record | No front desk; an answering service would sit outside the record | No front desk; an answering service would sit outside the record |
| AI note draftingEvery one of them charges separately for this. Harbor does not. | Included in the base price | Add-on, per clinician | Add-on, per clinician | Add-on, per provider (lighter note polish is included) |
| Crisis detection + 988 escalationPost-call risk review can alert clinicians after a call ends. It is not live emergency monitoring or a replacement for emergency services. | Built in, on every call | No | No | No |
| Patient-level AI opt-outOne switch that turns off every AI surface for that patient. None of the others publish one — worth asking your vendor for in writing. | Yes -- every AI surface | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented |
| Every note tied to a plan goalAuditors call this the golden thread. A broken one is how an already-paid claim gets clawed back. | Required at sign, goal by goal (documented exception allowed) | Treatment planner; no documented requirement | Practice can require a plan before the note (admin setting) | Not documented |
| Insurance billing | Self-managed, clearinghouse built in | Self-managed; claim filing gated to higher plans | Self-managed | Self-managed; claims metered by tier |
| Patient portal + digital intake | Built in | Built in | Built in | Built in |
| Telehealth | Built in | Built in | Free basic tier; premium tier is an add-on | Included on the top tier |
| E-prescribingHarbor does not do this. If you prescribe, it is the reason to stay where you are. | No | Yes, paid add-on | Yes, built in | Yes, built in |
| Credentialing serviceNone of these get you on a panel. That is what the networks below do. | No | No | No | No |
| Native mobile apps | Clinician mobile web; patient portal apps | iOS + Android | iOS + Android | Web only |
| Published price, one clinicianList price for the vendor's solo plans, before add-ons. | $99/mo | $49-$99/mo | $69/mo | $29-$89/mo |
| Like-for-like, with AI notesThe plan a solo therapist usually lands on, plus the AI-note add-on. | $99/mo — notes included | $114/moEssential + AI notes | $109/moSolo + AI notes | $94/moAdvanced + AI notes |
On the price rows: the honest comparison is not Harbor against an EHR subscription. It is Harbor against an EHR subscription plus the add-on for AI notes, plus whatever you pay to file claims, plus the hour a day you spend covering your own phone. Add those up for your practice and the arithmetic usually moves. Add up your own line items →
Sources: each vendor's own published pricing and documentation pages — SimplePractice, TherapyNotes, TheraNest (Ensora). Last verified 2026-08-08. Vendors change pricing without notice; if you spot something out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
What this table is and is not. It compares Harbor against the three EHRs above and nothing else. Standalone AI answering services are a real and growing category, several of them aimed at behavioural health, and any of them can be bolted onto any EHR on this page — we are not going to pretend otherwise. The difference we would defend is structural rather than competitive: a service that answers takes the call and hands the work to somebody, and the somebody is usually still you. Harbor answers and then finishes the work, because the chart, the calendar, and the claim are the same system.
Choose Harbor if…
- You are tired of the add-on ladder. Notes, intake, reminders, claims, and the front desk are in one price rather than five line items that each grew a fee.
- You want a system you can audit. Every automated decision is logged, every patient can opt out, and every output is reviewable before it enters the record.
- You want it set up for you. We provision your number, build your receptionist, and connect your calendar.
- You want the front desk inside the record, not beside it. Calls are answered at 7am, at 9pm, on Saturday — and the booking, the chart, and the intake are already done when you look.
Choose SimplePractice if…
You want the most polished product in the category, real iOS and Android apps, and the largest integration ecosystem. It is the safe default for a reason, and switching away from it should require an actual reason.
Trade-off vs Harbor: no front desk at any price, AI notes are an add-on on every tier including the top one, and claim filing is gated to the higher plans.
Choose TherapyNotes if…
You want the mature, boring-in-the-best-way EHR that has been the solo behavioural health default for over a decade. Excellent note templates, predictable pricing, and AI you can adopt on your own timeline rather than theirs.
Trade-off vs Harbor: no integrated receptionist, and the AI and premium telehealth are both à-la-carte on top of the base seat.
Choose TheraNest (Ensora) if…
Price is the binding constraint. The entry tier is the cheapest real EHR in behavioural health, and if you file few claims and want scheduling, notes, and a portal for the least money, it is hard to argue with.
Trade-off vs Harbor: the cheap tier is cheap because billing lives further up the ladder — claims are metered on the middle tier and unlimited only at the top, admin seats bill separately, and there is an annual CPT license fee on top. Price the tier you would actually need.
Where Harbor is focused
Harbor is built for therapy practices. A few things it deliberately leaves out:
- Mobile. Clinicians work from any phone or tablet browser; clients get native iOS and Android portal apps.
- Credentialing. Harbor does not credential providers. You bring your panels.
- Prescribing. Harbor does not include ePrescribe. Practices with a prescriber keep their prescribing tool alongside Harbor and run everything else here.
- Support model. Email and scheduled calls during business hours, with on-call escalation for critical issues.
- Referrals. Harbor never sits between you and your clients or takes a cut — the relationships stay yours.
Running a group? Group pricing is $99/mo per clinician with no practice base fee. Signed pilot pricing is honored as agreed.