athenahealth
SimplePractice
| Feature | athenahealth | SimplePractice |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Contact sales | From $29/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.1 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | medical-practices, small-clinics, physician-groups, ambulatory-care | therapists, counselors, solo-practitioners, wellness-professionals |
| Founded | 1997 | 2012 |
| Ehr | ✓ | ✗ |
| Medical Billing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Patient Engagement | ✓ | ✗ |
| Telehealth | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reporting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Interoperability | ✓ | ✗ |
| Scheduling | ✗ | ✓ |
| Billing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Insurance Claims | ✗ | ✓ |
| Documentation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Client Portal | ✗ | ✓ |
| Mobile App | ✗ | ✓ |
| Secure Messaging | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ athenahealth Pros
- Cloud-based
- Good revenue cycle
- Automatic updates
- Network intelligence
✗ athenahealth Cons
- Percentage-based pricing
- Interface learning curve
- Customization limits
✓ SimplePractice Pros
- Purpose-built for mental health and wellness professionals
- HIPAA-compliant telehealth included
- Integrated insurance billing and claims
- Client portal for intake forms and scheduling
- Beautiful mobile app for practitioners
✗ SimplePractice Cons
- No free plan available
- Limited to solo and small group practices
- Additional fees for some claim submissions
The Verdict
athenahealth is built for medical practices and small clinics, with a focus on ehr and medical-billing. SimplePractice targets therapists and counselors and leads with scheduling and telehealth.
athenahealth uses custom enterprise pricing, while SimplePractice starts at $29/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Neither tool offers a free plan, so factor the subscription cost into your decision from the start.
SimplePractice edges out on user ratings (4.4 vs 4.1). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Feature-wise, SimplePractice offers broader built-in capabilities (8 features vs 6), while athenahealth takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Bottom line: SimplePractice has a slight overall edge — but if cloud-based matters most to you, athenahealth may still be the right call.