Practice tools, an AI assistant, AND a between-session client app — nobody else puts them in one product, anywhere on that list. Every other route is two or three subscriptions stitched together.
On Air · MWS Radio · 122 BPM · Track 04 — The Trust Audit
Before you trust an app with your clients' data, run the audit on us first — we answer all eight, in writing. Then compare the whole field.
R.A.V.E.S. — DECK 01
Tempo 122 · 4 / 4 · PATTERN — A
Space play/stop 1–5 trigger pads click the DJ
What's R.A.V.E.S.? → Scroll for the rest of the set
Sourced comparison · June 2026
Therapy clients get about 4 sessions a month. The other 26 days they're on their own. We compared the twelve platforms a therapist actually weighs, and VibeCheck is the only one whose client app fills those days — daily check-ins, an AI companion the client can talk to, crisis support always on — measured against the R.A.V.E.S. framework. Every competitor number on this page is sourced and linked below — most from the company's own pricing page — and verified June 2026.
Eight questions. Eight straight answers.
Before you trust any platform with your clients' data, ask it these eight. Most behavioral-health tools can't answer all eight cleanly. We answer them in writing — every answer verifiable, built and audited by a practicing LCSW.
- Is there an executed BAA?Yes. PHI in VibeCheck is covered by our executed Business Associate Agreements. Shaula is office staff — she runs on your own computer, never touches PHI, and never speaks to your clients, so she needs none.
- Where does the client data actually live?Your clients' clinical data lives in VibeCheck — encrypted at rest, under our executed BAAs. Shaula runs on your own computer and never touches client data.
- Is PHI encrypted at rest?Yes, encrypted at rest (pgcrypto) in VibeCheck, with patent-pending PHI isolation.
- Who is the AI talking to — the clinician or the client?Shaula speaks only to you, never to your clients. The between-session companion is clinician-governed, with the guardrails set by you, never engagement-seeking, and never an AI therapist.
- Can the AI act on its own?No. It drafts; you review and sign every output. It can never finalize a note or send on your behalf.
- What's the SOC 2 status?SOC 2 Type II is in progress. We say "in progress," not "certified," on purpose.
- Is the AI included, or an add-on?Included. Not a $40–50/mo scribe add-on like the platform tools charge (their own pricing pages, June 2026).
- Who built it?A practicing therapist — Matthew Sexton, LCSW, NATC, who runs his own practice on it. The story.
We compared the whole field.
Not three cherry-picked names. The twelve a therapist actually weighs: SimplePractice, TherapyNotes, Jane, TheraNest, Sessions Health, Carepatron, Mentalyc, Upheal, Headway, Grow Therapy, Alma, and Quenza. Three honest things came out of it.
Carepatron has a free tier. Sessions Health is $39/mo (their own pricing pages, verified June 2026). If you want the budget lane, it's real. Our case is one bundle and the 26 days.
What a client actually holds between sessions — daily check-ins, an AI companion, a pattern mirror, crisis support. On the client side, the board goes empty for every name above.
The empty board.
Eight things a client could hold in their hands between sessions. Here's who ships them. A ✓ means the client gets it; a ✕ means it isn't on the client side of that product. Verified June 2026 — sources at the bottom of the page.
| What the client holds | VibeCheck | SimplePractice | TherapyNotes · Jane · Sessions Health · Carepatron client portals | Mentalyc · Upheal AI scribes, no client app | Quenza worksheet pathways · no AI · billed per client |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily check-ins (STOICK method) | ✓ the daily loop, scored against R.A.V.E.S. | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ pathways are scheduled worksheets, not check-ins |
| AI companion the client talks to | ✓ clinician-channeled — your voice, your guardrails | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ no AI |
| Journaling + pattern mirror | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Homework worked in-app, with AI support | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ◐ worksheet pathways — no AI support |
| Self-assessments auto-scored | ✓ PHQ-9, GAD-7, 16 instruments | ✓ assessment library | ✕ | ✕ | ◐ inside pathways |
| Crisis support always on (988 / 741741) | ✓ built into the client app, with human escalation | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ no crisis rails |
| Graduation tail after discharge | ✓ support does not stop at the last session | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Pattern notes back to the clinician | ✓ what changed, what is stuck, what slipped | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
Everyone else's "client experience" is a portal for forms and invoices.
Headway, Grow Therapy, Alma, and TheraNest aren't in the grid because their client side is booking and paperwork — same empty board. Quenza is the only one even playing: worksheet pathways on a per-client meter, with no AI and no crisis rails (Capterra, June 2026).
How they charge.
No adjectives. Their own published numbers, dated, with the links at the bottom of the page.
Headway and Grow Therapy hand you free software, then keep roughly 20–30% of every insurance reimbursement, for as long as you see that client (healthaidaily.com, verified June 2026).
SimplePractice runs $49–99/mo, and the AI scribe is about $50/mo on top. TherapyNotes is $69/mo plus $40–50/mo for the AI (their own pricing pages, June 2026).
Quenza charges per block of clients — about $130/mo at 40 clients (Capterra, June 2026). Your caseload grows, your bill grows.
VibeCheck: $77.77/mo exact. The AI is included. Shaula is included. The price has cents because it's honest.
Included
Shaula comes with it.
The AI office, included with VibeCheck — on the one price, on every seat. Nine capabilities — your practice website, a weekly blog, page copy, decks and handouts, proposals, ad creative, your newsletter, and more. Bought piece by piece, that stack runs $250–400 a month. Shaula drafts, you approve. Nothing publishes without your yes.
Meet Shaula The measurement
Progress you can point at.
Every check-in and every pattern note is scored against R.A.V.E.S. — progress you can point at, not vibes.
- Recognition — the client names what's actually happening, in real time.
- Alignment — choices start matching values.
- Value — self-worth that holds up on a bad day.
- Evidence — concrete, observable proof of change, tracked.
- Sovereignty — the client graduates equipped, not dependent.
One product, both jobs
It sits beside your EMR — or becomes it.
VibeCheck sits beside the EMR you already run — keep your current system for charting and billing, and it adds the between-session client layer plus Shaula. When you are ready, the same product runs the whole practice: scheduling, AI-drafted notes you sign (the AI can never finalize one), and claims that go out and come back paid, to your own Stripe. We take 0% of what you collect, and card processing passes through at the raw 2.9% + 30¢ — never marked up.
No add-on tier, no upsell. The between-session companion and the full-practice EMR are the same product, on the same one price. That's the point.
See the EMR sideOne price. Exact.
VibeCheck
$77.77/mo per seat
The client app, the daily check-ins, the companion, Shaula's office, and the full-practice EMR when you want it. The whole thing, unlimited clients, on every seat.
Enterprise
By contact
The same product at organization scale — for larger practices, organizations, and EAPs. Book a walkthrough, the founder runs it.
One price, $77.77/mo per seat. Add a seat for every clinician.
Price exact, never rounded. HIPAA-eligible architecture with executed BAAs. Patent pending — U.S. Provisional 64/059,214. Built by Matthew Sexton, LCSW, NATC, who runs his own practice on it.
See the other 26 days filled.
VibeCheck is live now. One price — $77.77/mo per clinician seat, unlimited clients, the whole product on every seat.
Receipts
Sources, dated.
Every competitor figure on this page is linked to its source — the company's own pricing page where published; Capterra and healthaidaily.com otherwise. All verified June 2026, re-verified before every update.
- simplepractice.com/pricing — SimplePractice plans + AI add-on
- therapynotes.com/pricing — TherapyNotes plans + AI add-on
- sessionshealth.com/pricing — Sessions Health $39/mo
- carepatron.com/pricing — Carepatron free tier
- capterra.com — Quenza pricing — per-client blocks, ≈$130/mo at 40 clients
- healthaidaily.com — Headway / Grow Therapy reimbursement cut (20–30%)
Common questions
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What makes VibeCheck different from SimplePractice or TherapyNotes?
SimplePractice and TherapyNotes are practice-management platforms — scheduling, notes, and billing tools for the clinician. Their client side is a portal for forms and invoices. VibeCheck is built around the other 26 days a month, when the client is between sessions: daily check-ins, an AI companion the client can talk to, homework worked in-app, crisis support always on (988/741741), and pattern notes back to the clinician — all measured against the R.A.V.E.S. framework. The AI is included in one price instead of sold as a separate add-on.
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Is VibeCheck the cheapest option?
No. Carepatron has a free tier and Sessions Health is $39 a month (their own pricing pages, verified June 2026). If you want the budget lane, it exists and we will say so. VibeCheck is $77.77 a month per seat with the AI and Shaula included, and it is the only platform in the field whose client app covers the other 26 days between sessions.
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Does VibeCheck replace my EHR?
It does both jobs. VibeCheck sits beside whatever you run today — keep your current system for charting and billing, and VibeCheck adds the between-session client layer plus Shaula, the AI office. When you are ready, it also runs the whole practice: scheduling, AI-drafted notes you sign, claims, and payments. All of it is the one product, on the one price.
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What does VibeCheck cost?
One price: $77.77 a month per clinician seat — exact, never rounded — with the AI and Shaula included and unlimited clients. Add a seat for every clinician; the whole product is on every seat. Enterprise (larger practices, organizations, health systems) is by contact.