AI Scribes: Benchmarking the costs

AI scribes have made a real difference to therapists’ working lives. A useful draft after each session can mean fewer evenings spent catching up on notes and more attention available for clients.

That benefit comes with a new recurring cost. For a private practice therapist, the question is whether a scribe can produce a clinically useful therapy note for every session in a normal week.

What does a full caseload cost?

Fifteen sessions a week works out to about 65 in an average month. We compared the lowest publicly priced solo plan from each provider that covers that volume and supports therapy-specific note formats. Prices are in US dollars, billed monthly, before tax or promotions, and were checked on 5 October 2026.

Heidi’s free plan offers standard templates, while most therapy-specific templates require a paid plan. A generic SOAP note is not a substitute for a therapist’s usual format. We also excluded 40-note plans and short trials.

The annual cost adds up

These qualifying plans cost about $480 to $1,800 a year. That can be a considerable addition to the fixed costs of private practice, even when the time saved makes an AI scribe worth using.

A useful therapy note should hold onto the clinical work: the intervention, the client’s response, emerging patterns and what needs attention next. AI can prepare the draft, but the therapist still decides what belongs in the record.

AirNote’s mission is to deliver a better product for therapists and their clients while saving therapists up to $1,000 per year.