Mentalyc is an AI note-taking tool built for mental health professionals, and it's a solid option for many clinicians. But if you're running into monthly note caps, need formats that sit on a higher plan, or want more support before and after sessions, it's worth knowing what else is out there.
Key Takeaways
AI scribes can reduce documentation time, but research on documentation burden comes mostly from medical settings, so judge each tool by how well its notes hold up in your own clinical review.
Compare tools on the note formats you actually use, how notes move into your EMR, and plan limits, not just headline price.
Treat any AI scribe as a documentation aid that supports, rather than replaces, your clinical judgment, and build informed consent into your intake process.
What to Look for in a Mentalyc Alternative
Before you switch, it helps to know what matters most for your practice. Use this checklist as you compare tools:
Note formats you use regularly, including BIRP, GIRP, and PIE notes
Input options for in-person, telehealth, and after-the-fact documentation
Treatment plan support that connects goals to progress notes
How notes get into your EMR (copy-paste, browser extension, or a built-in tool)
A signed BAA, a clear recording retention policy, and a policy on AI model training
Our guide on how to evaluate AI tools as a therapist goes deeper on vetting vendors. With those criteria in place, let's look at the alternatives.
The 7 Best Mentalyc Alternatives
Pricing and features below reflect each vendor's published information as of October 2026.
1. Berries
Berries is an AI scribe built exclusively for mental health professionals, and it's designed to support you before, during, and after each session. Before a session, you get a summary of the last session, follow-up points, and an AI chat assistant that draws on the client's chart. After a session, Berries generates your note, an updated treatment plan, optional ICD-10 suggestions, and a client follow-up letter, plus Insights that reflect key takeaways, approaches, and patterns.
Berries includes 20+ built-in templates covering every major format (SOAP, DAP, BIRP, GIRP, PIE, SIRP, intake, and supervision documentation), and a template builder lets you create your own. You can document from a live session, dictation, typed text, audio upload, a handwritten note upload, or headphones mode for telehealth. A per-client medication list builds automatically across notes, which is especially useful for psychiatric practitioners.
Berries works with any EMR via copy-paste, plus PDF export. It's HIPAA and PHIPA compliant and SOC 2 certified, session recordings aren't stored, and PHI isn't used to train AI models. You can try Berries free for your first 20 sessions, then 10 sessions per month, with no credit card required. Special pricing is available for students, trainees, and early-career clinicians.
2. Upheal
Upheal now positions itself as an AI-native EHR for therapists, with an AI notes plan and a separate EHR offering. It has a free plan limited to SOAP, DAP, and intake notes (without live recording), and an AI Notes plan at $39 per month with unlimited sessions and its full set of note types.
Upheal also offers a Chrome extension, built-in telehealth, and pay-as-you-go or flat-rate EHR plans. Its template library includes 30+ formats, including EMDR and psychiatry notes, and it offers a compliance checker that reviews notes against payer criteria.
It's a good fit if you're open to moving your whole practice onto one platform. If you'd rather keep your current EMR, its AI Notes plan can still work on its own. For a head-to-head look, see our Upheal vs. Mentalyc comparison.
3. Blueprint
Blueprint is built for mental health and pairs AI documentation with measurement-based care, including built-in outcome measures and a library of assessments and interventions. You can use it alongside your current EHR (priced per session or per seat) or as an all-in-one EHR.
It supports progress notes, treatment plans, discharge summaries, and biopsychosocial assessments, with input from live recording, dictation, audio upload, or a typed summary. Blueprint states that audio is deleted after processing and that client data isn't used to train AI models.
Our Berries vs. Blueprint comparison breaks down how the two differ. It's worth a look if outcome tracking is a priority in your practice, since standardized measures can strengthen both treatment planning and medical necessity documentation.
4. AutoNotes
AutoNotes is designed for behavioral health and offers tiered plans starting at $19 per clinician per month (billed monthly). Its formats include SOAP, DAP, BIRP, GIRP, intake, group, supervision, and crisis notes.
Recording and audio upload start on the Workspace plan, while the entry plan supports typed or dictated input. Treatment plan support also scales by tier, from basic plans on the entry tier to plans tied to chart goals on the Practice tier.
AutoNotes can be a budget-friendly option if you mostly write notes from a post-session summary rather than a recording.
5. SimplePractice Note Taker
If you already use SimplePractice, its AI Note Taker is a paid add-on that drafts progress notes from in-person or telehealth sessions, plus dictation. SimplePractice states that audio is deleted after the transcript is generated.
Transcripts are kept for up to seven days or until the note is signed. The main benefit is keeping everything inside one system, with no copy-paste step. The tradeoff is that you're tied to SimplePractice's formats and pricing, and the add-on cost stacks on top of your base plan, which runs from $49 to $99 per month.
6. TherapyNotes TherapyFuel
TherapyFuel is TherapyNotes' built-in AI tool, priced at $40 per clinician per month. It supports SOAP, DAP, BIRP, and custom formats, drafts treatment plans with goals, objectives, and interventions, and works with in-person sessions or TherapyNotes Telehealth.
As of October 2026, TherapyFuel isn't available for group sessions. It's a convenient choice if TherapyNotes is already your EMR.
7. Twofold
Twofold is a general medical AI scribe that includes mental health among its specialties. It supports SOAP, DAP, BIRP, GIRP, intake, and treatment plan formats, with a 7-day free trial and copy-paste into any EHR.
Because it serves many specialties, it may need more template customization to match therapy-specific documentation standards. It can work well for clinicians in integrated or multispecialty settings.
Each of these tools handles the basics. The bigger difference is how well the notes support your documentation standards over time.
How AI Scribes Fit Into Clinical Documentation
An AI scribe should make it easier to write therapy progress notes that show medical necessity and connect back to treatment plan goals. Whatever tool you choose, you're still responsible for reviewing, editing, and signing every note.
AI drafts can miss nuance, misattribute statements between speakers, or add language you wouldn't use. Build a review habit: check risk assessment language, verify any diagnoses or codes the tool suggests, and make sure interventions match what actually happened in session.
Our article on ethical considerations when using an AI scribe covers consent, accuracy, and transparency with clients. Data handling deserves its own look, too.
Privacy and Security Questions to Ask Any AI Scribe
Every tool in this list states that it supports HIPAA compliance, but the details differ. Ask each vendor whether it signs a BAA automatically or on request, and whether it holds independent certifications like SOC 2.
Then look at retention. Some tools delete audio once the note is ready but keep transcripts until you remove them, while others delete both automatically. Mentalyc, for example, deletes audio after the note is generated and offers automatic transcript deletion on its Super and Team plans. Finally, read the vendor's policy on using client data to train AI models, and make sure your consent forms describe the tool accurately.
How to Choose the Right Mentalyc Alternative
Start with your workflow, not the feature list. If you want broad format coverage and support before and after sessions without changing your EMR, a standalone scribe like Berries is a natural fit. If you want an all-in-one platform, Upheal or Blueprint's EHR may suit you, and if you're happy with your current EMR, its built-in tool may be enough.
Then run a real test. Use each free trial on a few de-identified or consented sessions, compare the drafts against your usual notes, and check how long editing takes. Our breakdown of how much an AI scribe costs can help you compare total costs across plans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mentalyc HIPAA compliant?
Mentalyc states that it's HIPAA, PHIPA, and SOC 2 Type II compliant, and that it creates a BAA for every account. As with any vendor, review the BAA and security documentation yourself before you use it with client data.
What's the best free alternative to Mentalyc?
Several tools offer free access. Berries includes your first 20 sessions free, then 10 sessions per month, with no credit card. Upheal has a free plan with limited formats, and other tools offer time-limited trials.
Do I need client consent to use an AI scribe?
Best practice is to get informed consent before using an AI scribe, and some states and employers have specific requirements. You can use the Berries client consent form as a starting point and adapt it to your practice and jurisdiction.
Can AI scribes write group therapy notes?
Some can. Support varies by tool and plan, so confirm group documentation is included before you commit if you run groups regularly.
Are AI-generated notes accepted by insurance?
Payers evaluate the note, not the tool that drafted it. As long as you review the note, confirm it accurately reflects the session, and document medical necessity and progress toward treatment goals, an AI-assisted note is held to the same standard as one you wrote yourself.
Will switching AI scribes affect my EMR?
Usually not. Most AI scribes work alongside your EMR, so switching tools changes how you draft notes, not where your records live.
This article is for educational purposes and professional development only. It does not constitute clinical supervision or replace professional judgment in therapeutic practice.