In a perfect world, running a coaching business would only include what coaches enjoy the most: client calls and creating transformative programs.
However, as your practice grows, it becomes increasingly important to have a solid system for the administrative parts: scheduling, managing contracts and invoices, and messaging between sessions–not to mention taking notes! A physical notebook or Word document quickly becomes impractical, and the last thing you want is to frantically browse through a notebook five minutes before a coaching call.
Most coaches use software like SimplePractice to stay organized, saving hours of work and headaches. In this article, we’ll examine this tool in-depth and explore SimplePractice alternatives.
What is SimplePractice?
SimplePractice is an electronic health record (EHR) solution designed for health professionals who see their clients in person or online. It is a one-stop solution to meet all their administrative and client-facing needs. SimplePractice includes a client portal where your customers can manage their appointments.
As the name suggests, this software aims to simplify business and life for practitioners. Imagine having a bunch of notebooks and papers for different aspects of your business vs. one central binder where everything is color-coded and neatly organized.
Among its users, SimplePractice sees behavioral health and wellness practitioners, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, dietitians and nutritionists, and physical therapy practitioners. Life, business, and mental health coaches are a smaller user group.
SimplePractice takes care of the following:
- Scheduling
- Insurance
- Documentation
- Security
- Billing
- Client portal
- Website builder
- Telehealth
- Support
Why Find SimplePractice Alternative?
There are several reasons why people want to find a SimplePractice alternative. Some of them are:
Cost
The Starter subscription costs $29/month but lacks essential features like appointment reminders and online appointment requests.
User experience
The learning curve can be overwhelming for some, leading them to revert to old solutions that may not fully meet their needs.
Target audience mismatch
SimplePractice is mainly for mental health professionals and may not cater to life coaches, lacking specific features like intake forms.
Lack of the latest features
- Despite its credibility since 2011, SimplePractice may not be as innovative or integrative with other systems as newer solutions.
- Users report limitations in customization, client data privacy concerns, and the absence of a group coaching feature.
Customer support
Alternatives may offer better customer support, which is crucial during urgent client situations.
(Note: a quick internet search shows that the lack of efficient customer service is a central complaint among users.)
Integration with other systems
SimplePractice may not integrate well with preferred systems like Acuity, Calendly, or Schedulista, prompting users to seek alternatives.
Can SimplePractice be used for life coaching services?
Yes! However, this client management software is designed with healthcare providers and mental health professionals in mind. For life coaches, terms like “patient scheduling” may feel out of place. So, as a life coach, you may want to look for alternatives to SimplePractice.
SimplePractice’s customer support claims that you must create customized client intake and progress note templates with questions and prompts relevant to life coaches. You can use our templates to make your coaching forms. If you’re willing to do that extra work, go for it!
If you prefer a ready-made solution with all the essential features to elevate your coaching business, consider exploring alternatives to SimplePractice.
12 SimplePractice Alternatives
If you’re curious about exploring alternatives to SimplePractice, here are our recommendations. Some were created with therapists or coaches in mind, while others are general software solutions tailored to business owners and independent practices.
- Paperbell
Paperbell is a one-stop shop created specifically for life coaches. It’s for coaches who want to use their time to facilitate deep transformations instead of chasing late payments.
Paperbell handles online payments, scheduling, offer pages, client management, contract signing, and everything else associated with running a successful coaching business. It also offers a popular content delivery feature, where clients can access PDFs, videos, and worksheets.
Paperbell also supports group coaching programs or programs that are a mix of 1:1 and group. Check out our guide on how to use Paperbell.
- Tebra
Tebra is the lovechild between Kareo and PatientPop. Users who have tried SimplePractice and Tebra claim that the latter is easier to administer and do business with. Tebra has a patient portal that can easily be used to coach clients in managing their appointments.
Pricing: Upon request—users are prompted to schedule a free demo.
- TherapyNotes
TherapyNotes is geared toward practitioners in behavioral health. The solution features an integrated system to handle your scheduling, notes, and billing. Overall, it’s easier to use than SimplePractice but somewhat less robust. TherapyNotes can brag about being the highest-rated EHR on Trustpilot – at the time of writing, it has a score of 4.8 out of 5.
Pricing: Individual users pay $49/month, and clinic or enterprise users pay $59/month.
- Epic
Epic is among the veterans in the EHR space. The software has helped health and wellness practitioners manage their businesses since 1979. While reputable, some users comment it’s slow, and the user interface could be more intuitive.
Pricing: It is not mentioned on their website. According to SelectHub, quotes start at $10,000/year, making it one of the most expensive solutions.
- Spruce Health
Spruce Health is a comprehensive software with features like client management, messaging service, auto-replies, and video conferencing. It also has a Slack-style team chat to connect with your team.
Users have mentioned that this EHR lacks key functionalities like scheduling, so it might not be the first choice for life coaches if you’re not ready to use a separate booking system. Allegedly, their customer support can also be hard to reach beyond a chatbot.
Pricing: The Basic subscription is $24/month, and the Communicator is $49/month. The latter includes functionalities like API access and integrations.
- TheraNest
TheraNest helps therapists, psychologists, social workers, and counselors manage their practices. It can be used by individuals and practices. This is an excellent option for coaches who have a team and want to communicate internally. You can also use it as a solopreneur.
Some popular features are templates for note-taking to keep track of each client’s progress. However, TheraNest lacks some features that could be relevant to coaches, such as the option to book group sessions.
Pricing: TheraNest offers a free 21-day trial; no credit card needed. After that, the price depends on the number of clients you have. For example, up to 30 clients lands at $39/month, up to 80 clients is $91/month, and the cost for 80+ clients is quoted upon request.
- Practice Better
Practice Better has a client portal and a feature for creating courses and programs. This practice management software is specifically helpful for nutritionists and dietitians since it comes with integrated tools for food, water, and weight management. You can also create prescriptions and order labs. Thus, it could be an excellent choice for health coaches.
Practice Better has received praise for its responsive support team. However, like some other practice management software, it lacks features for managing group programs, such as the capability of hosting group calls or creating group packages and offers.
Pricing: Practice Better offers a free trial for all its subscriptions. The subscriptions range from the Starter at $25/month to the Team at $145/month.
- Luma Health
Luma Health focuses on creating an easy customer journey and is highly rated among its users. Patients can chat using the integrated messaging system. It also has a “smart waitlist” function that offers your clients a spot if someone cancels their booking. That said, Luma Health is focused on health professionals, and coaches may find they lack key tools and features, such as the ability to create offer packages and sales pages.
Pricing: Luma Health does not disclose their pricing details but prompts users to book a demo. This suggests it’s a solution suitable for established companies.
- Copilot
In contrast to the other SimplePractice alternatives covered, Copilot is not specifically aimed at mental health professionals. It is a platform for agencies, freelancers, and startups to help them run and grow their businesses. Life coaches can benefit from scheduling, client forms, easy billing, in-app messaging, and the ability to create and manage contracts.
Pricing: Their packages range from Starter at $29/month to Custom (price upon request) with up to 10,000 clients.
- Dubsado
This business management software is designed with coaches in mind. It has a client portal and lets your customers sign contracts.
Dubsado has an email feature that allows you to send customized welcome emails in one click. It is robust and flexible, but on the flip side, it has a relatively steep learning curve. You need to be willing to invest some time, but it can be worth it if you need functionalities like contracts, a client portal, and invoicing in one place.
Pricing: The Starter plan is $20/month for unlimited clients. The Premier plan, with automations and integrations, is $40/month.
- Podium
Podium is different from the other alternatives on this list. It is an AI lead generation and client management platform that lets you manage your marketing efforts and client reviews. Thus, it involves the steps before and after a client signs up.
Podium also includes reputation management. Since it offers many more functionalities than “simple” client management software, it’s also substantially more expensive. Podium may be an alternative for more established coaches.
Pricing: Subscriptions start at $399/month for the Core option. The more sophisticated tier Pro is $599/month. Contrary to the other options, Podium also helps you with lead generation powered by AI, which motivates the higher price point.
- HoneyBook
HoneyBook helps coaches through the entire customer journey. From signing the contract to creating invoices, scheduling sessions, sending automated emails, and collecting feedback after a client contract ends, HoneyBook takes care of every step of the journey.
It lacks more substantial functionalities, such as a client portal where you can upload documents or book group sessions. However, the price is lower, so it could still be a good option for beginners.
Pricing: The Starter subscription is $8/month (billed yearly). Essentials at $16/month allows custom branding and up to 2 team members, and Premium at $33/month includes unlimited team members and priority support.
Conclusion: SimplePractice Alternatives
Life coaches can save money and find satisfying business management software solutions by considering SimplePractice alternatives.
Although SimplePractice is still popular, it lacks the customization and customer support life coaches look for. It is tailored with mental health professionals in mind. It can’t help you with everyday things you may be looking for, such as creating group coaching programs, hosting group coaching calls, and crafting sales pages with payment plans for your offers.
We hope this list has inspired you to find the perfect software for you and your coaching business.
