By Clara Team
Clara vs Heidi: which to choose
Choose according to scope: a documentation assistant adaptable across clinical contexts or an environment focused on psychotherapy practice. Heidi has a mental-health offer; dismissing it as simple medical dictation would be unfair. Clara adds practice administration and continuity, but is not automatically better if you already have those covered.
Disclosure: This guide is published by Clara's team, one of the products compared. It describes features and terms advertised on official pages, reviewed October 2, 2026. It is not an independent performance test. We recommend other products when they better fit the stated need.
The short answer
- Heidi: Start with Heidi if you want a clinical assistant and template community without rethinking the whole practice.
- Clara: Start with Clara if you want therapy documentation, between-session context and practice administration together.
The options at a glance
| Product | Where to start | Published pricing and terms | What to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heidi | Start with Heidi if you want a clinical assistant and template community without rethinking the whole practice. | Advertises free access; check current paid tiers and feature limits. We do not quote an unverified paid-plan price. | Do not equate a documentation assistant with a solution for Spanish invoicing, consent management and the whole practice. |
| Clara | Start with Clara if you want therapy documentation, between-session context and practice administration together. | From €19.99/month; €29.99 and €49.99 plans. One-month trial without a card. Check plan limits and annual billing. | Do not choose it merely to consolidate tools. |
Heidi
- Where to start
- Start with Heidi if you want a clinical assistant and template community without rethinking the whole practice.
- Published pricing and terms
- Advertises free access; check current paid tiers and feature limits. We do not quote an unverified paid-plan price.
- What to verify
- Do not equate a documentation assistant with a solution for Spanish invoicing, consent management and the whole practice.
- Where to start
- Start with Clara if you want therapy documentation, between-session context and practice administration together.
- Published pricing and terms
- From €19.99/month; €29.99 and €49.99 plans. One-month trial without a card. Check plan limits and annual billing.
- What to verify
- Do not choose it merely to consolidate tools.
The difference worth testing
Use a fictional fifty-minute session and the same intended record structure in both tools. Compare omissions, speakers, provisional formulation and next steps. Template count is not clinical fidelity, and a long note is not necessarily useful. Check what you can change before adding it to the record.
A case that separates the two options
If you work in another healthcare specialty too, Heidi may avoid adopting separate documentation tools for each setting. If your week revolves around psychotherapy and reviewing a client's progress before the next session, test Clara's context retrieval. Neither output should become an automatic risk assessment or treatment recommendation without review.
Cost and switching tools
An alternative to Heidi need not replace your practice-management system. Compare documentation tools such as Psypilot or PsaicoTools, or consider Clara if you also want invoices and scheduling connected. Check exports and keep previously approved records distinct from new drafts. Free access is worth exploring, but its limits are part of the decision.
Heidi
Heidi is a clinical assistant across specialties, with a dedicated mental-health offering. It advertises transcription, progress notes, letters and structures adapted to a clinician's modality. Its template community and clinical-information tools belong to a broader healthcare ecosystem rather than a psychotherapy practice-management workflow.
Published pricing and terms: Advertises free access; check current paid tiers and feature limits. We do not quote an unverified paid-plan price.
When it may be the better fit
It may be better than Clara if you work across healthcare specialties, already use its ecosystem or value a broad template community. You can evaluate documentation without starting from a full practice-administration migration. Still test a psychotherapy session: a suitable template does not guarantee that every clinical nuance will be represented well.
Limits and open questions
Do not equate a documentation assistant with a solution for Spanish invoicing, consent management and the whole practice. Check languages, plan limits, data-processing terms and exports. A public mental-health offering is not a substitute for testing your therapeutic orientation or reviewing the legal basis of your particular use.
Clara
Clara brings together client records, scheduling, reminders, invoicing and documentation designed for psychotherapy. It prepares a read-only transcript and a separate editable clinical note draft. The clinician reviews the record, corrects it and decides when it represents their work. Context from earlier sessions can also support preparation for the next appointment.
Published pricing and terms: From €19.99/month; €29.99 and €49.99 plans. One-month trial without a card. Check plan limits and annual billing.
When it may be the better fit
Start with Clara when you want practice administration connected to notes shaped around your therapeutic orientation. Spanish, Catalan and English, explicit clinician review and continuity between sessions are concrete things to evaluate. Invoicing is ready for VeriFactu; product support does not replace advice about your particular tax situation.
Limits and open questions
Do not choose it merely to consolidate tools. If you need clinician commission settlements, full accounting, a public booking portal or a particular messaging channel, verify that requirement before subscribing. AI prepares drafts, not clinical decisions. Processing is not exclusively on-device: encrypted audio may remain for up to 14 days, and a local recovery copy for up to 7 days.
What to test before choosing
- Write down one essential requirement and one preference before starting trials.
- If you work in another healthcare specialty too, Heidi may avoid adopting separate documentation tools for each setting. If your week revolves around psychotherapy and reviewing a client's progress before the next session, test Clara's context retrieval. Neither output should become an automatic risk assessment or treatment recommendation without review.
- Record required corrections, the suitable plan's cost and a sample export. Decide from that evidence.
Frequently asked questions
Is Heidi better than Clara?
Choose according to scope: a documentation assistant adaptable across clinical contexts or an environment focused on psychotherapy practice. Heidi has a mental-health offer; dismissing it as simple medical dictation would be unfair. Clara adds practice administration and continuity, but is not automatically better if you already have those covered.
What should I verify before using Heidi or Clara with real data?
Review the lawful basis, required information and decisions, data-processing agreement, processors, retention, exports and access. Start with a fictional case. A marketing description of a feature does not replace these steps or establish clinical quality.
Sources and review date
Public offers reviewed October 2, 2026. Confirm prices, limits, languages and plan terms before subscribing. Unconfirmed features remain questions to verify, not assumed absences. Review your particular billing and data-protection situation with an adviser.
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Heidi: Public provider information reviewed for this guide.
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Clara: Sources and review date 1; Sources and review date 2; Sources and review date 3; Sources and review date 4; Sources and review date 5