CouchNotes vs Heidi
A Heidi alternative that never uploads your sessions.
Heidi is built for clinicians at large — GPs, specialists, allied health — and it shows: broad template libraries, multi-language support, and a freemium funnel that made it one of the most-adopted scribes anywhere. For a therapist, that breadth is mostly surface area you don't use, while the part that matters — where your client's voice goes — is the same as every cloud scribe: Heidi's servers. CouchNotes is narrower on purpose: therapy note formats, consent workflows, dictation mode, and processing that never leaves your Mac.
Side by side
| Feature | Heidi | CouchNotes |
|---|---|---|
| Built for therapists specifically | No — general clinical | Yes |
| Where session audio is processed | Heidi's cloud servers | Your Mac, locally |
| Audio retention | Per Heidi's policy | Deleted on finalize, by default |
| Pricing | Freemium; paid tiers | One-time license |
| SOAP/DAP/BIRP therapy formats | Generic templates adaptable | Native, plus custom templates |
| Client AI-consent workflow | Not therapy-focused | Consent templates + logging built in |
| Works offline | No | Yes, fully |
| Platform | Browser, mobile apps | macOS (Apple Silicon) |
Heidi details as listed publicly, June 2026 — verify current terms on their site.
Where Heidi is genuinely strong
- Huge template library across medical specialties and strong multi-language support
- Free tier with real utility — low-risk way to try AI scribing
- Rapid product velocity and integrations with major EHR ecosystems
Choose Heidi instead if…
- You work across disciplines (e.g., allied health) and need non-therapy templates
- You document in languages CouchNotes doesn't support yet
- You want a free cloud scribe and cloud processing doesn't concern your practice
Common questions
Heidi is free — why would I pay for CouchNotes?
Heidi's free tier runs on cloud processing of your sessions; that's the cost. CouchNotes charges money once precisely because there's no server side monetizing usage — your audio stays on your Mac and is deleted when you finalize.
Is Heidi or CouchNotes better for a private therapy practice?
If you need breadth — multiple disciplines, many languages, EHR integrations — Heidi. If you're a therapist on a Mac whose clients ask where recordings go, CouchNotes answers that question structurally: nowhere.
Can I switch from Heidi to CouchNotes easily?
Yes. Your notes live in your EHR either way — CouchNotes outputs clean text/markdown to paste in, same as before. There's no data migration because CouchNotes doesn't hold your data.
Keep your sessions on your Mac.
CouchNotes is in development — the waitlist gets early-access pricing and first beta invites.
Comparing more tools? See the full Mac scribe roundup — or grab the free SOAP/DAP/BIRP templates while you decide.