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 free public beta. Enter your email and we'll send your download link — free during beta, no card and no account. Also available for Windows 10/11.
Comparing more tools? See the full Mac scribe roundup — or grab the free SOAP/DAP/BIRP templates while you decide.