Carepatron Review: Is This Practice Management Software Worth It?
Carepatron is a cloud-based practice management and EHR platform built primarily for mental health professionals, therapists, counselors, and wellness practitioners. It launched in 2021 from New Zealand and has grown to serve over 50,000 practitioners worldwide.
The big selling point? A genuinely useful free plan and pricing that undercuts most competitors. But is it actually good, or just cheap? Let's dig in.
What Is Carepatron?
Carepatron is an all-in-one platform that combines scheduling, billing, clinical documentation, telehealth, and client management into a single HIPAA-compliant system. It's designed for solo practitioners and small to medium-sized healthcare practices—think therapists, psychologists, counselors, chiropractors, dietitians, and coaches.
The platform handles your calendar, client records, progress notes (with SOAP and DAP templates), video sessions, online booking, automated reminders, and payment processing. Basically everything you need to run a practice without juggling five different tools.
Carepatron Pricing: The Full Breakdown
This is where Carepatron gets interesting. Their pricing is genuinely competitive:
- Free Plan ($0/month) – Includes telehealth, client portal, 1 GB storage, automated billing and payments, live support, and unlimited clients. Yes, unlimited clients on the free tier.
- Professional Plan ($19/user/month) – Adds automatic reminders, two-way calendar sync, video waiting room, 5 GB storage, template import, priority support, and 5,000 tasks.
- Organization Plan ($29/user/month) – Unlimited AI credits, unlimited storage, unlimited tasks, group scheduling, group video calls, shared inbox, custom branding, and mobile app access.
Some sources show an Essential plan at $14/user/month (billed annually), so pricing may vary slightly based on billing cycle. Annual billing typically saves you money.
For insurance billing, Carepatron charges per claim: $0.25/claim for the first 199 claims, scaling down to $0.19/claim for 1,000+ claims monthly.
No setup fees, no contracts, cancel anytime. You don't even need a credit card to start with the free plan.
Carepatron Features: What You Actually Get
Scheduling and Calendar
The scheduling system lets clients book online 24/7, syncs with your personal calendar (Google Calendar, Outlook), and sends automated appointment reminders. You can filter views by team member, service type, or location.
One weakness: the system doesn't currently offer conflict notifications when multiple practitioners try to book the same room or time slot. If you run a multi-provider practice in shared spaces, this could cause scheduling headaches.
Telehealth
Built-in HIPAA-compliant video conferencing with HD video and audio. Features include a virtual waiting room, chat during sessions, and AI-powered transcription. The telehealth is included even on the free plan, which is unusual and valuable.
Clinical Documentation
Customizable templates for SOAP notes, DAP notes, progress notes, treatment plans, and assessments. The AI can help generate notes from sessions, saving significant documentation time. You can also import templates and convert voice recordings into transcripts.
The template library is extensive, with thousands of pre-built options for different specialties.
Billing and Payments
Automated invoicing, online payment processing through Stripe, and insurance claim submission (CMS-1500 forms). You can track payments, generate financial reports, and handle superbills for out-of-network clients.
The platform is PCI-DSS compliant for payment security and uses 256-bit encryption.
Client Portal
Your clients get their own portal to manage appointments, access records, communicate with you, complete intake forms, and pay bills online. This reduces back-and-forth emails and phone calls significantly.
What Users Actually Like
Based on hundreds of reviews across G2, Capterra, and other platforms, here's what practitioners consistently praise:
- User-friendly interface: The learning curve is short. Multiple users report being up and running quickly without extensive training.
- Generous free plan: Getting telehealth, unlimited clients, and a client portal at no cost is genuinely impressive for practitioners just starting out.
- Responsive customer support: Live chat support gets consistently positive mentions, with users noting fast response times.
- All-in-one convenience: Having scheduling, notes, billing, and video in one place saves significant time versus piecing together multiple tools.
- Template variety: Mental health professionals especially appreciate the documentation templates tailored to their needs.
One user on Software Advice reported saving 1-1.5 hours per week on scheduling and record management alone.
What Sucks About Carepatron
No software is perfect, and Carepatron has real drawbacks you should know about:
- Limited reporting and analytics: The platform lacks advanced reporting features. You can't easily track patient acquisition sources or marketing effectiveness.
- Storage limits on free/lower tiers: The 1 GB free storage fills up faster than you'd expect. Some users report hitting limits within a few months of normal use.
- Pricing changes: Multiple reviews mention Carepatron changing subscription models and pricing unexpectedly. One user complained their "unlimited" plan was changed without clear notice.
- Not great for pediatric practices: Several therapists note the platform isn't well-optimized for practitioners serving children and families.
- No unified communication history: There's no single place to view all emails and messages exchanged with a patient. You have to hunt through different sections.
- No scheduling conflict warnings: Multi-provider practices sharing rooms won't get alerts about double-bookings.
The storage issue is worth emphasizing. That 1 GB on the free plan includes system files, not just your attachments. Some users found their storage consumed even without uploading files. Check your usage regularly if you're on a limited plan.
Carepatron vs SimplePractice
SimplePractice is Carepatron's main competitor, trusted by over 225,000 providers. Here's how they compare:
| Feature | Carepatron | SimplePractice |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $0/month (free plan) | $49/month |
| Free Telehealth | Yes | No (add-on) |
| Unlimited Clients (Free) | Yes | No free tier |
| Insurance Billing | Per-claim fees | Included in higher tiers |
| Documentation | Good templates, AI notes | More robust, speech-to-text |
| Best For | New/budget practices | Established practices needing depth |
SimplePractice has more mature documentation features and better support for group practices. Carepatron wins on price and the free tier. If you're just starting out or running a lean solo practice, Carepatron makes sense. If you need enterprise-grade features and don't mind paying $49-99/month, SimplePractice has deeper capabilities.
Who Should Use Carepatron?
Good fit:
- Solo practitioners and small practices
- Therapists, counselors, and mental health professionals
- New practices watching every dollar
- Practitioners who need telehealth without extra costs
- Anyone wanting an all-in-one system without complexity
Not ideal for:
- Large group practices needing advanced reporting
- Pediatric-focused practices
- Anyone requiring sophisticated analytics
- Practices needing deep integrations with external systems
Security and Compliance
Carepatron takes compliance seriously:
- HIPAA compliant (audited)
- GDPR compliant
- PIPEDA compliant (Canada)
- 256-bit AES encryption for data at rest and in transit
- PCI-DSS compliant for payment processing
- SOC 2 Type II certified
For healthcare software, this is table stakes—but Carepatron checks all the boxes.
Integrations
Carepatron integrates with:
- Google Calendar
- Microsoft Outlook
- Zoom
- Stripe (for payments)
The integration list is shorter than some competitors. If you rely heavily on specific tools, verify compatibility before committing.
The Bottom Line
Carepatron is a solid choice for solo practitioners and small practices who want professional-grade practice management without enterprise pricing. The free plan is genuinely useful—not just a glorified trial—and the paid tiers are priced reasonably.
The weaknesses are real: limited reporting, storage constraints on cheaper plans, and some missing features for complex practices. But for a therapist or counselor running a private practice, it handles the essentials well.
If you're comparing options for practice management, Carepatron is worth a serious look. Start with the free plan, test it with actual clients, and upgrade only if you hit the limits.
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