The best practice management software for a UK therapist depends on one question: where will your clinical notes live? If you want notes, video and diary together, Zanda, WriteUpp, Jane and Cliniko lead. Halaxy and Carepatron also start free. Aasure suits therapists who want booking, reminders and client admin handled, but keep notes elsewhere.
We are one of the seven. Aasure appears below alongside six competitors, so read this knowing who wrote it. We say plainly where the others beat us, because for clinical work they often do. Every price also links to the vendor's own page, which we checked in September 2026. When a vendor shows dollars, we say so instead of converting.
What therapists need from practice management software
A therapist's needs differ from a salon's, because the stakes are higher. After all, your records hold some of the most private facts a person ever shares. So you should judge practice management software on security first, and convenience second.
Demand is also growing. In 2026, BACP's Public Perceptions Survey found 37% of UK adults have now seen a therapist. That figure was 33% in 2019, so more clients are looking. As a result, many practices now juggle more bookings, notes and invoices each week.
Your notes are special category data
UK GDPR treats health information as "special category data", so it needs extra protection. In particular, the ICO lists "data concerning health" in that group, and that includes mental health. The ICO also says this kind of data needs "greater care". Therefore, any practice management software that stores session notes carries real responsibility.
Your professional body says the same thing, but in its own words. For example, the BACP Ethical Framework asks members to keep records that comply with data protection law. It also describes the duty below.
actively protecting information about clients from unauthorised access or disclosure.
If you are registered with UKCP instead, check its Code of Ethics and Professional Practice as well. Our plain-English guide to GDPR for private practice covers the legal side in full.
The four questions that decide it
Once you have security covered, four practical questions narrow down your practice management software.
- Clinical notes. Do you want session notes in your diary, or kept apart?
- Video. Do you see clients online, and does the price include video?
- Data location. Does the vendor say where it stores UK accounts, and in which country?
- Price. What does one practitioner pay each month, before add-ons?
The seven practice management software tools, one by one
We picked practice management software that UK therapists actually shortlist, if the vendor publishes enough to compare. Each entry names who it suits, and then where it falls short. Prices also exclude VAT unless we say otherwise.
Aasure: admin-first, one flat fee
Aasure's pricing is £29 a month on Solo, £59 on Growth and £89 on Scale, including VAT. Every plan includes every feature, and the plans differ only in staff seats. Every plan also starts with a 30-day free trial, with no card or setup fee.
Aasure is practice management software for the business side of a practice. That means booking, email reminders, a waitlist that offers freed slots, and client notes with visit history. Intake and consent forms are coming soon, as our page for therapists explains. Your cancellation notice also shows at booking. So the system raises the policy, rather than you raising it in a session.
On data, Aasure stores customer data in the United States. Aasure also does not sell your data or use it to train models.
Where it does not win. Aasure has no clinical note templates, no video sessions and no insurer billing. So if you want structured progress notes beside your diary, the specialists below do that better. We are also newer than every other tool here.
WriteUpp: UK clinical records, built with the NHS in mind
WriteUpp's pricing page lists Solo from £27.95 a month, covering one clinician plus one admin user. That price also includes online booking and 100 SMS credits a month. Then an AI Medical Scribe adds £23.95, so Solo plus AI Scribe costs £49.95. Video consultation comes as an optional add-on. Meanwhile, the 30-day free trial needs no card.
As practice management software, WriteUpp's strength is depth of clinical record-keeping. For instance, its homepage reports over 50,000 practitioners and 9.5 million clinical notes stored. In addition, its security page says the company holds ISO 27001 certification. It also says its developer has supplied NHS therapy teams for over ten years.
Where it falls short. That same security page says WriteUpp stores data in two EU locations. But it does not mention UK storage. For most therapists that is still fine under UK GDPR. Even so, if you promised clients "UK only", check first.
Cliniko: every feature on every plan
Cliniko's pricing page showed US$45 a month for one practitioner when we checked. Then two to five practitioners cost US$95 in total. Every plan includes every feature, so SMS is the only extra, at 10 cents a message. There is also a 30-day free trial.
Cliniko's features page describes customisable treatment notes and full invoicing. In addition, telehealth sits inside the subscription. Cliniko also says practitioners use its practice management software in more than 95 countries.
On data, Cliniko's security page is direct. In short, it says a UK account's data "will stay in the UK". It also encrypts data at rest with AES-256. Its UK GDPR help article explains its data processing addendum and UK representative.
Where it falls short. Cliniko's homepage describes it as allied health software, a group that includes physiotherapy. So its language leans towards "patients" and "treatments", which some counsellors find jarring. The dollar price also means your sterling bill can move.
Four more practice management software options for therapists
The remaining tools range from free to mid-priced. In practice, each one suits a different stage of a practice.
Jane: UK data, with insurer billing
Jane's UK pricing starts at £29 a month on Balance. But that plan caps you at 20 appointments a month. Next, Practice costs £44 and Thrive costs £55, each for one full-time practitioner. One-to-one video comes on every plan, while group video costs £8 per practitioner. Unlimited AI Scribe then adds £15.
For UK therapists, Jane stands out from other practice management software on insurer billing. Its Insurance Billing add-on costs £10 a month on Practice or Thrive. The pricing page also mentions a Healthcode integration. Healthcode runs the Private Practice Register, which lists 56,593 registered practitioners. So if some clients claim through a private medical insurer, Jane saves real admin.
On data, Jane's GDPR guide says Jane "stores your data on servers located in the UK". That promise also applies to European clinics.
Where it falls short. Because Balance stops at 20 appointments, it suits a part-time practice only. So a therapist seeing 15 clients weekly would need Practice at £44.
Zanda (formerly Power Diary): cheapest paid option
Zanda's UK pricing lists Starter at £15 a month for one practitioner and 1,000 appointments. Growth then costs £25, plus £15 for each extra practitioner. Starter also includes a client booking portal, paperless intake forms and ready-to-use progress notes. Four telehealth sessions a month come free, and then Telehealth Pro costs £7. SMS costs 9p a message on top.
For a solo therapist, that is the lowest published sterling price for practice management software with clinical notes built in. Moreover, Zanda's UK security page says it hosts UK data in the UK. The same page says Zanda holds ISO 27001 certification too.
Where it falls short. Four free video sessions will not cover an online-first practice. So once you add Telehealth Pro and SMS, the real bill climbs above the headline.
Carepatron: a generous free plan
Carepatron's pricing showed a free plan with unlimited clients, telehealth, a client portal and an AI scribe. But storage stops at 1GB. Paid Plus lists at US$31 per user monthly, while Advanced lists at US$39. When we checked, both carried a six-month discount.
In addition, its compliance page describes 256-bit encryption and SOC 2 certification.
Where it falls short. But that page does not say where Carepatron stores UK accounts. So ask before your first note goes into this practice management software.
Halaxy: free software, paid extras
Halaxy's pricing page says it is free "for any practitioner, any size practice, anywhere". Instead, this practice management software earns money from card fees and credits. For example, card payments cost 1.5% to 1.9% per transaction. Meanwhile, credits pay for SMS, telehealth and the AI scribe. Its homepage lists counsellors and psychologists among the professions it serves.
Where it falls short. When we checked, Halaxy's pricing page quoted credits in Australian dollars, so your costs can move. Its security page also says EU users' data stays in the EU. Yet it does not mention the UK specifically, so confirm that first.
Why SimplePractice is not on this list
SimplePractice is popular practice management software, so you may expect it here. But SimplePractice builds its product for practice in the United States.
For example, SimplePractice's pricing page quotes every plan in US dollars, from US$49 a month. Its add-ons include ePrescribe and insurance claims, which serve US practice. We also found no UK plan and no statement on UK data storage there.
As a result, a UK counsellor would pay in dollars for features they cannot use. By contrast, the practice management software above publishes UK prices or UK data promises. For that reason, we left SimplePractice out of the comparison.
Practice management software prices side by side
Headline prices only tell part of the story, because extras add up. So the table below adds what each price actually includes. We then checked every figure in September 2026.
| Tool | One therapist, per month | Clinical notes | Video | Where UK data lives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aasure | £29 (30-day free trial) | Client notes only | No | US |
| WriteUpp | From £27.95 | Yes | Add-on | EU |
| Cliniko | US$45 | Yes | Included | UK |
| Jane | £29 (capped) or £44 | Yes | One-to-one included | UK |
| Zanda | £15 | Yes | 4 free a month | UK |
| Carepatron | Free, or US$31 | Yes | Included | Not stated |
| Halaxy | Free, plus fees | Yes | Paid credits | EU; UK not stated |
Two costs also hide beneath every headline figure.
Text messages. Most tools meter SMS reminders. For instance, Zanda charges 9p a message. So two reminders for 60 sessions a month means 120 texts, or £10.80.
Card fees. Any practice management software that takes payments also charges a percentage. Our real bill calculator adds both costs back in. And as your income grows, remember Making Tax Digital for sole traders. But no practice management software here files your tax return for you.
Where specialist clinical tools beat Aasure
We would rather name our limits than let you find them later. So here are the cases where clinical practice management software is the better choice.
You write detailed progress notes after every session. WriteUpp, Cliniko, Jane and Zanda all offer structured clinical notes. By contrast, Aasure keeps simple client notes and visit history, not clinical templates.
You work online. Cliniko, Carepatron and Jane include video. But Aasure has none, so you would add a separate video tool.
Clients claim through a private medical insurer. In that case, Jane's Insurance Billing add-on, with its Healthcode integration, fits best. However, Aasure does not create invoices or send claims to insurers.
You run a clinic with reception staff. Cliniko includes unlimited reception users and locations, and Zanda Growth adds multiple locations. Aasure carries a team too, with up to seven staff on Growth and 20 on Scale. Even so, Cliniko and Zanda publish reception and multi-location support, which a larger clinic may want.
That said, many solo counsellors keep brief notes on paper or in a secure document. For them, the pain is the admin, not the notes. So a lighter tool does the job, and our Calendly alternative comparison shows the difference.
How to choose practice management software in ten minutes
First, start with your notes, because they decide most of your practice management software shortlist. Then work down the list below.
- Notes stay elsewhere, and you want the admin gone → Aasure, for booking, reminders and client records.
- Notes in the diary, but budget near zero → Halaxy, or the Carepatron free plan.
- Notes in the diary, and some clients claim on insurance → Jane, with Insurance Billing.
- Notes in the diary, at the lowest sterling price → Zanda Starter at £15.
- Notes in the diary, with the deepest UK clinical records → WriteUpp.
- Notes in the diary, with every feature on one plan → Cliniko.
Next, before you commit, work out what a client is worth to you. For example, a client seen weekly for six months at £60 brings in over £1,500. Our client lifetime value calculator then runs your own numbers. Seen that way, the gap between two subscriptions looks small.
Five checks before practice management software holds client records
Whichever practice management software you choose, run these checks before you import a single file.
- First, get the data processing agreement, and read the part on where data lives.
- Next, ask what happens to your data if you leave, and test the export.
- Then, turn on two-factor login for every account that can open notes.
- Also, update your privacy notice so clients know which tool holds their records.
- Finally, book a test session as a pretend client, from booking to invoice.
The first check matters most. In fact, the ICO's guidance on processor contracts lists what the contract must cover. For example, it must cover security, and deleting or returning data when the contract ends.
If you are still setting up, our private therapy practice checklist covers insurance, supervision and registration too. And if you are leaving an old system, see our guide to switching booking software. It shows how to run both systems side by side until the old one empties.
Common questions
What is the best practice management software for a UK therapist?
It depends on where your clinical notes should live. For notes, video and diary in one place, look at Zanda, WriteUpp, Jane or Cliniko. On a tiny budget, try Halaxy or Carepatron's free plan. Aasure suits therapists who mainly want the admin handled, while notes stay elsewhere.
Does therapy software have to store data in the UK?
No, but UK GDPR does ask for safeguards. You need a written contract with the provider, and transfers abroad need extra protection. So storage in the UK or EU makes life simpler. Cliniko, Jane and Zanda each say UK accounts stay in the UK. By contrast, WriteUpp says it stores data in the EU.
Do I need clinical notes software as a counsellor?
Not necessarily. BACP asks for accurate records that comply with data protection law, but it does not name a format. Some counsellors keep brief paper notes in a locked cabinet. Others want encrypted notes beside the diary. So choose the method you will keep up securely every week.
Which therapy software includes video sessions?
Several do. Cliniko includes telehealth in its subscription, and Carepatron includes it on the free plan. Jane includes one-to-one video, and Zanda gives four free sessions a month. WriteUpp also sells video as an add-on. Aasure does not offer video, so you would pair it with a separate video tool.
Is free practice management software safe for therapists?
It can be, but check how the provider earns its money. Halaxy charges card fees and paid credits for extras like SMS and telehealth. Carepatron's free plan also caps storage at 1GB. In either case, read the data processing agreement first. Also check where your notes will actually sit.
Hand the admin to Aasure, and keep your evenings.
Aasure runs booking, reminders, client records and email marketing for UK private practitioners on one flat monthly fee. There is no commission and no per-client charge. Every plan starts with a 30-day free trial, and no card is needed.
Sign up Work out what one client is worth →