Chartnote vs Heidi: Free AI Scribe Plans Compared (2026)
On this page
- Quick verdict
- Chartnote vs Heidi at a glance (as of November 2026)
- Pricing
- Features
- EHR integrations
- Platforms and languages
- Security and compliance
- Where each tool fits best
- FAQ
- Is Chartnote a good Heidi alternative?
- Does Heidi have a free plan?
- How much is Heidi Clinician?
- Which supports more languages?
- Can I use either with Epic?
- Practical evaluation tips
- Try Chartnote on your next visit
Heidi Health (Heidi) and Chartnote both make ambient documentation available without forcing every clinician into an enterprise contract. Both offer a free starting point, support many languages, ship mobile and desktop apps, and publish plan ladders that scale from solo use to teams.
Heidi is known for a generous Free tier (unlimited transcription with standard templates), strong global compliance positioning, and Evidence / Ask Heidi tooling. Chartnote is physician-built around AI Scribe, Voice Chart dictation, Copilot, Intelligent EHR Mapping, and Chartnote 3.0 Autosync — with SOC 2 Type II covering the whole platform on every plan and a clear “PHI never used for AI training” policy.
Here is a fair, source-based comparison as of November 2026.
Quick verdict
Choose Chartnote if you want published U.S. plan prices from free through Max, Intelligent Mapping into many web EHRs on all plans, ambient + dictation + Copilot in one product, a 14-day Pro/Max trial, and Autosync across phone and computer.
Choose Heidi if Heidi’s Free plan (unlimited standard-template notes) or Clinician plan fits your volume, you want Heidi Evidence and Ask Heidi workflows, you need Heidi’s regional hosting / multi-country compliance options, or your clinic already runs on a Heidi Connect/Embedded EHR integration.
Chartnote vs Heidi at a glance (as of November 2026)
| Chartnote | Heidi | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Basic free (15 notes/mo); Pro $39.99/mo; Max $99.99/mo; Team/Enterprise available | Free forever (standard templates + limits on advanced actions); Clinician $110/mo (per Heidi’s public comparison content); Practice/Teams/Enterprise custom — see heidihealth.com pricing |
| Best for | U.S. solo and small-practice clinicians wanting ambient + dictation + Copilot with clear plan math | Clinicians who want a free forever scribe tier, Evidence answers, and global/multi-region deployment |
| EHR support | Intelligent Mapping + Companion for web EHRs (Practice Fusion, Elation, eCW, athena, ModMed, Tebra, and more) | Embedded and Connect integrations (Epic, Oracle Cerner, athena, eClinicalWorks, and many regional EHRs); full EHR integration generally on Practice+ |
| Platforms | Web, Chrome extension, iOS, Android | Web, desktop (Windows/macOS), iOS, Android |
| Languages | 92 for AI Scribe & Voice Chart | Scribe transcription 110+ languages; Dictate 90+ (per Heidi) |
| Trial | 14-day Pro or Max trial; Basic free | Free forever plan; 14-day trial of paid Clinician/Practice |
| Compliance | HIPAA compliant; SOC 2 Type II audited; BAA; PHI never used for AI training | States HIPAA, GDPR, APP, PIPEDA compliance; ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certified (vendor wording) |
Pricing
Chartnote: Basic $0 (15 notes/month); Pro $39.99/month ($35.99 yearly); Max $99.99/month ($89.99 yearly); Team Max and Enterprise for groups. First-time Pro/Max trial is 14 days.
Heidi: Free plan with unlimited transcription/notes on standard templates and a monthly pool of advanced actions (Heidi help: 10 actions/month for custom templates, Ask Heidi, forms, linking, and similar). Paid Clinician is listed at $110 in Heidi’s own public comparison content; Practice and Enterprise are custom. Heidi’s help center points to the live pricing page for currency-specific rates and notes 14-day trials on Clinician and Practice.
If you only need standard templates forever, Heidi Free is hard to beat on price. If you need custom templates, unlimited note actions, and one-click mapping without jumping to a team plan, Chartnote Pro/Max is often the clearer U.S. self-serve path. Context: AI medical scribe pricing.
Features
Heidi focuses on ambient scribing, Dictate, specialty templates, Ask Heidi, coding (plan-dependent), Agents/Routines on higher tiers, and Heidi Evidence (citation-backed clinical answers — unlimited outside sessions on all plans, with in-session limits by region/plan).
Chartnote focuses on ambient AI Scribe, Voice Chart dictation, snippets, Copilot, billing code suggestions, after-visit summaries, custom templates with nested sections and style control, Finish Later Highlights, and Autosync across devices in Chartnote 3.0.
Both aim to keep you looking at the patient. The product shape differs: Heidi’s Evidence and global Free tier vs Chartnote’s documentation + dictation + Copilot stack with Autosync.
EHR integrations
Heidi offers Embedded (in-EHR widget) and Connect (schedule sync and note push) styles. Public materials name Epic, Oracle Cerner, athena, eClinicalWorks, and many practice-management/EHR partners. Heidi’s help center notes that integrating with an EHR provider generally requires a Practice subscription.
Chartnote uses a Chrome extension with Intelligent Mapping for a published list of web EHRs and Companion for others — available on every plan, including Basic.
If your health system already embedded Heidi in Epic, that ecosystem win matters. If you are a private practice on Practice Fusion, ModMed, Tebra, or similar and want mapping without a Practice contract, Chartnote’s model is simpler. Evaluation tips: how to choose an AI scribe.
Platforms and languages
Heidi: web, desktop apps, iOS and Android (offline transcription supported per Heidi help).
Chartnote: web, Chrome extension, iOS and Android, with mobile-as-mic and Autosync in 3.0.
Languages: Heidi cites 110+ for Scribe transcription and 90+ for Dictate. Chartnote lists 92 languages for AI Scribe and Voice Chart, including regional variants (for example Spanish Latin America, Arabic locales, Chinese variants).
Security and compliance
Chartnote: HIPAA compliant, SOC 2 Type II audited, BAA, encryption in transit and at rest on AWS, vendors under BAAs with zero retention, PHI never used to train AI.
Heidi: states compliance with HIPAA (U.S.), GDPR, UK GDPR, APP, PIPEDA and related frameworks; help center says Heidi is ISO 27001 and SOC2 certified (vendor’s wording). Audio deletion after sessions is emphasized on Heidi marketing pages.
Confirm BAAs and data residency for your country before go-live. Deeper checklist: AI scribe HIPAA questions.
Where each tool fits best
Chartnote fits better when you want predictable U.S. pricing, mapping on every plan, dictation + Copilot bundled, Autosync, and a 14-day paid-plan trial after (or instead of) Basic.
Heidi fits better when you want a free forever unlimited standard-template scribe, Heidi Evidence, multi-country compliance/hosting, desktop Dictate anywhere on screen, or an existing Heidi EHR embed at your organization.
FAQ
Is Chartnote a good Heidi alternative?
Yes for many U.S. ambulatory clinicians who want custom templates, EHR mapping without a Practice plan, and ambient plus dictation. Heidi remains compelling if Free forever or Evidence is the priority.
Does Heidi have a free plan?
Yes. Heidi’s Free plan includes unlimited transcription and notes with standard templates, with limits on advanced actions. Paid plans unlock unlimited advanced templates, Ask Heidi, and fuller EHR integration.
How much is Heidi Clinician?
Heidi’s public comparison content lists Clinician at $110/month; Practice and Enterprise are custom. Always confirm the live price on Heidi’s pricing page for your currency.
Which supports more languages?
Heidi publicly claims 110+ transcription languages; Chartnote lists 92 for AI Scribe and Voice Chart. Test accuracy on the languages your patients actually speak.
Can I use either with Epic?
Heidi documents Epic embedded/connect-style integrations (typically on higher plans). Chartnote targets web-based EHR workflows via extension mapping/Companion; confirm whether your Epic access is browser-based and whether mapping meets your bar, or whether you need a native embedded tool.
Practical evaluation tips
Put Heidi Free and Chartnote Basic on the same clinic day if you want a zero-cost bake-off, then unlock Heidi Clinician and Chartnote Pro trials for custom templates and EHR push/mapping. Pay attention to whether “free” still meets your template and integration needs after 30 visits — that is where many clinicians discover they need a paid tier on either product.
If mental health or therapy notes are in scope, also read AI documentation for mental health before you standardize templates.
Try Chartnote on your next visit
If you want ambient notes you can start free, customize to your specialty, and finish across devices with Autosync in Chartnote 3.0, start a 14-day free trial (no credit card required for Basic) or book a demo for your clinic.
