Best AI Note Takers for Therapists (2026)

Most "best AI note taker" lists for therapists read like they were written by the tools themselves. Most of those tools were designed for sales calls and board meetings, then relabeled for healthcare. This guide is different. It compares what therapists worldwide are actually choosing between — MyKaya, Mentalyc, Upheal, Carepatron, Fathom, and Granola — and focuses on what actually matters in a therapy room: whether a bot is visible to your client, whether the tool understands clinical note formats, whether it tracks safety risk or just summarizes, and whether it meets the compliance standards your practice needs.

At a glance

Feature details for third-party tools reflect each vendor's public positioning at time of writing. Confirm directly with each vendor before deciding — this category moves fast.

Why "note taker" undersells what this category should do

Calling these tools "AI note takers" is accurate but incomplete. A note taker listens and summarizes. Therapy needs more: you need to see PHQ-9 scores trending over six weeks, catch a C-SSRS flag before a client leaves the room, and have a clean SOAP note ready before your next session starts. Those are different requirements, and most generic tools only address the last one.

The distinction matters most when you are choosing between a general meeting assistant and a tool that was built for clinical work from the ground up.

MyKaya

MyKaya runs from your desktop, silently. No bot appears in the call — your client never sees a "Notetaker joined" message. It transcribes in 22+ languages, including natural code-mixing (where speakers switch languages mid-sentence), which most other tools in this category simply do not support.

It drafts notes in 20+ formats: SOAP, DAP, BIRP, CBT, DBT, EMDR, ACT, and others matched to how you actually practice — not just generic summaries. Standardized clinical screeners (PHQ-9, GAD-7, C-SSRS) live in a separate client profile section, so your notes stay clean and your risk tracking stays visible.

Session data is encrypted and isolated per practice. Unlike other platforms, MyKaya does not tier-gate customer support — priority human support is included on all plans. You can explore plans at mykaya.app/pricing (14-day free trial, no card required).

Best for: Practices that want clinical-risk tracking built in alongside documentation, without a visible bot in the room.

Mentalyc

Mentalyc is a US-focused AI progress-note generator for therapists. It turns session audio or dictation into structured notes in several formats, and is genuinely well-regarded in English-language US practices. It is HIPAA and SOC 2 compliant. Pricing runs from ~$20 to $120/month, typically with note generation caps depending on your plan tier. Priority onboarding and support is locked behind their highest-priced tier (Super Plan).

It is not built for multilingual sessions, and does not include clinical screener scoring.

Best for: US-based, English-language therapy practices wanting a dedicated progress-note generator.

Upheal

Upheal offers AI-assisted clinical documentation with video-session recording and talk-time analytics. It supports English, Spanish, Mandarin, and Hindi, and is priced from a free tier up to ~£99/mo. Recording happens via browser extensions, custom telehealth platforms, or Zoom and mobile integrations. It is HIPAA, GDPR, and SOC 2 Type II compliant. Priority support and dedicated customer success managers are reserved for custom Enterprise contracts.

Best for: US/UK practices that want session analytics (tempo, talk ratio) alongside clinical notes.

Carepatron

Carepatron is a practice management platform covering scheduling, billing, and telehealth, with AI note-taking included as part of the package. Free tier available, with paid plans from $12 to $29/mo (USD). Priority support is gated behind paid subscription tiers, with free users relying primarily on AI support and standard queues. If you need one platform to handle the administrative side of a practice and are comfortable with AI notes as a secondary feature, it is worth evaluating.

Best for: Practices that want scheduling, billing, and basic AI notes in one system.

Fathom

Fathom is a popular AI meeting assistant designed for corporate and sales teams, used by some therapists. It works via a visible bot that joins calls (or via local desktop recording), offers a generous free tier, and provides a blanket BAA for HIPAA. However, because it was built for business meetings, it does not offer clinical note formats or clinical safety screeners. Priority support is gated behind paid Team/Enterprise plans; individual free users receive standard routing.

Best for: Practices that need a HIPAA BAA for general business meetings, but do not require clinical templates or risk tracking.

Granola

Granola is a silent, bot-free AI notepad for professional meetings. Like MyKaya, it records system audio directly from your computer without a visible bot. It is not HIPAA-compliant, explicitly asks users not to store Protected Health Information, and does not sign BAAs. Business plan is $14/user/mo. It offers standard email-based support but has no priority tier.

Best for: General professionals wanting a quiet meeting recorder — not for therapists handling client PHI.

How to choose

A few questions cut through the marketing faster than any feature list:

• Does it record visibly or silently? A bot joining a therapy call changes the feel of the session, even with consent. Ask how recording actually works before signing up.
• Does it understand your clients' actual languages? Most tools are built for English-only, single-language sessions.
• Does it track clinical risk, or only summarize? Auto-scored screeners and risk alerts are a different capability than a well-written note.
• Which compliance standard does it meet? HIPAA, GDPR, and DPDP are not interchangeable. Confirm which applies to your practice and jurisdiction.
• What happens to session audio after the note is generated? Ask plainly whether content is used to train models, and what happens to your data if you cancel.