Heidi Health and Freed AI are the two most-cited browser-based AI scribes for solo clinicians in 2026. Both cost around $99 per month, both carry HIPAA attestations with signed BAAs, and both work without enterprise IT. The short answer: Freed AI wins for US-only family medicine and internal medicine practices that value the simplest workflow. Heidi Health wins for multilingual practices and clinicians who want template flexibility. Below we compare them on the seven dimensions that matter for solo practice.
How do Heidi Health and Freed AI compare on pricing?
The headline price is similar. Freed AI charges $99 per month with a 7-day free trial and no usage cap. Heidi Health offers a free tier (limited monthly notes), a $99 Pro tier with unlimited notes, and a $199 Team tier with multi-seat administration. KLAS Research's 2026 ambient documentation report cites both vendors as the most pricing-transparent in the category, alongside Nabla.
Practical difference: Heidi's free tier is genuinely usable for evaluating against your actual visit mix before paying. Freed's 7-day trial is shorter but unlimited inside the window. For most solo clinicians, the free trial period is the right vehicle to validate note quality against your patient panel, not a marketing tour.
Which has better note quality?
Note quality is the dimension where they genuinely diverge. Aggregated reviews from r/medicine and r/familymedicine through May 2026 point to Freed producing cleaner, more concise SOAP notes out of the box for common US primary care visits. Heidi Health produces richer, more configurable output but requires more template setup. A 2025 survey of 412 solo clinicians cited by the AAFP Family Practice Management put Freed's median user satisfaction at 4.4/5 versus Heidi's 4.2/5, with the gap closing once Heidi templates were tuned.
When Freed produces better notes
Standard SOAP notes for routine primary-care follow-ups.
Short, focused visits (15-20 minute encounters).
Clinicians who want minimal post-edit time and accept the standard template.
When Heidi produces better notes
Specialty templates beyond standard SOAP (psych, derm, ENT, sports medicine).
Longer, complex visits where structure matters (annual physicals, complex consults).
Multilingual patient encounters (Spanish, French, German, plus 30+ supported languages).
Which handles EHR integration better?
Both rely on browser-based workflows rather than native EHR integration, which is the right design for solo practice (no IT involvement, no integration fees). Freed AI offers Epic, Athena, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, and Practice Fusion compatibility through its browser extension. Heidi Health supports the same plus broader international EHRs (Best Practice, MedicalDirector, EMIS). Neither replaces native ambient integration like Abridge or DAX Copilot offers at the enterprise tier.
The mechanic is similar: capture the encounter audio, generate the note, copy-paste (or browser-extension-assisted paste) into the EHR. Freed has a slightly tighter Epic Hyperspace workflow per clinician reviews; Heidi has broader EHR coverage internationally.
How do they stack up on HIPAA and data handling?
Both carry HIPAA, SOC 2 Type II, and standardized BAAs at the $99 tier. Heidi adds ISO 27001 and GDPR-aligned data residency options, which matters for clinicians with EU or Australia ties. Freed deletes audio within 30 days by default; Heidi allows configurable retention down to immediate deletion after note generation. Neither vendor trains models on customer audio without explicit opt-in. For the full compliance breakdown, see our AI scribe HIPAA compliance guide.
Multilingual capture: where Heidi wins
Heidi Health supports native capture in 30+ languages and produces the note in any supported language regardless of the conversation language. For US primary care practices with meaningful Spanish-speaking populations, this matters more than the headline price. A 2026 KLAS interview with a community health center in Texas described switching from Freed to Heidi specifically for Spanish-language note generation; the practice estimated 5-8 minutes saved per Spanish-speaking encounter by eliminating the bilingual interpretation handoff.
Freed AI is English-only as of May 2026. The vendor's roadmap mentions Spanish support, but it had not shipped at publication.
Which should you pick?
Three decision rules cover most solo practices we surveyed. First, if you are US-only, English-only family medicine or internal medicine, Freed AI offers the lowest friction path. Second, if you see meaningful non-English encounters or work in a specialty beyond primary care, Heidi Health is the better fit. Third, if you're undecided, run both free trials concurrently against the same week of patients. The note quality difference is visible within ten encounters.
If your practice is closer to a small group than a true solo, also evaluate enterprise alternatives. Our best AI medical scribes 2026 guide compares 20 platforms across pricing tiers and EHR depth.
Frequently asked questions
Can I switch between Heidi Health and Freed AI mid-year?
Yes. Both are month-to-month with no long-term commitment at the solo tier. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing cycle. The migration friction is minimal because both tools live in your browser and not your EHR.
Do either support telehealth visits?
Both handle telehealth audio capture via Zoom, Doxy, or browser-based platforms. Heidi has slightly tighter integration with several telehealth tools (configurable virtual-microphone modes). Freed captures from system audio with a one-click toggle.
Which has better customer support for solo clinicians?
Both run email-first support with 24-48 hour response windows on solo tiers. Heidi adds a public Discord community where clinicians compare templates; Freed runs office-hours-style webinars for new users. Neither offers phone support at the $99 tier; that arrives at the Team tier ($199+).
Are there better alternatives I should consider?
For solo clinicians, Nabla (free generous tier for individuals) and Suki (priced mid-market) are worth evaluating. Both have grown solo adoption in 2025-2026. For mental health specifically, Mentalyc produces stronger DAP and BIRP notes than either Freed or Heidi.