Clinical systems · Behavioral health and addiction treatment EHR
BestNotes
BestNotes is an EHR and CRM for therapy, behavioral health and addiction treatment programs, with an eMAR, a patient portal and a posted per-user price.
Strong fit
- Residential and outpatient addiction treatment programs that need an eMAR
- Behavioral health groups that want a posted per-user price and no long contract
- Programs that want an admissions CRM in the same system as the chart
Weak fit
- Teams that put a modern, streamlined interface first
- Programs whose clients struggle with online portals
- Health systems that need one EHR for medical and behavioral care
Bottom line
BestNotes is a strong pick for addiction treatment and behavioral health programs that want an EHR with an eMAR, a CRM and a posted per-user price. It suits small and mid-size residential and outpatient programs best. Teams that put a modern interface first should compare it closely with newer systems.
Score breakdown
Weights: Outcomes 35% · Product 30% · Implementation 20% · Pricing clarity 15%.
Nathan Olsen and his brothers started BestNotes, and he has led it as chief executive for about 20 years. The company is based in Twin Falls, Idaho.
BestNotes is an electronic health record (EHR) and CRM for therapy practices, behavioral health programs and addiction treatment centers, from solo clinicians to multi-site groups. It covers intake, scheduling, clinical notes, treatment plans, billing and a patient portal.
For residential care it adds an eMAR, an electronic record of each medication pass, and supports ASAM levels 3.1 through 3.7, detox and adolescent programs. The CRM tracks calls, referral sources and new leads, with a Salesforce link. BestNotes Fresh, its newer edition, is built on the FHIR data standard.
In June 2026 BestNotes said Sidekick Notes, an AI notetaker from Videra Health built into its EHR, had produced nearly 170,000 notes for 110 organizations in its first year. BestNotes is SOC 2 Type 2 certified and supports programs seeking CARF and Joint Commission accreditation.
Customer reviews on Capterra praise its phone support and how easy it is to train new staff. Several also call the interface dated and the patient portal hard for clients to use.
Kipu Health fits larger addiction treatment networks that want one platform for admissions, billing and analytics. ICANotes and Valant fit outpatient mental health practices, and Alleva and Sunwave fit treatment centers comparing other EHRs with an admissions CRM.
Competitor landscape
| Vendor | Overall | Ease of implementation |
|---|---|---|
| BestNotes | 7.8 | 7.9 |
| ICANotes | 7.6 | 7.3 |
| Valant | 7.5 | 7.6 |
| Kipu Health | 7.4 | 7.1 |
| Sunwave | 6.9 | 6.6 |
| Alleva | 6.8 | 6.9 |
Pricing
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Model | BestNotes charges a monthly fee per user on a month-to-month contract, plus a one-time setup fee. |
| What usually drives cost | For BestNotes, cost depends on the number of users and on add-ons such as AI notes, billing services, ePrescribing and telehealth. |
| What to ask before you buy | Ask BestNotes which add-ons your program needs, what each one costs, and how it will move your records from your current system. |
| Note | BestNotes includes unlimited data, training and support in the base price. |
| Published pricing | BestNotes charges $59 per user a month for the first 10 users, $25 for users 11 to 100, and $13 for each user after that. Setup is a one-time $100. |
Leadership
Methodology
| Weight | Factor | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| 35% | Customer outcomes | Whether buyers get measurable operational or clinical-workflow results after go-live |
| 30% | Product | Capability depth, reliability, and fit for the job the category buys |
| 20% | Implementation | How hard it is to stand up, integrate, train, and stabilize |
| 15% | Pricing clarity | Whether a buyer can model total cost without a mystery quote |
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Highly recommend | Strong outcomes and product with manageable caveats |
| Recommend | Solid fit for the right buyer; know the tradeoffs |
| Conditional | Only with a specific use case or heavy caveats |
| Not recommended | Avoid for most buyers in this category |
Read our full methodology for how we weight scores and assign recommend labels.