Home
Resource Center
Practice Mate Vs SimplePractice: A Feature-By-Feature Comparison

Practice Mate Vs SimplePractice: A Feature-By-Feature Comparison

Last Updated May 12, 2025· 6 mins Read

Written by

Danial Kahloon

Senior Advisor, AI Product Strategy

Electronic health record (EHR) and practice management systems play a direct role in improving healthcare delivery. About 75% of providers say their EHR helps them deliver better care, and 88% report clinical benefits for their practice.

With so much riding on the right system, many practices turn to solutions like Practice Mate and SimplePractice—two platforms known for supporting day-to-day clinical and administrative workflows.

This guide takes a closer look at Practice Mate vs SimplePractice, comparing their features, pros and cons, pricing, and user feedback to help practitioners choose the right fit for their needs.

Head-On Comparison

Office Ally Practice Mate is a comprehensive practice management solution utilized by over 150,000 monthly active users and supported by more than 1.4 million National Provider Identifiers (NPIs). The platform processes over 950 million annual transactions, connecting with over 6,000 payers and handling claims valued at over $250 billion.

Trusted by more than 80,000 healthcare organizations of varying sizes, Practice Mate offers features such as scheduling, billing, and customizable SOAP notes. Additionally, Office Ally's ‘Service Center’ serves as a portal powered by their all-payer clearinghouse, facilitating tasks like patient insurance eligibility verification and electronic remittance advice.

SimplePractice is an all-in-one practice management platform used by over 225,000 practitioners and more than 16 million clients. In the past year alone, the platform has processed 25.4 million insurance claims.

It offers a unified suite of tools for handling everything from administrative work to clinical care, including telehealth, paperless intakes, treatment planning, and a secure client portal. The platform is HIPAA-compliant and meets industry standards with HITRUST certification and PCI compliance, reinforcing its commitment to privacy and security.

Practice Mate Vs SimplePractice: At A Glance

Features	Practice Mate	SimplePractice
Patient Portal	✓	✓
E-Prescription	✓	✓
Scheduling	✓	✓
Payments	✓	✓
Insurance	✓	✓
Telehealth	✓	✓
EHR Integration	✓	✓
Mobile App	✗	✓

Practice Mate Vs SimplePractice: Comparing Strengths And Weaknesses

Practice Mate

SimplePractice

Pros:

Exemplary customer support

Users appreciate its scheduling options

Helps with claims processing

Cons:

The design could use a modern refresh

Some symbols may not be compatible

Pros:

Improves client communication

Users appreciate its ‘Wiley Treatment Planners’

Visually appealing design

Cons:

Could benefit from live support

Frequent updates may cause downtime

Practice Mate Vs SimplePractice: Side-By-Side Feature Comparison

Patient Portal

‘Patient Ally’ by Office Ally Practice Mate is a web-based portal that lets patients securely message their providers, view upcoming appointments, access clinical notes, and receive lab results. It supports online appointment requests and allows patients to complete intake documents that automatically integrate with the provider’s system. Additionally, users can upload documents for their provider to review.

SimplePractice’s ‘Client Portal’ offers a comprehensive and user-friendly experience. Clients can schedule and reschedule appointments, securely message their provider, complete paperless intake and assessment forms, and pay invoices—all from one place. The patient portal is accessible via a dedicated mobile app available for both iOS and Android, supporting flexible care access on the go.

Winner: SimplePractice takes the lead with its broader functionality, including mobile app access, integrated payments, and self-service scheduling.

E-Prescription

Practice Mate’s ‘OA-Rx’ is a fully integrated e-prescribing solution that supports ‘Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances’ (EPCS). It enables providers to manage renewals, change requests, prior authorizations, and check for drug interactions or formulary alternatives. ‘OA-Rx’ integrates directly with Practice Mate and EHR 24/7, allowing for a streamlined prescribing workflow within the existing system.

SimplePractice offers ‘ePrescribe’ as a paid add-on feature for all plan tiers. It allows clinicians to prescribe medications, including controlled substances, and is powered by DrFirst. The platform provides access to a client’s medication history, helping providers make informed decisions during treatment. Additionally, SimplePractice gives you the option to add PDMP integration, enabling tracking of controlled substance prescriptions and identifying patients at risk for overdose.

Winner: SimplePractice stands out with its built-in medication history tracking, optional PDMP integration, and a well-rounded e-prescribing experience.

Payments

Practice Mate's ‘Patient Payments’ system, powered by Stripe, is an add-on that integrates seamlessly with ‘Service Center’. It enables practices to accept payments through multiple channels, including online and in-office, without requiring additional hardware. A key feature includes the ability to store patient cards for future payments. The system is designed for quick setup, allowing practices to begin processing payments within minutes. Its integration with existing workflows aims to enhance financial efficiency and streamline operations.

SimplePractice offers an integrated, HIPAA-compliant credit card processing feature that allows clients to make payments directly through the ‘Client Portal’. Practices can enroll clients in AutoPay, enabling automatic medical billing for services rendered. The system supports the storage of client cards (credit and debit cards, FSA and HSA cards) with bank-level security and facilitates the generation of digital invoices, statements, and superbills.

Winner: Practice Mate wins for offering fast, hardware-free payment processing and seamless integration into existing workflows.

Scheduling

Office Ally Practice Mate provides scheduling tools that allow providers to book and manage patient appointments. It supports appointment booking and management, and integrates with ‘Reminder Mate’, which sends automated appointment reminders via text, phone call, or email in up to 16 languages. These reminders can be customized by appointment type and delivery method, helping reduce no-shows and last-minute cancellations.

SimplePractice includes a fully integrated, HIPAA-compliant scheduling system with a customizable calendar. Providers can set availability, manage recurring appointments, and view schedules. The calendar supports color-coded appointments to help providers stay organized at a glance. Clients can request sessions via the ‘Client Portal’, and the system allows calendar sync with Google calendar, iCal, and Outlook. Automated appointment reminders via text or email are also included to reduce missed visits.

Winner: It’s a tie as SimplePractice offers advanced calendar tools, while Practice Mate shines with multilingual reminders.

Insurance

Office Ally Practice Mate offers an ‘Insurance Discovery FC’ tool designed to identify active insurance coverage for patients, particularly those who have incomplete insurance information. This tool searches across a broad database of government and commercial payers to uncover previously unknown coverage, aiming to reduce uncompensated care and improve revenue capture. It integrates with ‘EHR 24/7®’, allowing providers to access insurance discovery directly within their existing workflows.

SimplePractice provides an extensive insurance billing feature that enables providers to create, submit, and track insurance claims directly within the platform. It supports electronic claim filing for both primary and secondary claims, with integrated electronic remittance advice (ERAs) for streamlined payment reconciliation. The system also allows for batch in-network claim creation and submission. Additionally, providers can monitor claim statuses and manage insurance payments through detailed reports.

Winner: SimplePractice comes out ahead for offering an all-in-one insurance billing solution that simplifies claim submission, tracking, and reconciliation.

Pricing Plans For Practice Mate And SimplePractice

Practice Mate is a no-cost practice management solution. While the core software is free, certain add-on services are available for an additional fee. These optional services include electronic prescribing, patient reminders, patient statements, patient health portal, patient payments, and patient intake. Additionally, the platform's EHR 24/7® is available at $44.95 per month per provider.

SimplePractice offers three subscription plans tailored to different practice needs. The Starter plan is priced at $49 per month, the Essential plan at $79 per month, and the Plus plan at $99 per month. ePrescribe can be added to any plan for $49.50 per month per clinician, along with a one-time setup fee of $89 per clinician.

What Users Have To Say

Users find Practice Mate reliable for handling day-to-day administrative tasks like scheduling and billing. Its straightforward interface and integration with clearinghouses are often highlighted as strengths. One common concern is the patient onboarding process, which some users find cumbersome and challenging for new clients to navigate. Despite this, the platform is widely appreciated for its consistency and utility in managing practice operations.

SimplePractice is well-regarded for its modern interface, customization features, and feature-rich software. Many users value how seamlessly it handles client communication, documentation, and scheduling in one place. A recurring drawback is the limited speed of issue resolution, particularly when phone support isn't readily available. Even with this, most users feel the software delivers a polished and efficient experience overall.

Final Pick Or A Tie? Let’s Break It Down

Not every practice runs the same way, and that’s exactly why both Practice Mate and SimplePractice continue to serve distinct audiences. Practice Mate brings efficiency without financial overhead, making it a practical option for practices focused on core functionality and straightforward operations.

SimplePractice leans into a more modern, client-centered experience—ideal for those who want deeper customization, automation, and tools that scale with a growing practice.

Each platform fills a different gap, and the better fit depends entirely on the rhythm, size, and priorities of your practice’s workflow.