Verdict
Heidi Health is the most aggressive freemium AI scribe in 2026 — the free tier is genuinely free with no visit cap, and the paid tier is competitive with Freed on price for clinicians who need premium features. Founded in Australia in 2022, Heidi has expanded into the UK, Canada, and the US over the past 18 months and has become one of the fastest-growing ambient AI scribe products in any English-speaking market.
For solo and small-practice clinicians evaluating ambient AI for the first time, Heidi's free tier is the lowest-risk way to test the workflow. For clinicians already using Freed or Suki, the case to switch depends on Heidi's specialty templates and EHR integration matching your specific workflow. Heidi is not yet competitive with Abridge or Nuance DAX at the enterprise / Epic-Hyperspace tier — that's not its target market.
Pricing
- Free tier: Free forever, no credit card required, no visit cap. Includes basic note generation, multilingual transcription, and templates. The free tier is unusual in this market — most "free" scribes are time-limited trials.
- Pro tier: Roughly $99–$129/month per clinician (varies by region and currency). Adds custom templates, EHR API integration, advanced note customization, and priority support.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for multi-clinician deployments and integration support.
Pricing as of May 2026; verify on heidihealth.com — Heidi adjusts pricing more often than enterprise scribes do.
How it works
Heidi runs as a web app or mobile app. Clinicians start a session, the app records the consultation (with patient consent), and within 30–90 seconds of session-end produces a structured note in the clinician's preferred format (SOAP, narrative, problem-oriented, or specialty-specific templates). Pro users can paste the note directly into their EHR or use the API integration where available.
The differentiator versus Freed is template flexibility: Heidi lets clinicians build and save custom templates, including specialty-specific note formats, referral letters, and patient-handout summaries. Freed has fewer template controls but a slightly cleaner default note style.
Strengths
- Genuinely free tier. The free tier has no visit cap and no time limit — uniquely good for clinicians wanting to evaluate ambient AI without budget approval.
- Multilingual. Heidi handles transcription in many languages — useful for ESL practices and international clinicians. Notes are typically generated in English regardless of input language, with output-language customization in Pro.
- Custom templates. Pro users can build specialty-specific templates, which is genuinely useful for niche specialties (e.g. dermatology cosmetic consults, sports medicine, specific surgical post-op formats).
- Active product development. Heidi ships fast — feature releases roughly every 2–3 weeks during 2025–2026. Some clinicians prefer this; some find it disruptive.
- Privacy-first marketing. Heidi emphasizes that audio is not stored after note generation by default. Verify the current privacy policy as policies change with feature releases.
Weaknesses
- EHR integration depth varies. Heidi has API integration with Cliniko, Halaxy, Best Practice, and several other practice-management systems, but Epic / Cerner / athenahealth integration is not at the Abridge or Nuance DAX level. Most US-Epic clinicians will copy-paste rather than auto-populate.
- Less established than Freed in the US market. Heidi launched in Australia and is newer to the US — fewer clinician peer reviews and less KLAS coverage. The product is good; the social proof in US-specific contexts is still building.
- Free tier raises sustainability questions. A genuinely-free no-cap tier is unusual and depends on Pro conversion to fund the free product. If the funding model changes (acquisition, restructure, or feature paywalling), the free tier could narrow. This is a non-zero risk worth knowing.
- Specialty depth varies. Common specialties (primary care, internal medicine, mental health) are well covered. Less-common workflows may require custom-template effort to dial in.
- Affiliate program is informal. Heidi does not yet have a fully public affiliate program; partnerships are negotiated case-by-case. We mention this for transparency.
Heidi vs Freed
These are the two solo-practice-friendly options worth comparing seriously:
- Free tier: Heidi wins — no cap. Freed Starter is paid ($39/month) but has a 7-day free trial.
- Paid pricing: Comparable. Heidi Pro at $99–$129/month, Freed Premier at $119/month annual ($104 effective).
- Note quality: Both produce solid notes. Freed is slightly cleaner out-of-the-box; Heidi is more customizable through templates.
- EHR integration: Freed has stronger US-EHR API integration breadth. Heidi has stronger AU/UK practice-management integration.
- Geographic fit: Heidi for AU/UK/CA clinicians; either for US solo practice; Freed has stronger US clinician word-of-mouth.
- Risk profile: Freed is the safer institutional pick (longer US presence, KLAS coverage building). Heidi is the higher-upside pick if the free tier and template flexibility match your workflow.
Heidi vs Suki
Different markets — Suki targets mid-market US practices ($299–$399/month per provider) with broad specialty coverage; Heidi targets solo and small-group practices globally with a freemium model. Most clinicians evaluating Heidi are not also evaluating Suki — they're at different price points and different workflow assumptions.
FDA and HIPAA
Per FDA guidance issued mid-2025, ambient AI scribes used purely for clinical documentation are not classified as medical devices and do not require FDA clearance. Heidi operates under this framework. For HIPAA in US deployments, Heidi offers Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) for Pro and Enterprise customers — required if Heidi is processing PHI on behalf of a covered entity. Verify current BAA availability and terms with Heidi sales before committing for HIPAA-bound use.
Bottom line
Heidi Health is the strongest freemium ambient AI scribe in 2026. For solo and small-practice clinicians wanting to try ambient AI with zero financial commitment, the free tier is the easiest entry point. For clinicians who want template-customization beyond what Freed offers, Pro is competitive. The product is newer to the US market and has less institutional track record than Freed, Abridge, or Nuance DAX — for clinicians who care about long-term institutional adoption and EHR-native integration, Freed and Abridge respectively remain the safer picks.