BestNotes Alternative
Need a BestNotes Alternative for On-Site Daily Dosing?
BestNotes states it supports office-based opioid treatment and outpatient and residential MAT prescribing, and that it is not designed for on-site daily-dosing opioid treatment programs. If you dose on site, that one sentence settles a lot of an evaluation.
Unisona Health names MAT/OTP as a level of care: daily dosing and pharmacy pick-ups recorded, take-homes tracked by phase, eMAR, and EPCS live with PDMP checks. Both vendors publish their pricing, so the rest of the comparison can be done with a calculator.
Both vendors publish rates — this page states theirs exactly as they publish them.
The short answer
What is an alternative to BestNotes?
Unisona Health is a BestNotes alternative for behavioral health and substance use treatment organizations, and the clearest dividing line is on-site dosing: BestNotes states it is not designed for on-site daily-dosing OTPs, while Unisona Health records daily dosing and pharmacy pick-ups and tracks take-homes by phase, with eMAR and EPCS live with PDMP checks.
On price, these two are unusually easy to compare, because both publish. BestNotes publishes a $100 one-time setup fee and $59 per user a month for users 1 to 10, $25 for users 11 to 100 with the first ten staying at $59, and $13 for 101 and above, month-to-month with unlimited data, training and support; modules including RCM Billing, CRM, telehealth, ePrescribing and AI notes are priced separately and quoted on request. Unisona Health publishes $70 to $90 per clinical seat a month, $60 for admin and billing seats and $25 for student interns, with the platform — AI documentation assistance, telehealth, outcome measurement, billing, a Claim.MD clearinghouse connection and audit response packets — included, and e-prescribing with EPCS as a metered add-on billed per prescriber.
At a glance
How does Unisona Health compare with BestNotes?
Both vendors publish enough to make this a real comparison. Where BestNotes’ site does not address something, the cell says so rather than guessing.
| Area | Unisona Health | BestNotes |
|---|---|---|
| Platform focus | One patient record across admissions, clinical documentation, revenue cycle, compliance and operations, built for behavioral health and substance use treatment. | An EHR and CRM for therapy, behavioral health and addiction treatment, from solo practitioners to enterprise. |
| On-site daily dosing | MAT/OTP is a named level of care: daily dosing and pharmacy pick-ups are recorded and take-homes are tracked by phase. | States it supports office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) and outpatient and residential MAT prescribing, and states it is not designed for on-site daily-dosing OTPs. |
| Published pricing | $70 to $90 per clinical seat a month, $60 for admin and billing seats, $25 for student interns. Unlimited patients, monthly plans, no implementation fee on Solo or Group Practice. | $100 one-time setup; $59 per user a month for users 1–10; $25 per user for users 11–100, with the first ten staying at $59; $13 per user for 101 and above. Month-to-month, with unlimited data and unlimited training and support. |
| What the subscription carries | AI documentation assistance, telehealth, outcome measurement and billing are included, along with a Claim.MD clearinghouse connection and audit response packets. E-prescribing including EPCS is a metered add-on billed per prescriber. | Add-on modules are priced separately and quoted on request: DSM-5-TR, AI Chart Audit, AI Clinical Notes, RCM Billing, CRM, ASAM Integrations, two-way messaging, appointment reminders, telehealth, ePrescribing and API integrations. |
| Levels of care named | Outpatient, PHP and IOP, residential and detox, MAT/OTP, sober living, and CCBHC or multi-site, each with its own workflow page. | ASAM Levels 1 through 4 including 3.1 to 3.7 residential, detox, IOP, PHP and IOP medication pass across shifts, eating disorder, adolescent residential, private practice and case management. Sober living and CCBHC are not stated on their site. |
| Assessments and ASAM | 24 standardized assessments, ASAM six-dimension scoring recorded on your own form — the platform does not compute a level of care — and treatment plans tied to those dimensions. | ASAM Criteria 4th Edition workflows with six-dimension assessments tied to level-of-care recommendations, outcomes including PHQ-9 and GAD-7, DSM-5, and native ASAM Continuum and CO-Triage integration. |
| Medication administration | eMAR for scheduled administration, and EPCS live with PDMP checks. | Medication management and reconciliation, eMAR with scheduled administration and signature records, and e-prescribing via DrFirst including EPCS Schedule II–V, with buprenorphine, Suboxone and naltrexone. |
| Revenue cycle | Eligibility and benefits, prior authorizations, claim scrubbing, remittance posting, denials, payer contracts and rates, and patient balances, with the Claim.MD clearinghouse included in the seat price. | Integrated clearinghouse billing partners, data exchange with third-party billing companies, superbill generation, a clean-claim workflow for external billing partners, and expanded billing in “BestNotes Fresh”. RCM Billing is a priced add-on module. Eligibility and VOB, prior authorization, utilization review, ERA posting, denials management and payer contracts are not stated as named features on their site. |
| Operations | Admissions and intake connected to the clinical record, scheduling and groups, a bed and census board, safety rounds, roles and permissions, credentials and licensure, training, and payroll and timekeeping. | A CRM for referrals, calls, emails and engagement with a Salesforce integration; a patient portal and admissions with prescreen and insurance capture; a smart calendar; a bed board; census and demographic reporting; audit reporting and audit trails; a Kanban board; secure staff messaging; and HR support. Payroll is not stated on their site. |
| Security and compliance | 42 CFR Part 2 consent enforced on export, a seven-year immutable activity log, audit response packets on every plan, and roles and permissions. Not ONC Health IT certified; a SOC 2 Type II examination is engaged but not complete. | HIPAA, SOC 2 Type 2, 42 CFR Part 2 support referencing the 16 February 2026 rule, encryption in transit and at rest, user-level access auditing, Joint Commission and CARF support, HIMSS Gold Certified Member and EHRA member. |
| Interoperability | API and FHIR access, with a full export of your records at any time and no fee. | An API with published documentation, syncing payers, vitals, medications and diagnoses; DrFirst; labs including LabCorp, Quest and Millennium; and “BestNotes Fresh” built on FHIR. API integrations are a priced add-on module. |
BestNotes is a trademark of its owner and is named here only to describe what that vendor publishes. Based on publicly available information as of September 2026. Confirm current features and pricing with each vendor.
Pricing, honestly
Two published price lists, compared properly
Both vendors publish their rates, so this is the rare comparison where the numbers are knowable before a sales call. Neither headline rate answers the question on its own.
$100 one-time setup, then $59 per user a month for users 1–10, $25 for users 11–100 with the first ten staying at $59, and $13 for 101 and above. Month-to-month, with unlimited data and unlimited training and support.
$90 per seat on Solo, $85 to $75 on Group Practice as the team grows, $70 per clinical seat for qualifying nonprofits, $60 for admin and billing seats, $25 for student interns. Unlimited patients, monthly plans, and no implementation fee on Solo or Group Practice.
On the per-user rate, frequently — $59 is below our clinical seat rate, and the $25 and $13 tiers fall further as headcount grows. If the modules you need are few, that is a real saving and worth taking seriously.
BestNotes prices RCM Billing, CRM, telehealth, ePrescribing, AI Clinical Notes, AI Chart Audit, ASAM Integrations, messaging, reminders, DSM-5-TR and API integrations as separate modules quoted on request. Unisona Health includes AI documentation assistance, telehealth, outcome measurement, billing, the Claim.MD clearinghouse and audit packets in the seat price; e-prescribing with EPCS is a metered add-on billed per prescriber. Price the modules you would switch on, then compare.
On-site dosing
If you dose on site, start here
This is BestNotes’ own scoping statement, not our reading of their feature list — and it is the kind of thing worth knowing in week one rather than month six.
They support office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) and outpatient and residential MAT prescribing, including buprenorphine, Suboxone and naltrexone, and they state they are not designed for on-site daily-dosing opioid treatment programs.
Daily dosing and pharmacy pick-ups are recorded against the patient record, take-homes are tracked by phase, eMAR covers scheduled administration, and EPCS is live with PDMP checks.
Then this difference costs you nothing, and the comparison comes back to price, modules, revenue cycle and the levels of care each vendor names. BestNotes publishes both eMAR and EPCS Schedule II–V via DrFirst.
What BestNotes publishes
What BestNotes says it covers
Restated from their own site. Feature names only — their AI products are named rather than characterised, and claims that appear only in their own comparison material are left out.
Documentation templates aligned to Joint Commission and CARF, group therapy notes, treatment planning, initial assessments, progress notes, AI notes in SOAP, DAP and BIRP formats, outcomes including PHQ-9 and GAD-7, ASAM Criteria 4th Edition workflows and DSM-5.
Medication management and reconciliation, eMAR with scheduled administration and signature records, and e-prescribing via DrFirst including EPCS Schedule II–V, with buprenorphine, Suboxone and naltrexone.
Integrated clearinghouse billing partners, data exchange with third-party billing companies, superbill generation, a clean-claim workflow for external billing partners, and expanded billing in “BestNotes Fresh”. RCM Billing is a priced add-on module.
A CRM for referrals, calls, emails and engagement with a Salesforce integration, a patient portal and admissions with prescreen and insurance capture, a smart calendar, a bed board, census and demographic reporting, audit reporting and audit trails, a Kanban board, secure staff messaging and HR support.
An API with published documentation, syncing payers, vitals, medications and diagnoses, DrFirst, labs including LabCorp, Quest and Millennium, native ASAM Continuum and CO-Triage integration, and “BestNotes Fresh” built on FHIR.
HIPAA, SOC 2 Type 2, 42 CFR Part 2 support referencing the 16 February 2026 rule, encryption in transit and at rest, user-level access auditing, Joint Commission and CARF support, HIMSS Gold Certified Member and EHRA member.
By level of care
Start from the program you actually run
Two of these — sober living and CCBHC or multi-site — are not stated on BestNotes’ site, so they are worth reading closely if you operate either.
MAT & OTP
MAT and opioid treatment
Daily dosing and pharmacy pick-ups recorded, take-homes tracked by phase, eMAR, and EPCS with PDMP checks.
See the workflow →Sober Living
Sober living
Residence operations alongside the clinical record, for organizations running housing next to treatment.
See the workflow →CCBHC & Multi-site
CCBHC and multi-site
Multiple programs and locations on one record, with roles, permissions and reporting that follow the org chart.
See the workflow →Residential & Detox
Residential and detox
Admissions, bed and census board, medication workflows, safety rounds and facility operations.
See the workflow →Questions
BestNotes alternative FAQs.
What is an alternative to BestNotes?
Unisona Health is a BestNotes alternative for behavioral health and substance use treatment organizations, particularly those running opioid treatment with on-site daily dosing — BestNotes states it is not designed for on-site daily-dosing OTPs, while Unisona Health records daily dosing and pharmacy pick-ups and tracks take-homes by phase. Both publish their pricing, which makes them unusually easy to compare: BestNotes publishes $59, $25 and $13 per-user tiers with modules priced separately, and Unisona Health publishes $70 to $90 per clinical seat with the platform included.
How much does BestNotes cost?
BestNotes publishes a $100 one-time setup fee and per-user monthly rates of $59 for users 1 to 10, $25 for users 11 to 100 with the first ten staying at $59, and $13 for 101 users and above, month-to-month, with unlimited data and unlimited training and support. Add-on modules are priced separately and quoted on request, including RCM Billing, CRM, telehealth, ePrescribing, AI Clinical Notes, AI Chart Audit, ASAM Integrations, appointment reminders, two-way messaging, DSM-5-TR and API integrations.
Is BestNotes cheaper than Unisona Health?
On the headline per-user rate, often yes — $59 per user is below Unisona Health’s $70 to $90 per clinical seat, and their $25 and $13 tiers fall further as the team grows. The comparison that decides a budget is what each subscription carries: Unisona Health includes AI documentation assistance, telehealth, outcome measurement, billing, a Claim.MD clearinghouse connection and audit response packets in the seat price, with e-prescribing including EPCS as a metered add-on billed per prescriber, while BestNotes prices RCM Billing, CRM, telehealth, ePrescribing, AI notes and API integrations as separate modules quoted on request. Price the modules you would actually turn on, then compare.
Does BestNotes support opioid treatment programs?
BestNotes states it supports office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) and outpatient and residential MAT prescribing, including buprenorphine, Suboxone and naltrexone, and states it is not designed for on-site daily-dosing OTPs. Unisona Health names MAT/OTP as a level of care: daily dosing and pharmacy pick-ups are recorded, take-homes are tracked by phase, eMAR covers scheduled administration, and EPCS is live with PDMP checks.
Does Unisona Health recommend an ASAM level of care?
No. Unisona Health records ASAM six-dimension scoring on your own form and ties treatment plans to those dimensions, but the platform does not compute a level of care — the placement decision stays with your clinicians. BestNotes publishes ASAM Criteria 4th Edition workflows with six-dimension assessments tied to level-of-care recommendations, plus native ASAM Continuum and CO-Triage integration, so if you want the software to carry that step, weigh it accordingly.
Which levels of care does Unisona Health support?
Unisona Health supports outpatient, PHP and IOP, residential and detox, MAT/OTP, sober living, and CCBHC or multi-site organizations, each with its own documented workflow. BestNotes names ASAM Levels 1 through 4 including 3.1 to 3.7 residential, detox, IOP, PHP and IOP medication pass across shifts, eating disorder, adolescent residential, private practice and case management; sober living and CCBHC are not stated on their site.
Should we choose Unisona Health or BestNotes?
Choose Unisona Health if you run on-site daily dosing, sober living or CCBHC programs, or want revenue cycle, a clearinghouse connection and audit packets inside the seat price rather than as modules. Choose BestNotes if their published per-user tiers plus the modules you need come out lower for your team size, or if you want ASAM six-dimension assessments tied to level-of-care recommendations in the software. Both publish pricing, so build the real total for your own headcount before deciding.
Keep Comparing
Continue Your Behavioral Health EHR Comparison
Every platform starts from a different place. Explore how Unisona Health compares across the rest of the guide, or step back to the full comparison hub.
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Bring Us Your Dosing Window and Your Headcount
We will run a daily dose, a take-home phase change and a claim in Unisona Health, and price it against the seats you would actually staff. Both price lists are public, so the maths can be done in the meeting.