Best EHR Software in 2026

athenahealth, sold as athenaOne, combines EHR charting, practice management and revenue cycle services in one cloud platform. The vendor submits claims, follows up on denials and handles payer rules as part of the service, which is why many independent practices choose it when billing is their main pain point. Scheduling, e-prescribing, telehealth and a patient portal sit in the same system.

Pricing is typically a percentage of collections, reported around 4 to 8 percent depending on practice and services, rather than a fixed per-provider fee. That model can be cheap for a low-volume practice and expensive for a high-revenue one, so model it against your collections before you sign. athenahealth fits growing independent practices that want billing help, not just software.

SimplePractice is built for therapists, counselors and small behavioral health practices. The Starter plan starts at $49 per month, with higher plans adding more features and an AI notes add-on around $35 per month. Charting, scheduling, a client portal, telehealth and billing sit in one system, with monthly billing and no long-term contract on most plans.

The limits show for medical practices with complex orders, labs or procedures, where a medical EHR such as eClinicalWorks or athenahealth fits better. SimplePractice also charges extra for some billing and AI features, so check the plan that includes the tools you actually use. For solo therapists and small counseling groups, it is the clearest, lowest-friction choice on this list.

Practice Fusion offers cloud-based EHR charting for primary care and small practices at $199 per provider per month in recent listings. It covers notes, e-prescribing, lab integrations, scheduling and a patient portal, with an optional billing service priced per visit. That published price makes budgeting easier than with quote-based rivals.

The trade-off is depth. Practice Fusion does not match athenahealth on managed billing, or eClinicalWorks on multi-specialty templates, and its billing service adds cost on top of the base price. It fits solo practitioners and small primary care practices that want a straightforward, cloud EHR at a known monthly price, without a large implementation project.

eClinicalWorks, often called eCW, serves ambulatory practices across many specialties, with charting, practice management, billing, telehealth and patient engagement in one suite. Its AI scribe, Sunoh.ai, helps reduce documentation time by drafting notes from the visit, and the platform supports a large network of providers and integrations. Multi-location practices benefit from a single system across sites.

Pricing is quote-based, with third-party listings reporting around $449 to $599 per provider per month for fuller bundles, so we list See website and advise getting a written quote for your bundle. Implementation and training also take time, especially for larger groups. eClinicalWorks fits multi-provider practices that want a broad, proven ambulatory suite rather than a small-practice-only tool.

DrChrono is known for mobile-first charting, especially on iPad, which suits clinicians who chart at the point of care or move between rooms and sites. It combines EHR notes, scheduling, billing, e-prescribing and a patient portal, with templates that can be customized by specialty and procedure. That mobile focus helps procedural practices where charting happens away from a desk.

Pricing is quote-based, with third-party listings around $199 per provider per month for some plans, so confirm the current price and what is included before you compare. Support quality and add-on pricing for telehealth and AI notes vary by plan. DrChrono fits practices that value mobile charting and integrated billing over the managed billing model of athenahealth.

Tebra, formed from Kareo and PatientPop, combines an EHR and practice management system with patient acquisition and reputation tools. Practices get charting, scheduling, billing, a patient portal and telehealth, plus website, review and marketing features that help attract new patients. That combination suits small practices that still need to grow their patient base.

Pricing is quote-based, with third-party listings around $150 per provider per month for some plans, so we list See website. Established practices that already have a full patient panel may not need the marketing layer, and contract terms should be checked before signing. Tebra fits small, growing practices that want clinical, billing and growth tools in one vendor relationship.

Epic is the leading EHR for hospitals and large health systems in the United States. It covers inpatient, ambulatory, emergency, surgery, pharmacy, lab and revenue cycle in one integrated system, with patient portal tools and virtual visit workflows. Its scale means many hospitals, specialists and labs already work with Epic, which helps referrals and record sharing.

Epic is not a small-practice product. Pricing is quote-based, implementation often runs into millions of dollars for a health system, and go-live projects take one to three years for large organizations. Small practices should not consider Epic unless they are part of a larger system that already uses it. For hospitals and large groups, Epic remains the benchmark for depth and integration.

Oracle Health, formerly Cerner, is the other major enterprise EHR for hospitals and large health systems. It offers clinical, revenue cycle and population health tools, now tied to Oracle cloud infrastructure and data services. Large systems that already use Oracle for other workloads may find integration and contracting simpler under one vendor.

Like Epic, Oracle Health is quote-based, with implementation cost and timeline driven by system size, data migration and workflow redesign. It is not a practical choice for a solo or small practice, where SimplePractice, Practice Fusion or athenahealth fit better. Oracle Health fits large hospitals and health systems that need enterprise scale and already lean on Oracle technology.