Summary
The best EHR for a small practice in 2026 depends on who pays the bills. A US primary care practice billing insurers full time is well served by Elation, which is built for primary care, or by Practice Fusion, which publishes a price from $199 a provider a month with an annual commitment. A therapy or allied health practice gets strong value from SimplePractice or Jane, both priced from under $100 a month for 1 practitioner. A private clinic that competes on how care feels is best served by Wai, the clinic platform, because the consultation, the front desk, booking and payments share 1 record. Clinicians sign every note and letter, and the team approves every reply. Choose by testing 1 real patient day in each demo, from the first enquiry to the paid invoice. Then ask for the export format in writing. The practice that picks on its whole day, with its own patients in mind, gets the most from the first month onward.
Each rival detail comes from that company's own page, read 9 November 2026. 12345
See it in your clinicYou can be running this week. No procurement, no minimum term. A 7-day trial, then one published price.
Request a demo| Option | Best fit | Published price, read 9 November 2026 | Whole-day coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practice Fusion | US practices billing insurers | From $199 a month per provider, annual commitment | EHR, e-prescribing and claims submission |
| Elation | Primary care | Personalised quote | Cloud-based EHR built for primary care |
| SimplePractice | Therapists and solo practitioners | $49, $79 or $99 a month by plan | Practice tools, with the Insurance Navigator add-on for claims |
| Jane | Allied health and multi-practitioner clinics | $59, $79 or $99 a month by plan | Booking, charting, intake forms and video |
| Wai | Private clinics running the whole patient journey | Clinician plans on the Wai pricing page, Studio after a demo | Consultation, front desk, booking, payments and patient Profile on 1 record |
Adoption among small practices
EHR use is close to universal in US office care. In 2024, 95% of office-based physicians used an EHR and 91% used a certified one, and among solo physicians the figures were 86.1% and 79.9%.6 The question for a small practice has moved from whether to adopt to which system carries the most of the day.
Certification matters most for practices reporting to federal programmes. A cash-pay clinic can weigh it lightly and put more weight on the patient's path through the clinic. The EHR versus EMR entry sets out the terms, and the private practice price index tracks wider pricing.
The test that decides the purchase
One real day reveals more than a feature list. Follow a new enquiry through booking, the consultation, the letter and the payment, and count how many systems each step touches. Then add the seats and the claims fees to reach a yearly figure, as the software cost guide shows.
The clinician's judgement stays at the centre of every option. A draft becomes a record once a named person signs it.
Where Wai leads
Wai brings the patient history into a pre-consult briefing, drafts the note and letters during the consultation and prepares suggested coding for the clinician to sign.7 Email, web forms, WhatsApp and calls land in 1 thread per patient, with replies drafted for the team to approve.8
Clinician plans are published on the pricing page, and Studio, the front desk, is priced per location after a demo.9 Signed notes and letters export into any other system,10 which keeps the exit plan simple.
Bring 1 real patient day. We show it running from enquiry to signed letter on 1 record.
Request a demoFrequently asked questions
What is the best EHR for a small practice?
It depends on the payer mix. Elation and Practice Fusion suit US practices billing insurers, SimplePractice and Jane suit therapy and allied health, and Wai suits private clinics running the whole patient journey on 1 record.
How much does an EHR cost for a small practice?
Do small practices need a certified EHR?
Certification matters most for practices taking part in federal reporting programmes. In 2024, 79.9% of solo physicians used a certified EHR.6
Does Wai replace our EHR?
Can 1 clinician start on Wai?
Yes. Individual clinicians can start online with a 7-day trial, and the front desk follows after a demo.9
How long should we test an EHR before buying?
Run 1 real patient day through each shortlisted system, then compare the steps, the yearly cost and the export format.
Sources
- Pricing, read 9 November 2026
- Pricing, read 9 November 2026
- Elation Health home page, read 9 November 2026
- Pricing, read 9 November 2026
- Pricing, read 9 November 2026
- Office-based Physician Electronic Health Record Adoption, 2008-2024, Data Brief 84, read 9 November 2026
- Wai for clinicians, read 9 November 2026
- The clinic platform, read 9 November 2026
- Pricing, read 9 November 2026
- Integrations, read 9 November 2026
Your whole clinic on 1 record
Bring one real clinic day and we will walk through it on your own workflows. We reply within 24 hours.
Partner with us
See it on your own patients, then build it with us
Thirty minutes on your own patients, doctors and rules, in your market. We reply within one working day, and the clinics that partner with us early shape what we build next.
See what Wai does between the visits