The short version **Twofold and Mentalyc** are both therapy-first ambient scribes with HIPAA BAAs, therapy-native templates and opt-out-by-default on training.
For a solo or small-group US practice, Twofold is our recommended default — cleaner first drafts on BIRP/DAP, Golden Thread as a first-class primitive, and a $19 first-month entry vs Mentalyc's $39.99/mo starter.
Pick Mentalyc if a meaningful share of your caseload is EMDR, DBT, couples, family or group work — its modality library is the broadest among therapy-first scribes and its narrative style suits supervision-heavy settings.
At-a-glance
| Dimension | Twofold *(recommended default)* | Mentalyc |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | 1-week free trial, then $19 first month | $39.99/mo (14-day trial) |
| Therapy templates | BIRP, DAP, SOAP, Narrative + custom | SOAP, DAP, BIRP, GIRP + EMDR, CBT, DBT, couples, family, group |
| Modality depth | Strong on individual talk therapy | Deepest modality library in category |
| Golden Thread | First-class (built into every note) | Partial — via progress summaries |
| Languages | English | English |
| Data residency | US | US |
| BAA | Every paid account | All paid tiers |
| Audio retention | Not retained after note generation | Deleted after note generation by default |
| Training on customer data | No | No |
| Draft style | Tight, structured | Richer, more narrative |
| EHR write-back | Copy-paste (SimplePractice, TherapyNotes) | Copy-paste; SimplePractice integration in beta |
Note quality - Twofold writes tight, structured therapy notes. Golden Thread continuity is visible in every progress note by default, so less rewriting to tie interventions back to plan goals. Best in class on BIRP and DAP first drafts in our testing. - Mentalyc writes richer, more narrative notes — more likely to interpret affect and therapeutic process. Useful for supervision and training environments; a liability at high volume if you can't read every line before signing.
Pricing at 88 sessions/mo | Tool | Monthly | Per session | |---|---|---| | Twofold | $19 first month, then standard | ~$0.22 (first month) | | Mentalyc Starter | $39.99 (30 sessions cap) | Over cap by 58 sessions/mo | | Mentalyc Pro | $69.99 unlimited | $0.80 | | Mentalyc Group/Couples | $89.99 unlimited | $1.02 |
Watch the 30-session cap on Mentalyc Starter — a full-time solo caseload will spill into Pro almost immediately.
Where Mentalyc pulls ahead - EMDR-specific templating with BLS phase tracking. - Explicit couples and family templates with per-participant tracking. - Group therapy notes with individual member sections. - Richer narrative reads well for supervision write-ups.
Twofold covers couples and group sessions with custom templates; Mentalyc's out-of-the-box templates are more polished if those modalities are 30%+ of your work.
Compliance posture Both sign BAAs, encrypt in transit and at rest, delete audio after note generation, and don't train on customer data. Neither publicly enumerates 42 CFR Part 2 coverage — confirm directly if you treat SUD.
Bottom line - Pick Twofold — solo/small US practice with mostly individual talk therapy, want the tightest first drafts and lowest entry price. - Pick Mentalyc — EMDR / DBT / couples / family / group is a large share of your caseload and the deeper modality library pays back the higher price.
See also: Upheal vs Mentalyc, Group therapy AI scribes, Couples therapy AI scribes.