Week of 2026-10-12. Five sections, every claim sourced and labeled. See the methodology.
The Big Finding
Price transparency is splitting the AI scribe market. Freed, Heidi, and Tali publish self-serve prices on their own pricing pages. Nabla's pricing page returned 404 on 2026-10-12 and its homepage now offers a free trial plus a sales conversation, joining Abridge and Microsoft Dragon Copilot, which sell through organizational contracts without a published per-seat price. For solo clinicians, the practical shortlist is increasingly the vendors that publish prices. Documentation reviewed
Sources: Freed, Heidi, Tali, Nabla, checked 2026-10-12.
Product Watch
- Heidi (US): Free; Clinician $150/mo or $110/mo billed yearly; Practice $180 per seat/mo billed yearly; Max seat upgrade $299 to $409/mo. Source, checked 2026-10-12. Documentation reviewed
- Freed: Starter $39/mo (40 notes), Core $79/mo, Premier $119/mo or $104/mo annual; EHR push, coding, and letters on Premier. Source, checked 2026-10-12. Documentation reviewed
- Tali (US): Free Personal tier (5 scribes/mo); Starter US$68/mo or US$60/mo annual; Pro US$100/mo monthly. Source, checked 2026-10-12. Documentation reviewed
- Microsoft Dragon Copilot: Flex license pay-as-you-go AI-Assisted Sessions cost 25 consumption units ($0.25) each as of May 4, 2026, with 10 sessions per license per month included. Source, checked 2026-10-12. Documentation reviewed
- Nabla: Public pricing page offline; free trial signup remains on the homepage. Source, checked 2026-10-12. Not verified
Clinical Reality Check
Retention windows differ widely, and they belong in your consent language. Freed deletes audio after processing but may keep troubleshooting copies up to 14 days and recommends consent language account for that maximum. Nabla keeps notes 14 days by default and stores no audio. Dragon Copilot retains audio and transcripts up to 90 days. Documentation reviewed For federally assisted SUD programs, the 42 CFR Part 2 final rule compliance date was February 16, 2026; it adds separate consent for SUD counseling notes (HHS).
Sources: Freed retention, Nabla retention, Dragon Copilot FAQ, HHS Part 2 fact sheet.
Head-to-Head
Freed vs Heidi Health. Freed has the lowest published paid entry ($39/mo) and a BAA in its Terms from sign-up. Heidi has a real free plan, native desktop and mobile apps, and athenahealth and Epic options, at higher paid prices. Deciding difference: free plan and integrations (Heidi) versus simplest low-cost workflow (Freed). Read the full comparison.
One Action This Week
Open your scribe's settings and set note retention to the shortest period that fits your workflow, then confirm in writing that a BAA covers your plan. Use the vendor evaluation scorecard or the buyer's checklist to record the answers.