Heidi vs Duo Practice: which AI scribe fits a dietitian?
By Javier Alvarez · Updated · 3 min read
Disclosure: we make Duo Practice. Heidi's prices and features come from its own pages, checked October 26, 2026. If Heidi has added a feature since, its page wins over ours. Where Heidi is the better choice, we say so.
Heidi or Duo Practice?
Heidi is a scribe for clinicians in many specialties and countries, with a free plan that covers a lot. Duo Practice is narrower: it is for US registered dietitians who bill insurance, and it goes from the recorded visit to the claim. If you don't bill insurance, Heidi's free plan is hard to beat. If you do, the difference is who builds and files the claim.
| As of October 26, 2026 | Heidi | Duo Practice |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Clinicians across specialties and countries | US registered dietitians who bill insurance |
| Free plan | $0, unlimited ambient AI documentation | $0 chart and AI notes, 20 transcription hours a month |
| Paid plan | Clinician Standard $110/user/mo billed annually, $150 billed monthly; Max seat $409 billed monthly; Teams custom | 3.9% of what the insurer pays on each claim, no monthly fee |
| Writes the note | Yes, with standard and custom templates | Yes, an MNT note in ADIME form with a PES statement |
| Suggests codes | Limited usage on Free; ICD-10-CM and CPT code sets, full sets on paid plans; you confirm each | Drafts CPT, ICD-10, modifier and place of service from the visit |
| Units from the session length | Not described | Yes |
| Builds the claim | Not described | Yes, you approve |
| Sends the claim | Not described | Yes, through your own Claim.MD account |
| EHR integration | Many listed, such as Epic, athenahealth and Oracle Cerner; plan not stated | One-way Practice Better import |
| Matches insurer payments | Not described | Yes, with denials explained |
Prices are from Heidi's US pricing page, as displayed on October 26, 2026, before sales tax. Coding details are from Heidi's help center, updated September 4, 2026. "Not described" means those pages don't mention it.
Where Heidi is better
- A real free plan. Heidi's Free plan lists unlimited ambient documentation at $0, with limited coding and evidence answers. Duo's free plan has 20 transcription hours a month.
- Many disciplines and countries. Heidi supports code sets for the US, Canada, Australia and the UK, and works across specialties. Duo is for US dietitians only.
- Beyond the note. Heidi lists evidence answers with citations, dictation, task management and agents that run routines such as pre-charting.
- Teams and EHRs. Heidi lists integrations with many EHRs, including Epic, athenahealth and Oracle Cerner, and its Teams plan adds shared templates and single sign-on. Duo is built for solo and small practices.
- No insurance, no claim. If your clients pay cash, a claim adds nothing, and Heidi's free plan writes the note.
Where Duo Practice does more
- The claim comes with the note. From the note, Duo drafts the claim with 97802 or 97803, units from how long the session ran, ICD-10 codes and pointers, modifier and place of service.
- Payer checks before you submit. Duo warns when a claim breaks a payer rule it knows, such as Medicare's referral requirement, with the rule's source.
- Filing, with your approval. You approve, and the claim goes out under your NPI through your own Claim.MD account.
- After the claim. Duo matches each insurer payment to its claim and explains denials.
What Duo doesn't do: prior authorizations, appeals, credentialing, programs or a client app. Billing needs your own Claim.MD account, which Claim.MD bills you for directly (Claim.MD pricing). Duo's 3.9% grows with your collections; Heidi's price doesn't.
What a code suggestion leaves to you
Heidi's help center asks clinicians to review every suggested code, and that review is the right habit with any tool. After the codes, an MNT claim still needs the units from the minutes in the note, the diagnosis order the payer wants, place of service and modifier for telehealth, your NPI, the referring physician on Medicare and a clearinghouse. AI scribe for medical nutrition therapy lists what the note needs for the claim to hold up.
See the Duo side in the recording-to-claim demo: one 37-minute visit, chart and claim draft ready to review in 1 minute 56 seconds. It is one visit, recorded by us, so read it as a demo and not a benchmark.
Duo Practice is the AI scribe that files the claim: it drafts it from the visit and files it through your own Claim.MD account once you approve. Try Duo Practice free
| Heidi plans (US, as shown October 26, 2026) | Free $0; Clinician Standard $110/user/mo billed annually or $150 billed monthly; Max seat $409/mo billed monthly; Teams custom |
|---|---|
| Heidi coding | Limited usage on Free; ICD-10-CM and CPT code sets in the help center, full sets on paid plans; you review each suggestion |
| Heidi claims | Not described on its pricing page or coding help article |
| Duo Practice | Free chart and AI notes (20 transcription hours a month); 3.9% of what the insurer pays on each claim |
| Duo claims | Drafted from the visit; you approve; filed through your own Claim.MD account |
Duo Practice, in short
- What it is
- Duo Practice is a free EHR with insurance billing built in. It drafts the note and the claim from the visit, files the claim under your NPI once you approve it, matches the payment and explains denials.
- Who it's for
- Independent registered dietitians who bill insurance.
- Price
- The chart is free. Billing is 3.9% of what the insurer pays on each claim, with no monthly fee, so a claim paid $0 costs $0. You pay Claim.MD directly for your own clearinghouse plan.
- How it differs
- Practice Better, Healthie and SimplePractice give you claim tools and leave the claim work to you. Duo Practice does that work, and it can run on top of the EHR you already use.
