Formfy vs TheraNest for Telehealth Therapy Practices (2026)

Formfy and TheraNest both produce a legally binding e-signature for a telehealth therapy intake form, both run on web and mobile, and both can capture state-specific telehealth consent, patient-state acknowledgment, and technology-limitation disclosure at intake. The reason a telehealth therapy practice picks one over the other is workflow scope (intake-only versus full EHR with video) and pricing model, not legal validity. This page compares the two for the specific use case of a multi-state telehealth therapy practice operating under state-specific telehealth statutes (summarized by the Center for Connected Health Policy), federal HIPAA with HHS OCR telehealth guidance, and the major interstate licensure compacts (PSYPACT for licensed psychologists, the Counseling Compact for LPCs, the Social Work Licensure Compact for LCSWs).

Quick verdict

Choose Formfy when you want one tool that drafts the state-specific telehealth consent from a prompt, captures the patient-state acknowledgment and the technology-limitation disclosure on one delivery link, and optionally collects a copay at $19 to $199 per month with no active-client-count tier. Choose TheraNest when your practice wants a full behavioral-health EHR (chart, claims, scheduling, integrated telehealth video, intake) inside one platform end-to-end with a BAA. For solo and small- group telehealth practices serving multiple states, Formfy is the faster front-of-funnel; TheraNest is the platform-coupled option. Many telehealth practices run both, treating Formfy as the lead- capture and first-touch intake and TheraNest as the chart-coupled clinical workflow.

Why telehealth practices are evaluating alternatives in 2026

Three structural pressures are driving telehealth therapy practices to re-evaluate the intake workflow. First, expanding cross-state practice. PSYPACT continues to add member states for licensed psychologists; the Counseling Compact and the Social Work Licensure Compact have been progressing through state legislatures. Practices serving more states need consent templates that scale, and multi-state consent management is the defining workflow problem. Second, evolving HHS OCR guidance. The COVID-19 PHE flexibility on non-public-facing platforms ended; HHS OCR now expects HIPAA-aligned telehealth platforms with BAAs. Practices that built consent templates during the PHE should review them. Third, rising patient expectations. Patients who book Airbnb in seconds expect a one-tap onboarding from a therapist, particularly for telehealth where the friction advantage is supposed to be the point.

The Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP) maintains the most- cited state-by-state summaries of telehealth statutes, and practitioners use CCHP as the primary reference for state- specific telehealth-consent requirements. The tooling layer is where practices choose. Front-of-funnel intake speed matters especially for multi-state practices where each state may require its own consent overlay.

Side-by-side comparison

Feature	Formfy	TheraNest
Starting price	$19 per month, 100 submissions	Solo plan ~$42 per month for up to 30 active clients (per the TheraNest 2026 pricing page)
Pricing model	Submission-based, no active-client-count tier	Active-client-count tiered
AI form generation	Yes (natural-language prompt)	No (form builder, not AI)
State-specific telehealth consent block	AI-prompt block per state	Custom form-builder field per state
Patient-state acknowledgment	AI-prompt block	Custom form-builder field
Technology-limitation disclosure	AI-prompt block	Custom form-builder field
Emergency-contact requirement	AI-prompt block	Custom form-builder field
Per-session state verification	Recurring micro-form	Per-session questionnaire in appointment workflow
EHR / charting	No (forms + e-signature focus)	Yes (full EHR)
Telehealth video	No	Yes (built-in video)
Insurance claims billing	No	Yes (claims module)
HIPAA posture	Encryption + audit trail; not HIPAA-certified	BAA available; TheraNest publicly markets HIPAA-compliant configuration for U.S. customers
Free trial	15 days, no credit card	Free trial available; check current pricing page
Best fit for telehealth practices	Multi-state AI-generated consent on one delivery, no client-count tier	Practices wanting full EHR, video, and claims in one platform

Sources: Formfy data verified 2026-04-24 from formfy.ai. TheraNest data verified 2026-04-25 from theranest.com/pricing.

The state-specific telehealth consent workflow

The Formfy wedge for telehealth therapy practices is multi-state consent on one delivery. You describe the intake in plain English: home-state license type, list of states served (or PSYPACT participation if licensed psychologist with E.Passport), the state-specific telehealth-consent block for the patient state, the patient-state acknowledgment (patient affirms physical location at the time of session), the technology-limitation disclosure, the emergency-contact requirement (in-state contact plus 988 plus PCP), the recording-prohibition acknowledgment, the in-person-fallback option, and the generic informed-consent for therapy. The AI returns a delivery-ready intake form. Total time: under 30 seconds for the first version.

TheraNest supports the same content via the form builder; each state-specific block is built field by field. For a single-state practice the difference is small. For a multi-state practice serving 5 to 10 states, the AI generation advantage compounds. Practices using TheraNest as the EHR typically build the master template once and copy it for each state with state-specific edits, then keep the master in TheraNest for chart-coupling.

Pricing for multi-state telehealth practices

Cost shape is the second-largest factor multi-state telehealth practices cite when switching. Formfy Basic is $19 per month for 100 submissions, which covers a typical solo multi-state telehealth practice plus follow-up forms. Formfy Premium is $199 per month for 2,500 submissions, which covers a multi-clinician multi-state practice. TheraNest Solo is approximately $42 per month for up to 30 active clients; group plans scale by active client count and feature set.

Practical math: a solo multi-state telehealth practice with 35 active clients tiers up TheraNest. A multi-clinician practice with 100 active clients across 5 states tiers up TheraNest significantly, and the cost can land in the $200 to $400 per month range depending on tier and add-ons. Formfy Premium at $199 per month covers 2,500 intakes plus follow-up forms across the whole practice without active-client-count tiering. Practices that want a full EHR with video and claims keep TheraNest regardless and add Formfy for first-touch intake.

Migration path

Export your active TheraNest intake forms (general intake, state-specific telehealth consent for each state served, patient-state acknowledgment, technology-limitation disclosure, emergency-contact form, recording-prohibition acknowledgment, generic informed-consent for therapy).
For each, paste the text into the Formfy AI prompt or upload as PDF. Formfy detects fields automatically on PDF upload.
Build the state-specific consent layout for each state served (or PSYPACT-aligned consent for licensed psychologists with E.Passport).
Add the patient-state acknowledgment block to each state-specific template.
Set up a recurring per-session state-verification micro-form for the patient-state confirmation at each session.
Test-send each template to your own email and a personal phone (SMS) to verify the patient signer flow.
Decide whether to keep TheraNest for chart, claims, and integrated video while using Formfy for first-touch intake, or to fully migrate. Most insurance-billing telehealth practices keep both.

Use cases

Solo licensed psychologist with PSYPACT E.Passport

Pick Formfy. AI generates PSYPACT-aligned consent for each member state served; submission-based pricing scales without active-client-count tier jumps.

Multi-clinician group practice billing insurance

Pair TheraNest (chart, claims, schedule, integrated video) with Formfy (front-of-funnel intake plus state-specific consent overlays). Most insurance-billing practices keep both.

Single-state cash-pay telehealth practice

Either works. Formfy is faster to set up; TheraNest is more chart-coupled if the practice wants integrated video and scheduling. Cost favors Formfy for solo single-state.

LCSW practice using Social Work Licensure Compact

Pick Formfy. Compact-aligned consent block is a single AI-prompt addition rather than custom form-builder fields per state, and the compact membership list grows over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently asked questions

Why would a telehealth therapy practice pick Formfy over TheraNest?

A telehealth therapy practice picks Formfy for three reasons. First, the AI form generator turns a plain-English telehealth-consent description (state-specific telehealth-consent block, patient-state acknowledgment, technology-limitation disclosure, emergency-contact requirement, recording prohibition, in-person fallback) into a delivery-ready intake in under 30 seconds. TheraNest offers a form builder but not AI generation. Second, submission-based pricing instead of active-client-count tier pricing; practices that scale telehealth across multiple states do not pay another tier-jump for client-count growth. Third, Formfy intake links work for prospective patients who do not yet have a TheraNest chart, which matters for first-touch referrals.

When should a telehealth therapy practice pick TheraNest over Formfy?

TheraNest is the right call when the practice wants a full behavioral-health EHR (chart, claims, scheduling, telehealth video, intake forms) inside one platform end-to-end with a BAA. It is also the right call when the practice already runs TheraNest and the intake should land directly on the chart. Formfy implements encryption + audit trails but does not claim HIPAA certification and is not an EHR. Practices that want the all-in-one platform model will keep TheraNest for charting and claims regardless of which intake tool they use.

How does each tool handle state-specific telehealth consent?

Formfy: build the state-specific consent block in the AI prompt, with the patient-state acknowledgment, the technology-limitation disclosure, and the emergency-contact requirement. The AI returns a delivery-ready form in under 30 seconds. For multi-state practices, each state can have its own template. TheraNest: build the state-specific consent block as a custom intake form using the form builder; the data captures into the chart as part of the patient record. Both work; Formfy is faster to set up because of AI generation, and the captured data exports as a signed PDF that the clinician attaches to whatever chart system is in use.

How does each tool handle PSYPACT-aligned consent for psychologists?

Both tools can capture a PSYPACT-aligned telehealth-consent block including the E.Passport credential acknowledgment, the patient-state acknowledgment, the home-state licensure, and the PSYPACT compact reference. Neither tool verifies PSYPACT credentialing directly; the clinician maintains the E.Passport through PSYPACT and references it in the consent. PSYPACT covers licensed psychologists only; LCSWs, LPCs, LMFTs, and psychiatric NPs are not in PSYPACT and must rely on individual state licenses or other compacts (Counseling Compact, Social Work Licensure Compact).

How does each tool handle the patient-state acknowledgment at each session?

The patient-state acknowledgment at each session (not just at intake) is the licensure question made operational. Formfy supports a recurring micro-form that can be sent before each session to verify the patient state. TheraNest supports a per-session questionnaire built into the appointment workflow that can include a state-verification field. Both approaches work; the practice should plan for the per-session verification step rather than relying solely on the original intake state.

How does pricing compare for a multi-state telehealth practice?

Formfy Basic is $19 per month for 100 submissions, which covers a typical solo telehealth practice plus follow-up forms. Formfy Premium is $199 per month for 2,500 submissions, which covers a multi-state group practice. TheraNest Solo is approximately $42 per month for up to 30 active clients (per the TheraNest 2026 pricing page); group plans scale by active client count and feature set. A multi-state practice serving 75 active clients would tier up TheraNest accordingly. Formfy Premium covers 2,500 intakes regardless of active client count.

How long does migration from TheraNest intake forms to Formfy take?

Plan on a half-day per template family. Templates do not port automatically because each platform has its own field format. Telehealth therapists typically: export the intake forms they actually use (general intake, state-specific telehealth consent for each state served, patient-state acknowledgment, technology-limitation disclosure, emergency-contact form, recording-prohibition acknowledgment, generic informed-consent for therapy), paste each into the Formfy AI prompt or upload as PDF, place signature fields, and test-send to a personal email and phone. Realistic Day 1 outcome: Formfy templates match the existing TheraNest intake plus state-specific blocks for each state served.

Are the audit trails admissible in licensing-board proceedings?

Both Formfy audit trails and TheraNest signature-capture logs meet the evidentiary standards under the federal ESIGN Act and state UETA equivalents for admissibility. State licensing boards regulating psychologists, LCSWs, LPCs, and LMFTs typically accept e-signature audit trails when they capture timestamps, IP addresses, and consent-to-electronic-records language. Practical advice for telehealth therapists: licensure-related complaints (most often involving cross-state practice without proper licensure) are particularly common; retain the signed intake plus the audit-trail export plus per-session state-verification logs.

Does either tool support the major interstate licensure compacts?

Neither tool verifies compact membership directly. Practices using PSYPACT (Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact for licensed psychologists), the Counseling Compact (for LPCs), or the Social Work Licensure Compact (for LCSWs) maintain compact credentials externally and reference them in the telehealth consent. Both Formfy and TheraNest can capture the compact-credential acknowledgment in the consent block. The compact memberships continue to grow; check the current state-membership lists at PSYPACT, the Counseling Compact, and the Social Work Licensure Compact websites before relying on any compact for cross-state practice.

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Last verified: 2026-04-25. Formfy data and TheraNest data sourced from public pricing pages and trust centers. This page is informational and is not legal advice. State-specific telehealth statutes, professional-association guidelines, and interstate compact memberships continue to evolve; consult counsel and your state-specific licensing board before adopting any template for cross-state practice.