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Side-by-side comparison · Productivity & Notes

Abridge vs Heidi vs Smartsheet

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Abridge

4.2

Free to start

Heidi

4.2

Free to start

Smartsheet

3.7

From $9/member/mo

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Pick it if: Hospital and health-system leaders choosing an AI scribe for their doctors and nurses.

Best value

Pick it if: GPs, specialists, psychologists and allied health practitioners who spend their evenings writing up notes.

Pick it if: Operations, PMO and project teams who think in spreadsheets and need Gantt charts, reports and approvals.

Overview

AttributeAbridgeHeidiSmartsheet
In one lineTurns doctor–patient conversations into notes inside the hospital EHR.AI medical scribe that listens to a consult and writes the notes and letters.Spreadsheet-style project tracking with AI for formulas, summaries and dashboards.
Pricing modelPaidFreemiumPaid
Starting priceSee websiteFree$9/member/mo
Free plan No Yes No
Works with Claude Code No No Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeAbridgeHeidiSmartsheet
Overall rating4.24.23.7
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.5
4.5
3.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.5
4.5
4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.5
4.0
4.0
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
3.5
4.0
3.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
4.0
3.5

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeAbridgeHeidiSmartsheet
Access & platform
Free plan No Yes No
Mobile app Yes Yes Yes
Desktop app– Yes Yes
Browser extension No Yes–
API access–– Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes Yes Yes
Connects to other apps Yes Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted No No No
AI abilities
Works with your files– Yes Yes
Understands images–––
Makes images No No No
Makes video No No No
Writes code No No–
Runs agents or automations–– No
Learns your brand or style– Yes–
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score5/ 1710/ 178/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeAbridgeHeidiSmartsheet
Plans

EnterpriseOur pick

Custom

Health systems rolling it out across many clinicians.

Free

Free

A single clinician trying it on real consults.

Pro

$9/member/mo billed yearly ($12 monthly)

Individuals and small teams of up to 10.

ClinicianOur pick

See website (14-day free trial)

A clinician who uses it every day.

BusinessOur pick

$19/member/mo billed yearly ($24 monthly)

Teams running several projects together.

Practice

Custom

Clinics with several practitioners.

Enterprise

Custom

Larger organisations needing admin and security controls.

Enterprise

Custom

Health services and large groups.

Advanced Work Management

Custom

PMOs managing large portfolios.

Which plan to pickThere is only one way to buy it: a contract between your organisation and Abridge. If you are a single clinician or small practice, look at Heidi instead.Start on Free for a couple of weeks of real consults. If it saves you time every day, trial the Clinician plan; if you need notes to flow into your practice software or want one bill for the clinic, ask about Practice.Business is where Smartsheet's reporting and approvals pay off for a team. Pro suits one person or a very small team. Use the 30-day trial on a real project before you commit to a yearly plan.

Key features

AttributeAbridgeHeidiSmartsheet
Standout features
  • Ambient documentation
  • Linked evidence
  • Inside Epic
  • Abridge for Nurses
  • Revenue cycle support
  • Many languages
  • Ambient scribe
  • Templates
  • Letters and documents
  • Ask Heidi
  • Dictation
  • Practice controls
  • Grid, Gantt, board and calendar
  • AI formulas and analysis
  • AI dashboards and summaries
  • Forms and automations
  • Reports across sheets
  • Connections to other AI tools

Pros and cons

AttributeAbridgeHeidiSmartsheet
Pros
  • Deep Epic integration, so there is no copying notes between systems
  • Linked evidence makes notes faster to check
  • Strong independent evidence on reducing after-hours documentation
  • Covers doctors, nurses and inpatient care in one platform
  • Real free plan that a clinician can use day to day
  • Notes follow your own templates, not a generic format
  • Letters and summaries come from the same session
  • Works on phone, desktop and in the browser
  • Built for Australian, UK and US clinical settings
  • Familiar spreadsheet layout for Excel users
  • Strong Gantt charts, dependencies and cross-project reporting
  • AI makes formulas and dashboards much easier
  • Mature automations, forms and approvals
Cons
  • Only sold to organisations; individuals and small practices cannot buy it
  • No public pricing, and analyst estimates put it at the expensive end
  • Roll-out is a long integration project, not a same-day sign-up
  • Notes still need careful review, especially exam findings
  • Every note needs checking: users report missed details and occasional invented content
  • Paid prices are no longer published, and third-party reports suggest they have risen
  • EHR sync and organisation-wide privacy agreements only come on Practice and Enterprise
  • Recent reviews mention slower support and template bugs as the company has grown
  • No free plan, and customers report big cost jumps under newer pricing
  • Interface feels dated and has a learning curve for non-spreadsheet people
  • Large sheets can be slow
  • Paid features split across tiers and add-ons

Who each one is for

AttributeAbridgeHeidiSmartsheet
Best for
  • Large health systems on Epic
  • Cutting after-hours note writing
  • Nursing and inpatient documentation
  • Notes that link back to the source conversation
  • Writing up consult notes
  • Drafting referral and specialist letters
  • Solo clinicians and small practices
  • Allied health and GP templates
  • Replacing Excel project trackers
  • Gantt charts with dependencies
  • Portfolio and PMO reporting
  • Request intake and approvals
You'll find it used by
  • Hospital physicians
  • Nurses
  • Health systems
  • Clinical documentation teams
  • GPs
  • Specialists
  • Psychologists
  • Physios and allied health
  • Medical practices
  • Project managers
  • Operations teams
  • PMOs
  • Construction firms
  • IT teams

Questions people ask

Which is better, Abridge, Heidi or Smartsheet?

They tie on our overall rating (Abridge 4.2/5, Heidi 4.2/5 and Smartsheet 3.7/5). Abridge is best for large health systems on Epic and cutting after-hours note writing. Heidi is best for writing up consult notes and drafting referral and specialist letters. Smartsheet is best for Replacing Excel project trackers and gantt charts with dependencies.

Which is cheaper, Abridge, Heidi or Smartsheet?

Abridge: Pricing isn't published; check the vendor's site for a quote. Heidi: It's free to use. Smartsheet: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $9/member/mo.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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