AI Medical Scribe Cost Breakdown in 2025

How Much Do AI Medical Scribes Cost?

AI medical scribes are typically priced between $99 and $600+ per month, though some providers, such as SOAPsuds, also offer a reliable free plan. The broad price range can make comparing services tricky, since it isn’t always clear if the claimed productivity benefits promoted by these tools actually fit your practice.

Recent reports suggest many healthcare facilities see strong financial returns from their use. Some have shared that AI scribes help recover more than $10,000 in clinician time every month, giving them an ROI of 900% or more on their subscription. In this guide, we’ll look closely at cost factors, review pricing from different providers, and outline how to measure the return on investment (ROI) for your practice.

Breaking Down the Cost of AI Scribes

Working out the true cost of an AI scribe involves more than comparing subscription fees. While monthly price is the most visible number, it doesn’t reflect how much value the tool actually adds, and each medical team has its own needs.

The key is to understand how much an AI scribe can add in saved time and improved results, then compare that value to the monthly expense. Put differently, the cheapest product may not be the most effective; the aim is to choose the option that delivers the best return for the money spent.

Here are five areas that help highlight the overall value an AI medical scribe may bring to your practice.

Measure Time Saved in Clinical Work

One of the clearest benefits of AI scribes is reduced documentation time. Research shows physicians spend two hours on paperwork for every hour of patient care. Cutting this down makes note-taking an obvious target for improvement and also helps clinicians protect work-life balance.

SOAPsuds’ users report saving one to two hours daily on documentation, which is often about half of their usual time on notes. This frees up more hours to see patients and bring in additional revenue. For instance, Advanced Urology gained $139,000 in billable clinical time within 16 weeks of using SOAPsuds, a 10.3x return. Fountain Vitality recovered $47,000 in seven months, while Nourish Family Nutrition saved $11,000 in just 4 months.

To estimate potential ROI, start by calculating the likely clinical hours gained and weigh that against the monthly subscription. For many practices, even a couple of extra sessions each week can more than cover the scribe’s cost.

Review Gains in Documentation Accuracy

Many documentation errors happen because of time pressure, not lack of knowledge or attention. AI scribes that automate large parts of the note-taking process allow providers to maintain better focus and create more detailed records.

“SOAPsuds has made my daily practice far smoother,” says General Medicine physician Dr. Laura Bennett. “I no longer spend hours re-creating patient encounters from memory. The system quietly captures everything in real time, which allows me to focus on listening and caring for my patients instead of worrying about paperwork.”

When estimating value, practices can compare current revenue lost due to under coding or incomplete notes against the expected costs of the scribe. Fewer compliance issues, reduced insurance denials, and fewer corrections also add measurable savings.

Factor in Patient Interaction

To keep up with notes, clinicians often switch between typing and talking during visits. This practice may seem normal, but it can take away from the patient’s experience.

AI scribes eliminate the burden of typing during visits, allowing clinicians to connect with patients more meaningfully. “Using SOAPsuds has transformed the way I practice,” says Dr. Rachel Meyers of Green Valley Family Practice in Oregon. “I can maintain eye contact, have natural conversations, and still walk away with complete, accurate notes without feeling distracted by documentation.”

Patient satisfaction often links to financial results for clinics. Because of this, improved patient experience should be part of any cost evaluation of an AI scribe.

Consider Benefits to Clinician Well-Being

Clinician burnout is a widespread issue, with nearly half of doctors and one-third of public health staff affected. Burnout leads to real costs for organizations through lower productivity, high staff turnover, and the expense of training replacements.

Administrative workload is one of the main causes of burnout, which makes AI scribes an effective tool to address the issue. In one survey of behavioral health professionals using SOAPsuds, 93% said it reduced burnout and 92% reported higher job satisfaction. These improvements suggest that investing in AI scribes may offset costs by lowering absences, leave, and spending on wellness programs.

Weigh the Role in Staff Retention

The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts a shortage of 11 million healthcare workers worldwide by 2030. This means retaining existing staff will become even more important for medical practices and hospitals.

Since documentation is one of the least enjoyable aspects of a clinician’s role, adopting technology that minimizes this work can make an organization more attractive to job seekers. A practice that uses AI scribes to reduce administrative burden is more likely to draw and keep top providers than one still relying only on traditional EHR or PMS systems.

Put simply, if a clinician had two equal job offers—one with AI scribes in place and one without—the option with reduced paperwork would likely win.

 

AI Medical Scribe Pricing Compared with Other Options

AI scribes are not the only way to reduce paperwork in healthcare. Other options include using human scribes, outsourcing transcription, and relying on voice-to-text software.

To see the complete picture of what AI documentation tools offer, it helps to look at their pricing next to other scribing approaches. Below is a quick breakdown of the four main alternatives used in clinical settings.

Human Medical Scribes

Human scribes are trained workers who sit in with doctors during visits to help write notes. They can be present in person or join remotely, listening during the consultation and preparing the documentation. These notes are then reviewed and approved by the treating clinician before going into the record.

The average pay for a human scribe is about $40,000 (USD) annually in the US, $95,000 (AUD) in Australia, and £24,000 in the UK.

Outsourced Transcription

Hiring outside transcription services is often cheaper than employing scribes on site. In this setup, providers record their sessions or dictate letters, then send the audio files to a transcription company. The service types out the content and returns it, usually within 24–48 hours.

The cost of transcription depends on the method of charging. Some companies bill per minute of audio ($1–$3 per minute), some by line of text ($0.07–$0.10 per line), and others per page ($5–$15 each).

Voice-to-Text Software

Voice-to-text, also called speech recognition, has been around for many years. In healthcare, it is mostly used for dictating notes.

With these tools, the provider speaks into a device and the software creates a digital transcript of the words. In most cases, this draft is later edited by the provider or staff before being stored in the patient record.

Basic voice-to-text comes built into most phones, though it does not meet healthcare data standards like HIPAA, GDPR, or APP. Medical-grade software with the proper compliance features typically costs $50–$100 monthly, per clinician.

AI-Powered Scribes

AI scribes use speech recognition along with artificial intelligence models, including machine learning and language models. They are also trained with medical language and workflows.

Similar to a live scribe, AI scribes can process and organize details from a consultation. The cost of AI scribes can range widely, from free plans to over $600 each month.

Example of ROI with an AI Scribe

To see how AI scribes compare in practice, consider how Priority Physicians used SOAPsuds in their two primary care clinics.

Within 14 weeks of introducing SOAPsuds AI Medial Scribe, the group:

Cut charting time by 74%

Saved more than 98hours on notes

Recovered $14,000 worth of clinical time

Saw a 600% return on their setup costs

“Before, I used to stay late every evening just to finish charting after a busy clinic,” says Dr. Omar Siddiqui, Head of Internal Medicine at Riverside Health Associates. “Since adopting SOAPsuds, my documentation time has been cut by more than half, which means I can actually leave the office on time and focus more on my patients during the day.” 

Dr. Siddiqui also shared that their clinic runs more smoothly now, as assistants receive the documentation right away, instead of waiting until the next day for physicians to finish their notes.

Cost Breakdown of AI Scribes

Now that we’ve covered value and savings, let’s review typical AI scribe pricing.

Costs vary a lot between providers, but most fall into three general tiers. Each tier has common features and target users, but the market is still maturing, and there is no fixed link between features and price yet.

These tiers are meant only as an outline. The numbers reflect average monthly subscription fees in USD, per clinician, based on available information about leading products.

SOAPsuds AI Scribe Cost — Free to $149 Monthly and Custom Plan 

SOAPsuds changes the usual approach to AI scribe pricing in two main ways.

First, SOAPsuds offers a free plan that includes 20 free notes with no requirement to upgrade.

Second, SOAPsuds Individual plan costs $149monthly, making it one of the most affordable complete AI scribes. SOAPsuds Individual plan includes features often only seen in higher-priced products, such as:

Unlimited custom templates — create your own or use ones from the Template Community.

Auto-written documents — ask SOAPsuds to prepare referral letters, handovers, or patient summaries.

Reports and assessments — generate summaries from uploaded patient histories and earlier sessions.

You can try SOAPsuds Pro with 20 free notes with Custom AI template and Note history on trial before paying, to see if it suits your practice.

Try SOAPsuds: Affordable AI Scribe for All Providers

If you find comparing different AI scribes overwhelming, you don’t need to worry. SOAPsuds makes the choice simple by offering free access to the main AI transcription tools, for as long as you wish.

Here’s how to begin with SOAPsuds:

Sign up for free — Use unlimited AI transcription right away, plus 20 free notes to test premium features.

Benefit from the extra time — Spend more moments with patients, finish earlier, or focus on other tasks. You choose how to use the saved hours.

SOAPsuds is already trusted worldwide, handling more than one million patient consults each week. The platform also complies with strict data standards, including HIPAA, GDPR, PIPEDA, and Australia’s APP.