SimplePractice is the biggest name in therapy practice management - in the US. If you're a UK therapist who's looked at it (or tried it), you've probably found that it's designed around American healthcare: insurance billing, HIPAA compliance, USD pricing, and US-centric features. Bloom gives you the same simplicity, built for the UK.
Built for the US market - insurance billing, HIPAA compliance, and CPT codes are central to SimplePractice. None of that is relevant to UK private therapy.
Priced in USD - and not cheap. The Starter plan has significant limitations, pushing most therapists to the Essential plan at $64/month.
No UK GDPR focus - SimplePractice is HIPAA compliant, but GDPR compliance for UK practitioners isn't its priority.
US support hours - their team runs on American timezones, which means delays for UK-based practitioners.
Features you'll never use - insurance claim filing, ERA/EOB processing, and US-specific telehealth compliance eat into your subscription cost.
No presence in the UK market - no UK customer community, no UK-specific templates, no understanding of BACP/UKCP requirements.
| Feature | SimplePractice | Bloom |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | From ~£40/mo (USD pricing) | £29/mo - GBP |
| Built for | US therapists (HIPAA-focused) | UK therapists (GDPR-focused) |
| Currency | USD | GBP |
| Insurance billing | Yes (US insurance) | No (UK therapists don't need this) |
| Session notes encryption | HIPAA compliant | AES-256 encryption |
| Counselling agreement signing | Yes | Yes |
| Client booking page | Yes | Yes |
| Appointment reminders | Email + SMS | Email included |
| UK GDPR compliant | Not a focus | Yes - ICO registered |
| Based in | Santa Monica, USA | London, UK |
| Support timezone | PST | GMT/BST |
Bloom is £29/month with everything included. No add-on fees.
SimplePractice was built for American therapists dealing with insurance. Bloom was built for UK private practitioners. The difference is in every detail.
ICO registered, EU-hosted data, AES-256 encryption. Not retrofitted HIPAA compliance - genuine UK data protection from day one.
£29/month. Not $64 USD that shows up differently on your bank statement each month.
No insurance billing, no CPT codes, no ERA processing. Just scheduling, notes, payments, and client management - the things UK therapists actually use.