Psychology Tools Alternative
Free interactive CBT tools, not just printable worksheets
Psychology Tools is an excellent paid library of evidence-based, downloadable CBT worksheets and workbooks. CoralEHR is a different category: free interactive tools you run live in-session that can connect to the chart and patient portal. Here is an honest, fact-checked comparison.
Psychology Tools is the gold-standard subscription library for evidence-based, translatable, client-shareable CBT documents: information handouts, exercises, worksheets, guides and workbooks, therapy audio, and the Treatments That Work therapist protocols. If your goal is a deep, citable, multilingual library of polished printable and fillable resources you can email or hand to clients, Psychology Tools is a strong fit and worth its membership.
CoralEHR fits a different goal. It is an EHR for private-pay behavioral-health therapists that also publishes free interactive clinical tools you run live in-session, and because it is an EHR, what a client does in a tool can connect to their chart and portal. The honest framing: these are complementary, not competing. Many clinicians use both.
Choose Psychology Tools if
You want a comprehensive, evidence-based downloadable worksheet and workbook library, including Treatments That Work protocols, available in 70+ languages.
Choose CoralEHR free tools if
You want interactive, in-session CBT tools (a CBT thought record and more) at no cost, with chart and patient-portal continuity.
CoralEHR vs Psychology Tools at a glance
| Feature | CoralEHR (free tools + EHR) | Psychology Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Core offering | EHR plus free interactive clinical tools | Subscription resource library (downloadable documents) |
| Pricing | Interactive tools free; EHR from $29/mo | Annual: Basic $149 / Advanced $199 / Complete $299 (USD) |
| Free access | Tools fully free, no watermark, no membership, no signup | Trial: browse all plus a fixed number of personal-use downloads; client-licensed full library is paid |
| Format | Browser-interactive, filled in live in-session | Printable/fillable PDF, Word, PowerPoint (download, print, email) |
| Languages | English (CoralEHR does not match this) | 3,500+ translations across 70+ languages |
| Evidence-based protocols | Tools follow standard CBT structure; not a protocol library | Treatments That Work (Barlow / Craske / Foa), Unified Protocol, on Complete |
| Connects to a chart/EHR | Yes (chart + patient portal) | No (standalone documents) |
| Client portal assignment | Yes | No |
Psychology Tools details from Psychology Tools own pages, verified June 2026 - confirm current details on their site. Pricing is also published in GBP (139/189/279), AUD (229/309/459), CAD (199/269/399), and EUR (169/229/329) for Basic/Advanced/Complete.
What Psychology Tools does well
Psychology Tools has earned its reputation, and we are not here to knock it. Its value is the quality and breadth of the resources themselves.
- Depth and evidence base. It is a large library of CBT worksheets, information handouts, exercises, and guides/workbooks authored for mental-health professionals. The Complete tier adds the Treatments That Work series: CBT-based therapist guides and client workbooks by leading psychologists including David Barlow, Michelle Craske, and Edna Foa, covering single-disorder protocols and the Unified Protocol. That is authoritative, clinician-respected material you cannot easily assemble yourself.
- Translations. Paid tiers include 3,500+ translated versions across 70+ languages. For multilingual caseloads, that breadth is genuinely hard to match, and CoralEHR does not try to.
- Formats and client licensing. Resources come as electronically fillable PDFs and editable Word and PowerPoint files, with an email-resources-to-clients sharing feature. Paid tiers are licensed to use and share resources with clients and remove the trial watermark.
- Student access. Students can get the Advanced plan at 60% off (about $80/year vs the standard $199) for up to three years while enrolled, with educational-institution-email verification and proof of enrollment. That is good for trainees building a resource base.
- It is a quality IP library, and that is the point. Psychology Tools is not trying to be practice-management software, and judging it on workflow would miss what it is for.
Where CoralEHR fits differently
This is a category difference, not a we-are-better claim. Psychology Tools sells access to documents. CoralEHR is an EHR that also publishes free interactive clinical tools.
- Interactive, not static. CoralEHR tools are web apps a clinician or client fills out live in the browser, not a PDF to print. The CBT thought record walks through the situation, automatic thoughts, evidence for and against, and a balanced alternative thought, on screen, in session. Alongside it are the behavioral activation planner, exposure hierarchy builder, grounding exercise, window of tolerance, virtual sand tray, and EMDR bilateral stimulation.
- Free, with a fair caveat. CoralEHR interactive tools are free to use with no membership and no watermark. To be precise about Psychology Tools: it also offers a free trial that lets you browse the whole site and download a fixed number of resources for inspection, but those trial downloads are licensed for personal use only, some resources (guides, audio, Treatments That Work) are restricted to paid tiers, and using or sharing resources with clients without a watermark requires a paid membership (Basic from $149/year). So it is not everything-is-paywalled; it is the full library and client-sharing license are paid.
- Chart and portal continuity. This is CoralEHR actual wedge. Because the free tools live inside an EHR, what a client does in a tool can be assigned, completed, and stored against their chart and surfaced in the patient portal. A standalone worksheet library does not write to a chart.
- Built with privacy in mind. The free public tools draft from what you type, not from any recording, and CoralEHR uses Anthropic first-party Claude API where AI assists, with no training on patient data. CoralEHR is HIPAA-compliant and signs BAAs. We state this only as a neutral product attribute, not as any advantage over Psychology Tools.
Where CoralEHR is genuinely weaker
We will not pretend otherwise. Psychology Tools library is deeper than anything CoralEHR offers, and its 70+-language translation coverage is something CoralEHR does not match: CoralEHR tools are English-language. CoralEHR is also not a protocol library; it has no equivalent to Treatments That Work. CoralEHR edge is interactivity and workflow, not library depth or multilingual breadth. If a deep, multilingual, citable downloadable library is what you need, Psychology Tools is the better tool for that job, and the two complement each other well.
Which should you choose?
Choose Psychology Tools if
- You want the broadest evidence-based downloadable library of CBT worksheets, handouts, and workbooks.
- You need multilingual resources for a diverse caseload.
- You want polished printable workbooks and Treatments That Work protocols to hand or email to clients.
- You are happy paying an annual membership (from $149/year) for a curated, citable IP library.
- You do not need the resource tied to a chart; printing or emailing a PDF is exactly your workflow.
Choose CoralEHR if
- You want free interactive tools to run live in-session, not documents to print.
- You want what the client does in a tool to live in their chart and portal.
- You are a private-pay therapist who also wants the documentation, scheduling, telehealth, and payments around it (the EHR starts at $29/mo, with a 30-day free trial and no credit card).
- You would rather not paywall basic interactive tools.
Or use both. Many clinicians keep a Psychology Tools membership for its deep, multilingual, evidence-based library and use CoralEHR free interactive tools in-session. They solve different problems and complement each other well.
Free tools you can try right now
Start with the CBT thought record: an interactive thought record you and the client complete together on screen (situation, automatic thoughts, evidence for and against, and a balanced alternative thought). Free, no signup, no watermark. Then explore more free interactive tools, all linked from the free clinical tools hub:
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Psychology Tools?
CoralEHR publishes free interactive clinical tools, like an online CBT thought record, that you fill out live in the browser at no cost and with no watermark. To be precise: Psychology Tools also offers a free trial with a fixed number of personal-use downloads, but its full library and client-sharing license are paid (Basic from $149/year, per psychologytools.com, June 2026). CoralEHR is a free interactive complement, not a replacement for the depth of Psychology Tools downloadable library.
How much does Psychology Tools cost?
Psychology Tools is billed annually in three tiers: Basic at $149/year, Advanced at $199/year, and Complete at $299/year (USD, per psychologytools.com, June 2026). Advanced adds audio resources and guides/workbooks; Complete adds the Treatments That Work therapist guides and client workbooks. CoralEHR free interactive tools cost nothing, and its EHR starts at $29/month.
Are Psychology Tools worksheets free?
Psychology Tools offers a free trial that lets you browse the site and download a fixed number of resources for personal-use inspection, but using and sharing resources with clients without a watermark requires a paid membership (per psychologytools.com, June 2026). CoralEHR interactive tools are free to use with no membership and no watermark.
What is the difference between Psychology Tools and CoralEHR free tools?
Psychology Tools is a subscription library of downloadable, evidence-based CBT documents (PDF and Word) that you print or email to clients. CoralEHR tools are interactive web apps you complete live in-session, and because CoralEHR is an EHR, what a client does in a tool can connect to their chart and patient portal. Different category: a curated downloadable library versus free interactive tools with chart continuity.
Can I use Psychology Tools and CoralEHR together?
Yes, they are complementary. Many clinicians keep a Psychology Tools membership for its broad, multilingual, evidence-based library and use CoralEHR free interactive tools in-session, with the EHR handling documentation, scheduling, telehealth, and payments around them.
Does CoralEHR have evidence-based CBT resources like Psychology Tools?
Psychology Tools has a much deeper library of evidence-based, translatable resources, including the Treatments That Work protocols, and that breadth is its strength. CoralEHR edge is different: free interactive tools that run live in-session and can tie into the chart, not the depth of a downloadable library. If you need the largest evidence-based resource library, Psychology Tools fits better; if you want free interactive in-session tools plus an EHR, CoralEHR fits better.
Is CoralEHR HIPAA-compliant?
Yes. CoralEHR is built to be HIPAA-compliant and signs Business Associate Agreements. The free public tools run in your browser from typed input and are not used to train AI; inside the EHR, AI drafts stay preliminary until a clinician reviews and signs. This is a neutral product attribute, not a comparison point against Psychology Tools.
Try the free interactive tools, no signup
Open the free CoralEHR clinical tools in your browser, or start a 30-day EHR trial (no credit card) to see how in-session tools connect to the chart and patient portal.
Related pages
Reviewed by Aanish Sachdev, Co-Founder of CoralEHR.