Tebra (Kareo) EHR Review (2026)

Overview

Tebra is the product of a 2022 merger between Kareo, one of the most widely adopted low-cost EHR and billing platforms for small practices, and PatientPop, a patient marketing and online presence platform. The combined company rebranded as Tebra with the stated goal of building an "operating system for independent practices" that spans clinical workflows, billing, and patient acquisition in a single platform.

Kareo was founded in 2004 and built its user base on a simple proposition: free or very-low-cost medical billing software that was easy to set up and required no long-term contracts. Over nearly two decades, the platform grew to serve over 107,000 providers, predominantly solo practitioners and small practices that needed functional billing and basic EHR capabilities without the cost and complexity of enterprise systems like AdvancedMD or NextGen.

The merger with PatientPop added patient-facing capabilities — website design, online scheduling, reputation management, and digital marketing tools — that most EHR vendors do not offer natively. This patient acquisition angle is Tebra's primary differentiator in a crowded small-practice market. However, the post-merger integration has been uneven, and the clinical EHR itself remains relatively basic compared to competitors that have invested more heavily in charting depth, specialty workflows, and AI-assisted documentation.

Key Features

Clinical EHR

Tebra's EHR module provides cloud-based charting with configurable templates, e-prescribing (including EPCS for controlled substances), lab order integration, and basic clinical decision support. The charting interface is clean and straightforward, designed for speed rather than clinical depth. Templates cover common primary care, chiropractic, dermatology, and pediatric encounters, though they lack the granularity and specialty-specific logic found in platforms like DrChrono or NextGen.

Practice Management and Billing

Billing has always been Kareo's strongest legacy. The practice management module includes appointment scheduling, patient registration, insurance eligibility verification, electronic claims submission via an integrated clearinghouse, ERA/EOB posting, and patient statements. The claims workflow is straightforward and handles the basics well for low-to-moderate volume practices. Tebra also offers a managed billing service where their team handles claims on your behalf, an attractive option for solo providers who lack dedicated billing staff.

Patient Marketing (PatientPop Heritage)

This is where Tebra diverges from every other EHR on the market. The patient marketing suite, inherited from PatientPop, includes:

• Website builder — SEO-optimized, mobile-responsive practice websites with online booking integration
• Reputation management — automated review solicitation, review monitoring across Google and Healthgrades, and response management
• Online scheduling — patient self-scheduling with real-time availability sync
• Patient communication — automated appointment reminders, recall campaigns, and two-way text messaging
• Digital marketing analytics — dashboard tracking new patient acquisition, website traffic, and online visibility

No other EHR vendor bundles this level of patient marketing natively. Practices that would otherwise need to contract separately with a web design firm, a reputation management service, and a patient communication platform can consolidate these functions into a single vendor relationship.

Telehealth

Tebra includes basic built-in telehealth with video visit capability. The telehealth module is functional but limited — it covers standard one-on-one video visits without the advanced features (group sessions, screen sharing, virtual waiting rooms) offered by platforms like SimplePractice or dedicated telehealth solutions.

Interoperability

Tebra supports standard data exchange through Direct messaging, CCDA document import/export, and a FHIR-based API. The platform is ONC-certified and meets basic interoperability requirements, though its API ecosystem is less developed than those of larger platforms. Integration options with third-party tools are available but more limited than what you find with DrChrono or athenahealth.

Pros

1. Extremely affordable entry point. Tebra's billing-only tier starts around $10/month, and even the full EHR plus practice management suite remains under $100/month per provider for most configurations. This makes it one of the lowest-cost ONC-certified EHR options available, a significant advantage for cash-strapped startup practices.
2. Unique patient marketing capabilities. No other EHR vendor offers an integrated website builder, reputation management, and patient acquisition analytics. For practices that need help attracting new patients — particularly new practices without an established referral network — this is genuine, differentiated value.
3. Modern, intuitive user interface. The Tebra interface is clean and uncluttered, with a design sensibility that reflects its consumer-tech heritage. New users can become productive quickly without extensive training, which matters when you lack dedicated IT staff.
4. No long-term contracts required. Tebra offers month-to-month billing on most plans, reducing the financial risk of committing to a platform before you know whether it fits your workflow. This is unusual in the EHR market, where annual or multi-year contracts are the norm.
5. Solid integrated clearinghouse. Electronic claims submission, eligibility verification, and ERA posting work reliably through Tebra's built-in clearinghouse. For practices managing their own billing, this eliminates the need for a separate clearinghouse vendor.
6. Managed billing service available. Solo providers and very small practices that lack billing expertise can outsource claims management to Tebra's billing service. This removes a significant operational burden, though it comes at additional cost.
7. Fast implementation. Most practices can go live within one to two weeks. The setup process is straightforward, with guided onboarding and template libraries that accelerate initial configuration. Compare this to the months-long implementation timelines typical of larger EHR systems.
8. Cloud-only architecture. No servers to maintain, no software to install, and accessible from any device with a browser. Automatic updates ensure you always run the latest version without IT intervention.

Cons

1. Post-merger integration remains incomplete. The Kareo and PatientPop products were built independently and have not been fully unified. Users report that the EHR/billing side and the marketing side can feel like two separate platforms stitched together, with inconsistent navigation, separate login experiences in some cases, and data that does not always flow seamlessly between modules.
2. Clinical charting lacks depth. Tebra's EHR is built for speed and simplicity, which means it sacrifices clinical sophistication. The template builder is limited compared to competitors like DrChrono or AdvancedMD. Practices with complex documentation needs — detailed procedure notes, specialty-specific exam elements, or structured data capture for quality reporting — will find the charting restrictive.
3. Reporting is basic. Tebra offers a set of canned reports covering standard financial and operational metrics, but there is no custom report builder. Practices that need ad hoc reporting, advanced analytics, or the ability to export granular data for external analysis will hit this ceiling quickly.
4. Customer support quality has declined. Multiple review sources note that support responsiveness dropped after the 2022 merger. Wait times for phone and chat support have increased, and first-contact resolution rates have decreased. This is a common pattern after acquisitions but is particularly painful for small practices that lack internal IT resources.
5. Billing module has limitations at scale. While adequate for solo and very small practices, the billing module struggles with complex scenarios: multiple tax IDs, sophisticated denial management workflows, secondary and tertiary claims, and high-volume batch processing. Practices billing more than a few hundred claims per month may outgrow Tebra's capabilities.
6. Limited specialty support. Tebra works reasonably well for primary care, chiropractic, and dermatology, but it lacks deep specialty workflows. Surgical practices, orthopedics, ophthalmology, and other procedural specialties will find the clinical templates and workflow automation insufficient.
7. Patient marketing adds cost. The marketing modules that differentiate Tebra from competitors are priced separately and can add $200-$400/month to your total bill. This means the "affordable EHR" positioning is somewhat misleading if you want the full platform — by the time you add marketing, the total cost approaches or exceeds alternatives like DrChrono.

Pricing

Tebra does not publish transparent pricing and requires a custom quote. Based on publicly available information and user reports as of early 2026, the approximate pricing structure is:

Tebra's per-provider pricing is significantly lower than competitors like AdvancedMD ($229-$729/provider/month) or NextGen ($150-$500/provider/month). However, the marketing modules add meaningful cost, and the managed billing service charges a percentage of collections rather than a flat fee. For a detailed breakdown of EHR pricing across the market, see our EHR Cost Guide.

Who Should Use Tebra

Tebra is a strong fit for a specific — and sizable — segment of the market:

• Startup practices that need a functional EHR and billing platform at the lowest possible cost to get operational quickly without large upfront investment.
• Solo practitioners who handle their own billing or want to outsource it affordably, and who value simplicity over clinical depth.
• Practices prioritizing patient acquisition — particularly new practices in competitive markets that need a professional web presence, online scheduling, and reputation management without contracting multiple vendors.
• Primary care, chiropractic, and dermatology providers whose clinical documentation needs are straightforward and well-served by Tebra's template library.
• Cash-pay and concierge practices where insurance billing complexity is low and the focus is on patient experience and marketing.

Who Should Not Use Tebra

• Growing practices expecting to scale beyond five providers. Tebra's billing, reporting, and administrative tools are not built for multi-location or mid-size group complexity. Practices with growth ambitions should start with a more scalable platform like AdvancedMD or athenahealth to avoid a costly EHR switch later.
• Specialty practices with complex documentation needs. Surgical, orthopedic, ophthalmology, and other procedural specialties need deeper charting tools and specialty-specific templates than Tebra provides.
• Practices that require robust reporting and analytics. If your value-based care contracts, quality programs, or internal operations depend on custom reporting, Tebra's canned reports will not suffice.
• High-volume billing operations. Practices processing hundreds of claims daily need more sophisticated denial management, batch processing, and revenue cycle analytics than Tebra offers.
• Behavioral health practices beyond solo therapy. While Tebra nominally supports mental health, group BH practices should evaluate SimplePractice, TherapyNotes, or AZZLY Rize for purpose-built BH workflows.

Implementation

Tebra implementation is fast and lightweight by EHR standards. Most practices complete setup and go live within one to two weeks. The process typically involves:

1. Account setup and configuration (Days 1-3). Create your account, configure practice information, set up provider profiles, and customize scheduling templates. Tebra's onboarding team guides you through initial setup via screen-share sessions.
2. Template customization (Days 3-5). Review and customize clinical note templates, configure your encounter workflows, and set up your billing preferences including fee schedules and payer enrollment.
3. Data migration (Days 5-10). Tebra supports patient demographic imports via CSV. Clinical data migration from a prior EHR is more limited — expect to migrate demographics and insurance information, but historical chart notes typically remain in your previous system as archived records.
4. Training (Days 7-12). Tebra provides live webinar-based training sessions supplemented by a self-service knowledge base. Training is adequate for the platform's complexity level, though practices with no prior EHR experience may want to budget additional time for workflow rehearsal.
5. Go-live and stabilization (Days 10-14). Begin using the system with live patients. Tebra offers post-go-live support calls during the first week to address issues as they arise.

This timeline is dramatically shorter than the three-to-twelve-month implementations typical of larger platforms. See our EHR implementation checklist for a comprehensive guide to planning your transition.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Tebra the same as Kareo?

Yes. In 2022, Kareo merged with PatientPop (a patient marketing platform) and rebranded as Tebra. The combined platform retains Kareo's EHR and billing capabilities while adding PatientPop's patient acquisition, reputation management, and website builder tools. Existing Kareo customers were migrated to the Tebra brand.

How much does Tebra cost per month?

Tebra pricing starts around $10/month for standalone billing and ranges to $100+/month per provider for the full EHR and practice management suite. Patient marketing modules are priced separately at approximately $200-$400/month. Tebra does not publish pricing publicly, so you must request a quote for current rates.

Is Tebra good for mental health practices?

Tebra can work for solo mental health providers who need a low-cost EHR with basic scheduling and billing. However, it lacks behavioral health-specific features like specialized progress note templates, treatment plan workflows, outcome measurement tools, and robust telehealth. Mental health practices should evaluate dedicated BH platforms like SimplePractice, TherapyNotes, or AZZLY Rize.

Does Tebra have an integrated clearinghouse?

Yes. Tebra includes an integrated clearinghouse for electronic claims submission, eligibility verification, and ERA/EOB posting. This is one of Tebra's stronger features and eliminates the need for a separate clearinghouse vendor. Some users report that denial management and secondary claim workflows are less robust than dedicated billing platforms.

What are the main complaints about Tebra?

The most common complaints include post-merger integration issues (Kareo and PatientPop still feel like separate products in places), declining customer support responsiveness, limited clinical charting depth, basic reporting without a custom report builder, and occasional billing module glitches around ERA posting and claim status updates.

Can Tebra handle medical billing for multiple providers?

Tebra can handle billing for small multi-provider practices (up to approximately five providers), but practices with complex billing needs — multiple tax IDs, high-volume coding, or sophisticated denial management — typically outgrow Tebra's capabilities and should consider platforms like AdvancedMD or athenahealth.

Verdict

Tebra occupies a clear niche: it is the most affordable ONC-certified EHR platform on the market, and its integrated patient marketing suite is genuinely unique. For solo practitioners and startup practices that need to get operational quickly at minimal cost, and particularly for those that need help building an online presence and attracting new patients, Tebra delivers real value that competitors in its price range cannot match.

The trade-offs are equally clear. Clinical depth, reporting sophistication, and billing scalability all lag behind mid-market competitors like AdvancedMD and DrChrono. The post-merger integration between the Kareo and PatientPop product lines remains a work in progress, and customer support has not kept pace with the platform's ambitions. Practices that anticipate growth beyond a handful of providers, or that need advanced clinical workflows, will outgrow Tebra and face the cost and disruption of switching EHR systems.

The bottom line: Tebra is a strong starter EHR for cost-conscious solo and small practices that value simplicity and patient marketing over clinical depth. Use it to launch and stabilize your practice — but build your EHR selection plan with the understanding that you may need to migrate to a more capable platform as your practice matures.