How Much Does EHR Simulation Software Cost? A 2026 Pricing Guide

EHR simulation has gone from a nice-to-have to a core component of nursing and allied health education. Most programs require it. Accreditation bodies expect it. And students are paying for it, often without knowing exactly how much until orientation week, when the bookstore receipt shows up.

The problem: pricing in this space is all over the map. Some vendors post a full price grid on their website. Others require you to book a demo call just to get a ballpark. And when textbook bundling, multi-semester licensing, and institutional negotiation enter the picture, even the numbers that are public don’t tell the whole story.

This guide breaks down what each major EHR simulation platform actually costs in 2026, where we found those numbers, what they include, and what to watch out for before your program signs anything.

The Quick Answer: What Does EHR Simulation Software Cost?

Prices range from free to over $300 per student depending on the platform, the term length, and how it’s packaged. Here’s a snapshot of the major players:

ChartFlow

• Price range: Free (student tier) to $65/student (3 year license)
• Pricing model: Per student, per year
• Pricing public: Yes
• Instructors free: Yes

EHR Go (Archetype Innovations)

• Price range: $53 (12-week) to $293 (3 year license)
• Pricing model: Per student, per term
• Pricing public: Yes
• Instructors free: Yes

SimChart (Elsevier)

• Price range: ~$73–$165 (bundled), ~$105–$132 (access only)
• Pricing model: Per student, per course/access period
• Pricing public: Partial (bookstores, Amazon; not directly on Elsevier’s site)
• Instructors free: Not confirmed publicly

Lippincott DocuCare (Wolters Kluwer)

• Price range: $79.99–$299.99
• Pricing model: Per student (multiple tiers, likely by duration)
• Pricing public: Yes, via shop.lww.com
• Instructors free: Not confirmed publicly

EHR Tutor (ATI)

• Price range: Not published
• Pricing model: Institutional contract
• Pricing public: No
• Instructors free: Included in institutional contract

MedAffinity

• Price range: ~$55/student (one visible price from FSU program)
• Pricing model: Institutional subscription + per-student license
• Pricing public: Partial (contact required for full pricing)
• Instructors free: Not confirmed publicly

EdEHR

• Price range: Free (self-hosted) to quote-based (managed)
• Pricing model: Institutional
• Pricing public: Partial
• Instructors free: Yes (institution pays)

Marsupial EMR

• Price range: Free
• Pricing model: Free download
• Pricing public: Yes
• Instructors free: Yes

SimEMR (KbPort / Pocket Nurse)

• Price range: Contact for pricing
• Pricing model: Institutional, tied to hardware ecosystem
• Pricing public: No
• Instructors free: Not confirmed publicly

Prices above were sourced from official vendor websites, university bookstore listings, and Amazon where available. Institutional contracts may differ significantly from any publicly listed price, and in many cases, no public price exists at all.

EHR Simulation Platforms: Pricing Breakdown

ChartFlow

ChartFlow starts at $15 per student for a one-year license. A two-year license runs $60, and three-year (or longer) is $65 per student. There’s also a free tier for students who want to explore the platform before their program activates their account.

Instructor accounts are always free. No exceptions, no per-seat charges for faculty. There are no implementation fees, no setup costs, and no module add-ons required to get a functional simulation experience. The subscription includes the EHR simulation environment, learning modules, built-in assessments, and LTI integration for connecting to your LMS.

Pricing is published openly on chartflow.io, which puts ChartFlow in a small group of vendors willing to put their numbers on the table.

EHR Go (Archetype Innovations)

EHR Go is one of the most transparent pricing models in the EHR simulation space. Their full price grid is published on the EHR Go FAQ page:

• Quarter (12 weeks): $53/student
• Semester (16 weeks): $73/student
• Academic Year (40 weeks): $113/student
• Annual (12 months): $128/student
• Extended (18 months): $163/student
• 2-Year (24 months): $203/student
• 3-Year (36 months): $293/student

Faculty accounts are free. Programs with 200 or more students qualify for bulk discounts of up to 25% off. That kind of volume pricing published openly is genuinely useful for program directors running budget comparisons.

SimChart (Elsevier)

SimChart is Elsevier’s EHR simulation product, primarily focused on the medical office workflow (it’s often listed as “SimChart for the Medical Office”). It’s widely used in medical assistant and health information programs.

Pricing is not published on Elsevier’s website directly. We found prices through university bookstore listings and Amazon:

• Access code only (standalone): approximately $105–$132
• Bundled with textbook: approximately $73–$165 depending on edition and bundle configuration

Worth noting: SimChart access codes are tied to specific editions, and older access codes may not work with updated curriculum materials. That’s worth confirming before students purchase independently.

Lippincott DocuCare (Wolters Kluwer)

DocuCare is Wolters Kluwer’s nursing-focused EHR simulation platform, part of the Lippincott Solutions product family. Pricing is available on the Lippincott web store and ranges from $79.99 to $299.99 depending on the tier.

One thing to flag for students: auto-renewal is enabled by default on DocuCare subscriptions purchased through shop.lww.com. It’s worth knowing that going in.

If a program is already using Lippincott Solutions as part of their curriculum package, DocuCare may be included at no additional cost, making the effective per-student price zero in those cases.

EHR Tutor (ATI)

EHR Tutor is now part of ATI Nursing Education, and it operates under ATI’s institutional sales model. There is no public pricing for EHR Tutor. Programs contract directly with ATI, and student costs are typically passed through program fees rather than billed directly to students at the bookstore.

Faculty access is included within the institutional contract. If your program already has an ATI relationship, EHR Tutor may be part of that package. Worth asking your ATI rep directly.

MedAffinity

MedAffinity started as a certified clinical EHR and was adapted for healthcare education. It’s built around realistic clinical workflows, with notable strengths in barcode scanning simulation, flexible scenario design, and newer AI-powered grading tools.

Pricing requires contacting their sales team for most programs. One publicly visible data point: Florida State University’s program listed MedAffinity at $55 per student on medaffinity.com/subscriptions. Whether that reflects standard institutional pricing or a negotiated rate is unclear.

EdEHR

EdEHR is an open-source EHR simulation platform. If your institution has the technical capacity to self-host it, the software itself is free. A managed service option exists for schools that don’t want to handle hosting and maintenance themselves. Pricing for the managed service is quote-based.

EdEHR’s own materials claim the managed service costs “less per student per year than a single course textbook.” That’s a compelling benchmark, though the exact number requires contacting them.

Faculty accounts are free under the institutional model; individual instructors don’t pay separately.

Marsupial EMR

Marsupial EMR is a free, downloadable EHR simulation application. It’s Windows-only and runs as a desktop app: no cloud access, no LMS integration, no built-in grading tools.

For programs that just need students to get basic exposure to EHR navigation before a clinical rotation, it works. For program-wide deployment with structured assessments and faculty reporting, its limitations become apparent quickly.

SimEMR (KbPort / Pocket Nurse)

SimEMR is part of KbPort’s simulation lab ecosystem, now under Pocket Nurse. It’s designed to integrate with physical simulation hardware rather than operate as a standalone software product.

Pricing is not publicly listed. Programs with hardware purchases from KbPort typically receive a one-year free trial of SimEMR. Ongoing licensing requires direct contact with the sales team.

What About Clinical Simulation Software?

These tools aren’t EHR simulators, but students frequently pay for both types of software in the same semester, so it’s worth knowing the numbers when planning total program costs.

Shadow Health (Elsevier)

Shadow Health is a virtual patient simulation platform focused on health assessments and clinical reasoning. Standalone access has been reported at approximately $90–$110 per student. When bundled with Elsevier’s larger course packages, costs can reach up to $800 per semester. No institutional pricing is published. Sources: Reddit (r/nursing, r/StudentNurse) and Fairleigh Dickinson University BSN program cost documentation.

vSim for Nursing (Wolters Kluwer)

vSim offers scenario-based virtual nursing simulations. Individual modules run $99–$130 and are available directly through the Lippincott web store and Amazon. It’s one of the more transparent pricing models in the clinical simulation space.

ATI (Real Life + Swift River)

ATI’s clinical simulation content is bundled within ATI’s Comprehensive Assessment and Review Program (CARP) contracts. Student-facing costs typically run $140–$600+ per semester depending on the program’s specific bundle. Sources include Reddit nursing education threads and university fee schedules from institutions including MGCCC and UNC Charlotte.

i-Human (Kaplan)

i-Human is Kaplan’s virtual patient platform. No public pricing exists anywhere we could find. Institutional contracts only.

Why Is Pricing So Hard to Find?

The short answer: most vendors in healthcare education sell to institutions, not individuals. When the buyer is a program director or department chair negotiating a multi-year contract, there’s less incentive to publish retail pricing. Every deal can be different.

Textbook bundling adds another layer of complexity. When SimChart access comes packaged with an Elsevier textbook, the “price” you see at the bookstore reflects the bundle, not what either component would cost separately. That makes comparison shopping genuinely difficult.

Students are often the last to know what they’re paying for. The access code shows up on a required materials list during orientation, often without any explanation of what it covers or how long it lasts.

The vendors who do publish pricing openly — ChartFlow, EdEHR, EHR Go, and vSim among them — make it significantly easier for programs to budget accurately and for students to understand what they’re paying for. That transparency isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a sign of a vendor that trusts their pricing to hold up to scrutiny.

Hidden Costs to Watch For

Before your program commits to any EHR simulation platform, here are the questions worth asking:

Per-course vs. per-year licensing

If students need EHR access across multiple semesters, a per-course pricing model can multiply quickly. A $50 per-course fee across four semesters costs $200 — more than some annual licenses.

Textbook bundle requirements

Some platforms are sold only as part of a textbook bundle. If a student already owns the text from a prior course or uses a library copy, they may still need to purchase access separately.

Auto-renewal defaults

DocuCare subscriptions purchased through Lippincott’s web store auto-renew by default. Students who don’t cancel will be charged for another term. Worth communicating clearly during onboarding.

Annual edition refreshes

SimChart access codes are edition-specific. New academic years may require new purchases even if a student’s access technically hasn’t expired. Confirm what happens at edition rollover before your program standardizes on a platform.

Time-limited access windows

A $100 access code that expires after six months isn’t a great deal if your program spans a full year. Make sure the license term matches how long students actually need access.

Instructor and faculty costs

Most platforms include faculty access at no charge, but it’s worth confirming before signing. ChartFlow and EHR Go are explicit about this. For platforms with opaque pricing, ask specifically.

Implementation and setup fees

Some platforms charge onboarding or setup fees on top of per-student licensing. Ask directly. If it’s not in writing, follow up.

How to Choose the Right EHR Simulation for Your Budget

The sticker price per student is just the starting point. Here’s how to think about total cost of ownership:

Start with the per-student cost and the license term. Then multiply by the number of semesters a student will need access throughout your program. A $15/year platform used for two years costs less than a $60/semester platform used for two semesters, though not by as much as it first appears.

Ask every vendor the same set of questions:

• What does a student pay, and for how long does that cover them?
• Are instructor accounts included?
• Does the price include everything (sim environment, assessments, modules, LMS integration) or are there add-ons?
• What happens at renewal — is pricing locked or subject to change?
• Are there any setup, implementation, or onboarding fees?

The “what does a student pay across their entire program” question is particularly useful. Some platforms look affordable per semester but compound significantly if students need to re-purchase each term.

Also consider what your program actually needs. A free tool like Marsupial EMR might be sufficient for a single exposure lab. A full program with structured clinical documentation requirements, faculty tracking, and LMS integration needs something more robust — and the price difference may be entirely justified.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Shadow Health cost?

Standalone Shadow Health access has been reported at approximately $90–$110 per student, based on reports from Reddit (r/nursing) and Fairleigh Dickinson University BSN program cost documentation. When bundled within larger Elsevier course packages, costs can reach $800 per semester or more. No institutional pricing is published publicly.

What is the most affordable EHR simulation software?

ChartFlow starts at $15 per student per year, with a free tier also available. Among platforms that include a full EHR simulation environment, learning modules, assessments, and LMS integration, that’s the most affordable pricing we’ve found. Marsupial EMR is free but is a basic desktop app without cloud features, grading, or LMS support.

Is there a free EHR simulation for nursing students?

ChartFlow offers a free student tier. Marsupial EMR is a free Windows desktop application. EdEHR is free to self-host if your institution has the technical capacity. For most programs without IT infrastructure to support self-hosting, ChartFlow’s free tier is the most accessible no-cost option.

How much does ATI cost per semester?

ATI costs vary widely depending on the program’s specific contract and bundle. Student-facing fees typically range from $140 to $600+ per semester. Sources include Reddit nursing education communities and university fee schedules from institutions including MGCCC and UNC Charlotte.

How much does EHR Go cost?

EHR Go prices range from $53 for a 12-week (quarter) license to $293 for a 3-year license, with five tiers in between covering semester, academic year, annual, extended, and 2-year access. The full price grid is published on the EHR Go FAQ page. Bulk discounts of up to 25% are available for programs with 200+ students.

How much does vSim for Nursing cost?

Individual vSim modules run $99–$130, available through the Lippincott web store and Amazon. It’s one of the more transparently priced tools in the clinical simulation category.

Why don’t all vendors publish their pricing?

Most healthcare education vendors use an institutional sales model where pricing is negotiated per contract. Published pricing can undercut negotiations or expose discounts given to specific programs. That’s a real business reason, but it doesn’t make budget planning any easier for programs or students.

What’s included in EHR simulation pricing?

It depends entirely on the platform. Some include everything: the simulation environment, learning modules, built-in assessments, and LMS integration under one price. Others charge separately for modules or charge differently for faculty access. Before comparing prices, confirm what’s actually covered.

Try ChartFlow Free

ChartFlow was built to be the most affordable full-featured EHR simulation platform available, and to make that obvious, pricing is published openly on the website.

Instructors are always free. Students can start with a free tier. Paid licenses start at $15 per student per year, with multi-year options that reduce the per-student cost even further. No hidden fees. No implementation charges. No auto-renewal surprises.

If you’re building out a new nursing curriculum or looking for a more affordable alternative to what your program is currently using, you can see full pricing at chartflow.io or sign up for a free instructor account and start exploring today.