Side-by-side comparison
Mena vs Nerela
AI clinical documentation or low-cost practice administration
Nerela is practice management software for psychologists and psychology centres in Portugal, focused on reducing no-shows, unbilled sessions and late payments, from €19 per month. Mena combines practice management with an AI clinical layer: it records and transcribes the session, drafts the note for your review and recalls context before the next appointment. Nerela's public pages state no AI for clinical notes, so the two products solve different problems in the same practice.
The short answer
Nerela is the better choice if your priority is spending little and no longer chasing payments: it costs €19 per month, has a free plan for up to 10 patients and collects card payments straight from the invoice. Mena is the better choice if what takes up your evenings is notes and session preparation — Nerela states no AI for clinical work, so every note is still written by hand.
Choose Mena if
- You want the session note drafted for you, so you only have to review it. Nerela states no transcription and no AI notes.
- You want to recall themes, thinking patterns and context before each appointment, without rereading files.
- You use questionnaires such as the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 and want them scored automatically.
- You bill entities and want to group that billing into one monthly document per entity.
Choose Nerela if
- Budget is the binding constraint: €19 per month against €39.99 plus VAT for Mena's Essential.
- You are starting out with up to 10 active patients: Nerela's free plan is enough, while Mena's only goes up to 3.
- Your problem is getting paid: Nerela sends a card payment link inside every invoice.
- You want WhatsApp reminders now: on Nerela they cost an extra €9 per month; on Mena they are still in development.
Feature comparison
Where each product is strong, based only on what each vendor publishes on its own site.
| Feature | Mena.ai | Nerela |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical documentation | ||
| AI-Drafted Clinical Notes | Yes | Not stated |
| Session Recording & Transcription | Yes | Not stated |
| Cross-Session Clinical Memory | Yes | Not stated |
| Validated Questionnaires with Automatic Scoring | Yes | Not stated |
| Clinical Record & Session Notes | Yes | Yes |
| Practice management | ||
| Online Scheduling | Yes | Yes |
| Video Sessions | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic Reminders | Email; WhatsApp coming soon | Email; WhatsApp for +€9/mo |
| Waiting List | Yes | Not stated |
| Team & Room Management | Yes | Yes |
| Online Patient Payments | Yes | Yes |
| Receipts for ADSE & Insurance Reimbursement | Yes | Yes |
| Monthly Billing Grouped by Entity | Yes | Not stated |
| Portugal & compliance | ||
| Portuguese AT-compliant invoicingNeither is itself AT-certified software. Mena issues through certified Cegid Vendus; Nerela connects to certified software of the psychologist's choice, such as InvoiceXpress. | Yes | Yes |
| Stated GDPR / RGPD Compliance | Yes | Yes |
| Stated EU Data Residency | Yes | Yes |
| Plans & pricing | ||
| Free Plan | Up to 3 active patients | Up to 10 active patients |
| Free Trial Length | 14 days | 14 days |
| Starting Price | €39.99/mo + VAT | €19/mo |
Clinical documentation
- AI-Drafted Clinical Notes
- Mena.aiYesNerelaNot stated
- Session Recording & Transcription
- Mena.aiYesNerelaNot stated
- Cross-Session Clinical Memory
- Mena.aiYesNerelaNot stated
- Validated Questionnaires with Automatic Scoring
- Mena.aiYesNerelaNot stated
- Clinical Record & Session Notes
- Mena.aiYesNerelaYes
Practice management
- Online Scheduling
- Mena.aiYesNerelaYes
- Video Sessions
- Mena.aiYesNerelaYes
- Automatic Reminders
- Mena.aiEmail; WhatsApp coming soonNerelaEmail; WhatsApp for +€9/mo
- Waiting List
- Mena.aiYesNerelaNot stated
- Team & Room Management
- Mena.aiYesNerelaYes
- Online Patient Payments
- Mena.aiYesNerelaYes
- Receipts for ADSE & Insurance Reimbursement
- Mena.aiYesNerelaYes
- Monthly Billing Grouped by Entity
- Mena.aiYesNerelaNot stated
Portugal & compliance
- Portuguese AT-compliant invoicingNeither is itself AT-certified software. Mena issues through certified Cegid Vendus; Nerela connects to certified software of the psychologist's choice, such as InvoiceXpress.
- Mena.aiYesNerelaYes
- Stated GDPR / RGPD Compliance
- Mena.aiYesNerelaYes
- Stated EU Data Residency
- Mena.aiYesNerelaYes
Plans & pricing
- Free Plan
- Mena.aiUp to 3 active patientsNerelaUp to 10 active patients
- Free Trial Length
- Mena.ai14 daysNerela14 days
- Starting Price
- Mena.ai€39.99/mo + VATNerela€19/mo
Comparison based on Nerela's own public pages (nerela.eu), read on 13 October 2026. Capabilities Nerela does not publicly document are shown as not stated rather than unavailable. Pricing and features change — please verify current details with each vendor.
Criterion by criterion
What each platform actually does
Both were built for psychologists in Portugal and both handle scheduling and invoicing. The difference is what each one does after the appointment ends.
| Criterion | Mena.ai | Nerela |
|---|---|---|
| AI clinical documentationThe single largest difference between the two products. | Records and transcribes the session, drafts the clinical note for review, and organises the themes and thinking patterns the psychologist confirms. Included in the Intelligent plan. | Not stated. Nerela's note editor saves automatically and shows the summary of the previous session, but the note is written by the psychologist. Nerela's AI sits in the WhatsApp virtual assistant, not in the note. |
| Clinical recordBoth hold the case record; the depth differs. | Structured notes, session themes, optional thinking patterns, validated questionnaires with automatic scoring and cross-session clinical memory. | A record with history, warning signs pinned to the top, next steps in the case, session notes with attached images, and a history of sessions and invoices. |
| Payments and collectionNerela was built around this. | Card payment through Stripe, which can be requested at the moment of online booking. Invoices and receipts are issued from the appointment record. | Every invoice carries a card payment link; when the patient pays, the invoice is marked as paid and the money goes straight into the psychologist's account, through Stripe. |
| Portuguese invoicingParity on compliance; the difference is the integration. | Fiscal documents are issued through Cegid Vendus, an AT-certified provider, in a module from €14.99 per month, with no second piece of software to set up. | Nerela issues invoice-receipts as PDFs with sequential numbering and states that it is not yet certified software: the fiscal invoice is issued by certified software connected in the settings, such as InvoiceXpress, which is contracted separately. |
| ADSE, health subsystems and insurersBoth prepare the receipt; Mena also bills entities. | Receipts carry the psychologist's licence number, the entity and the beneficiary number. Billing to entities can be grouped into one monthly document per entity. | The reimbursement scheme is stored in the patient record and the receipt is issued with the details the entity requires. The reimbursement claim is submitted by the patient. |
| Scheduling and remindersEquivalent on the essentials. Today, only Nerela has WhatsApp reminders. | Scheduling, online booking, built-in video sessions, waiting list, patient portal and email reminders. WhatsApp reminders are in development for the Intelligent plan. | Multi-professional and per-room calendar, public booking page, video link on the appointment and email reminders; WhatsApp for an extra €9 per month. |
| Data and AIBoth host in the EU; only Mena processes clinical data with AI. | Data hosted in the EU, encrypted and with audit logs. The clinical AI runs on Mena's own EU-hosted models and data is not used to train models. | Data encrypted and hosted in the European Union, with per-account isolation in the database and export on request, free of charge. |
Nerela claims taken from its own public pages, read on 13 October 2026. Capabilities Nerela does not publicly document are shown as not stated rather than unavailable.
What it costs
Pricing, both sides, in full
Both publish their prices. Mena's figures exclude VAT; Nerela does not state on its site whether its prices include VAT. Figures as published on 13 October 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | €0 | Up to 3 active patients and 1 GB of storage, with scheduling, clinical record and patient portal. |
| Essential | €39.99/mo + VAT | Scheduling, online booking, video sessions, patient portal, email reminders, questionnaires and payments. No clinical AI. |
| Intelligent | €79.99/mo + VAT | Everything in Essential, plus AI clinical notes, session transcription and analysis, and a clinical assistant. |
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Grátis | €0 | Up to 10 active patients, with scheduling, patient record and booking page, no card and no end date. |
| Profissional | €19/mo | Scheduling, patients, session notes, invoice-receipts with a payment link, email reminders and reports. |
| Centro | €59/mo | Includes 3 professionals, plus €9 per month for each additional professional, with per-room scheduling and per-professional reports. |
| Secretária Virtual | €69/mo | Add-on: an AI-powered WhatsApp number for the clinic that answers and books appointments. |
- Certified invoicing is paid separately on both
- On Mena, the certified invoicing module starts at €14.99 per month. On Nerela, the fiscal invoice is issued by certified software contracted separately, whose price Nerela does not publish.
- WhatsApp reminders
- On Nerela they cost an extra €9 per month on any plan. On Mena they don't exist yet: they are in development for the Intelligent plan.
- Where the AI is
- On Mena, AI notes, transcription and session analysis are in the Intelligent plan. On Nerela, the AI is in the WhatsApp Secretária Virtual, at €69 per month, and not in the clinical work.
- Annual billing
- Mena's annual billing saves 20%: Essential comes to €31.99 per month and Intelligent to €63.99 per month. Nerela states a saving of about 20% on annual billing.
Mena prices from mena-ai.pt/pricing. Nerela prices from nerela.eu, Preços section.
Two approaches
Two products for two different problems
Nerela goes after the money a practice lets slip away: no-shows, unbilled sessions and late payments. Mena goes after the time a psychologist loses after every session writing up and preparing the next one. Both handle scheduling and invoicing; the difference is what each does beyond that.
Nerela strengths:
- One of the lowest entry prices on the Portuguese market: €19 per month on the Profissional plan
- A free plan for up to 10 active patients, with no card and no end date
- A card payment link on the invoice itself, with the money going straight into the psychologist's account
- Receipts prepared so the patient can claim reimbursement from ADSE, health subsystems or insurers
- Practical guides in European Portuguese on invoicing, ADSE, GDPR and practice management
Mena strengths:
- An AI clinical assistant that drafts your session note for review
- Session recording with transcription, so you don't have to stop to take notes
- Cross-session clinical memory that recalls themes and context before each appointment
- Validated questionnaires, such as the PHQ-9 and GAD-7, with automatic scoring
- Monthly billing grouped by entity, in addition to reimbursement receipts
- Clinical AI running on Mena's own EU-hosted models, with no data sent to external AI providers
The honest part
When Nerela is the better choice
Nerela is a well-designed product for the reality of a psychology practice in Portugal. There are practices for which it is straightforwardly the right purchase.
- You are just starting out
- With fewer than 10 active patients, Nerela's free plan covers the essentials at no cost, and the paid plan costs €19 per month. If you are building your caseload and every euro counts, it is hard to argue against.
- Getting paid is your actual problem
- If what costs you is chasing bank transfers rather than writing notes, Nerela solves that directly, with the payment link inside every invoice and the invoice marked as paid on its own.
- You already have certified invoicing software
- If you already use InvoiceXpress or other certified software and want to keep it, Nerela connects to that software instead of replacing it.
- Your notes are already fast
- If writing the session note is not a burden for you, Mena's clinical layer adds less value, and the price difference stops being justified.
The dividing line is simple: Nerela was built so that the practice gets paid for all the work it does, Mena for what happens in the session and the record it leaves. If documentation is where your hours go, that is the case for Mena — and if it is not, it genuinely is not.
When Mena fits
When Mena is the right fit
Nerela is a good option if you want to run your practice and get paid at the lowest possible cost. Mena serves the psychologist whose constraint is time spent on documentation and preparation, not payment collection.
- The note is drafted for you
- Mena records and transcribes the session and prepares a structured note that you review and approve. Writing up takes minutes instead of taking over the end of your day. The psychologist remains the author of every clinical judgement.
- Each session starts where the last one ended
- Before the appointment, Mena recalls the themes, thinking patterns and notes from earlier sessions. You no longer need to reread old files to know where the case stands.
- Reimbursements and entities in one system
- Receipts carry the details the patient needs to claim reimbursement, and billing to entities can be grouped into one monthly document per entity.
- AI that stays in the EU
- Notes and transcripts are processed by models hosted in the European Union. The AI drafts and the psychologist decides, with audit logs. Mena is aligned with the GDPR and built for the EU AI Act's transparency and human-oversight requirements.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Nerela and who is it for?
- Nerela is practice management software for psychologists and psychology centres in Portugal. It includes a calendar and booking page, patient records and session notes, invoice-receipts with a card payment link, reminders and reports. The Profissional plan costs €19 per month and the Centro plan €59 per month with three professionals.
- Does Nerela have AI clinical notes?
- As of 13 October 2026, Nerela's public pages state no AI for drafting session notes or transcribing appointments. Nerela offers an AI virtual assistant on WhatsApp, as a paid add-on, for booking and changing appointments. Mena uses AI in the clinical work: it records and transcribes the session, drafts the note for your review and recalls context from earlier sessions.
- How does invoicing compare?
- Neither is itself AT-certified software. Nerela states that the fiscal invoice is issued by certified software the psychologist connects to Nerela, such as InvoiceXpress. Mena issues fiscal documents through certified Cegid Vendus, in a module from €14.99 per month. Both prepare receipts for ADSE and insurance reimbursement.
- Is Nerela cheaper than Mena?
- On list price, yes. Nerela's Profissional plan costs €19 per month and its free plan goes up to 10 active patients. Mena's Essential plan costs €39.99 per month plus VAT, and the clinical AI is on the Intelligent plan, at €79.99 per month plus VAT. Mena costs more because it includes the AI clinical layer.
- Can I switch from Nerela to Mena?
- Yes. The Mena team helps import patients and appointments. You can also start on your own: signing up gives you a 14-day trial of the Essential plan, with no card required.
See what Mena adds to your practice
Start a 14-day free trial, no credit card required. Your data stays in the EU and the clinical AI runs on EU-hosted models.