How to Read This Review (Before We Get Into It)
Let's get something out of the way: we make HYR Growth Tracker. We have an obvious stake in one of the tools reviewed here. We've done our best to be honest about the tradeoffs and include legitimate strengths of competitors — because if you're a therapist comparing options, what you need is an accurate picture of each tool, not marketing for any single one.
We've organized this review around the categories that actually matter for CE tracking: state coverage, multi-license support, certificate storage, mandatory topic tracking, audit report generation, pricing, and user experience. We've left out considerations that don't matter much (app icon aesthetics, integration with word processors no therapist uses, features aimed at hospital administrators).
By the end, you should know which tool is right for your situation — whether that's ours or someone else's.
The Field: What "CE Tracking" Actually Means in 2026
Before we rank, let's define what we're comparing. A modern CE tracking tool, at minimum, should do these things:
- Store CE certificates in a searchable, organized way
- Track CE hours against specific state license requirements
- Alert you to mandatory topics beyond total hours
- Remind you of renewal deadlines
- Generate an audit-ready report on demand
- Support multiple licenses across multiple states
Many tools do some of these things. Few do all of them well. Some tools bolt CE tracking onto larger practice management suites, where it's treated as an afterthought. Others are purpose-built for CE but lack the polish of established practice platforms.
The 10 Tools Reviewed
- HYR Growth Tracker — Purpose-built CE tracking for mental health professionals
- CE Broker — Standalone CE tracking, primarily Florida-focused
- SimplePractice CE Module — Add-on within the SimplePractice EHR
- TherapyNotes CE Module — Add-on within the TherapyNotes EHR
- Google Sheets + Drive — The default DIY option
- CE Sidekick — Mobile-first CE logger
- MyCE Tracker — Web-based CE logger with basic reminders
- Notion (with CE template) — Flexible knowledge-base approach
- Apple Notes / Reminders — The "good enough" option for minimalists
- Paper binder — Still in use by a surprising percentage of therapists
Now let's compare across the categories that matter.
1. State Coverage
The foundation of a CE tracker is knowing which requirements apply to your license in your state. If the tool doesn't have accurate, current requirements data built in, you're doing the tracking manually inside the tool — which defeats the purpose.
Best: HYR Growth Tracker has full requirements data for all 51 jurisdictions (50 states + DC), covering 19 license types and mandatory topics by state. Requirements are verified against state board sources and updated when changes occur. CE Broker has excellent Florida coverage (it's the Florida board's designated tracking partner) and strong coverage in a handful of other states where it has state contracts.
Middle: SimplePractice and TherapyNotes have basic CE hour tracking but minimal state-specific intelligence — you enter the requirements manually.
Worst: Google Sheets, Notion, CE Sidekick, and MyCE Tracker have no built-in state requirements. You're responsible for researching and manually entering every number. Same with paper binders.
2. Multi-License Support
Roughly 1 in 5 therapists hold licenses in more than one state. Multi-license support is the place where generic tools fail hardest.
Best: HYR Growth Tracker handles unlimited state licenses per user, with overlap detection that shows which courses count for which states. A single ethics CE course can satisfy requirements in 5+ states simultaneously, and the platform surfaces this automatically.
Middle: CE Broker supports multiple state licenses but without strong cross-state intelligence. SimplePractice and TherapyNotes can handle multiple licenses but require manual setup per license.
Worst: Every other option requires you to manually separate and track by state — typically resulting in duplicate courses counted twice or valid credits missed.
3. Certificate Storage
A CE tool that doesn't centralize your certificates isn't a CE tool — it's a checklist. You need one home for every PDF, digital file, and scanned paper certificate.
Best: HYR Growth Tracker includes a document vault with OCR (extracts course name, date, and hours from certificate text), mobile photo upload, and forwarded-email integration (you can email certificates directly from your Gmail/Outlook inbox to a dedicated tracker address). CE Broker has reliable certificate storage with basic search.
Middle: SimplePractice and TherapyNotes include document storage but require manual uploads. Notion does this well if you're willing to build the structure.
Worst: Spreadsheets and paper binders put the storage burden entirely on you. Search is manual. Backup is whatever you remember to do.
4. Mandatory Topic Tracking
This is where "has 30 hours" vs "has 30 hours including 6 ethics and 2 HIV/AIDS" becomes critical. Mandatory topic tracking is what separates passing an audit from failing one.
Best: HYR Growth Tracker tracks mandatory topics by state with automatic categorization — when you upload an ethics course, it's automatically counted toward your ethics requirement, not just your total. It alerts you when you're short on a specific topic, not just your overall count.
Middle: CE Broker handles mandatory topic tracking for Florida (where it's integrated with the board) but is weaker for other states. SimplePractice and TherapyNotes allow topic categorization but not automated enforcement.
Worst: Every manual option requires you to build and maintain your own topic categorization. Most therapists don't — which is where the "40 hours but no ethics" audit failures originate.
5. Audit Report Generation
The moment an audit letter arrives, you need a document. A clean, formatted, complete audit report showing every CE credit, the date, the provider, the approval organization, and the certificate.
Best: HYR Growth Tracker generates an audit-ready PDF in one click — formatted to the standard state boards expect, with embedded certificate images. CE Broker generates Florida-compliant reports by default.
Middle: SimplePractice and TherapyNotes can export CE data but typically require reformatting for board submission.
Worst: Spreadsheet + folder-of-PDFs means you're manually assembling the audit report from scratch — the exact panic scenario you're trying to avoid.
6. Reminders and Renewal Tracking
Best: HYR Growth Tracker and CE Broker both offer automated reminders at configurable intervals (6 months, 3 months, 1 month, 1 week before renewal) plus mandatory topic completion reminders throughout the cycle.
Middle: SimplePractice and TherapyNotes can send renewal alerts if you set them up.
Worst: Google Calendar reminders if you remember to set them. Nothing if you don't.
7. Pricing
This is where tradeoffs get interesting.
HYR Growth Tracker: $9.99/month individual, with a 14-day free trial. Group practice plans for teams of 5+ clinicians.
CE Broker: Free for basic tracking. $29/year for Professional (reports, additional features). $69/year for Concierge (hands-on support). Florida license holders often get it free through state contract.
SimplePractice: $69-99/month for the full EHR; CE tracking included but not the primary feature.
TherapyNotes: $59/month for the full EHR; CE tracking included.
Google Sheets + Gmail: Free. Your time is the cost.
CE Sidekick: $4.99/month. Budget option.
MyCE Tracker: $19/year. Very budget option.
Notion: Free to $8/month.
Apple Notes / paper binder: Free.
The right question isn't "what's cheapest?" It's "what's the total cost of my current system?" If you spend 6 hours per year reconstructing records, and your professional hourly rate is $150, your "free" spreadsheet costs $900 annually in time. A dedicated tool at $120/year is cheaper.
8. User Experience
This is where we'll be most opinionated — and where we'll acknowledge we're biased.
HYR Growth Tracker was built by practicing therapists and a process engineer. The interface is specifically designed for the clinical workflow: upload quickly, verify passively, check status when needed. Mobile photo upload is fast enough to use during a conference break.
CE Broker is functional but shows its age. The interface feels like 2014. Powerful for Florida, less polished elsewhere.
SimplePractice and TherapyNotes are EHR interfaces with CE modules bolted on. If you're already using the EHR, the CE module is "good enough." If you're not, you're adopting an entire practice management system for CE tracking — which is overkill.
Google Sheets is as familiar as it gets, but unforgiving when you need to scale beyond 30-40 entries or produce audit reports.
Notion is powerful if you enjoy building custom systems. Most therapists don't.
CE Sidekick and MyCE Tracker are stripped-down tools that work for basic use cases. Limited state intelligence.
Paper binder is tangible and reliable — until you move, your office floods, or you're asked for digital documentation.
The Rankings (Finally)
Based on everything above, here's our ranking for most therapists:
1. HYR Growth Tracker — Best all-around for mental health professionals, especially multi-state therapists.
2. CE Broker — Best if you're a Florida licensee who just needs board-integrated tracking. Less strong elsewhere.
3. SimplePractice CE Module — Best if you're already a SimplePractice user and want integrated CE without a separate tool.
4. TherapyNotes CE Module — Same as above for TherapyNotes users.
5. Notion (with CE template) — Best for system-building hobbyists who enjoy customization.
6. Google Sheets + Drive — Best free option if you're disciplined and single-state.
7. MyCE Tracker — Decent budget option.
8. CE Sidekick — Simple mobile logger.
9. Apple Notes / Reminders — Works for minimalists with low requirements.
10. Paper binder — Still works, but fragile.
Which Tool Is Right for You?
If you're a solo practitioner with one license: HYR Growth Tracker, CE Broker (if Florida), or your existing EHR's module.
If you're a multi-state therapist: HYR Growth Tracker. The overlap detection alone pays for itself.
If you own a group practice: HYR Growth Tracker or your EHR's module, with team visibility features.
If you're budget-constrained and single-state: Google Sheets with disciplined updating, or MyCE Tracker.
If you love building systems and have time: Notion with a custom template.
If you don't want software at all: Paper binder — accept the tradeoffs.
One Last Honest Thing
The single biggest predictor of CE compliance isn't which tool you use. It's whether you use any tool consistently. The therapist with a well-maintained Google Sheet will pass audits easily. The therapist with a dedicated platform who never opens it will not.
Whatever tool you choose, commit to the 2-minute-per-course update cadence. That's the real system. The tool is just the place where the system lives.
Ready to try the tool built specifically for therapist CE tracking? Start your free 14-day HYR Growth Tracker trial — no credit card required.