Is an AI scribe cheaper than a human scribe?

For the note alone, yes, by a wide margin. A clinician in a pain medicine forum said an AI scribe at $89 a month gave the same efficiency as a human scribe paid $14 an hour. An emergency physician said a scribe cost them about $25,000 a year. An interventional pain physician priced AI tools at around $150 a month to replace both a transcriptionist and a live scribe. The catch is everything the human did besides type.

What do the numbers look like?

At $14 an hour for a full working year of about 2,000 hours, a human scribe costs roughly $28,000 before any payroll costs. An AI scribe at $89 a month costs about $1,070 a year. Even at $150 a month it is $1,800. On the note alone the software is fifteen to twenty-five times cheaper.

These prices come from clinicians' own posts between 2023 and early 2026. They vary a lot by product.

What did the human do that software does not?

Quite a lot. A physician who moved their notes to AI kept their human scribe anyway, for order entry and to have a third person in the room. A former scribe described writing twenty notes a day that their physician signed without changes, billing included. Software does not enter orders, does not stand in the room during a sensitive exam, and does not learn your preferences the way a person sitting beside you for a year does.

What about the costs that are not on the price page?

Setup fees, annual commitments and all-or-nothing pricing. One clinician was quoted about $750 a month with a one-year commitment required. Before you compare, read the contract before the trial.

So which is cheaper for me?

If you need the note, software. If you need hands and a second person in the room, a human, or both working together. Price the job you need done, not the tool.

The short version

For the note alone, an AI scribe costs a small fraction of a human one. For orders and a second person in the room, it is not a substitute at any price. Price the job, not the tool. Solanto's price is published on its site rather than behind a call, and for practices it will write the history and leave the judgment to you.

The price is on the page, not behind a call. Early access is open: solanto.ai/pricing

Send this to the colleague weighing a new scribe hire. Ask what they need the person for besides the note.