ABA Data Collection Software: A Buyer's Guide for 2026

ABA data collection software is the app an RBT (Registered Behavior Technician) uses during a session to record trials, counts, timings and behavior incidents. That data becomes the graphs and progress reports a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) uses to adjust treatment. For a small practice, the choice mostly turns on the data types it handles, whether it keeps working offline, what it costs per learner and whether you can get your data out later.

If you've ever lost a morning of in-home trials to an app that froze without a signal, offline capture is probably near the top of your list. Seven platforms are compared below on the same eight features, with prices only where the vendor publishes them. Alpaca Health, which publishes this guide, sits first on the list as a different kind of option. Its data collection comes inside a platform and partnership that also covers credentialing, billing and payouts, while the other six are tools you buy on their own.

Key Takeaways

• Offline capture varies the most: some apps store data on the device and sync later while others need a connection, so test it with the tablet in airplane mode before you sign.
• Data collection and billing usually come together: most platforms bundle both, and the clinical-first tools that don't are built to connect to a separate billing system.
• Get the exit terms in writing: few vendors publish what happens to your graphs, notes and program history if you leave, so ask for a sample export during the sales process.
• Some BCBAs skip buying software: Alpaca Health gives BCBAs who own their practice its platform, including data collection and session notes, along with credentialing and billing. See how the partnership works.

What is ABA data collection software?

The term covers any app built to capture behavior-analytic data as it happens and keep it as part of the clinical record. It replaces paper data sheets and clickers with a phone, tablet or laptop, and it handles the measurement types BCBAs use every day. Those run from discrete trials and frequency counts to duration, interval recording, task analysis and ABC data (antecedent, behavior, consequence). Most products also graph the data automatically and write it into the session note, so nobody re-enters numbers after the session.

What it doesn't always include is the business side of the practice. Some platforms bundle data collection with scheduling and billing, while a few clinical-first tools connect to a separate billing system instead. Credentialing with insurers sits outside data collection software altogether. That's why some practices choose a clinical-first tool and pair it with separate ABA practice management software for scheduling, billing and authorizations.

General-purpose tools such as spreadsheets and online forms can record data too, but any company that stores client health information for you is a business associate under HIPAA, the federal health privacy law. Guidance from HHS, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, says the practice and that company must sign a business associate agreement. Check for that agreement before any client data goes into a general-purpose tool.

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How ABA data collection software works

Everything starts with the BCBA building each client's programs, including targets, the measurement type, prompt levels and the mastery criteria that move a target from teaching to maintenance. Most platforms offer template libraries, so a requesting program or a toileting task analysis doesn't have to be written from nothing.

During the session, the RBT opens the client's session sheet on a phone or tablet. They score each trial, count, timer or ABC entry as it happens, ideally with one hand while staying engaged with the learner. When the session ends, the platform drops the data into a note template, and the RBT adds the narrative and collects signatures. That signed note is what a payer reviews, so it has to show what a billable session includes. Several of the platforms below also draft the narrative with AI, though AI note tools still need a clinician to check every draft.

After the data syncs, the supervising BCBA reviews graphs, changes phases and signs off on notes. Supervision tools also track the Behavior Analyst Certification Board's requirement that each RBT be supervised for at least 5% of their service hours every month. In platforms that include billing, admin staff pick up signed sessions and turn them into claims. Billing staff mostly see the output while the RBT lives in the session screen, so the RBT's experience in the room deserves the most weight when you trial a product.

What ABA data collection software costs

Pricing comes as a monthly fee per learner or client, a fee tied to claims when the vendor also runs your billing, or a custom quote built from client and staff counts. Motivity lists $24 per learner per month for data collection or practice management alone and $48 per learner per month for both. Raven Health lists $29 per learner per month on an annual plan plus a $500 implementation fee, or 5% of monthly claims paid on a month-to-month plan that includes outsourced billing. Both sets of prices come from each company's own pricing page, checked September 2026.

CentralReach, Rethink Behavioral Health and Hi Rasmus quote each practice individually, and Ensora doesn't list an ABA product on its public pricing page. For Alpaca Health there's no software price at all, since the platform comes with the partnership and it charges nothing to start.

What does that mean for a caseload of eight learners? Motivity's data collection plan comes to $192 per month, and Raven Health's standalone plan comes to $232 per month plus setup. Ask the quote-based vendors to price the same caseload so you can compare like with like.

What are the most important features for solo clinicians?

A solo BCBA uses a small slice of what these platforms do, so weigh the parts that affect clean data, billable notes and your ability to leave. Every item below doubles as a column in the table that follows, with all seven platforms scored on each one.

• Data types: the app should cover discrete trials, frequency and rate, duration, interval recording, task analysis and ABC data, which helps pin down the function behind a behavior, ideally mixed within one program.
• Offline capture: find out whether data saves to the device and syncs later, or is lost if the app closes without a signal.
• Graphing and reports: graphs should update as data comes in and support the visual analysis you do in supervision, with progress reports built from the same data.
• Session notes: the note should live in the same app as the data, so numbers and signatures carry over without retyping.
• Mobile app: check whether it's an installed app from the App Store or Google Play or a website in the phone's browser, and which of those works offline.
• Group sessions: if you run social skills groups or group instruction, one staff member should be able to record data for several learners in the same session.
• Starting price: price your current caseload per learner or client, then add any setup fee.
• Data export: ask what format your graphs, notes and program history export in, and whether exporting costs extra.

If you already run a practice with several RBTs, look for a way to run interobserver agreement (IOA) checks, where a second person scores the same session so you can compare the two records. Look for an edit history that shows who changed a data point and when, too, since neither shows up in most feature tables. Raven Health versions every program edit and ties it to the billable session, and Hi Rasmus's premium license adds audit trails for session notes and appointment changes.

The top 7 ABA data collection software platforms

For in-home work with a patchy signal, CentralReach, Rethink Behavioral Health and Raven Health all publish offline capture that syncs later, and Hi Rasmus says it supports offline collection too. Motivity and Raven Health are the two that publish a price. Hi Rasmus fits a practice that wants deep program customization and already runs billing elsewhere. Every price in the table comes from the vendor's own public pricing page, checked in September 2026, and "not published" means the vendor's site is silent on that point.

1. Alpaca Health

Alpaca Health doesn't sell its software on its own. BCBAs who own their practice partner with it, and the practice runs on its own platform, where data collection and session notes sit alongside scheduling, billing and payroll. Credentialing, billing and payouts come with the same partnership, so it's a different kind of option from the six standalone tools below.

Key features:

• Data collection and progress tracking run in the same in-house system as scheduling, session notes, billing, intake and payroll.
• AI session note and treatment plan tools are built in, and every clinical decision stays with the BCBA.
• Payroll runs off the sessions your staff sign out.
• Staff work in provider apps, and families get their own app.
• Credentialing happens under insurance contracts it already holds, typically in weeks, and billing, denials and appeals are handled for you.

Pros:

• There's no separate clinical tool to connect to a billing system, because both live in one platform.
• Your practice owns its client records, treatment plans and session data.
• Payouts arrive every two weeks, and if a claim is denied or delayed, Alpaca Health takes the loss instead of your practice.

Cons:

• It isn't available as a data collection tool on its own.
• Offline capture, supported data types, group sessions and export formats aren't published, so ask to see each one in a demo.
• Partnerships are available in Texas, Colorado, North Carolina, Hawaii and Michigan.
• A practice that already has billing and credentialing handled will be better served by one of the standalone tools below.

Best for: A BCBA who wants data collection, notes and billing handled inside one partnership, without buying tools one by one.

Reviews: Public reviews are limited so far. SelectHub shows one rating for it, it has no G2 listing and a similarly named Capterra listing belongs to another company, so ask a current partner practice for a reference.

2. CentralReach

CentralReach is the largest name in ABA software, and its homepage says 4,000 ABA and multidisciplinary practices use it. Its clinical data collection sits inside the same platform as scheduling and billing.

Key features:

• The CR Mobile app on iOS and Android records trials, targets and behavior data, works offline and syncs automatically when it reconnects.
• Session notes are completed in the app with built-in structure, and the app tracks EVV (electronic visit verification).
• Program books sync with data sheets, and clinical reports fill in automatically.
• Digital versions of the ABLLS-R and AFLS skills assessments are built into the workflow.
• NoteDraftAI, sold as an add-on, drafts notes from session data, and NoteGuardAI checks notes before submission.

Pros:

• Offline collection with automatic sync suits in-home and community sessions.
• Data, notes and billing entries connect without a second system.
• CR Essentials, its product for startup and small practices, advertises no contract obligation.

Cons:

• No CentralReach product has a public price, so every quote is individual.
• Its published pricing policy, checked September 2026, bills per active seat with a committed-seat minimum, allows fee increases of up to 7% a year and bills data export projects by the hour, with a two-hour minimum.
• Group session support isn't described on its site.

Best for: A growing practice that needs offline mobile data collection tied to billing in one large system.

Reviews: An RBT wrote on Capterra in June 2026, "What I liked most about CentralReach was how easy it is to use when writing session notes." A software specialist at another organization wrote, "Data disappears occasionally when staff are taking data."

3. Motivity

Development of Motivity's clinical platform was funded by federal research grants from the National Institute of Mental Health. The company describes its platform as clinical-first, and practice management is sold as a second module.

Key features:

• Graphs update in real time as the RBT records, so a supervising BCBA can watch a session's data live.
• Phases, prompts and measurement types are all customizable, with more than 1,000 ready-made program templates.
• Learner information and session data drop into the note automatically, and caregiver signatures are collected on the same device.
• You decide who reviews each note, and in what order, before it reaches billing.
• Progress report templates are already approved by several funders, including Aetna, Cigna and Optum, according to its site.

Pros:

• Its prices are public, at $24 per learner per month for data collection or practice management alone or $48 per learner per month for both, listed on Motivity's pricing page, checked September 2026.
• It runs in any browser and in apps for iOS and Android.
• Its pricing page says you can export your data at any time, with a free window to export everything after you close your account.

Cons:

• Offline data collection isn't mentioned on its site, and its FAQ describes the app as working the same as the browser version with no syncing required, so test it on a weak connection.
• Group session support isn't described on its site.
• Capterra reviewers say it takes time to set up programs the way you want them.

Best for: A clinical-first practice that wants flexible program building and a published per-learner price.

Reviews: A clinical director wrote on Capterra, "This is the first system that I see that allows users to take data in a wide variety of ways." A clinic CEO admitted that "it did take me a minute to figure out how I wanted programs to look like."

4. Rethink Behavioral Health

RethinkBH, as Rethink Behavioral Health brands itself, ties data collection to a library of more than 1,500 customizable programs, each with embedded video training. Scheduling and billing run in the same system.

Key features:

• The mobile app runs on iOS, Android and Fire tablets and works online or offline, then syncs when the clinician reconnects.
• It records frequency and rate, duration, opportunity-based, interval, ABC and task analysis data.
• The VB-MAPP, a language and learning skills assessment, can be completed in the platform, with recommended goals pulled into the treatment plan.
• Session Note AI builds notes in the mobile app, including offline once sessions are preloaded.
• An AI Dashboard flags incomplete notes, appointments and mastery criteria in one view.

Pros:

• The program library saves setup time for new BCBAs and RBTs.
• Notes and data sit in the same app, a point several RBT reviewers raise.
• Its 40-hour video RBT training course is aligned with Behavior Analyst Certification Board guidelines.

Cons:

• Pricing isn't published, and its site says the price depends on users, modules and services.
• Several Capterra reviewers describe slow loading or sync problems in the app.
• Group session support isn't described on its site.

Best for: A practice that wants a large program library and offline mobile collection, with RBT training built in.

Reviews: An RBT wrote on Capterra, "I love how easy data collection is, i love the notes are in the same platform." Another RBT pointed to a weak spot, writing, "Another albeit smaller issue is how the app syncs it's data."

5. Raven Health

Raven Health is an ABA platform built around offline-first mobile data collection. Scheduling and billing sit in the same system, and on its managed plan Raven Health runs your billing for you.

Key features:

• The iOS and Android apps, plus a web app, record skill acquisition trials, prompts and behavior events with antecedents even with no signal, then sync once connected.
• Session notes and electronic signatures are captured in the app, and every program edit is versioned and tied to the billable session.
• AI writes session note narratives from the session data.
• A customizable reporting dashboard turns trial data into trends you can share with families.
• Every plan includes unlimited RBT and BCBA users.

Pros:

• The price is public at $29 per learner per month on an annual plan plus a $500 implementation fee that includes data migration, or 5% of monthly claims paid on a month-to-month plan with outsourced billing, listed on Raven Health's pricing page, checked September 2026.
• Its site puts onboarding at about three weeks from signature to first claim.
• Offline capture is part of the core app.

Cons:

• Credentialing costs extra, at $200 per insurer for the practice and $200 per insurer for each BCBA.
• Data types beyond skill acquisition and behavior events aren't listed on its site.
• Group session support isn't described on its site.

Best for: A small practice doing in-home sessions that needs offline-first capture and a published price.

Reviews: A clinical director wrote on Capterra, "All the RBTs at our clinic report the ease of use on their end in collecting data." A supervisor at another organization wrote, "I find myself extracting data from the program and redoing the calculation myself."

6. Ensora Health

Ensora Health, formerly Therapy Brands, owns Ensora Data Collection, the product once called Catalyst, and Ensora ABA Therapy, formerly WebABA. Both still have help centers for existing customers. As of September 2026, though, Ensora's public product and pricing pages list neither, and the site now centers on mental health and rehab therapy.

Key features:

• Ensora Data Collection records data through a web portal or an app and connects to Ensora ABA Therapy and to CodeMetro, another Ensora product.
• The app includes trial sheets, documents and SOAP-format session notes (subjective, objective, assessment and plan).
• VB-MAPP assessment workflows are built in.
• Ensora ABA Therapy adds client management, scheduling, billing and reporting.

Pros:

• Practices already on Catalyst can keep clinical data and billing with one vendor.
• Its help center still carries training guides for both products.

Cons:

• Ensora's public site no longer lists its ABA products or prices, so ask whether they're still sold to new practices before you sign.
• Offline capture and export terms can't be checked against a current product page.
• Its Capterra listing no longer loads, and G2 shows two reviews.

Best for: A practice already on Catalyst or WebABA that's weighing whether to stay.

Reviews: An owner wrote on G2 in April 2026, "It solved a lot of our billing issues." An earlier G2 reviewer wrote, "Do not like that the app doesn't have full functionality like the website."

7. Hi Rasmus

Hi Rasmus is a clinical-first ABA platform that focuses on program design, data collection and supervision. For billing, it connects to a separate practice management system.

Key features:

• It supports discrete trials, target sets, task analyses, interval, duration, rate and ABC data, and you can mix types within one program.
• Built-in program options follow specific models, including ESDM (the Early Start Denver Model), Skill-Based Treatment and the Balance parent training program.
• Supervisors can score data from uploaded session videos and leave time-stamped feedback.
• It keeps collecting data offline and runs in a browser or in an app from the major app stores.
• Its HiQ Impact Score combines access to care, learner outcomes and customer satisfaction into one score built from platform data.

Pros:

• One staff member can run a group session for several learners at once in the browser version.
• Its own scheduling tool and API integrations let it fit into an existing practice management setup.
• Premium licenses add AI session summaries and a live supervision mode.

Cons:

• Its site lists no billing module, so you'd pair it with a separate practice management system such as Lumary or AlohaABA.
• Pricing is quote-based, with client and staff licenses and no published price.
• Capterra reviewers mention friction in the connection to their practice management platform.

Best for: A practice that wants deep program customization and supervision tools and already runs billing in another system.

Reviews: A founder and CEO wrote on Capterra, "I like how quickly a Supervisor/BCBA can program new targets." A BCBA whose practice paired it with AlohaABA wrote, "The interface with Aloha was less than ideal with frequent issues."

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How to test offline capture before you buy

A features page can't tell you what happens when a tablet loses signal halfway through a session, so test it yourself during the trial. Put the device in airplane mode and run a mock session with a set of discrete trials, a duration timer and an ABC entry. Close the app completely and reopen it, then turn the connection back on. Check that every trial landed on the graph with the right time, that the note still has its data and that nothing was duplicated.

An offline-first app, which is how Raven Health describes its own, saves everything to the device and syncs when it can. Other apps need a connection for most tasks and treat offline mode as a fallback. Rethink Behavioral Health, for example, has clinicians preload sessions before working offline. Motivity's FAQ says its app works like the browser version with no syncing required, so ask Motivity directly how it handles a dropped connection.

What happens if two people edit the same record while one of them is offline? Ask every vendor that question, along with whether notes and signatures can be finished without a signal. For Medicaid clients in states that apply electronic visit verification to your services, the app also has to capture visit times and location offline. CentralReach says its CR Mobile app supports EVV in low-connectivity settings, so ask the others how they handle the same case.

Questions to ask before switching

A demo rarely shows how leaving works, so bring these six questions to the sales call and get every answer in writing.

• Clinical data ownership: ask for a sample export of one test client with graphs, raw trial data, notes and program history, and check that it opens outside the vendor's software.
• Access after cancelling: ask how long you keep read access and whether exporting then costs extra, since Motivity's pricing page promises a free export window and CentralReach's pricing policy bills exports by the hour.
• Migration as a paid service: ask whether moving programs and history in is included, as it is in Raven Health's implementation fee, or billed separately.
• Contract length and notice: ask for the term, the notice period and whether renewal is automatic, since Raven Health's standalone plan is annual and its billing plan is month-to-month.
• Real implementation time: ask how long practices your size took from signature to the first session in the new app, and who rebuilds your programs.
• Cost of adding learners or seats: ask what each new learner or staff member adds mid-contract and whether it changes your minimum commitment.

Press hardest on program history, because mastery dates, phase changes and baselines may not transfer cleanly. Ask whether old graphs come across as live data or as static files, since a static PDF won't let you extend a trend line in the new system.

How to move clinical data to a new platform

Start with a pilot of one or two clients before moving the whole caseload. Rebuild their programs in the new system from your own targets and mastery criteria, and run a week of sessions in both systems if your staff can manage it. Compare the graphs line by line. Once they match, move the rest in batches, starting with clients whose authorizations renew soonest, so their progress reports come out of one system.

Before the old contract ends, export every client's graphs, raw data, notes and signed documents, and store them where you can find them during an audit or a family's records request. State law sets how long you must keep them, according to HHS guidance on record retention, and HIPAA's safeguards apply for as long as you do. Keep read access to the old system until the last claim from before the switch has been paid or appealed.

Train staff with behavioral skills training, the same method you'd use to teach any procedure. Describe the new workflow, model it, have each RBT practice a mock session and give feedback until they can run it without help. For the first month, have a second person score some sessions alongside the RBT and compare results. That IOA check is the same one you'd run on any new measurement system, and it catches setup errors in the rebuilt programs early.

How to start your own practice for free

Running an ABA clinic doesn't require choosing a data collection app, a billing system and a credentialing service separately. With Alpaca Health, you open a practice under your own LLC and brand, credentialed under insurance contracts it already holds, which typically takes weeks. The practice runs on its platform, from data collection to billing and payroll.

Pay comes per session from a state rate sheet every two weeks, and if a claim is denied or delayed, Alpaca Health takes the loss. It charges nothing to start and works in Texas, Colorado, North Carolina, Hawaii and Michigan, and you can leave the one-year agreement with 90 days' notice and no fee. Book a free demo to see how your practice would run on it.

Thinking about starting your own ABA practice?

Alpaca Health partners launch independent practices in under 30 days, with billing, credentialing, and admin done for them. Talk through your plan with an Alpaca Health advisor.

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Frequently asked questions about ABA data collection software

What is the best ABA data collection software?

For offline in-home work, Raven Health, CentralReach and Rethink Behavioral Health publish offline capture with sync, and Raven Health adds a public price of $29 per learner per month. Motivity suits a clinical-first practice that wants flexible programs at $24 per learner per month, while Hi Rasmus suits one that wants deep customization and keeps billing in another system. If you'd rather not run billing at all, the Alpaca Health partnership includes data collection.

How much does ABA data collection software cost?

The two published prices are $24 per learner per month for Motivity's data collection plan and $29 per learner per month for Raven Health's standalone plan, and the extras add up. Raven Health also charges a $500 implementation fee on that plan and $200 per insurer for credentialing, according to its pricing page. CentralReach sells its AI note drafting as an add-on and bills data export projects by the hour, so ask each vendor for the total first-year cost at your current caseload, setup included.

Can ABA data collection software work without internet?

Some of it can. CentralReach's CR Mobile, Rethink Behavioral Health's app and Raven Health's app all publish offline capture that syncs when the device reconnects, and Hi Rasmus says it can keep collecting data offline. Motivity doesn't describe an offline mode on its site. Test any offline claim with the device in airplane mode before you commit, since sync problems show up in reviews even for apps that support it.

Do I need separate software for data collection and billing?

Most practices don't, because CentralReach, Motivity, Rethink Behavioral Health, Raven Health and Ensora all offer data collection and billing from one vendor. Hi Rasmus is the exception on this list. It's built clinical-first and connects to a practice management system such as Lumary or AlohaABA for billing, so you'd be paying for and learning two products.

Is there free ABA data collection software?

None of the seven platforms here lists a permanently free plan on its own site. Rethink Behavioral Health gives members of its start-up community a free sandbox account to try the software, and Ensora's help center describes a free trial for its ABA product. Paper data sheets cost nothing but have to be graphed by hand. A free general-purpose app can only hold client data if the company signs a business associate agreement with your practice.