Cadence ABA vs Catalyst
Catalyst is a long-established, highly configurable ABA data-collection tool, now sold as Ensora Data Collection within the Ensora Health ABA suite. Cadence ABA takes a different approach to the clinical core: voice-first capture and AI-assisted clinical reasoning, with a clinician signing every output.
- Catalyst details verified
- 3 cited sources
Which should you choose?
Catalyst is the better fit for teams that want granular, highly customizable tap-based data collection and graphing. Cadence ABA is the better fit for clinical teams whose priority is the clinical core: capturing sessions by voice without losing presence with the child, getting phase-change and trend reads suggested for them (Clinical and up), and finishing with a billable note ready to sign.
Cadence focuses on clinical capture, reasoning, documentation, and compliance - not full revenue-cycle billing. Teams that need managed claim submission may pair it with a dedicated billing system.
Cadence ABA
- Approach
- Voice-first capture + AI-assisted clinical reasoning
- Pricing
- $18/active client per mo (Capture), $36 (Clinical), $42 (Practice, 15-client minimum) - unlimited users, no platform fee, published publicly
- Free trial
- 14-day free trial, self-serve, no credit card (Capture and Clinical)
- Best for
- Clinical teams who want presence with the child and notes that draft themselves
Catalyst
- Approach
- Tap-based data collection on tablet/phone
- Pricing
- Custom quote; bundle discount with Ensora ABA Therapy
- Free trial
- Free trial of the Ensora ABA suite, no card required
- Best for
- Teams that want granular, highly customizable tap-based data collection and graphing
Where Catalyst stands out
- Extremely customizable data collection and graphing
- Automatic mastery - define the criteria and mastered targets move to maintenance or close on their own
- A large installed base and years of clinical refinement
Where Cadence is different
- Cadence captures by voice - no tapping through forms target by target during a live session.
- Cadence doesn't just plot the graph; its AI interprets the trend and drafts the note from the same data.
- Published per-client pricing with unlimited users, instead of a custom quote for the suite.
Every one of those AI suggestions is one a clinician accepts or rejects - how we keep the AI accurate explains the guardrails, and HIPAA & BAA covers the compliance posture behind them.
Cadence ABA vs Catalyst: questions
- What's the difference between Cadence ABA and Catalyst?
- Both capture trial-by-trial ABA data, but the input model differs: Catalyst is tap-based data collection with deep customization and automatic mastery, while Cadence is voice-first - clinicians speak naturally and Cadence structures the trials, suggests phase changes, interprets the trend, and drafts the session note. Catalyst is now sold as Ensora Data Collection, part of the Ensora Health ABA suite.
- Can I move my data from Catalyst to Cadence ABA?
- Cadence imports clients, targets, and past session data from CSV, so records exported from Catalyst as CSV files can come with you, and historical graphs continue rather than restarting at your go-live date. The importer includes a column preset for Catalyst exports that recognizes the column names Catalyst commonly uses for clients and targets. For any column it does not recognize, Cadence suggests a mapping and flags rows that need a decision; nothing is committed until you confirm. CSV import is included on every plan.
For what Cadence costs and how it handles PHI, the pricing FAQ and the product FAQ hold the canonical answers.
Catalyst details reflect publicly available information as of the date above and may change; where those materials did not settle a capability, the table says so. Verify current specifics with the vendor. Cadence figures come from our published pricing.