Cadence ABA vs Catalyst
Catalyst is a long-established, highly configurable ABA data-collection tool, now sold within the Ensora Health ABA suite. Cadence ABA takes a different approach to the clinical core: voice-first capture and agentic reasoning, with a clinician signing every output.
Cadence ABA
- Approach
- Voice-first capture + agentic 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 (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
- Quote-based / subscription
- Free trial
- Demo required
- Best for
- Teams that want granular, highly customizable tap-based data collection and graphing
Cadence ABA vs Catalyst, side by side
| Capability | Cadence ABA | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|
| Primary data captureHow a clinician records trial-by-trial data during a session. | ✓Voice-first ambient capture - speak naturally, or tap | ~Tap-based data collection on tablet/phone |
| Offline captureWhether data can be captured with no connection in the room. | ✓Tap capture fully offline, synced on reconnect; voice needs a connection | ✓Offline data collection |
| Agentic clinical reasoningWhether the software proactively proposes phase changes and interprets trends, not just plots them. | ✓Agents propose phase changes and interpret trends in plain language (Clinical and up) | ~Automated mastery flags |
| Auto-drafted session notesWhether billable SOAP/session notes are drafted for the clinician to review and sign. | ✓Auto-drafted SOAP notes with CPT mapped - review & sign | ~Notes via the Ensora ABA suite |
| Automatic mastery / phase detectionWhether mastery criteria are evaluated automatically as data comes in. | ✓Proposed automatically when the data meets your criteria - checked nightly and on every client review (Clinical and up) | ✓Automated mastery determination |
| Automatic graphsGraphs generated automatically from session data, and whether the trend is read for you. | ✓Auto equal-interval with phase lines & mastery criterion on every plan; trend read for you from Clinical | ✓Highly customizable graphs |
| Practice management & billingScheduling, claims, and revenue-cycle management alongside clinical data. | ~Scheduling on every plan; supervision from Clinical; auth/units, CPT & pre-billing validation, 837P export on Practice - not full-service RCM | ~Data-collection focus; PM via the Ensora suite |
| PricingPublished, public pricing versus quote-only. | $18/active client per mo (Capture), $36 (Clinical), $42 (Practice, 15-client minimum) - unlimited users, no platform fee, published publicly | Quote-based / subscription |
| Free trial / self-serveWhether a team can start without a sales call. | 14-day free trial, self-serve (Capture and Clinical) | Demo required |
Where Catalyst stands out
- Extremely customizable data collection and graphing
- Automated mastery - define criteria and Catalyst flags mastered targets automatically
- 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 agents interpret the trend and draft the note from the same data.
- Self-serve signup and transparent pricing instead of a suite quote and configuration project.
Every one of those agent behaviors is a proposal a clinician accepts or rejects - how we keep the agents accurate explains the guardrails, and HIPAA & BAA covers the compliance posture behind them.
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 data fast without losing presence with the child, getting phase-change and trend reads proposed for you, and walking away 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 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 automated mastery flagging, while Cadence is voice-first - clinicians speak naturally and Cadence structures the trials, proposes phase changes, interprets the trend, and drafts the session note. Catalyst is now part of the Ensora Health suite.
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.
Cadence ABA vs other ABA software
Prefer the full picture first? Explore the product or see transparent pricing. Comparing on clinical fundamentals rather than feature lists? Our vendor-neutral reference covers the eight ABA measurement systems and interobserver agreement, which any tool in this table has to get right.
Try Cadence on your own session.
Capture by voice, watch the data structure itself, and draft a billable note. Capture and Clinical start with a free 14-day trial - no sales call required.