Summary
People look for DAX Copilot alternatives over price and lock-in, since it lands at roughly $200 to $600 a clinician a month through a Microsoft reseller with nothing published. Nabla holds the only randomised win, Abridge holds Best in KLAS, and Freed and Heidi publish self-serve prices. Wai covers the consultation, the front desk and the patient record on one system.
DAX Copilot was one of two arms in the only randomised trial of ambient scribes ever run. It showed no statistically significant change in note-writing time against control. Nabla, the other arm, cut it by 9.5 percent.
That result is from a 2025 version and Microsoft has shipped since. But if you are searching for an alternative to a product that costs roughly $200 to $600 a month per clinician, the trial is the most useful thing published about it.
Enterprise depth is a real thing to buy. So is your evening.
Book a demoWhat the trial found
UCLA randomised 238 physicians across 14 specialties to DAX Copilot, to Nabla, or to usual care, across roughly 72,000 encounters. Nabla cut note-writing time by 9.5 percent, about 41 seconds. DAX showed no statistically significant change. Neither reduced time in the record outside scheduled hours. Both improved wellbeing scores, which is real and is the honest part of the DAX result.
Two caveats we will give you rather than make you find. The versions tested were current in 2025 and both products have been updated. And wellbeing improving while measured time did not is a genuine finding, not a consolation prize.
Why people look
Price and lock-in, mostly. DAX lands between roughly $200 and $600 or more per clinician per month once the implementation fee near $700 and the reseller margin are counted, and Microsoft does not publish a number. It is usually sold through a reseller against your existing licence position, which means the quote depends on what else you buy from Microsoft.
The integration is genuinely excellent. Native in Epic, Oracle Health and athenahealth. Microsoft paid $19.7 billion for Nuance and it shows in the depth. Depth of integration and effect on your evening turn out to be different things.
Microsoft Dragon Copilot is an AI assistant for clinical workflows. It helps you do more by bringing AI into your daily work.Microsoft Dragon Copilot documentation, read 22 September 2026
The options
Nabla holds the only randomised win in this category and never stores the encounter, a position no other vendor has taken. Abridge holds Best in KLAS in 2025 and 2026 and the deepest Epic integration, at roughly $2,500 per clinician per year with a three to six month procurement. Freed publishes $39 to $119 and signs you up in four minutes. Heidi has a real free tier and listed $150 until August 2026, now showing its tiers without figures.
Every one of them drafts a note. The trial measured that and found 41 seconds at best, with the evening unchanged.
What we do instead
Wai covers the consultation, the front desk and the patient record on one system. The briefing before the patient sits down, the letters, the coding, the cited answers, and the phone answered by something that can see what happened in the room.
What the trial actually tells you
Two products, randomised, 72,000 encounters. One saved 41 seconds. One saved nothing measurable. Neither touched the evening. The number no scribe on this page reaches is the code. Up to 19 percent of E/M visits are undercoded at roughly $37 each, and Medicare Advantage downcoding runs a reported $28,000 to $74,000 a physician a year without ever showing as a denial.
Read that as a map rather than a scoreboard. It marks the edge of what a microphone in a room reaches, drawn by the two best-funded attempts anyone has made. The work past that edge needs a different kind of product.
What we are not claiming
We were not in that trial. Nabla was, and won. We have no randomised evidence at all, and quoting someone else's trial is not the same as having one.
If you are a Microsoft shop with an Epic estate and a reseller relationship, DAX is the path of least resistance and that alone is a legitimate reason to buy it.
Availability
Wai Clinician runs a 14-day free trial with no minimum term. Pricing is on one page.
Bring your own clinic to it. Thirty minutes, and you see it on your workflows.
Book a demoFrequently asked questions
Is DAX Copilot worth the money?
The only randomised trial in this category found DAX Copilot produced no statistically significant change in note-writing time against a control group, across 238 physicians and roughly 72,000 encounters, while Nabla in the same trial cut it by 9.5 percent. DAX did improve physician wellbeing scores, which is a real finding. The version tested was current in 2025 and Microsoft has shipped since. DAX is reported between roughly $200 and $600 or more per clinician per month all-in once the implementation fee and reseller margin are counted, and Microsoft does not publish pricing.
What is the best alternative to DAX Copilot?
For evidence, Nabla, which holds the only randomised win in this category and never stores the encounter. For an enterprise Epic deployment, Abridge, which holds Best in KLAS in 2025 and 2026 and the deepest Epic integration, at roughly $2,500 per clinician per year with a three to six month procurement. For a published price and immediate signup, Freed from $39. Heidi listed $150 until August 2026 and now shows its tiers without figures. For a private clinic that wants the letters, the coding and the front desk covered as well as the note, Wai is built for exactly that. If you are a Microsoft shop with an Epic estate and a reseller relationship, DAX is the path of least resistance and that alone is a legitimate reason to keep it.
How much does DAX Copilot cost?
Microsoft does not publish per-clinician pricing, so every figure available is a third-party estimate. Reporting places it between roughly $200 and $600 or more per clinician per month all-in, once an implementation fee near $700 and reseller margin are counted. It is usually sold through a Microsoft reseller against your existing licence position, which means the quote depends on what else you buy from Microsoft. Confirm directly. Microsoft acquired Nuance, which built the underlying technology, for $19.7 billion in 2021.
What did the UCLA trial find about DAX Copilot?
UCLA randomised 238 physicians across 14 specialties to DAX Copilot, to Nabla, or to usual care, across roughly 72,000 encounters. Nabla cut note-writing time by 9.5 percent, about 41 seconds. DAX showed no statistically significant change. Neither reduced time in the record outside scheduled hours. Both improved wellbeing scores, which is real and is the honest part of the DAX result.
Why do practices look past DAX Copilot?
Price and lock-in, mostly. DAX lands between roughly $200 and $600 or more per clinician per month once the implementation fee near $700 and the reseller margin are counted, and Microsoft does not publish a number. It is usually sold through a reseller against your existing licence position, which means the quote depends on what else you buy from Microsoft.
See it on your own clinic
Fifteen minutes on your workflows. If it is a fit we reply within 24 hours.