Summary
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.2
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,1 the trial is the most useful thing published about it.
A published price, no reseller, and no licence position to disclose first.
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.22Lukac PJ, Turner W, Vangala S, et al. Ambient AI Scribes in Clinical Practice, A Randomized Trial. NEJM AI 2025;2(12). 238 physicians, 14 specialties, approximately 72,000 encounters. Nabla cut note-writing time 9.5 percent. DAX Copilot showed no significant change. Neither reduced after-hours EHR time. 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.2
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.11Microsoft acquired Nuance for $19.7 billion in 2021. DAX Copilot is reported between roughly $200 and $600 or more per clinician per month all-in once an implementation fee near $700 and reseller margin are counted. Microsoft does not publish per-clinician pricing. 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.33DAX Copilot runs natively inside Epic, Oracle Health and athenahealth, and is commonly sold through Microsoft resellers alongside existing licence agreements. 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.
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 publishes $150 and has a real free tier.
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
WA\ 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
WA\ Clinician runs a 14-day free trial with no minimum term. Pricing is on one page.
Frequently 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 or Heidi at $150. 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.
No reseller, no discovery call.
Start the trial and run it beside DAX for a fortnight. If it works, the 90-day pilot reports revenue, hours saved and patients cared for from your clinic. If it does not, you have lost a fortnight.
About this article. Written and published by WA\, a competitor of Microsoft DAX Copilot. The randomised trial cited is independent of us and tested versions of DAX Copilot and Nabla current in 2025, both of which have been updated since, and the wellbeing improvement it found for DAX is reported here alongside the primary result. Microsoft does not publish per-clinician pricing so the figures quoted are third-party estimates and should be confirmed directly. WA\ was not in that trial and has no peer-reviewed clinical trials published to date. All names are marks belonging to their owners. We have priced and assessed every competitor on this page from their own published material or independent reporting, including the places where they beat us. We would rather you had the whole picture and chose someone else than had half of it and chose us.