The Most Affordable Online Therapy Options: Reviews and Pricing for 2023

If you’re like most Americans looking for online therapy (or healthcare in general), the cost can determine whether you pursue the care you need or continue to cope in silence. As Jessica Frick, a licensed professional counselor with Metamorphosis Counseling in Erie, Pennsylvania, says, “Often the first thing to go if a client doesn't have enough money to cover everything is their therapy.”

Our reviews team has tested and reviewed the top online therapy services, rating them by quality, professionalism, specialty, and cost. To make it easier for you, we did the research to find the most affordable online therapy platforms to fit your budget.

• Most Affordable Online Therapy With Medication: Brightside
• Most Affordable Prescriptions Without Insurance: Sesame
• Most Affordable Online Text-Based Therapy: Calmerry
• Most Affordable Online Relationship Therapy: ReGain
  
• Most Affordable Online Therapy for Teens: Teen Counseling
• Most Affordable Online Therapy if You Have Insurance: Amwell
• Cheapest Pay-As-You-Go Online Therapy Without Insurance: Teladoc

• Session types Video therapy and psychiatric appointments
• Price and payment options $99 to $349 per month; accepts Visa and Mastercard
• Accepts insurance Yes

Pros

• Uses assessments and asks follow-up about your depression and anxiety symptoms
• Proprietary technology helps psychiatrists prescribe the most effective medication
• Accepts insurance
• Has an app for iOS devices
• Therapy sessions are 45-minutes long

Cons

• More expensive than Cerebral
• Can’t choose your own therapist
• No app for Android devices

Why Brightside?

All of Brightside’s therapists use a modified version of the Unified Protocol, a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy that’s effective for a broad range of emotional disorders, according to a clinical trial published in September 2017 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. The platform offers an online medication management plus therapy plan that costs less than a similar plan on Cerebral. When our reviews team tested Brightside, we found that the plans had helpful features, such as unlimited messaging, a symptom tracker, and self-guided lessons. In addition, we surveyed 200 Brightside users in January 2023 and found that 69 percent of respondents on the medication plus therapy plan indicated they were satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their experience on the platform.

How Much Does Brightside Cost?

Brightside’s therapy plus medication plan costs $349 a month, which is lower than the Cerebral monthly cost of $365 for a similar offering. If you're only looking for therapy, the therapy plan costs $299 per month. The medication management-only plan costs $95 per month.

How Brightside Works

Brightside’s initial intake involves a comprehensive assessment of your depression and anxiety symptoms, including how much they impact your quality of life. All the questions are from the Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety-Depression Scale, which mental health care professionals use to evaluate the severity of depression and anxiety, according to an article published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

The results are used to produce a chart of your depression and anxiety symptoms in your Brightside app. Every 14 days, Brightside will ask you to take the assessment again. These mood check-ins help to monitor how you’re doing over time and help your provider determine if you need corrections to your treatment plan.

Therapist Matching

You can’t choose your own therapist with Brightside or ask for a preferred age or gender. The ability to switch therapists is also not guaranteed and depends on who is available and licensed in your state. To see if you’re able to switch, log in to your account and contact the Brightside support team. Our reviews team tester reached out to customer service to switch providers and was matched to a new therapist within a day.

What to Know About Brightside Therapy

Brightside’s therapy plan costs $299 a month and includes four 45-minute video sessions. You can ask your therapist to turn off their camera, but you’ll need to keep yours on so your therapist can read and understand your body language.

Medication With Brightside

If you decide you would like to start medication, Brightside can help with that, too. Its unique medication-matching technology, called PrecisionRx, can help your psychiatrist suggest the most effective medication based on more than 100 factors about you and your symptoms. Brightside providers will not prescribe controlled substances such as Xanax or Adderall.

You’ll have weekly 30-minute video meetings with your provider to discuss potential side effects. They also provide unlimited video follow-ups, so you can request more for free if needed.

Brightside Reviews

Brightside has 16 reviews from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and 38 reviews from Trustpilot, with ratings of 1.31 and 1.5 out of 5 stars, respectively. The positive reviews mention good experiences with providers, while the negative reviews mention billing issues, confusion about medication management, and difficulty using the website to schedule appointments.

Dive deeper in our Brightside review.

• Session types Video therapy and video psychiatric appointments
• Price and payment options Certain providers can prescribe $5 generic medications; prices for telehealth visits vary; accepts credit cards and Google Pay
• Accepts insurance No

Pros

• $5 generic prescriptions through certain providers with SesameRx
• Video therapy and psychiatry visits, some offered the same day
• Direct-to-provider payments can help reduce costs

Cons

• Cannot prescribe all types of medication, including controlled substances
• Prices will vary depending on your location

Why Sesame?

Sesame has a prescription service, called SesameRx, that offers generic medications for $5 delivered to your door. Appointments are easy to schedule, with many psychiatrists and physicians offering same-day availability, as confirmed by our reviews team when we tested Sesame. By operating outside of insurance networks, Sesame can allow providers to set their own prices without factoring in payments to insurance companies. This can help make Sesame visits less costly than in-person visits through insurance. In our reviews team’s April 2022 survey of 1,000 online therapy users, 69 percent of Sesame users responded that they had a positive or mostly positive experience with the platform.

How Much Does Sesame Cost?

Prices are set by Sesame providers, so the cost of a one-time visit will depend on your location and provider. Normally, the cost of in-person psychiatry and therapy visits includes administrative costs and a portion paid to insurance companies. Sesame eliminates administrative costs by having providers manage their own scheduling. And since providers aren’t required to make payments to insurance companies, prices tend to be lower. Generic prescriptions for medications for depression and anxiety filled through SesameRx cost $5 for a 30-day supply. Note that a psychiatric consultation costs more than a mental health consult through Sesame, sometimes by $60 or more.

Sesame also offers a subscription service, Sesame Plus, which costs $10.99 per month or $99 per year. With Sesame Plus, you can receive $20 off of all telehealth visits and save on prescription refill visits. For example, a prescription refill visit without Sesame Plus may cost $39, but with a membership it would cost $19.

How Does Sesame Work?

Sesame is a telehealth platform that offers multiple health services, not just psychiatry. To find a psychiatrist, you select “video prescription refill,” “mental health services,” or “mental health consult” on the Sesame homepage. From there, Sesame shows available doctors licensed to practice in your state, and you select a provider and time slot for your video visit.

Booking an appointment with Sesame only requires an email address; you fill in your personal and health information after your appointment is confirmed, and you have the option to create an account later. This will include any known allergies, current medications, health conditions, and past surgeries or overnight hospital stays. Sesame asks if you have insurance but this doesn’t affect your appointment in any way. After entering your health information, you enter your pharmacy information, including your home address, and if you choose, you can opt to have your prescription sent to and delivered by SesameRx. Sesame also gives you the option to pick up your medications at a local pharmacy.

An initial psychiatrist visit is one hour and a prescription renewal visit is 15 minutes. Some physicians can also prescribe name-brand medications instead of generic ones, but this might increase the cost. Name-brand prescriptions will also need to be picked up at your local pharmacy rather than delivered to your door.

Sesame also offers mental health consultations with a primary care provider and therapy sessions with licensed counselors, but these are not considered psychiatry appointments. You won’t be able to receive medication from these visits.

Sesame Reviews

Sesame has a 2.27 out of 5 rating on the BBB, with 15 customer reviews. On Trustpilot, Sesame has a 4.3 out of 5 rating, with more than 900 customer reviews. Positive reviews focus on the helpfulness of providers and convenience of service, while negative reviews mention providers or patients having technical issues, rude or unhelpful providers, and difficulties with customer service and receiving refunds.

You can learn more by reading our in-depth Sesame review.

• Session types Phone, video, and chat therapy
• Price and payment options $228 per month for unlimited chat therapy; accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, Union Pay, JCB, and Diners Club International
• Accepts insurance No

Pros

• Cheaper than Talkspace’s messaging app with the same concept
• Can send an unlimited number of text and audio messages to your therapist
• Can ask your therapist to log on at a specific time to have a live texting conversation
• Free self-care chatbot can help you prioritize your needs and understand your emotions

Cons

• Does not support video messages, unlike Talkspace
• Therapists will not respond on weekends
• Does not take insurance

Why Calmerry?

Calmerry’s unlimited therapist messaging plan is $48 cheaper per month than Talkspace’s unlimited messaging plan. While Calmerry’s app doesn’t support video messages like Talkspace does, some individuals may choose affordability over paying extra for video messages each month.

How Much Does Calmerry Cost?

Calmerry offers three plans: unlimited messaging, unlimited messaging plus one live video session, and unlimited messaging plus four live video sessions. The unlimited messaging plan is $228 per month and includes unlimited audio and text messaging with your therapist. Calmerry also offers two plans with live video options, although there are platforms with cheaper monthly plans on the market for similar options.

• Unlimited Messaging Plus One Live Video Session* $298 per month
  • First month $51 off
  • One 30-minute live video session a month
• Unlimited Messaging Plus Four Live Video Sessions* $360 per month
  • First month $65 off
  • Four 30-minute live video sessions a month

Calmerry bills at the same time every month and does not accept insurance. Calmerry offers a $30 - $65 discount for your first month. With a messaging-only plan, that amounts to $198 for your first month.

How Does Calmerry Work?

1. Start a profile.
2. Choose your therapist preferences.
3. Chat with one of Calmerry’s mental health assistants, who will evaluate your survey and provide therapist suggestions.
4. Schedule live sessions with your matched therapist and start chatting with them.

When our reviews team tested Calmerry, they received three therapist suggestions, all of which included the therapist’s name, title, and bio they had written about themselves.

Calmerry allows you to switch therapists for free. Our reviews team tester switched therapists to find a better fit in therapist availability and experience. They found the switching process easy and were matched to a therapist within 20 minutes.

When attending sessions on Calmerry, our tester encountered some technical issues. For example, if a session was running over the scheduled time, the software would end the live session early despite the therapist extending the session time.

How Text Therapy With Calmerry Works

Once you start your subscription, you can write or send audio messages to your therapist. You could write longer journal-like entries, quick impulsive messages, or reflective emails. The Calmerry mental health assistant confirmed that your therapist checks the app a few times a day, Monday through Friday.

Self-Care and Mood Tracking With Coa

Calmerry’s app includes a mood assessment chatbot called Coa. Each day, you can log broader things like your mood or more in-depth reflection notes.

• How daily check-ins work:
  • Log how you’re feeling each day: Good? Fair? Poor?
  • Nail down your specific emotions: Embarrassment? Tension? Surprise? Anxiety?
  • Write what you did that day
• How reflection notes work:
  • Write journal entries or whatever thoughts you have that day
  • Label your feelings and emotions about it. Anger? Sympathy? Sadness?

You can share these entries with your therapist or keep them private. Every note is assigned to the date you write it in your journal app, so you can see how your mood changes over time and gain more insight into your emotions, such as thought patterns you may commonly fall into.

Calmerry Reviews

Trustpilot gives Calmerry 4.4 out of 5 stars. Positive reviews mention supportive therapists, successful sessions, and prompt customer service. Negative reviews mention slow response times from therapists and therapists canceling sessions at the last minute. There aren’t any reviews for Calmerry from the BBB.

Learn more in our Calmerry review.

• Session types Phone, video, and chat therapy
• Price and payment options $240 to $360 per month; accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, PayPal, and Google Pay
• Accepts insurance No

Pros

• Cheapest online relationship therapy platform we considered
• Eligible individuals may apply for financial aid to make it even more affordable
• Appointments available during weekends and after work hours

Cons

• Can’t pick your own therapist
• Limited therapist availability when trying to accommodate race, gender, age, and specialty preferences
• Not transparent about session length

Why ReGain?

Unfortunately, your insurance most likely won’t cover couples therapy or marriage counseling unless it’s related to a mental health or substance use issue, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. If your employer has an employee assistance program as part of its benefits package, you may be eligible for a few free sessions. But the average company allows only eight sessions, according to the International Employee Assistance Professionals Association.

In our pursuit of the most affordable online couples counseling, we compared ReGain to providers like Bound Together Counseling ($225 for 50 minutes) and the Relationship Suite ($185–$350 a session), as well as bigger companies like Advekit ($150–$275 a session). ReGain was more affordable per month, especially if you or your partner are eligible for financial aid.

While websites like E-Therapy Cafe offer couples counseling for $40–$50 per 30 minutes of therapy, it had only 10 clinical therapists and two life coaches accepting new patients. ReGain, meanwhile, has more than 11,000 accredited psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, and licensed therapists on staff.

How Much Does ReGain Cost?

Therapy with ReGain costs $60 to $90 per week. The exact cost depends on where you’re located and any additional preferences you enter during your assessment, like a specialty in a certain area of practice. We signed up for three different accounts using various preferences and locations, and ReGain quoted us $320 a month each time.

• Monthly subscription $240 to $360 per month
  • Billed every four weeks
  • Ability to send unlimited messages to your therapist, via audio, video, and chat
  • Four 30- to 45-minute sessions per month
  • Cancel at any time

Financial Aid With ReGain

ReGain offers financial aid for those who can’t afford therapy. Complete the online form to see if you’re eligible.

You may be eligible for a discount if you or your partner are:

• A veteran
• Disabled
• Unemployed
• Employed but low-income
• Financially impacted by the coronavirus

Your financial aid will apply to the next three months of your membership, but you may be able to extend it. A few days before the start of your third month, ReGain will send you a reminder email to apply for financial aid again. With veteran status, our monthly payment dropped from $320 per month to $260 per month.

How Does ReGain Work?

ReGain is the sister site of BetterHelp. While they both offer individual therapy, Regain also offers couples therapy and specializes in relationships. Either partner can start the service by enrolling on its site. You have the option to register for individual therapy or couples therapy during sign-up. You can also invite your partner to sessions at any point after being matched to a therapist.

To enroll, you’ll provide information like your gender, age, and sexuality before providing details about your relationship, such as whether you live together and why you’re looking for therapy. Some common reasons include:

• Communication problems
• Deciding whether to separate
• Adultery
• Unequal workloads at home
• Lack of sex or intimacy
• Issues around raising kids

Therapist Preferences and Matching

ReGain will ask what you’re looking for in a therapist, with options like someone who listens or proactively checks in on you. You can add preferences like:

• Gender
• Age
• Religious or nonreligious
• LGBTQ+-friendly
• Specialties such as compassion fatigue or caregiver stress

ReGain notes that it may not be able to honor all your preferences based on the available therapists. We verified this when we requested someone 45 or older and got matched with a therapist in her late twenties. But you can request a new therapist if you’re unhappy with ReGain’s pick.

When our reviews team tested ReGain, they had a hard time matching with a suitable therapist. Even when customer service was involved, the platform was unable to find a therapist licensed in our testers’ state with the appropriate availability and area of specialization. You may find limited provider options on ReGain depending on where you live and if you have more specific preferences in a therapist.

Therapy Options

You have a few options for therapy with ReGain:

1. Messaging Send a text message to your therapist at any time.
2. Phone calls Schedule an appointment for an audio-only therapy session.
3. Video calls Schedule an appointment for a video therapy session.

Your membership includes four 30- to 45-minute audio or video therapy sessions a month. We had to complete a questionnaire to find this information. We contacted ReGain to inquire about session length and were told that whether you end your session at 30 minutes or extend it to 45 is up to you and your therapist to decide together.

Your membership also includes unlimited text messaging to your therapist. According to our review team’s April 2022 survey of 1,000 online therapy users, 48 percent of ReGain customers received a response within a day.

ReGain offers three-way calling, too, so you don’t need to share a screen or phone with your partner for each session. And if you decide you want to work with your assigned therapist in a one-on-one session, ReGain allows you to do that.

Potential Issues

One thing you may have trouble with is scheduling. Our therapist only had 9:30 a.m. slots open for the next two weeks, though ReGain says you can contact your therapist to see if they have additional availability. That, coupled with the potential therapist change if you’re unhappy, may lead to longer wait times before receiving the care you need.

ReGain Reviews

Trustpilot reviewers gave ReGain a score of 3.3 out of 5 stars, and BBB reviewers gave ReGain a score of 3.84 out of 5 stars. Positive reviews mention quick therapist matching and affordability, while negative reviews mention difficulty reaching customer service, billing issues, and difficulty finding accommodating appointment times outside of traditional 9-to-5 hours.

Check out our full review of ReGain to learn more.

• Session types Phone, video, and chat therapy
• Price and payment options $240 to $360 per month; accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, PayPal, and Google Pay
• Accepts insurance No

Pros

• Offers financial aid
• Teens can use live chat, video, or phone to communicate with their therapist
• Separate “rooms” for both parents and teens to privately chat with the therapist
• Appointments available outside of school hours

Cons

• Your therapist match may have limited availability
• Therapists’ level of experience with teens varies
• Doesn’t take insurance

Why Teen Counseling?

We chose Teen Counseling over sites like Teladoc or MDLive for its flexible options for teens who may be more comfortable with an instant messaging option. According to a review published in the journal JMIR Mental Health in January 2021, texting is the preferred mode of communication for adolescents with cell phones. Benefits like a private room their parents couldn’t access where they could exchange messages outside of therapy hours may be a plus, too. A study published in October 2019 in the Journal of Pediatrics found that teens may lie about their behavior if they believe their confidentiality is at risk.

While Talkspace has a similar plan with live video or phone sessions and unlimited messaging, it costs $396 a month – $36 more than the maximum cost at Teen Counseling. Talkspace doesn’t offer financial aid either, aside from a discount on your first month. We felt Teen Counseling did the best job at accommodating teens and their potential resistance to therapy at an affordable price. If eligible for financial aid, this is an even better and cheaper option for online teen therapy.

How Much Does Teen Counseling Cost?

Teen Counseling does not accept insurance and will not submit any information to your insurance company. The service costs $60 to $90 per week and, like ReGain, prices depend on where you live, therapist availability, and what specialties they have.

• Monthly subscription $240 to $360 per month
  • Billed every four weeks
  • Four weekly 30-minute therapy sessions
  • Unlimited text messaging
  • Cancel at any time

Teen Counseling offers financial aid for eligible families.

How Does Teen Counseling Work?

Teen Counseling is one of BetterHelp’s online therapy sites focused on teens 13 and older. Either you or your teen can start the therapy matching process on its homepage.

Teen Counseling will ask standard intake questions about your teen such as age, gender, and location. If your teen starts the process, they can choose the specific issues they want therapy to address, including:

• Stress
• Anxiety
• Depression
• School challenges
• Family conflicts
• Trouble sleeping or insomnia
• Relationships with friends

Parents can choose from options like school challenges, criminal behavior, substance abuse, or relationships with peers.

Teen Counseling will ask if your teen has been to therapy before and to rate their relationship with you. Then the questions delve deeper into their home life, such as whether they go to school, whom they live with, and the last time they thought about suicide.

Your teen will be asked to write a brief snippet about why they want therapy if they sign up themselves. Once enrolled, they will see a screen that includes next steps, an explanation of how and why their parents are involved in the process, and how much therapy will cost. In two separate sign-ups, we were quoted $320 a month.

Link Your Teen’s Account With Yours

If your teen initiated the process, Teen Counseling will ask them for your name and email address on the confirmation page. You should receive an email within a few seconds. From the email, you’ll be able to register for an account, fill out the parent consent form, and pay for the subscription. This will link your accounts together. The information your teen shared during their questionnaire will not be shared with you. In our experience, we didn’t receive a therapist match until both parties signed up.

Therapist Matching and Chat Rooms

Teen Counseling will use information from the questionnaire to pair your teen with a licensed therapist. With unlimited messaging, both you and your teen can message the therapist in your own private chat room. You can ask any questions you have about the process and how much the therapist can share about their discussions with your teen.

Likewise, your teen has their own chat room to discuss personal details with their therapist. Teen Counseling does not disclose how quickly its therapists respond. Parents do not have access to this room.

Teen Counseling Therapy and Scheduling

Your child can conduct their therapy sessions through live chat, video, or telephone. Either you or your child can choose appointment times. If you don’t see a time that fits your schedule, you can reach out to your therapist to see if they have additional availability, though it isn’t guaranteed. Each appointment lasts 30 minutes.

With live chat, you or your child arranges a therapy time as you would for a video or phone session, and it counts toward one of four monthly sessions. The therapist would logs at that time and answers any of your teen’s questions in an instant messaging format.

Teen Counseling Reviews

Teen Counseling receives 3.7 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot. Positive reviews cited compassionate therapists and accommodating appointment times. Negative reviews mentioned therapists not showing up for appointments and billing issues. The platform isn’t rated by the BBB.

Dive deeper in our Teen Counseling review.

• Session types Phone and video therapy
• Price and payment options Depends on your insurance provider and plan; accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express
• Accepts insurance Yes

Pros

• Accepts more than 100 insurance plans
• Ability to pay for sessions as needed instead of committing to a membership
• Offers therapy sessions for children ages 10 and older
• Ability to choose your own therapist

Cons

• Self-pay option is more expensive than Teladoc and MDLive
• Can only schedule appointments in available time slots
• Mobile app is only available on iOS

Why Amwell?

Amwell accepts more than 100 insurance plans from carriers such as Aetna, Cigna, United Healthcare, Humana, and Highmark. Unlike Teladoc and MDLive, two similar telehealth platforms that also don’t require insurance, Amwell can see patients as young as 10.

How Much Does Amwell Cost?

Amwell will prompt you to enter your insurance information during sign-up to confirm coverage. Your cost will depend on your individual plan.

If you pay out of pocket, you can choose a therapy or psychiatry plan:

• Therapy
  • $109 per session for a therapist with a master’s degree
  • $129 per session for a therapist with a doctoral degree
• Psychiatry
  • $279 for your initial consult
  • $109 for every 15-minute follow-up

How Does Amwell Work?

You can register for Amwell via desktop or through its app for iOS devices like iPads or iPhones. During or after registration, you can enter your insurance information to see if Amwell accepts it.

To sign up for an appointment, you log in and click the behavioral health section on the site. Amwell’s therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists can help individuals as young as 10 in every state. Available mental health services include:

• Therapy
• Psychiatry
• Adolescent therapy
• Menopause counseling
• Pregnancy and postpartum therapy

Every provider profile will include information such as a headshot, next available appointments, years of experience, professional education, applicable specialties, and a bio.

Appointment Tips

Be sure to schedule an appointment at least 24 hours in advance, even if you see an opening for a provider the same day. Customer support told us that therapists sometimes don’t update their availability, and if you try to schedule an open same-day appointment, the provider might cancel it.

Billing and Rescheduling

You’ll need to enter your billing information in order to book an appointment, and once booked, the appointment will appear in your app. If you need to cancel or reschedule for any reason, be sure to do so at least 24 hours before your scheduled time. Amwell charges $40 for a missed appointment.

Amwell Reviews

Trustpilot reviewers gave Amwell a score of 2 out of 5 stars, and BBB reviewers gave Amwell 1 out of 5 stars. Since the Amwell platform offers both medical care and mental health care, reviews mentioned both. Positive reviews about mental health care indicated that the platform exceeded their expectations, while negative reviews mentioned therapists not showing up for appointments and difficulty getting refills for mental health medications.

• Session types Phone and video therapy
• Price and payment options $99 per session; accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express
• Accepts insurance Yes

Pros

• Cheapest à la carte therapy of the platforms we looked at
• Offers sessions outside of 9-to-5 hours
• Same service model as MDLive, Thriveworks, and Amwell, but cheaper
• More availability after 5 p.m. than services like BetterHelp

Cons

• No messaging with your provider between appointments
• Can get expensive if you need weekly sessions

Why Teladoc?

When looking for the best pay-per-session online therapy, we also considered the competition. Thriveworks, for example, charges the same $99 fee per session as Teladoc, but tacks on an extra $39 membership fee per month. It's also only available in 43 states, while Teladoc is available nationwide.

MDLive is similar to Teladoc in price, structure, and online reviews but offers therapy for $109 per session. We chose Teladoc because it was cheaper and had more open appointments than MDLive outside of 9-to-5 business hours.

How Much Does Teladoc Cost?

Teladoc costs $99 per session. You can purchase additional sessions on the platform. Teladoc does accept some insurance plans, but for people who do not have insurance or are underinsured, it’s one of the more affordable virtual therapy options.

If you plan on using insurance, be sure to call your insurance provider to verify coverage before you sign up. You can also learn more about how Teladoc works with insurance, but you’ll need to set up an account to find out if Teladoc accepts your insurance. It’s always best to check with your insurance provider instead of, or in addition to, the platform.

How Teladoc Works

Teladoc is a simple, no-frills approach to online therapy that lets you pay per session. To get started, you just need to open an account and enter details like your name and location, contact information, and potential insurance. Click “Don’t have a health plan or insurance?” to see how Teladoc charges for each visit. After signing up, you can request an online therapy appointment from your account’s home page.

Find Your Teladoc Therapist

We requested a therapy appointment and were able to customize our therapist matches by specialty and gender. On our results page, we could see who the therapist was, their credentials, and when they were available.

How Do I Schedule an Appointment?

There are a few different things you’ll see when figuring out an appointment time:

• Potential time slots you can immediately book
• Information from Teladoc about when the provider is usually available
• A button to request an appointment time

If you need to request an appointment time, you can list three different times that work best and any additional information that would make it easier for the therapist to schedule your appointment.

On the same page, before booking your appointment, you need to fill out a questionnaire asking about your emotional health status, too. It’s a simple, 23-question form that asks about mental health issues over the past two weeks and how much they have affected your life.

Once you submit your appointment request, Teladoc will ask for your billing information. It will not charge you until after your first visit. Teladoc will then reach out to you to confirm the cost and bill $99 for the session.

Teladoc Reviews

Like Amwell, the Teladoc platform offers both medical care and mental health care, so reviews mentioned both types of services. Trustpilot reviewers gave Teladoc 4.6 out of 5 stars, and BBB reviewers gave Teladoc 1.14 out of 5 stars. Negative reviews mentioned unprofessional therapists, therapists not showing up for appointments, and difficulty reaching customer service. Positive reviews mentioned ease of use and a convenient app.

When deciding which therapist or online therapy provider is right for you, consider these questions:

• What is your deductible? If you can’t afford your deductible, even over time, you may want to consider a platform that offers therapy on a sliding scale, where your salary dictates how much they charge a session.

• What mental health services does your insurance cover? Maximizing your in-network benefits, if the deductible isn’t too high, may be cheaper than paying completely out of pocket.

• Is the platform in-network for your insurance? Just because a brand works with your insurance doesn’t mean it will be cheap. “In-network” status means that the company made a deal with your insurance to charge only a certain amount per visit. If they use your out-of-network benefits and submit a bill to your insurance, also known as a superbill, they can charge whatever they want. Your insurance will pay only part of it, and you’ll be stuck with the rest.

Most bad reviews we read for different online therapy platforms involved being hit with a surprise bill and not understanding how the platforms worked with their insurance. The American Psychological Association (APA) recommends always calling your insurance provider, not the platform, to confirm this information.

• How much are you paying per month for therapy? Weekly breakdowns may seem cheaper, but it’s always better to do the math to compare how much you’re paying per month. Consider your monthly budget and how the overall cost of therapy will fit, especially as you pay over months or years.

• Do you like working with your therapist? Therapy is about building a rapport, and you should be with someone you like and are comfortable with.

• How do they keep your private information safe and secure? The APA suggests looking for sites that encrypt your data and are compliant with U.S. privacy laws.

• Is cheapest always best? Be sure to weigh all the pros and cons of each therapy service you consider. Mental health care is like any other healthcare — you may not want to sacrifice the quality of your treatment to save a few dollars.

Are you mentally prepared for the long-term investment? “A major obstacle during the therapy process is the belief that healing will take place immediately or quickly,” says Jennifer Weaver-Breitenbecher, a licensed mental health counselor in North Providence, Rhode Island. “We don’t have magic wands, and we can’t speed up the therapeutic process, but we can promise that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel — no matter how long the tunnel may be. Be patient and trust the process,” she adds.

We independently investigate and recommend products and services that we believe will enrich the lives of our readers and meet their specific needs. We’ve spent hundreds of hours carrying out in-depth research in the online therapy market. You can trust our review because we did the legwork for you in these specific ways:

• Engaged in ongoing independent research
• Spent over 245 hours testing eight brands, deployed surveys that included over 200 participants each, and interviewed two focus groups
• Went behind the paywall for two months with eight brands to mystery shop our best online therapy choices
• Contacted the brands’ customer service teams to ask questions and gauge responsiveness
• Became customers of online therapy providers ourselves
• Reviewed academic research into the efficacy of online therapy versus in-person therapy
• Read hundreds of verified customer reviews from trusted third parties such as the BBB and Trustpilot

Learn more about how we researched and evaluated the best online therapy brands via our online therapy methodology page and see the full results of our online therapy testing.

Online therapy can be cheap and sustainable for your budget when you maximize your in-network insurance benefits. If you don’t have insurance or have a high deductible, à la carte options where you pay per session can help you save some extra cash and provide payment and scheduling flexibility that subscriptions don’t.

If you prefer a subscription, be sure to weigh the pros and cons and remember to look at the total cost per month, not per week, to see if it makes sense for your financial situation.

For affordable online therapy with medication, our reviews team selected Brightside as the best option. Sesame was our choice for affordable online prescriptions for mental health medications if you don’t have insurance. Calmerry offers affordable online text-based if you prefer to connect with your therapist that way. We chose ReGain as the most affordable relationship therapy online, and Teen Counseling as the best option for affordable online therapy for teens. Finally, Amwell is the best option for affordable online therapy if you have insurance, while TeleDoc is the most affordable option for pay-as-you-go therapy sessions without insurance.

If you are in crisis, waiting for an online therapy appointment is not safe. In case of an emergency, call 911. This includes plans to harm yourself or others. If you’re having suicidal thoughts, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. Help is available 24/7.

You can also reach out to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 800-662-HELP (4357). The SAMHSA helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-days-a-year treatment referral and information service for individuals facing mental or substance use disorders.