Our Review of Calmerry Online Therapy

Calmerry online therapy plans offer unlimited messaging so you can communicate with your therapist at times that suit your schedule. It also offers plans that include weekly or monthly live video therapy sessions. Calmerry was our pick for the most affordable online therapy in our review of the best online therapy platforms.

Pros

• Text therapy is less expensive than a comparable plan from Talkspace
• All plans include a mood tracking tool and an online journal for reflection
• Ability to choose your therapist from a preselected list of options
• Option to switch therapists at any time for free

Cons

• Does not offer phone therapy
• Does not accept flexible spending account (FSA) dollars
• Does not accept insurance
• Therapist message response rates vary

Initial Questionnaire

To get started with Calmerry, you’ll need to create an account using your email address. Once you verify your email address, you’ll complete an introductory questionnaire to help Calmerry find the right therapist match for you. After asking basic questions, such as where you live and whether you’re employed, the questionnaire will ask more personal questions about your mood and other possible issues, including:

• Whether you’ve felt depressed or unmotivated lately
• Whether you’ve been overwhelmed with stress or anxiety
• Whether you’re experiencing extreme sadness
• Whether you’re struggling with eating difficulties

Calmerry will also ask whether you want to indicate any traumatic experiences or events that are negatively impacting your life. You will also be asked to describe your current situation and what you want help with in at least one sentence.

While completing your questionnaire, you can also request a Calmerry therapist with experience managing specific conditions or issues, including:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Self-esteem
• Relationships
• Trauma
• LGBTQ+ issues
• Anger management
• Eating disorders
• Sexuality issues
• Grief

You can also indicate any other preferences you have, such as a therapist of a certain age or gender. Once you submit your results, Calmerry customer service agents will try to find a therapist who is licensed in your state and meets your criteria. According to a Calmerry representative, it will also take into account whether its therapists have active profiles, looking at factors such as when they last logged in and how often they check in. Calmerry will then send you your therapist match.

In order to benefit from therapy, you need to have a trusting relationship with your therapist, according to the American Psychiatric Association. If you find it difficult to connect with your therapist, you can switch at any time by contacting team@calmerry.com or contacting customer service through a live chat.

Therapy Options

Calmerry offers two options for therapy: via messaging or live sessions.

Calmerry Messaging

The messaging plan allows you to use text therapy to send text, video, or audio messages to your therapist at any time. According to a customer service representative, you can also ask your therapist if they’re open to a live chat session, where you both log on at a certain time to message back and forth.

Although a Calmerry FAQ page states that your therapist will respond to your messages one to two times a day, five days a week, that may not always be the case. According to our reviews team’s April 2022 survey of 1,000 online therapy users, 45 percent of 25 Calmerry users received responses within a day. Of the rest, 20 percent received responses within a few days, another 20 percent received responses within a week, and 15 percent regularly waited more than a week for responses.

Calmerry Video Sessions

With live video, you will schedule sessions with your therapist by clicking on the Video Sessions tab on your Calmerry portal. To attend your session, you’ll log into the portal and join your therapist in a secure chat room. You can cancel an appointment up to 12 hours before the session without being charged.

Self-Care With Coa

Calmerry includes a chatbot tool called Coa with every membership, which helps you track your mood and reflect on how your day went. Your entries are stored in your online journal, and you can choose whether to share each entry with your therapist. Calmerry subscribers can use this tool to help identify and process their emotions. It can also help them identify patterns that show how their feelings affect their everyday life.

Calmerry offers three different plans:

• Unlimited Messaging $228 per month
• Supports audio, video, and text messaging
• Can switch counselors at any time
• Includes a mood tracking and reflection tool

• Unlimited Messaging Plus One Video Session $298 per month
• Includes one live 30-minute video session per month
• Can purchase additional sessions for $40 to $45 each
• Supports audio, video, and text messaging
• Can switch counselors at any time
• Includes a mood tracking and reflection tool

• Unlimited Messaging Plus Four Video Sessions $360 per month
• Includes four live 30-minute video sessions per month
• Can purchase additional sessions for $40 to $45 each
• Supports audio, video, and text messaging
• Can switch counselors at any time
• Includes a mood tracking and reflection tool

Calmerry costs between $228 and $360 per month, depending on the plan you choose. If you choose a plan that offers live video sessions, you have the option to purchase additional sessions as needed. The cost is $45 if you purchase one additional session, $42 if you purchase two or three additional sessions, and $40 if you purchase four or more additional sessions at a time.

You can pay for your subscription by credit card or debit card.

Calmerry does not offer financial aid, and it is not considered an in-network provider with any insurance plans. If your insurance covers out-of-network mental health care and you have a health savings account (HSA), you may be able to use HSA funds to cover the cost of therapy. Check with your insurance provider for verification.

Calmerry offers a first-month discount of $30 off your first month for a messaging-only plan and $65 off your first month for the live video session plans.

You can get an additional 40 percent off your first month by applying the promo code “EVERYDAYHEALTH” at checkout.

You can cancel your plan at any time with no penalty. Refunds are determined on a case-by-case basis by contacting team@calmerry.com.

Calmerry vs. Talkspace: Which Is Better?

Both Talkspace and Calmerry have similar messaging therapy plans. The Talkspace messaging plan costs $276 per month, while Calmerry costs $228.

For a plan that includes messaging plus four live monthly video sessions with Talkspace, you will pay $396 per month, while Calmerry costs $360 per month. If you choose its plan that offers live workshops, you’ll pay $436 per month. Calmerry is the cheaper option for text therapy and weekly live sessions.

Read our Talkspace review to learn more.

*Depends on plan and therapist availability.

Calmerry does not have a profile with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). On Trustpilot, Calmerry was rated 4 out of 5 stars with 74 reviews at the time this article was written.

On the App Store, Calmerry is rated 2.5 out of 5 stars, based on 21 ratings and reviews (at the time this article was written). On Google Play, Calmerry has 2.1 out of 5 stars based on 45 reviews.

Positive reviews mention an easily navigable app, the benefits of being able to share journal entries with your therapist, and Calmerry’s caring therapists. Negative reviews cite issues with therapists not showing up for appointments and taking long periods of time to respond to messages.

According to our review team’s online therapy survey, 56 percent of Calmerry users had a positive experience with the platform.

We independently investigate and recommend products and services we believe will enrich the lives of our readers and meet their specific needs. You can read our full online therapy review methodology here. We’ve spent many hours carrying out in-depth research on 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
• Mystery shopped each of the brands
• Contacted brands’ customer service teams to ask questions and gauge responsiveness
• Consulted six leading psychologists and psychiatrists
• Became customers of online therapy providers ourselves
• Reviewed academic research about 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

Calmerry may be a good option if you’re looking for affordable online therapy, whether you want the ability to message your therapist or you prefer live video sessions. Unlike BetterHelp and Talkspace, which charge fees based on the availability of therapists in your state, Calmerry provides straightforward and transparent pricing for each online therapy plan, no matter where you live or what you are looking for in a therapist.

If you need ongoing financial aid, want to use insurance, or hope to use your HSA or FSA dollars, Calmerry may not be the right fit for you.

If you are in crisis, waiting for an online therapy appointment may not be safe. Texting therapy services are not designed to support you during life-threatening crises. In case of an emergency, call 911. That includes plans to harm yourself or others. If you’re having suicidal thoughts, you can call the 9988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988. Help is available 24/7.

You can also reach out to the SAMHSA National Helpline at 800-662-HELP (4357). The SAMHSA help line is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-days-a-year treatment referral and information service for individuals facing mental or substance abuse disorders.