Therapy can be expensive—notoriously so. In addition to the high per-session cost, it can be hard to find a provider in your area who accepts any insurance at all, let alone your plan. Online therapy is a boon to people seeking affordable mental health assistance on a few levels: To start, online providers have less overhead and thus typically charge less, and several well-regarded services also accept insurance. The best options even make it easy to see if they accept your plan.
As a licensed social worker and former therapist, I understand better than anyone how important it is to be able to access and afford therapy. Luckily, there are many online therapy companies out there that are in-network with many insurance plans, making it that much easier to find resources if you are insured and have to use that insurance to pay for services.
Here, I’ve compiled a list of online therapy companies that take insurance, so you’re sure to find one that accepts your plan.
Compare Our Top Picks
Best for Anxiety and Depression
Brightside
Best for Anxiety and Depression Brightside
brightside
See Retailer
Aetna, Cigna, Ambetter, UnitedHealthcare, Anthem
$299 per month for therapy, $349 per month for therapy and psychiatry, $95 per month for psychiatry, billed as a monthly subscription
Individual, teen
Video, unlimited messaging
Yes
Most Flexible
Talkspace
Most Flexible Talkspace
talkspace
See Retailer
Aetna, Cigna, Optum, Carelon, Regence
$69-$109 per week, billed as a monthly subscription
Individual, couples, teen
Video, phone, messaging
Yes
Most Insurance Plans Accepted
Thriveworks
Most Insurance Plans Accepted Thriveworks
thriveworks
See Retailer
Aetna, Cigna, BlueCross BlueShield, UnitedHealthcare, Tricare, Sentara, Humana, Tufts Health Plan, Medicare
$200-$240 for therapy intake session, $160-$195 for follow-up therapy sessions, $300-$375 for psychiatry intake session, $210-$300 for follow-up psychiatry sessions
Individual, couples, teen, child, family
Video, phone, in-person in some locations
Yes
Most Scheduling Options
Teladoc Health
Most Scheduling Options Teladoc Health
teladoc
See Retailer
Aetna, Oscar, UnitedHealthcare, CareFirst, Geisinger, Guidewell, Health New England, Health Partners Plans, Centene, Prominence
$119 per therapy session, $299 for first psychiatry session, $129 per psychiatry follow-up
Individual, teen
Video, phone
Yes
Best for Families
Doctor on Demand
Best for Families Doctor on Demand
doctorondemand
See Retailer
UnitedHealthcare, Tricare, Wellmark, BlueCross BlueShield, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, CDPHP
$134 for 25-minute therapy session, $184 for 50-minute therapy session, $299 for initial 45-minute psychiatry session, $129 for 15-minute follow-up psychiatry session
Individual, teen, child, couples
Video
Yes
Best for Choosing Own Therapist
Amwell
Best for Choosing Own Therapist Amwell
amwell
See Retailer
Aetna, Anthem, BlueCross BlueShield, Beacon Health, Emblem Health, UnitedHealthcare
$99 per therapy session, $199 for initial psychiatry session, $95 for psychiatry follow-ups
Individual, couples, teen, child (ages 10+)
Video, messaging
Yes
Best for Psychiatry
Talkiatry
Best for Psychiatry Talkiatry
talkiatry
See Retailer
Optum, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna, Medicare, Humana, Anthem, BlueCross BlueShield
No self-pay options (only responsible for copay)
Individual, teen, child
Video
Yes
Best Directory
Alma
Best Directory Alma
helloalma
See Retailer
Optum, Aetna, Cigna, Carelon, BlueCross BlueShield, Point32 Health
Varies by provider
Individual, couples, child, teen, family
Video
Yes
Full Review
What to Know About Using Online Therapy with Insurance
- What will I have to pay out-of-pocket? If an online therapy company accepts your insurance, you will only ever be responsible for your copay.
- What is a copay? A copay is the fee that you are responsible for paying out-of-pocket. When an online therapy company is in-network with your insurance plan, the insurance plan pays most or all of your therapist’s full fee, leaving you to cover just a fraction of what you would pay out-of-pocket without insurance.
- Do I have to submit my bills to my insurance company? No—an online therapy company that is in-network with your insurance will do all the paperwork for you. All you have to provide is your insurance information.
- Do companies who accept insurance still provide quality services? Yes—when it comes to online therapy, you can expect companies who take insurance to provide services that are just as good as companies that don’t. Using an online therapy company that is in-network with your insurance plan means you have access to therapists with years of experience who, if they were in private practice, might not accept insurance at all.
How I Review Online Therapy Services
I’ve spent years testing and surveying real therapy users and reviewing their experiences to help rate and share the best online therapy services. You can see a full breakdown of our online therapy research and testing process on Verywell Mind. Here is an overview of how I capture and evaluate firsthand experience and survey data.
Evaluating Companies That Accept Insurance
I researched 55 online therapy companies and 27 online therapy directories, paying special attention to whether each company advertised whether it accepts insurance. If a company was in-network with any insurance plans, I investigated which plans and how many plans. I also looked to see if a user would be able to check if their insurance plan is accepted before having to sign up for services with the company.
Firsthand Experience
I had 65 different people sign up for talk therapy with all 55 online therapy companies reviewed. Over the past three years, I’ve published 153 reviews (here are our reviews for BetterHelp and Talkspace, for instance). I had my testers try out each company’s therapy services, and if the company offered other services (like couples therapy and kid or teen therapy) we tested those too.
I asked each tester to try each service for at least a month, which usually meant between two and six sessions at each company. I also asked testers to switch therapists partway through, if possible, in order to get a holistic idea of the offerings and quality of each company. My testers were located all across the United States and abroad, meaning I gained extensive information about each company’s services in a variety of areas.
User Surveys
I surveyed more than 8,000 therapy clients who are currently using one of the 55 online therapy companies tested or who had used one in the recent past, as well as users of 27 different online therapy directories. I collected 350 different data points in which I asked users to evaluate each company’s services, from their therapist’s qualifications to whether they found a therapist who met all their needs to how they’d rate the company overall.
Why Trust Verywell Mind
Hannah Owens is Verywell Mind’s Mental Health Editor. Hannah is a licensed social worker with a clinical background in community mental health. She’s worked at programs treating those with serious mental illness, providing both individual and group therapy. In her time at Verywell Mind, Hannah has designed and run years of online therapy testing, overseeing and editing reviews of the top online therapy companies out there and writing and editing roundups of the best online therapy services based on our extensive and thorough testing. Hannah brings her unique combination of both clinical and editorial expertise to her work for Verywell Mind.
- Licensed social worker since 2019
- Clinical background in community mental health
- Specializes in serious mental illness
- Believes in the mission of online therapy to make mental healthcare more accessible
