Best Online Therapy

Talkspace was our clear overall winner due to the wide range of services offered, including therapy for teens, adults, and families. Additionally, therapy is available via both live video sessions and text-based exchanges to better fit the communication style and schedules of multiple family members.

Our testers especially liked the variety of therapists at Talkspace and felt they were able to find someone they identified with in terms of background and culture. The search filters made it easy to filter for insurance, location, and other qualifiers to find the best therapy fit for their needs and budget. Sign-up was easy, with plenty of information upfront about what to expect and the therapists and types of therapy offered. 

Younger clients and busy parents appreciate the variety of communication methods at Talkspace. And beyond individual therapy for adults and teens, Talkspace offers psychiatry, medication management, and couples therapy. There’s an assessment prior to signing up to help you figure out the level of support you or your family needs. 

Talkspace has several different plans to choose from. Note: These are starting prices.

• Messaging therapy: $69 per week; message your therapist anytime (you're guaranteed a response on weekdays)
• Video + messaging therapy: $99 per week; includes a scheduled video session and messaging
• Video + messaging + workshops: $109 per week; includes messaging, a live video session, and workshops
• Psychiatry: $249 for an initial evaluation, $125 per session for follow-ups; additional bundling with other services available
• Couples: $396 per month and up, depending on location

Talkspace seems to get many things right in terms of making its clients happy. Overall, 50% of the users we surveyed said they would stick with their therapist after 6 months to a year of use. What’s more, 75% would use Talkspace again if they needed to seek therapy again; a whopping 97% of people who tried it said the company was better than other services they’ve tried.

ReGain provides relationship-focused therapy to couples and individuals, making it a great choice for parents who want to focus on their core relationship as well as issues relating to parenting. Therapy is offered via video, phone and chat-based interaction. In between sessions, clients can message their therapist directly and receive a response within 24 hours Monday through Friday.

The therapists at ReGain have master’s or doctorate degrees in therapy and specialize in helping people with relationships. This often comes in the form of couples counseling, but can also be for other types of relationships between adults. ReGain advises people who are in crisis or experiencing abuse in their relationship not to seek this kind of therapy. 

ReGain's plans cost between $60 and $90 a week, depending on location and therapist availability. ReGain bills monthly via credit card or PayPal and users can cancel at any time. 

Nearly half of surveyed users said they wanted to stick with their ReGain therapist after six months. In all, 84% ranked the company positively compared to other services they’ve used in the past. Additionally, 87% of users found sign-up easy or very easy, and 80% said it was a good value for their money.

Little Otter is one of the only online therapy options that serves young children 14 and under. The company focuses on families, with services available for children, parents, guardians, grandparents, and anyone else important in a child's life. Little Otter strives to look at the whole family as a way to help each member thrive. Even if you are located outside of a state Little Otter serves, the website offers a wealth of information, including a blog on raising children and the mental health concerns many parents face. It is worth noting, however, that the company does not offer treatment for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). 

Because it’s a newer provider, Little Otter is not available in all states, nor does it have a huge roster of providers. The company does not accept insurance (except some Kaiser Permanente plans), but does offer a free 30-minute consultation. However, clients we surveyed were happy with the care. Users especially appreciated the responsiveness of the therapists. 

After an initial $90 intro session, you'll pay:

• $200 per standard 45-minute therapy session, or $400 for a 90-minute session
• $540 for an assessment bundle, which is an assessment plus one therapy session
• $2.040 for 12 standard therapy sessions ($30 off per session)

Overall, 75% of surveyed users rated their experience at Little Otter good, very good, or excellent. If users stopped therapy, more than half of them did so because they were feeling better and didn’t feel the need to continue seeing their therapist or they met their specific therapeutic goals. What’s more, 70% of users were generally positive about the diversity in the providers and rated Little Otter among the top services they’d tried. More than half of survey respondents said they would recommend this service to a friend.

Thriveworks offers options for both online and in-person therapy, along with psychiatry and medication management. Online therapy options include video and telephone counseling for adults, couples, families, children (ages 10 and up), and teens, as well as group therapy. Providers can treat a variety of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, ADHD, PTSD, and more. 

Between sessions, Thriveworks members can communicate with providers via email, phone, and the app. Some, but not all, providers accept Medicaid and there’s a 23.5 hour cancellation policy for appointments. While there is a monthly subscription fee, the company does accept most major and minor health insurance carriers. For those without insurance, there is a flat $99 fee per session.

Thriveworks also offers medication management.

Per session, price varies depending on your insurance coverage. For those without insurance, there is a flat $99 fee.

Overall, 82% of users we surveyed were satisfied or very satisfied with Thriveworks’ choice of therapists, and 88% rated the therapists’ qualifications as good to excellent. In addition, 70% of respondents said they would use Thriveworks again if they needed to search for a new provider, and 86% said Thriveworks compared favorably to services they had used in the past. 

Mantra Health is committed to providing diverse therapists for college and university students. The service was the first of its kind to work with existing on-campus centers to create a digital space for students to receive online therapy. Even though Mantra focuses on providing care to students at universities across the country, its psychiatry and therapy services are currently available to the general public in Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York.

The company offers assessments, diagnoses, and therapy. From there, the focus is on lifestyle changes and progress tracking to help students succeed in class and out. The company offers 24/7 messaging—which suits college students who tend to keep unconventional hours—and video appointments, which can be done from the privacy of a dorm room. 

While Mantra Health doctors and nurse practitioners can prescribe medication, they cannot prescribe controlled substances such as Adderall and Ritalin, which are often used for ADHD, or benzodiazepines, such as Xanax or Klonopin, which are often used for panic attacks and anxiety. Although some college students may be inclined to misuse these drugs, they can be beneficial and necessary for students with serious mental health conditions; these patients will need to have their medications managed elsewhere. 

Prices vary based on insurance coverage. Without insurance, an initial 60-minute therapy session is $125, and subsequent 45-minute appointments cost $90. For psychiatry, an initial 60-minute appointment is $180; follow-ups last 30 minutes, for $125.

In our survey, 90% of users reported they were satisfied with their experience at Mantra. While almost half of the patients were still seeing their provider after a year, most users who discontinued therapy did so because they no longer needed therapy or felt they reached their therapeutic goals. In addition, 86% rated the therapists' qualifications positively, 81% rated the therapists' diversity positively, and 70% of people said they would recommend Mantra Health to a friend. 

Zencare is a therapist database, not a therapy company, but it is more curated than other directories in that it is on a mission to provide quality care to patients from diverse communities. The types of therapy vary by therapist, but Zencare provides filters so you can search for individual therapy in various modalities, couples counseling, treatment centers, group therapy, psychiatry, family therapy, and medication management, among other specialties. 

You can choose your provider based on the usual filters such as insurance and location, but also by race, ethnicity, religion, and gender identity. The Zencare team vets each clinician to make sure they are qualified for their target patients. The clinicians also have to submit quizzes and reviews from clients to maintain their listing in the system. 

Because of the wide range of therapists listed, there is no centralized pricing information; fees vary by provider. Unlike some competitors, Zencare does not charge a membership fee. 

Zencare scored highly among patients seeking inclusive care and performed particularly well among people who wanted help with parenting-related mental health concerns. Overall, 90% of users rated the service good or very good. In addition, 84% said they would use Zencare again if they needed a new therapist, while 72% are still using their Zencare therapist. 

TherapyDen is an online therapy directory that lists independent therapists nationwide who provide individual, couples, family, or group therapy, including services for children and teens. TherapyDen also lists practitioners who can provide diagnoses and medication management. Like most directories, to find a therapist using TherapyDen, you can set the search parameters to reflect your insurance provider, the type of service you are looking for, and your location. What makes TherapyDen stand out is that you can also choose from many other filters, including a long list of specialties and identities, to help you find the best fit for you.

Best of all, you can also specify if you’d like your therapist to be part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and choose from a menu of gender identities that include gender fluid and trans/nonbinary. In addition, you can choose from a long list of religious faiths you’d like your provider to be familiar with.  

While the company’s mission statement is inclusive and on the right track, it does boast that therapists can join and create profiles for free. This is good for therapists, but could muddy the waters for clients who want a more curated list. 

The TherapyDen directory is free to use. Therapist prices vary by location and insurance coverage. Search filters show a range of $0 to $500 per session.

In our survey, 80% of respondents rated TherapyDen as good or very good for helping them find a therapist. In addition, 75% of users said the website was easy to use, and that they would use the service again to find a new provider, if needed. More than half of our reviewers are still using the therapist they found using TherapyDen and found the choices to be diverse. 

Talkiatry specializes in psychiatry and provides assessment, diagnosis, and treatment plans, which can often include medication management and supplemental therapy. Communication is easy on Talkiatry's app, which is where you'll access your live appointments, as well as messaging between appointments, scheduling, and medication information.

Some practitioners are licensed to treat children as young as 5 years old. All practitioners are board-certified, or eligible, and are either psychiatrists or psychiatric nurse practitioners. They coordinate with therapists and other members of your care team. 

Because insurance is accepted, pricing varies based on your plan. Medicare is accepted.

Users were overwhelmingly satisfied with Talkiatry: 95% rated their experience good, very good, or excellent. Nearly 60% are still using their therapist a year after beginning treatment. What’s more, 87% of users said they would recommend Talkitary to a friend, with 84% saying it’s better than services they’ve used in the past, and 70% saying they would use Talkiatry again if they needed to find a new psychiatrist.  

Teladoc has one of the highest ratings of the online therapy choices we surveyed, and is a good choice no matter your budget. However, the service particularly excels with patients who want to use self-pay or who do not have insurance. Teladoc’s therapists and counselors provide a wide range of therapies, with different methodologies including individual behavior therapy and couples counseling. Psychiatrists are available to diagnose and treat conditions requiring medication, though they cannot prescribe controlled substances such as Adderall or Xanax, which may limit some patients’ needs. 

Teladoc is one of the older and bigger companies out there, which means it has already overcome some of the problems plaguing other digital healthcare companies. This is both a pro and con: it means you can use the service for all your telehealth needs, but it also makes the website more difficult to navigate than other companies that only offer counseling and therapy. Once they found a therapist, though, users were very happy and felt they received high-quality care.

Teladoc takes many insurance plans, but without insurance, therapy sessions are $99 each. For psychiatry services, an initial consultation is $299 and follow-ups are $119. There is no membership or subscription fee.

Overall, 97% of users rated Teladoc positively, our highest rating. What’s more, 94% thought the therapists were highly qualified and 90% felt generally positive about the diversity of the therapists. Finally, 86% of surveyed users said they would recommend Teladoc to a friend. 

Insurance companies often point patients looking for a therapist to the Psychology Today directory, because it’s most likely to have current data on whether providers are accepting new clients and which insurance plans they take. That means busy families won’t feel like they’re wasting their time looking for a therapist who’s a perfect fit, only to find them unavailable.

You start by choosing whether you want to find a therapist, psychiatrist, treatment center, or support group. From there, you can filter by specific issues and types of therapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), or play therapy. Most therapists offer online therapy, but one drawback of the site is that it doesn’t have a filter to specify this. So you might find someone you like, and then discover they only schedule in-person appointments. 

This database is free to use and you can search for therapists who offer sessions anywhere from under $90 to above $130, as well as clinicians who use a sliding fee scale. 

Psychology Today’s directory gets a high overall user satisfaction rating of 85%. In addition, 88% of users found the website easy or very easy to navigate, and 68% of people found a therapist that met all their needs without needing to compromise.