BetterHelp alternatives

Joel Dean, Founder of Joyful
Last updated October 29, 2026 · Facts checked October 29, 2026

In short: with insurance, Talkspace, Grow Therapy or Headspace's therapy service may cost a copay, sometimes $0. Without insurance, Open Path Collective lists sliding-scale sessions at $40 to $70, and community health centers charge by income. University training clinics and workplace EAPs offer free or low-cost counseling. In a crisis, call or text 988. A journaling app such as Joyful, which is ours, is not therapy; it can help between sessions.

Quick picks

Talkspace: you have insurance or Medicare.
Grow Therapy: you want an in-network therapist, online or nearby.
Headspace therapy: you meditate too.
Open Path Collective: no insurance, but some money each week.
Community health centers: money is tight.
University training clinics: you live near a program that trains therapists.
Employee assistance programs: your job offers one. It's free.
988: a crisis, any hour. It isn't ongoing therapy.
A journal between sessions: Joyful (ours) or paper. Also not therapy.

How we chose

How we checked

What we checked, on October 29, 2026: each service's own pricing, FAQ or insurance page, the 988 Lifeline site, HealthCare.gov, the US Office of Personnel Management's EAP page, and one published study of trainee-staffed clinics. What we did not do: we did not sign up for any service, get matched or attend a session, and we could not check wait times. We kept options a person in the US can use without a referral, and we left out services we could not price from their own pages. Joyful is ours, and it is listed last because it is not therapy.

The table

Option	Best for	Cost (as published)	Who you see	Takes insurance
Talkspace	Insurance or Medicare	Self-pay from $69 a week; "most insured members" pay $0	A therapist licensed in your state	Yes, plus Medicare
Grow Therapy	Finding an in-network therapist	Average $21 a session with insurance	Therapists, online or in person	Yes
Headspace therapy	Therapy plus meditation	With Aetna, typically $25 a session, up to $149	Licensed therapists, by video	Yes
Open Path Collective	No or poor insurance	$40 to $70 a session, plus a $65 one-time fee	Vetted therapists; interns at $30	No, it is for people without adequate coverage
Community health centers	A low income	Based on your income	Primary care, with referrals for mental health	Pay is based on income
University training clinics	Low-cost ongoing care	Low or free; varies by clinic	Supervised trainees	Varies
Employee assistance program	Short-term help through work	Free	Counselors, for assessment and short-term counseling	Not needed
988 Lifeline	A crisis, right now	Free	Trained crisis counselors	Not needed
Journal app or paper	Between sessions	Joyful: $13.99 a month after 10 free entries (ours); paper: a notebook	No one. It is not therapy	No

Talkspace

Best for:: Insurance or Medicare
Cost (as published):: Self-pay from $69 a week; "most insured members" pay $0
Who you see:: A therapist licensed in your state
Takes insurance:: Yes, plus Medicare

Grow Therapy

Best for:: Finding an in-network therapist
Cost (as published):: Average $21 a session with insurance
Who you see:: Therapists, online or in person
Takes insurance:: Yes

Headspace therapy

Best for:: Therapy plus meditation
Cost (as published):: With Aetna, typically $25 a session, up to $149
Who you see:: Licensed therapists, by video
Takes insurance:: Yes

Open Path Collective

Best for:: No or poor insurance
Cost (as published):: $40 to $70 a session, plus a $65 one-time fee
Who you see:: Vetted therapists; interns at $30
Takes insurance:: No, it is for people without adequate coverage

Community health centers

Best for:: A low income
Cost (as published):: Based on your income
Who you see:: Primary care, with referrals for mental health
Takes insurance:: Pay is based on income

University training clinics

Best for:: Low-cost ongoing care
Cost (as published):: Low or free; varies by clinic
Who you see:: Supervised trainees
Takes insurance:: Varies

Employee assistance program

Best for:: Short-term help through work
Cost (as published):: Free
Who you see:: Counselors, for assessment and short-term counseling
Takes insurance:: Not needed

988 Lifeline

Best for:: A crisis, right now
Cost (as published):: Free
Who you see:: Trained crisis counselors
Takes insurance:: Not needed

Journal app or paper

Best for:: Between sessions
Cost (as published):: Joyful: $13.99 a month after 10 free entries (ours); paper: a notebook
Who you see:: No one. It is not therapy
Takes insurance:: No

Every figure above is the one each service published on its own site on October 29, 2026; the links are under Sources. Your state and your plan can change the number.

Before you cancel BetterHelp

Look at its insurance page first.

BetterHelp now takes insurance with select plans in many states, and the average copays it lists run from $0 to $26, depending on which insurer you have.¹

If price is the reason you're leaving, its FAQ also mentions discounts for financial aid.² Medicaid, Medicare and TRICARE are the exception: its therapists don't accept them.¹ The two biggest apps get a full side-by-side on BetterHelp vs Talkspace.

If you have insurance

These three are where an insurance card does the most work. Start with whichever one lists your plan.

Talkspace

Talkspace is our pick if you're on Medicare, and it also sees teenagers aged 13 to 17. Its network covers many major plans as well as Medicare, and by its own count most insured members have a $0 copay.³ Psychiatry and medication management are on offer too.³

Paying yourself, it costs about what BetterHelp does: plans start at $69 a week.³ Messaging isn't live, either. Replies come "within a day or two, five days per week."³

Grow Therapy

Grow helps you find a licensed therapist who takes your insurance, online or near you, and it says sessions average $21 with insurance.⁴ That average is Grow's own figure. Your plan sets your actual cost.⁴

The homepage is built around insurance from top to bottom. We didn't find a self-pay price on it.

Headspace therapy

Headspace has a cost tool on its therapy page. Pick your state and insurer and it gives a price; we tried Aetna, and it came back with a typical $25 a session once the deductible is met, and as much as $149.⁵ Sessions are by video, with licensed therapists.⁵

It suits someone who wants therapy and meditation tools in one app. The page links to self-pay options but doesn't show a self-pay price.⁵

If you don't have insurance

Open Path Collective

Open Path is for people without health insurance, or with a plan that barely covers therapy, who can't afford full price. Individual sessions cost $40 to $70, couples and family sessions $40 to $80, and student interns may be available at $30.⁶ Open Path puts the usual market rate at $80 to $200 a session.⁶

There's a one-time $65 membership fee, paid before you start. No recurring fees from Open Path after that.⁶ Many of its therapists see people online, in person or both.⁶ It won't help you use insurance, since it exists for people in financial need without adequate coverage.⁶

Community health centers

If the budget is close to zero, start here. HealthCare.gov says that if you can't afford a health plan, a community health center offers low-cost care, and what you pay depends on your income.⁷

Ask about mental health before you go. HealthCare.gov describes it at these centers as referrals to specialized care.⁷ Some centers counsel on site and others refer you on, so call and ask which yours does. To search beyond the centers, SAMHSA's FindTreatment.gov is a confidential, anonymous search for mental health treatment near you.⁸

University training clinics

A university with a counseling, psychology or medical program may run a clinic where low-cost or free care is given by trainees early in their careers, working under supervision.⁹ It's a low-cost or free route to ongoing care, which is what a weekly BetterHelp plan was giving you.

What you give up is experience. You'll see someone still in training, and the same paper notes that little data exists on the outcomes of clinics like these.⁹

Free through work: employee assistance programs

Check this before you pay anyone. The US Office of Personnel Management describes an EAP as a voluntary, work-based program offering free, confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals and follow-up.¹⁰ Some employers cover Talkspace through an EAP, Talkspace says.³

It's short-term. It also exists only if your employer has one, and HR or your benefits site can tell you.

988 for a crisis

Use it right now if you're not safe or can't cope. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential and open 24/7 by call, text or chat, and text and chat are also available in Spanish.¹¹

It is crisis support. For ongoing therapy, pair it with one of the options above.

A journal between sessions

Joyful is ours, so weigh this entry with that in mind. Joy is the companion inside it: you talk out loud or type, and the guided CBT entries, such as the thought record, take one thought at a time. After 10 free entries it's $13.99 a month or $118.99 a year.¹² A paper notebook costs a few dollars and does the same basic job.

No therapist reads either one. For a diagnosis, medication or treatment you need a professional, and neither is for a crisis. I'd put a journal in the gap: the days between sessions, or the weeks on a waitlist.

What a journal can and can't carry

Homework is part of CBT, and a meta-analysis of 17 studies linked doing more of it between sessions with better results.¹³ A journal is one place to do it.

Privacy, and the FTC case

If the FTC case is why you're looking, here is what the agency said. The FTC charged that answers people gave on BetterHelp's health questionnaire went to Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo and Pinterest.¹⁴ The agency finalized an order in July 2023 that bans BetterHelp from sharing health data for advertising. BetterHelp paid $7.8 million.¹⁴

On the US App Store the day we checked, the privacy labels for Talkspace and Headspace listed no data used to track you.¹⁵^,¹⁶ We didn't review Grow Therapy's or Open Path's policies.

Whichever you pick, read its privacy policy before you answer a single intake question about your health.

Which one is best for you

You have insurance: Talkspace, Grow Therapy or Headspace therapy. Check BetterHelp's insurance page too.
You have Medicare: Talkspace lists it.³
No insurance, some money: Open Path Collective.
No insurance, little money: a community health center or a university training clinic.
You have a job with benefits: start with your EAP. It's free.
You're waiting for a first appointment: keep a journal of what's been hard, to bring with you.
You're not safe right now: call or text 988.

Journal prompt

If you could tell a therapist only three things in your first session, what would they be? Write them down now, so they're ready.

Answer this with Joy

Questions people ask

What is cheaper than BetterHelp?

Do the math over four weeks. BetterHelp's FAQ gives $50 to $90 a week, so about $200 to $360.² Four weekly Open Path sessions at $40 to $70 come to $160 to $280, plus the $65 fee once, in the first month only.⁶ With insurance, an in-network copay can come in lower still.

Is BetterHelp still worth it after the FTC case?

That part is yours to decide. An FTC order has barred it since 2023 from sharing health data for advertising.¹⁴ Its therapists are licensed, and it now takes some insurance.¹ If the case is what's bothering you, read its current privacy policy next to the App Store labels for the others.

Can an app replace therapy?

No. Joyful, which is ours, is a place to practice what a therapist sets and to keep track of the week; a professional is who you need for a diagnosis, medication or treatment, and 988 is who you call in a crisis.¹¹

Is Talkspace cheaper than BetterHelp?

Not by much, if you pay yourself: plans from $69 a week against BetterHelp's $50 to $90.³^,² The gap opens with Medicare, which Talkspace takes and BetterHelp's therapists don't, and with insurance, where Talkspace says most insured members pay $0.³^,¹