BetterHelp is worth it for some people: adults with mild to moderate anxiety, stress, grief or relationship pain who are paying cash, want to start this week, and are willing to switch therapists until one fits. It is not worth it if you are in crisis, need a controlled medication, have a serious diagnosis that needs close clinical care, or have insurance that covers an ordinary therapist for a small copay. If you are thinking about suicide or you are not safe right now, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the US, free and open 24/7.
It’s 11pm. The BetterHelp questionnaire is open in one tab, half filled in, and a review site is open in the other, and you have been reading complaints for twenty minutes instead of answering the question about how you have been sleeping. I’m Figs O’Sullivan, a licensed marriage and family therapist. I spent seventeen years as a couples therapist in San Francisco, and I built Figlet, a coaching tool that is not therapy, so keep my bias in mind. I have not used BetterHelp as a client. This is a therapist’s read, and it is what I tell people who ask me about it. Prices change, and I checked every figure below in November 2026, so confirm on the site before you pay. If what you need tonight is help moving forward rather than treatment, Figlet Life Coaching is free to start while you decide.
Is BetterHelp worth it, and who is it for?
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Talk it through with Figlet right now. Private, judgment free, built on 17 years of couples therapy.
BetterHelp solves the access problem. It gets you a licensed therapist quickly, by video, phone or messaging, without phoning around for weeks. It doesn’t change the therapy itself. You still get one human being with a particular level of skill, and that person will decide whether this works far more than the app will.
It suits you if you are paying out of pocket, live somewhere with few therapists, work hours that make an office impossible, or find it easier to type the hard thing before you can say it out loud. If you are weighing it against its nearest rival, I compared the two in BetterHelp vs Talkspace, so I won’t repeat that here.
How does BetterHelp work?
You sign up by answering a questionnaire about what brings you, your preferences (a man or a woman, faith based or not, a particular specialty) and your state. An algorithm matches you with a therapist, and you can browse others. Reviewers report that matching usually takes hours to a couple of days. You can then message your therapist any time and book one live session a week by video, phone or live chat.
If you are comparing it with its closest rival, I wrote a full Talkspace review that answers the same questions.
BetterHelp’s therapists must hold an active state license and a relevant master’s or doctoral degree, and a 2026 review by ChoosingTherapy reports that the company also requires at least three years and 1,000 hours of practice, and says it accepts about a quarter of applicants. Switching therapists is free and you can do it at any time from your account. Use that. You are allowed to be picky about who gets to see you.
How much does BetterHelp cost in 2026?
BetterHelp’s self-pay subscription runs about $70 to $100 a week, billed every four weeks, which works out to roughly $280 to $400 a cycle. Your price depends on where you live, your preferences and therapist availability. Financial aid is available if money is tight, and you can ask for it at signup or later. You can pay with an HSA or FSA card.
One thing to know before you start: this is a subscription. It renews automatically until you cancel, and cancelling stops the next charge, not the current one. If cost is what is stopping you, I mapped every genuinely free and low fee option in free online therapy.
Does BetterHelp take insurance?
Yes, now, for some people. For years BetterHelp was cash only. It now says it is in network with more than 125 commercial plans, and that eligible insured members pay an average copay of about $23 a session, before any deductible. Coverage depends on your state, your exact plan and which therapists are available to you. BetterHelp does not take Medicare, Medicaid or TRICARE, and it doesn’t issue superbills for out of network reimbursement.
Insurance needs a diagnosis, which stays in your medical record. If you have a card, run it through BetterHelp’s checker and call the number on the back before you commit. I explain how to check your plan in one phone call in online therapy that takes insurance.
Is BetterHelp legit, and is my data safe?
BetterHelp is a real company, owned by Teladoc Health since 2015, and its therapists are licensed. You should still know its history. In July 2023 the Federal Trade Commission finalized an order requiring BetterHelp to pay $7.8 million, after charging that it shared people’s email addresses, IP addresses and health questionnaire answers with Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo and Pinterest for advertising, after promising to keep that information private. The money went to partial refunds. The order bans BetterHelp from sharing health data for advertising and requires consent before it shares personal information with certain third parties. BetterHelp did not admit wrongdoing.
Read the privacy policy yourself before you fill in the questionnaire.
What do BetterHelp reviews and complaints say?
App store ratings are high and independent review sites are mixed, and the ratings disagree enough that I won’t quote a star score. The complaints that repeat across sources fall into three patterns.
Billing. People report being charged after they meant to cancel, or not realizing the subscription renews automatically. A proposed class action filed in 2024 alleges that BetterHelp did not clearly disclose its subscription terms and made cancelling hard. That is an allegation, not a finding.
Fit and quality. Users describe therapists who seemed distracted on video, slow or generic replies, and a quality that varies a lot from one therapist to the next.
Response times. In HelpGuide’s survey of BetterHelp users, about 43% of those who contacted customer support waited more than two days for an answer. Therapists usually reply to messages about once a day on the days they work, not instantly. Messaging is not built for emergencies.
What actually makes therapy work, on any platform?
The platform is a delivery system. What you are buying is a person. Over seventeen years, as someone who sought help and as someone who trains therapists, I’ve learned to be very careful about therapists who have it all worked out. If someone is sitting across from you like the expert on top of the hill, totally unwounded, totally sorted, I would be cautious. The best therapists I know are what I call wounded healers. They have been in the fire themselves, and they’ve done the work to integrate it, so they can hold your pain without making you responsible for theirs. I’ve heard stories of therapists falling asleep in sessions. Falling asleep.
Underneath every close relationship are two questions, and a therapist is a relationship. Are you there for me? Am I enough? Ask the first one of your new therapist, quietly, in your body. You should leave the first session feeling a little more met than when you walked in. Not agreed with. Met.
Then disagree out loud. If you sit there nodding along to everything, you’re probably not doing real work. You’re performing. A good therapist isn’t going to crumble because you pushed back; a good therapist gets curious about your pushback. Notice which kind of disagreement it is. One is “this doesn’t match what I know to be true about myself.” The other is “this is too close to the bone and I want to run.” Both deserve to be named. The worst thing you can do is disagree internally, say nothing, and walk out feeling unheard by the one person in the room whose job is to hear you.
And if, after that honest conversation, it still isn’t right, switch. Shopping around isn’t disloyalty. It’s self-knowledge. I’ve said it to clients for years: no couples therapy is better than bad couples therapy, and the same holds for individual work. If the cost is in the way, or you are tired of starting over, the other options are sorted by need in BetterHelp alternatives.
Who should not use BetterHelp?
Some things belong with licensed, local or specialized care first. If you are in crisis, an app where your therapist may not read your message for hours is the wrong door. If you might need medication, BetterHelp now offers a psychiatry add-on through UpLift, the provider group Teladoc bought in 2025, but it says it does not prescribe controlled substances; for those, and for anything complex, see a psychiatrist directly. If you live with bipolar disorder, psychosis, an eating disorder, severe depression or active addiction, you need a clinician who can see the whole picture and coordinate care. BetterHelp is for adults 18 and over; teens go to its sister site, Teen Counseling. If a court or employer has required therapy, ask them what provider and documentation they accept before you sign up anywhere.
If someone at home is hitting you, threatening you, blocking the door, controlling your money or your phone, or following you, that is not something to work on in an app. Get help today. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233. If you are thinking about suicide, call or text 988 tonight.
Can couples use BetterHelp?
Not on the main platform. BetterHelp sends couples to its sister site, ReGain, which uses licensed therapists, offers financial aid and doesn’t take insurance. Published prices for ReGain disagree right now, so check the quote inside the app before you pay. Whatever the logo, ask what training your therapist has in couples work. You can’t rebuild a marriage in a room that only hears one side of the dance. I compared the real options in online couples therapy, and if you both live in California you can see a licensed couples therapist at my practice through Empathi online couples therapy in California. If your partner won’t come at all, you can start Figlet relationship coaching on your own. It is coaching, not couples therapy.
How do I cancel BetterHelp?
Log in on the website or app, open your account settings, and choose the option to cancel your membership, then answer the confirmation questions. Cancelling stops your next renewal; it doesn’t refund the period you are in, and refunds are handled case by case through [email protected]. If you subscribed through Apple’s App Store, cancel in your Apple subscription settings instead.
What should I say in my first BetterHelp session?
Most people spend the first session telling the story of the other person: what he did, what my boss keeps doing. Say one sentence about the relationship you are starting instead, word for word: “If something you say doesn’t fit me, I’m going to say so, and I’d like you to get curious about it with me.” Then watch what happens in your chest when they answer. That moment tells you more than any review.
If someone you love keeps saying they’ll sign up
Don’t send them another review. “I can’t afford it” is often a softer way of saying “I’m too scared to walk into a room and be seen,” and “my problems aren’t bad enough” is exactly how shame hides. In 58,221 completed relationship assessments at Empathi, 33% of people named alone as their deepest feeling when love isn’t working. Sit next to them while they finish the questionnaire. Don’t read over their shoulder.
Where to go from here
If you want the whole field compared, start with my honest guide to the best online therapy. Pick what fits your wallet and your need, then judge the person, not the logo. If what you need tonight is help moving forward rather than treatment, I built Figlet for exactly that. It’s a coaching tool, not therapy. You tell it what happened, it shows you the pattern you’re caught in, and it gives you one line to say. Start Figlet Life Coaching free tonight.
Frequently asked questions
Is BetterHelp worth it?
For adults with mild to moderate struggles who pay cash and want to start fast, often yes, if you switch therapists until one fits. It is the wrong choice for a crisis, controlled medications or serious diagnoses.
Is BetterHelp legit?
Yes. Its therapists are licensed and it is owned by Teladoc Health. In 2023 it agreed to pay $7.8 million under an FTC order over sharing health data for advertising, and it is now barred from doing that. It did not admit wrongdoing.
How much does BetterHelp cost?
About $70 to $100 a week self-pay, billed every four weeks, as of November 2026. Financial aid is available for some people, and HSA and FSA cards are accepted.
Does BetterHelp take insurance?
Some plans, yes. It says it is in network with more than 125 commercial plans, with an average copay of about $23 a session for eligible members. It does not take Medicare, Medicaid or TRICARE.
What are the most common BetterHelp complaints?
Billing and auto-renewal, uneven therapist quality and fit, and slow replies from support. A proposed class action alleges cancelling was made hard; that is an allegation, not a finding.
Does BetterHelp do couples therapy?
Couples are sent to its sister site, ReGain, which doesn’t take insurance. Ask about the therapist’s couples training before you start.
How do I cancel BetterHelp?
Go to your account settings on the website or app and choose to cancel your membership. It stops the next charge, not the current period. If you paid through the App Store, cancel through Apple.
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Figs O'Sullivan
Founder · EFT couples therapist
“What I would tell you at 10pm, if I could.”
