Comparing Talkspace and BetterHelp in 2025: Key Differences Explained

About Talkspace and BetterHelp

BetterHelp and Talkspace are among the best online therapy platforms that offer mental health support through their websites and mobile apps. They work in the same way as telehealth or telemedicine.

Our methodology and testers

We researched and wrote this review of two well-known online therapy platforms by reviewing each platform’s website, independent reviews by patients and therapists, and peer-reviewed research studies that looked at online therapy platforms and methods around the world. Both BetterHelp and Talkspace passed our rigorous vetting process.

Most importantly, we had a few Healthline staff test the platforms for themselves. Parisa Syed and Laramy Applekamp tested BetterHelp for more than a month. Christy Snyder tested Talkspace for more than a week. We use these testers’ quotes and experience throughout this article as we compare Talkspace and BetterHelp.

Comparing prices: Talkspace vs. BetterHelp

One of the benefits of online therapy is that is typically costs less than in-person therapy. With that in mind, here’s a cost comparison.

Cost was one of the issues Snyder had with Talkspace.

“$69 a week to message a therapist isn’t a lot, but the cost can be up to $165 a week if not more,” she said. “In using traditional/in-person mental health services with my insurance, I have paid anywhere from $50 to $185 per therapy session.”

This cost may be worthwhile if you would like the added benefits like being able to send your therapist unlimited messages. But if you would prefer a once-a-week live session only, you might be able to find a cheaper option.

Talkspace may also offer an out-of-pocket cost share for psychiatry services if you have access to Talkspace through a health plan provider. Check with your health insurance plan for more information.

The sign-up process

BetterHelp and Talkspace have similar enrollment processes, but they differ slightly in how they match you with a therapist.

For both platforms, an initial questionnaire asks about you and your life, goals, and preferences. Both services create a secure virtual therapy room. This is where you can leave messages, upload documents and video and audio files, and otherwise interact with your therapist.

Both Talkspace and BetterHelp offer services with qualified and licensed therapists and counselors who may specialize in one or more areas, such as teen or couples counseling.

According to both brands, you can change therapists or stop therapy at any time.

BetterHelp

Syed shared that signing up for BetterHelp was a simple process.

“Filling out the forms and choosing what type of therapist you were looking for was a bit tedious, but it worked out for me,” she said.

Applekamp found the process straightforward. It took her about 20 minutes to complete the survey.

“I messed up one question,” she said, “and when I navigated back to change it, the interface instead took me to the beginning of the quiz, and I had to restart.”

Both Applekamp and Syed were matched almost immediately after submitting their questionnaires.

“They sent me a message 2 hours after I submitted my request, and I was matched,” Syed said. “I could either choose a different therapist or schedule an appointment with the one they matched me with.”

Talkspace

Talkspace’s intake is processed by a matching agent, who is a licensed therapist. However, scripted responses are part of the interaction from time to time.

Snyder noted that the Talkspace sign-up process was quick and easy.

“I felt that the survey asked the right questions about my mental health history and current status without getting long-winded or superfluous,” she said. “The therapist I was matched with was in touch pretty quickly.”

Talkspace allows you to see a typical therapy journey up front so that, before you start, you’ll have an idea of the milestones, checkpoints, progress reports, and opportunities to adjust your growth plan.

Additionally, Talkspace offers psychiatry services, including medical care and prescription medication management from licensed psychiatrists and licensed therapists trained in treating sleep disorders such as insomnia.

Types of services offered

A note on privacy

In-person licensed therapists and psychiatrists must protect patient privacy and follow a code of conduct regulated by governing boards such as the American Psychological Association and state licensing boards. Online therapists follow the same rules and regulations. Check your state’s laws for more detailed information.

If you have personal information about your appointments on your mobile device (such as a phone or laptop), that information may be accessible to others if someone else has access to your device or if you lose your phone or computer. Be sure to keep your personal devices safe and never share your password with anyone you don’t trust.

During your therapy sessions, try to be in as quiet and private of a place as you can.

Talkspace

Talkspace offers a wider range of services, including:

• individual therapy for adults
• couples therapy
• therapy for children ages 13 years and older
• teen therapy
• sleep therapy
• psychiatry, including medication management and diagnostic evaluations

Talkspace allows you to choose from three therapist matches, and you can switch therapists if you choose to. The platform allows you to reach your therapist at any time through:

• text
• audio messages
• pictures
• video messages

And you receive a guaranteed response during weekly business hours.

BetterHelp

BetterHelp offers similar services but does not provide therapy for children (BetterHelp’s sister site, Teen Counseling, offers therapy for teens 13 to 19 years old). With BetterHelp, you can access individual therapy for adults and family therapy.

BetterHelp allows you to connect to your therapist any time during business hours via messaging. BetterHelp does not allow you to choose your therapist, but it does provide more communication options. You can switch between the following communication options as needed:

• messaging
• live chatting
• phone calls
• video conferencing

Comparing the platforms’ features

Both platforms offer blog content that addresses various mental health, wellness, and personal growth topics. Many of the resources are available to the public.

Talkspace’s special features

• The sign-up platform offers multiple short videos that help explain each step of the process.
• An online symptom tracker allows you to document your clinical progress.
• Talkspace offers an interface with Happify, a science-based positive psychology app.
• Through Talkspace’s EAPs, you can find resources for financial wellness, legal advice, and work-life planning.
• Talkspace has also announced a psychiatry service for people who need mental health care and prescription management. Staffed by psychiatrists and nurse practitioners, Talkspace Psychiatry offers an initial evaluation at $299, with follow-up visits for $175 per session.

However, Talkspace Psychiatry professionals cannot prescribe controlled substances such as Adderall and lorazepam.

BetterHelp’s special features

• You have weekly access to more than 20 interactive live group sessions moderated by therapists.
• BetterHelp offers you the chance to talk with your therapist on the phone, while Talkspace does not offer phone contact, citing security and HIPAA (patient privacy) protocols. (BetterHelp states that all messages exchanged between you and your therapist are confidential. It also uses a 256-bit encryption system to keep your information private.)
• BetterHelp operates a sister site, TeenCounseling.com, that allows parents to participate in choosing a therapist for their child. Counseling is confidential, and only your child has access to the therapy room, but your child’s therapist will send you an alert if it’s time for an intervention.
• BetterHelp has both an app and a desktop site. Applekamp used the desktop site and found it easy to navigate. Syed said she preferred the app: “The app itself is pretty straightforward. I like how it has a journaling tab with prompts. It’s also cool how your therapist can provide worksheets for you after a session.”
• Syed also said it’s easy to schedule appointments with your therapist through the app, as it has a user-friendly scheduling tool and calendar.

A note on therapists’ care

It’s important to remember that therapists are people, too, and their environment can affect their work with patients. This means employment conditions such as workload, pay, and other factors may affect the quality of care you receive as a patient, whether you see a therapist in person or online.

According to some online sources, including employee and patient reviews, Talkspace therapists may have larger caseloads, meaning that they care for more patients at one time. BetterHelp therapists may receive higher pay, and reviews indicate that therapists have greater satisfaction when working with BetterHelp.

Despite this, Syed noticed that her BetterHelp therapist seemed rushed.

“My therapist is great but definitely was not 100% present,” she said. “She seemed distracted, though she chimed in and said insightful things when it felt right.”

Snyder’s Talkspace therapist was helpful overall, but she sent a lot of automated or copied-and-pasted messages about her availability and other issues.

“Those messages were frequent and made me feel a little bit like a number rather than her patient,” Snyder said. “But I understand if you are serving a large client/patient base that you may have to communicate in a way that is less personal.”

However, individual cases may vary, and the quality of a therapist’s care should not be generalized by which company they work for.

Major differences between Talkspace and BetterHelp

Both therapy platforms offer some notable benefits:

• lower cost than in-person therapy
• convenient access to licensed, experienced mental health professionals

Below are the major differences between the two services.

Pros and cons: Talkspace vs. BetterHelp

Customer reviews and brand reputation

BetterHelp

BetterHelp has a stellar online reputation, with an A- rating at the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and an average rating of 4.03 out of 5 stars with more than 570 reviews. Most reviews compliment the platform and the mental health professionals, but some BetterHelp users complain about being charged even when their therapists are unavailable for sessions.

According to Applekamp and Syed, BetterHelp was an overall positive experience. Applekamp noted that she would continue to use BetterHelp after her testing period.

“I appreciated the questionnaire that went into matching me with a therapist (trying to research an in-person therapist felt very overwhelming, so I appreciated the guesswork being taken out of it),” she said.

Syed enjoyed her therapist and the help she received and recommends this platform for anyone who is new to therapy or wants to try online therapy.

Talkspace

Talkspace has a B rating at the BBB, but the reviews are pretty dismal. There are just over 100 reviews from Talkspace users, with a 1.1-star rating. Most of the complaints mention customer service issues and problems with the website.

Other Talkspace reviewers complain about the app and say that the Talkspace website tends to be buggy, which makes it harder to actually attend your sessions.

Overall, Snyder liked the flexibility Talkspace offers but said, “I think because I am so used to a more traditional model, some of the features were not to my liking — but could certainly work for others.”

She would recommend the service to others because there are “multiple options for communicating with your therapist, all of which work for different lifestyles or personality types.”

Talkspace vs. BetterHelp vs. competition

Frequently asked questions about Talkspace and BetterHelp