BetterHelp Review: Cost, Insurance, and Platform Quality

BetterHelp legitimacy and licensing

Yes. BetterHelp is owned by Teladoc Health, a public telehealth company, and reported $950.4 million in revenue in 2025. Therapists on the platform must be licensed in the U.S. as psychologists, marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers or professional counselors. They are independent providers, not BetterHelp employees, and BetterHelp’s terms say the company itself isn’t a healthcare provider.

The BBB rates BetterHelp A+ with 336 complaints in three years. Trustpilot shows 3.8 out of 5 from 9,724 reviews, and the app averages 4.8 out of 5 from about 150,000 App Store ratings.

The main mark against it is privacy. In 2023 the FTC finalized an order saying BetterHelp shared email addresses, IP addresses and health questionnaire answers with Facebook, Snapchat and others for advertising after promising to keep them private. BetterHelp paid $7.8 million, returned to customers from 2017 to 2020, and is now barred from sharing health data for ads.

How much BetterHelp costs

Without insurance, BetterHelp lists $70 to $100 a week. The exact price depends on where you live, your preferences and therapist availability, and you only see it after the intake questionnaire. Billing can be weekly, every 4 weeks or quarterly, and it renews automatically. A subscription includes one live session a week, 30 to 45 minutes, plus messaging.

With insurance, BetterHelp says eligible members pay a $23 average copay per therapy session and a $26 average copay for psychiatry. Insurance is billed per session, not by subscription, and if a claim is denied you owe the full cost. Call the number on your insurance card to confirm your telehealth mental health copay and deductible before you start.

Watch the extras: sessions you don’t use in a billing cycle don’t roll over, and a late cancellation or missed session can cost $15.

Insurance and psychiatry: what changed

Older reviews say BetterHelp doesn’t take insurance and doesn’t prescribe. Both have changed. BetterHelp now says it’s in network with 125+ insurance plans from carriers including Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Optum and UnitedHealthcare, depending on your state and plan. It still doesn’t accept Medicare, Medicaid or TRICARE, and insured members get video sessions rather than phone, chat or messaging-only plans.

BetterHelp also offers psychiatry through UpLift, a provider group it partners with. Psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners can evaluate adults 18 and over and manage medications such as sertraline, bupropion or buspirone. They don’t prescribe controlled substances, so ADHD stimulants and benzodiazepines aren’t available. BetterHelp says the average wait for a first psychiatric visit was 2.6 days, based on its own data from December 2025 to February 2026.

BetterHelp complaints and how to avoid problems

The recurring complaints on the BBB and Trustpilot are charges after canceling or at renewal, insured members who saw a low estimate and later got a bill when the claim processed, therapists who leave the platform or reply slowly, and the price shown after the questionnaire being higher than expected.

To avoid them: note your billing date and cancel at least a day before it, keep the cancellation confirmation, check your card statement the next month, and confirm coverage with your insurer before your first insured session. If a therapist isn’t a good fit, switch early rather than paying for weeks of sessions you don’t use.

How to cancel BetterHelp and get a refund

BetterHelp’s terms let you cancel your subscription at any time, but you must cancel before it renews to avoid the next charge. Cancel from your BetterHelp account. Payments already made generally aren’t refunded, apart from legal cooling-off rights in some countries. If you were charged after canceling, contact support with your confirmation, then dispute it with your card issuer if needed.

Privacy, arbitration and your rights

Since the 2023 FTC order, BetterHelp must get your consent before sharing personal data with certain third parties and must run a privacy program. Therapists are bound by their own licensing rules on confidentiality. Read the current privacy policy before you start, and limit what you share in the intake form if you’re concerned.

BetterHelp’s terms require individual binding arbitration through the American Arbitration Association and waive class actions, with exceptions such as small claims court. Complaints about a therapist’s conduct can go to the state licensing board that issued their license.

BetterHelp isn’t for emergencies. If you are thinking about suicide or are in danger, call or text 988 or call 911.

Who should look elsewhere

Look elsewhere if you have Medicare, Medicaid or TRICARE (Talkspace takes Medicare and TRICARE; Brightside takes some Medicare and Medicaid plans), if you need a controlled medication, if you need documentation for court or an employer, or if you have a serious condition that needs in-person or intensive care. Teens use BetterHelp’s sister site Teen Counseling, and couples use Regain.