Teladoc Health is an online telehealth platform that provides mental health support for various issues, such as anxiety and depression. Teladoc acquired BetterHelp in 2015 and currently has more than 12,000 clients. It provided over 18.5 million medical visits in 2022, aiming to make telehealth services more available and convenient than in-person services.
But how does this online platform compare to other popular ones? What are its features and services, and are you missing out on achieving your mental health outcomes by choosing it over Teladoc Health’s competitors?
Read on to learn about Teladoc and its best alternatives. We’ll give you a rundown of the largest companies making a difference in the online mental healthcare.
| Online therapy | Cost/Pricing | Services | Insurance | Special Features |
| Teladoc | $99 per therapy session and $299 for psychiatry | Online sessions with licensed therapists can help with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship problems, grief, and more. | Accepts some insurance plans and offers discounts for some employers and organizations | Offers a wide range of services and solutions for different health needs |
| Regain | $60 to $90 per week for unlimited messaging and live sessions | Online couples counseling and relationship therapy | Does not accept insurance | Focuses on improving relationships and communication skills |
| Brightside | $45 to $63 per week, depending on the plan | Online therapy and medication management for depression and anxiety | Accepts some insurance plans and offers financial assistance for eligible customers | Uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and provides personalized treatment plans |
| Amwell | $99 per 45-minute session for therapy; $269 for initial psychiatry visit; $99 for follow-up psychiatry visit | Online therapy and psychiatry services | Accepts some insurance plans and offers discounts for some employers and organizations | Allows you to hide your face on your own screen during video sessions |
| Talkspace | $69 to $109 per week for monthly plans; $65 for each additional live session | Online therapy for individuals, couples, and teens; psychiatry services; medication management | Accepts some insurance plans and offers discounts for some employers and organizations | Offers a variety of specialized therapists and a free therapist matching service |
| Calmerry | $45 to $63 per week depending on the plan | Online therapy for individuals | Does not accept insurance | Offers low-cost plans and flexible scheduling |
Teladoc competitors: A detailed comparison
Let’s explore how Teladoc compares to leading online mental health platforms regarding treatments offered, pricing, privacy, and special features.
Mental health services and treatments offered
Teladoc offers mental health support for the following conditions: Anxiety, Depression, Stress, Relationship conflicts, Negative thoughts, Sleep issues, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Trauma, Mood swings, Medication management (psychiatry)
After signing up for the platform, you can talk to a licensed psychologist, therapist, or psychiatrist from the Teladoc website or app, available seven days a week.
Let’s see what Teladoc’s competitors have to offer in terms of their services.
ReGain: Managed by BetterHelp, this platform offers relationship therapy for individuals or couples, helping them to improve their relationship or marriage. It provides unlimited messaging with one’s therapist but not counseling or therapy for other issues. In this category, Teladoc has a significant advantage.
Talkspace: This online platform offers therapy and psychiatric support for various conditions, such as depression, anxiety, LGBTQIA issues, eating disorders, relationship conflict, stress, significant life changes, grief, PTSD, trauma, bipolar disorder, and family conflict. It provides group workshops that Teladoc doesn’t.
Brightside: Focusing mainly on anxiety and depression support, Brightside treats mental health issues and conditions such as PTSD, phobias, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, panic, and major depressive disorder. Unlike Teladoc, it doesn’t provide a wider range of services.
MDLive: Licensed therapists and psychiatrists provide comprehensive treatment for anxiety, bipolar, depression, grief, LGBTQ+ support, OCD, life changes, panic, phobias, stress, trauma, PTSD, and relationships. This telemedicine space also offers aging and caregiver support, which isn’t commonly provided by health platforms.
LiveHealth Online: This platform provides psychological services for stress, anxiety, life changes, relationship problems, grief, depression, illness, and panic disorders. Psychiatry services include help with anxiety and stress, depression, OCD, bipolar, panic attacks, PTSD, and medication concerns.
Amwell: Considered Teladoc’s biggest competitor, this health brand treats various conditions. Its mental health offerings include therapy for panic, and depression, and couples counseling. Psychiatric services are available for anxiety, depression, bipolar, and eating disorders.
Doctor on Demand: By offering therapy and psychiatry services, Doctor on Demand is a telehealth company that treats conditions such as anxiety, depression (including postpartum depression), PTSD, stress, grief, and loss.
Hers: This online platform varies from Teladoc because it’s tailored to women. Its telehealth offerings provide therapy and medication management for women who experience anxiety and depression. It also provides help for issues such as burnout and sleep disorders.
Pride Counseling: This online mental health platform provides support to members of the LGBTQ community. Its therapists are experienced and trained to provide therapy for stress, parenting, anxiety, relationships, depression, eating disorders, sleep problems, anger, grief, self-esteem, trauma, and more.
Teen Counseling: Tailoring its mental health systems and behavioral health services to teens and their parents, Teen Counseling has 13,000 licensed therapists who can treat conditions such as anxiety, depression, bullying, trauma, and relationship issues. Teen Counseling is a sister site to BetterHelp.
Calmerry: This platform offers virtual care from a clinical therapist, clinical social worker, or licensed marriage and family therapist, which includes help for anger, stress, anxiety, panic, emotional abuse, trauma, grief, OCD, and self-esteem issues. It also provides therapy services such as hypnotherapy and art therapy.
Cost
Teladoc Health costs $99 per therapy session and $299 for psychiatry. However, it accepts many insurance providers. How does this compare with other mental health providers?
ReGain: A subscription is required to access virtual care from ReGain, which costs $60-$90 per week. This includes 30-minute live chat sessions with your licensed therapist. Currently, ReGain doesn’t offer insurance.
Talkspace: You can expect to pay between $276 and $436 monthly for Talkspace. An online psychiatry consultation costs $249, with follow-up visits being $125. Talkspace accepts many insurance providers.
Brightside: Brightside has three payment plans. A medication plan costs $95 monthly, while a therapy-only plan costs $299. A combined medication and therapy plan costs $349 per month. The platform accepts the following in-network insurance providers: Cigna, Aetna, Optum/United Healthcare, Anthem CA, and Allegiance.
MDLive: This platform charges $108 per psychotherapy visit and $284 for the first psychiatric consultation, which can decrease to $108 for subsequent visits. Insurance is accepted.
LiveHealth Online: You’ll pay $80 for a visit with a therapist, $95 for a visit with a psychologist, $175 for your first consultation for psychiatry, and $75 for follow-up visits. LiveHealth Online accepts insurance to help you pay for its virtual care.
Amwell: You don’t pay for a subscription with Amwell. Therapy sessions cost $109 if the practitioner has a master’s degree and $129 if the practitioner has a doctoral degree. The company offers coverage for video visits, but you might have to pay a health insurance copay.
Doctor on Demand: No subscription is required to access Doctor on Demand, and insurance is covered. A therapy session costs $179 for 50 minutes, while a 25-minute session costs $129. An initial psychiatry session costs $299, and $129 for a follow-up appointment.
Hers: This online therapy platform’s monthly medication plan costs $85. Online therapy sessions cost $99. No insurance is accepted, so you’ll have to pay for all consultations, follow-up visits, and prescriptions out of pocket.
Pride Counseling: This company’s services costs between $60 and $90 per week, depending on your location. It doesn’t work with insurance providers.
Teen Counseling: You’ll have to pay between $60 and $90 per week, but your insurance might cover it, so it’s worth checking with your provider.
Calmerry: Depending on your plan, you’ll pay between $228 and $360 monthly. The ‘unlimited messaging’ plan costs $228 per month, the ‘unlimited messaging plus one video session’ plan costs $298, and the ‘unlimited messaging plus four video sessions’ plan costs $360 per month. Insurance isn’t accepted.
Privacy features
Teladoc Health has licensed therapists and psychiatrists on board. The platform is HIPAA-compliant, keeping your private health information secure. Its databases are encrypted.
ReGain: Although its privacy policy is available on its website, in which ReGain confirms that all communication with therapists is encrypted, the platform doesn’t specify if it’s HIPAA-compliant.
Talkspace: This platform is HIPAA-compliant, while all data and communication between the servers and software are encrypted to ensure your protection and privacy.
Brightside: Brightside is HIPAA-compliant. All of its data is encrypted with 246-bit SSL security.
MDLive: This platform upholds HIPAA-compliant laws and is committed to only sharing your information with your primary care physician.
LiveHealth Online: You’ll find it refreshing to read the company’s simple and straightforward privacy policy. The HIPAA-compliant platform doesn’t sell or give your private information to third parties.
Amwell: This HIPAA-compliant mental health platform doesn’t record phone or video therapy sessions.
Doctor on Demand: The website lets you choose the ‘do not sell my data’ option, which is great. It’s also HIPAA-compliant as it strives to protect people’s health data.
Hers: The company encrypts data to maintain every user’s privacy. It’s also HIPAA-compliant.
Pride Counseling: This platform processes your data for different reasons, such as to offer you improved services, as mentioned in the site’s privacy policy. The website is certified by HiTrust and works in accordance with HIPAA laws.
Teen Counseling: This counseling platform is HIPAA-compliant and protects member data, but its website tracks viewed pages and monitors future appointments to see when users access the therapy room and their accounts.
Calmerry: The platform is HIPAA-compliant, and personal information during therapy sessions is encrypted on the servers.
Special Features
Teladoc Health allows you to scroll through providers on the platform to select the one that’s best for you. The platform maintains communication with you before and after your appointments.
ReGain: One of the platform’s special features is that video and phone therapy sessions accommodate three-way calling. Partners can enter therapy sessions even if they live in different states.
Talkspace: This platform provides extra features to help you in your mental health journey, such as exercises and videos that can help you manage your stress and learn coping skills.
Brightside: You can access an online lesson before you sign up for the service, which is a great way to try it out.
MDLive: If you run into any problems on the platform, you can use the instant chat help option.
LiveHealth Online: There are Spanish-speaking healthcare providers available on the platform.
Amwell: This telehealth platform provides flexible appointments, even on evenings or weekends, to suit busy schedules.
Doctor on Demand: Scheduling future appointments is convenient: you can book a session with an available therapist or choose one from a list.
Hers: When you purchase prescription products from the website, you’ll get free shipping for them. The providers in this telehealth space offer regular mental health check-ins.
Pride Counseling: Although designed to serve the LGBTQ+ community, providers on the virtual platform can assist people in various ways, such as with bipolar disorder, anger, and anxiety support.
Teen Counseling: Teens and their parents or guardians can access these services. Teens as young as 13 can be treated and can access the BetterHelp platform for treatment when they turn 20.
Calmerry: This health platform’s special features include an online journal and a mood-tracking tool to help you in your mental health journey.
Is Teladoc Health worth it?
Teladoc Health provides a range of mental health therapy services. It offers affordable counseling when you need it, for adults and teens. Unlike some other mental health platforms, Teladoc offers a wide range of mental health support and services from qualified healthcare professionals. Its virtual healthcare services don’t require a subscription plan like many other platforms, and it does accept insurance, so the amount you have to pay might be completely covered.
However, Teladoc can be an expensive digital health company if you pay out of pocket for health plans. You also have to remember that although psychiatrists on the platform can prescribe some types of medication, they can’t prescribe controlled substances. The site can’t be used for urgent or primary care visits.
What people say about Teladoc Health
Teladoc has a 4.7-star rating on Trustpilot. Here are some positive and negative reviews of this virtual telemedicine company:
https://www.trustpilot.com/reviews/6452c2e447ec97805f8d21b1
https://www.trustpilot.com/reviews/644bf775675dec378e24c032
Image source:
Pavel Danilyuk via Pexels
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