We Tested Over 65 Online Therapy Platforms — Here Are Our Top Picks for Text Therapy

Teen Counseling offers a monthly therapy subscription aimed at teens that includes unlimited asynchronous messaging with a therapist (with guaranteed responses from the therapist within 24 hours, five days a week), video therapy sessions, and live chat therapy sessions — at one all-inclusive price. We also love that there is a separate messaging portal for the parent or guardian and the teen, which protects the teen’s privacy while allowing the guardian to easily touch base with the therapist on logistics, if necessary. Teen Counseling’s therapy subscription also offers a digital journal with prompts that you can share with your therapist, to keep your progress going between appointments.

When we tested Teen Counseling, our tester’s teen son had been dealing with social anxiety and was hesitant to engage in a video therapy session. He said his anxiety felt like a barrier to getting the most out of a live session — and when he tried his first video therapy sessions, his fears were confirmed. So he switched to Teen Counseling’s live text therapy sessions and found the format to be a great fit for him.

“I really appreciate that Teen Counseling offers it, because it’s a very effective way to get texting-native kids to participate in therapy when they are extremely video or phone-call shy,” says our tester, Olivia Campbell. “My son said the therapist was great at leading the sessions, was empathetic, and offered him useful ideas and practical tips to help him reintegrate into school in the fall.”

The biggest drawback to Teen Counseling is that, like its parent company BetterHelp, it does not accept health insurance, and its out-of-pocket monthly subscription cost may not be affordable for everyone. We also wish that it offered more than one plan option, to accommodate various budgets and/or format preferences (the way some companies on our list do, like Talkspace). This would allow users to pay a lower price if they, like our tester and her son, do not want a plan that comes with video sessions.

If you’re new to therapy, it might feel a bit overwhelming trying figure out how many sessions a month you should have, which therapist is right for you, how much you can afford, whether you’d like to be billed monthly or per session, and more. We find subscription services can be the perfect option in cases like these — especially Talkspace.

For one, Talkspace offers a variety of therapy subscription plans, all priced differently, which makes it easier for you to find something you can afford and that matches your needs. And at Talkspace, the most affordable plan is a text-therapy-only plan, which allows you to message your therapist at any time (with guaranteed responses five days a week), with the ability to add a live session if you want one, for an additional fee. You can also opt for plans that include text-based and live sessions too, with psychiatry services as a potential add-on to any subscription, and you can even sign up for couples therapy. It’s also easy to switch plans at any time, and Talkspace accepts numerous insurance plans.

In our testing, we found Talkspace’s text-based therapy to be excellent. Our tester, health reporter Erin Heger, says that after signing up, her first therapist was quick to use the messaging portal to introduce herself and reaffirm that she was welcome to message her via text or leave a voice audio recording message at any time. And after switching therapists — which is easy to do if you’re unhappy with the therapist Talkspace matches you with — Heger found it easy to correspond via asynchronous messages with her second therapist as well, which went on for several days. “During [this] time, I learned more about her background and discussed some of the issues I wanted to work on with her,” Heger says. “[My therapist] responded quickly — within 24 hours, often much sooner — and provided enough context and detail to adequately address my questions and concerns.”

Plus, she continues, “When we did meet for a video session, I felt our time was more productive because we had discussed so much ahead of time and could use our half-hour [live video session] together to really hone in on how I was feeling and why.”

Overall, we find Talkspace to be a great intro to therapy for anyone who is new to therapy or apprehensive about getting started. The only drawback is that while we appreciate the variety of available subscription plans and that Talkspace accepts insurance, we do wish that there was some sort of sliding scale or financial aid available for those who are underinsured or simply can’t afford a monthly subscription.

When seeking out text-based therapy, you might find it challenging to find a platform that incorporates psychiatry services into the plan as well. We were especially interested in finding one that includes psychiatry but also offers unlimited therapist messaging and a large roster of coping tools — and Brightside Health fits the bill.

“[After sign-up], the platform granted me access to the first self-guided [CBT] lesson included with my therapy subscription, titled Breaking the Cycle,” says our tester, clinical psychologist Amy Marschall. “Then, after each session, I gained access to another self-guided lesson that provided more educational mental health information. For example, they explained why humans experience anxiety, what kinds of situations can trigger an anxiety response, and why it is important to manage anxious distress in healthy ways.”

It is worth noting that Brightside Health doesn’t offer psychiatry services solely via text. We believe this is a good thing. Through video sessions, your provider can pick up on your body language and other indicators of functioning that are only evident by seeing you. This can be especially important when prescribing medication. But, for those who still want some support that isn’t contingent on video sessions, we like that Brightside Health allows you to track your progress and engage in the CBT lessons between sessions.

Decision fatigue is real. When choosing an online therapy company, you might find yourself overwhelmed by options: all the different subscription plans, choosing a provider, and even just deciding which platform. These factors can all complicate the process of finding care that works for you. BetterHelp keeps things simple.

There is only one subscription plan, you’re matched with a provider, and it doesn’t accept insurance (which is often a con but can help keep the process streamlined, because you know the exact price you’ll be responsible for). In other words, it couldn’t be easier to sign up and start therapy with this platform. Plus, if text-based therapy is what you’re most interested in, BetterHelp allows you to message your therapist outside of sessions at any time and schedule sessions via live chat, eliminating the need to do a video call if messaging or chatting is more comfortable and convenient for you.

In our experience, getting started with BetterHelp was easy. We filled out a brief questionnaire, were matched with a provider, and then were able to schedule our first session. It couldn’t be easier. If you’re not immediately clicking with your provider, consider hanging in there a bit longer. We didn’t feel super connected to ours at first, but by our third session, we found our rhythm.

“I appreciated the option to chat with my therapist at any time in the BetterHelp app, and she was usually quick to respond,” says Heger, our tester for this service as well. It is a bummer that BetterHelp doesn’t accept insurance, but it does offer financial aid, which certainly offsets some of the burden.

Healing from a divorce can be isolating. You might notice your relationships change as you end your marriage. You may feel shame or excitement about the dissolution of your partnership, both of which can be polarizing emotions. And, depending on the cause of the divorce, it can be even more isolating if you’re a survivor of narcissistic abuse, a type of emotional and psychological abuse that is just now gaining recognition in the mental health world.

Circles also offers a customized group chat option, which our tester, health writer Raki Swanson, found particularly useful.

“If you are having a bad day or a comment or thought comes into your head, you can just text it out,” she says. “Anyone subscribed to Circles can then see it and comment on it.” She liked that this could be done at any time — day or night — and she found it less intimidating than speaking up in the group support sessions.

The biggest downside to Circles is that its groups only cater to people going through a divorce or dealing with narcissistic abuse. We wish it offered additional support groups, such as one for grief.

Plenty of platforms focus on CBT, but not all are created equal. When searching for the best text-based CBT treatment, we wanted to find a platform that offered a variety of subscription plans, ideally some form of financial assistance, and resources designed for use between sessions. Online-Therapy.com offers all of these features — and then some.

We tried both live chat and video sessions with Online-Therapy.com, testing out the individual and couples therapy services. We noticed that with the live chat sessions (available for both individual and couples therapy), you will experience some delays while your therapist is typing, but you will see a bubble letting you know that a response is coming. In many ways, these therapy sessions feel like a group chat, especially if you’re doing couples therapy, but if that doesn’t bother you, this might be a great option.

These text sessions could be perfect for those who need some light processing and support, and we like that it is rooted in CBT since it is an evidence-based practice. Plus, if you find that text therapy isn’t for you or you’d like to try a different format, you can always switch to audio or video sessions. Plus, Online-Therapy.com subscriptions also come with a self-guided CBT course, in addition to guided journal prompts, worksheets, and meditation videos — all nice bonuses. “These tools do enhance the therapy experience, as long as you’re self-motivated,” says our tester, licensed marriage and family therapist Riley Blanton.

While OurRitual doesn’t offer the same kind of live-chat or text-based therapy that Online-Therapy.com and Talkspace offer, it made our list because it not only provides exceptional quality of care but also blends video sessions with unique lessons and unlimited messaging between appointments, which we really liked.

One thing we particularly appreciated about OurRitual was its “pathways work,” which consists of a number of journal prompts, questionnaires, exercises, worksheets, and educational videos that you can tap into between sessions. This program was created using a combination of emotionally focused therapy (EFT) and the Gottman method, both popular couples therapy modalities, and you complete the program’s lessons on your own time before each of your therapy sessions. Your answers to the exercises are shared with your therapist ahead of your session, so that they can serve as a guide for what will be discussed when you meet.

“Our month of therapy using OurRitual was one of the better couples therapy experiences we’ve had,” says our tester, Jen Sinclair. “The combination of weekly sessions and pathways lessons appealed to us and enhanced the experience [because] we gained new perspectives and skills to continue fostering our relationship through life transitions.”

Accessing the hotline is easy. If you’re in the United States, text HOME to 741741. If you’re in the United Kingdom, you’ll need to text SHOUT to 85258. In Canada, you’ll text CONNECT to 686868. For those in Ireland, you’ll need to text HOME to 50808. You can expect to be met with a compassionate counselor who will talk through the crisis you’re experiencing. If you disclose anything that indicates you’re at risk of harming yourself or others, emergency services may be contacted. While that might sound daunting, this practice is in place to keep you and others as safe as possible.