How we review and rank services
We publish independent comparisons and reviews of online-therapy and mental-health services. This page explains exactly how we evaluate them, so you can weigh our recommendations for yourself.
What we compare — every service, the same way
We hold every service to the same criteria, drawn from published provider information, pricing pages, help centers, regulatory disclosures, and reported user experience. When a fact can’t be verified, we say so rather than guess.
- Cost and real value
- List price, what a typical month actually costs, insurance and out-of-network options, financial aid and sliding-scale programs, and any launch or subscription catches.
- Care model and formats
- Whether you get messaging, live audio, video, or psychiatry; session length and frequency; and how care is actually delivered day to day.
- Matching and switching
- How you are matched to a provider, how long it takes, and how easily you can switch if the fit is wrong.
- Credentials and safety
- Provider licensing, how the service is regulated, crisis and escalation support, and what happens in an emergency.
- Privacy and data
- What data is collected, how it is used and shared, and the service’s track record on privacy.
- Honest trade-offs
- What each service is genuinely good at — and who it is not the right fit for. Every recommendation names at least one real limitation.
How we stay independent
Some links on our review and comparison pages are partner links: if you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. That is how we fund the work. It does not change our rankings, what we recommend, or the limitations we flag — we rank on the criteria above, not on what pays us. Where we have no partner relationship with a service, we still cover it on the merits.
What we will not do
- We don’t invent star ratings, review counts, or testimonials. Where we cite a rating, we name its source.
- We don’t use fake countdowns or manufactured urgency.
- We don’t publish a recommendation without naming at least one honest trade-off.
- We don’t give medical advice or promise outcomes. If you’re in crisis, call or text 988 (US Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).
Corrections & updates
Services change their pricing and features often. We date our pages and update them when the facts change. Spot something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we’ll fix it.