The daily hustle to maintain a balance between our personal and professional lives affects our mental health significantly. Undoubtedly, the demand for mental health professionals and their services has increased. Nowadays, online therapy platforms like SonderMind and BetterHelp are offering useful services.
The prices of such online therapies are lower than the in-person ones. However, various other factors add to their costs. This makes it crucial for you to do thorough research and choose the appropriate option.
Here, we have conducted a complete review of these two well-known platforms to help you decide. Various factors like pricing, services, therapists, and reviews are considered to help you make a sound decision.
Table of Contents
Overview of SonderMind
SonderMind was formed long back in 2014 by Sean Boyd and Mark Frank. The therapy platform connects service users with local therapists based on their location and unique needs. It offers individual therapy to children as young as three years as well as adults.
The platform is a bridge between a user’s mental health needs and service providers. SonderMind enables your access to trained and licensed psychologists, professional counselors, family therapists, and clinical workers.
The therapists offer services either online or in person. SonderMind helps you schedule online consultations with psychiatrists and therapists within the same city. You can use the SonderMind mobile app to book a session. Those booking multiple sessions can track their therapy’s progress.
How does SonderMind work?
SonderMind is easy to use. Initially, you need to answer simple questions about your therapy needs. The platform then matches you with a licensed therapist. After matching therapist, you should specify whether you can start therapy immediately or want to reserach available options.
Here, you also need to explain your therapy needs. You must specify whether you are experiencing anxiety or depression, post-traumatic stress, or any other kind of mental stress. Mention whether you prefer in-person or virtual sessions. Also, mention any preferences you are looking for in your therapist.
Within 24-48 hours, SonderMind will respond to your request and match you with a local therapist. You can then review the therapist’s biography and decide whether they are right for you or not. On your confirmation, SonderMind will contact you within two days to schedule your session.
Overview of BetterHelp
Formed in 2013, BetterHelp is one of the largest online platforms providing therapy. It offers remote services through chat, text, phone, and video. It gives comprehensive mental support to its users, which makes it the leader in the e-counseling industry. BetterHelp has a huge network of over 30,000 therapists.
BetterHelp offers services in diverse areas that include psychiatry and mental health issues. The company has recently entered a partnership with organizations and universities. It provides mental health support to the students and employees. It has also targeted couples, teens, and LGBTQIA+ community members.
The platform works on a subscription-based model that the users can cancel or pause anytime. You can even change the therapist at any stage of counseling.
How Does BetterHelp Work?
You start by filling out a short questionnaire that will help BetterHelp match you with the right counselor. You must choose between individual, couple, or teen counseling. BetterHelp will direct you to a website, ReGain, if you select couple therapy. Teen counseling is another website for teens ages 13-19.
You must enter your details, such as age, gender, relationship status, and other information. You also have the option to add details about your lifestyle, like sleep patterns, energy levels, diet, stress, and depression.
On completing the questionnaire, your account with BetterHelp will be created. BetterHelp uses an algorithm to match your needs and suggest the appropriate therapist for you. You can review the therapist. If satisfied, you can subscribe to the service and schedule your sessions.
Pros and Cons: SonderMind Vs BetterHelp
After offering a brief overview of the two platforms, we will now give a detailed explanation of their differences. Here are the pros and cons of both services.
Pros and cons of SonderMind
| Pros | Cons |
| A choice between in-person and virtual therapy is available | Available only in the United States within 16 states only |
| Match with local therapists within the city | Non-availability of free trial |
| Utilize insurance in the majority of cases | Session affordability is dependent on insurance type and region |
| Pay as users continue with the pricing of therapy sessions | Limited resources and features available on the app and Help Center |
| Psychiatric support available | Poor customer reviews on some rating platforms like Trustpilot, verywell mond, and Healthline |
| Engage with all-in-one platforms like video sessions, in-app messaging, and forms |
Pros and cons of BetterHelp
| Pros | Cons |
| More affordable than other private in-person therapists | Non-availability of in-person therapy |
| Available worldwide | Does not accept insurance |
| Completely online platform | |
| Enable members to text therapists anytime | No free trial available |
| Licensed and experienced therapists | No psychiatric support (therapists at BetterHelp cannot prescribe medication) |
| Well-known brand with commendable customer reviews | Mostly, only one session a week with your therapist offered |
| Supports video sessions, messaging, schedules, worksheets, and journaling | |
| Powered by AI, the platform helps match with therapists | |
| Good customer support |
Services offered: SonderMind Vs BetterHelp
It is important to know about the services offered by each platform to help understand them better.
Services offered by SonderMind
SonderMind enables connecting with licensed therapists who can prescribe suitable medication as a part of the treatment. This implies both talk therapy and psychiatric treatment. Its network includes licensed therapists, psychiatrists, and nurse practitioners.
This increases the range of services as compared to BetterHelp.
It offers psychiatric medication to
- Bipolar disorder
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
- Depression and many more
Therapeutic treatments mainly include CBT, couples counseling, dialectical therapy, and many more.
Services offered by BetterHelp
BetterHelp offers many therapeutic treatments that include –
- EMDR therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- DBT therapy
- Exposure therapy
- Mindfulness-based therapy
BetterHelp can help you with the below-mentioned therapies:
- Depression
- Social anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Stress
- Panic attacks
- Dissociation
- Emptiness,
- LGBTQIA+ matters
- Self-esteem
- Anger
- Family conflicts
- Parenting
Cost: SonderMind vs BetterHelp
One of the important factors to consider while choosing a platform is its cost. Though e-therapy platforms are cheaper than offline in-person therapy, the problem with many of them is they need to accept insurance. Let us understand the pricing of both therapies.
Pricing at SonderMind
The exact cost per session at SonderMind is heavily dependent on your location and insurance plan. The per session cost after insurance subsidies will be between US$50-US$180.
SonderMind will be more expensive for you than BetterHelp if you do only one session a week. However, this comes with some exceptions. In some cases, the cost per session at SonderMind can be $50, excluding your insurance cost. The amount is lower than BetterHelp.
SonderMind bills you on each session according to a pay-as-you-go basis. You do not have to cancel a subscription or membership to stop a therapy. You must only cancel booked therapy sessions with your therapist.
The biggest advantage of SonderMind is it accepts insurance.
SonderMind accepts payment via credit card that Stripe, the payment processor, manages.
Read more: How much BetterHelp cost?
Pricing at BetterHelp
The pricing at BetterHelp is slightly different. It is mainly dependent on your location, requirements, and therapist availability.
The platform works on a subscription basis that charges once every four weeks. On average, a bill at BetterHelp once every four weeks will be around US$240-US$360. It is approximately US$60-US$90 per session. It makes BetterHelp more affordable than SonderMind.
However, BetterHelp does not accept insurance.
Your subscription at BetterHelp includes one live session per week that will last for around 30-45 minutes. A subscription gives you access to the platform’s app and other features.
Canceling the subscription is possible anytime you want. BetterHelp accepts payment via credit card or PayPal.
Therapists: SonderMind vs BetterHelp
Each platform employs trained and licensed therapists for its users. However, you should consider various aspects regarding therapists.
SonderMind Therapists
SonderMind has around 25000 active therapists working with it in the US. The platform has taken over 1.5 million sessions since its start. The therapists are fully licensed and eligible to operate privately as well. The SonderMind team checks each therapist’s credentials before hiring.
The therapists at SonderMind provide psychiatric support and give medication. You can choose your therapist from among the matched therapists suggested by the SonderMind team.
You can choose the number of sessions per week, which last for 30 – 60 minutes.
BetterHelp Therapists
BetterHelp has a global presence with around 30,000 therapists. It is required that each therapist hold a master’s degree in the relevant field. One should have 1000 hours and three years of clinical experience.
Therapists must submit their identity proof and certifications from the licensing boards in their respective fields.
Therapists at BetterHelp do not give psychiatric support. You have the choice of selecting a therapist after your initial match. The platform offers one session per week that lasts for 30-45 minutes.
Customer Reviews: SonderMind vs BetterHelp
Going through customer reviews proves to be quite useful in deciding the appropriate platform. It helps you understand the available options properly. SonderMind and BetterHelp are on Trustpilot, a trustworthy review platform.
Reviews of SonderMind
Trustpilot Rating – 1.4/5 – 65 reviews
According to the website, 89% of users have given a 1-star rating to SonderMind, while only 5% have given a 5-star rating.
As per some positive reviews, their therapist at SonderMind was quite helpful. It was an amazing experience and users benefited a lot from the counseling. Their way of dealing with mental health issues was incredible and helped the users a lot.
Talking about the negative side, the majority of the customers find the platform’s billing services to be quite bad. SonderMind overcharged many of the users without any clarification. Its customer support could have been better as the team did not reply to the emails and queries.
Reviews of BetterHelp
Trustpilot Rating – 4.5/5 – 6595 reviews
84% of the users have given a 5-star rating to BetterHelp, while only 9% have given a 1-star rating.
Looking at the positive reviews, users consider online therapy with BetterHelp convenient. The platform makes it easy to communicate with them to schedule and reschedule the sessions. The customer support is quite commendable at BetterHelp.
Talking about the therapists, customers find them quite helpful. The sessions have been useful for their mental health. The therapists at BetterHelp listen to the users’ feelings and support them.
On the downside, some clients complained they were matched with multiple therapists. It cut down their therapy sessions, and therapists did not even consider their goals. Some faced the problem of low availability of therapists. It has made BetterHelp cancel and reschedule the sessions. This made the clients pay unnecessary penalty charges.
Final Verdict
After making a comparison among the two platforms, we can say that both SonderMind and BetterHelp are more or less similar. Both platforms are leading in their field with robust technology. Each one has its own website and app. Both of them make it easy to communicate through text, video, and calls.
However, looking at them closer highlights some differences. In the majority of cases, BetterHelp is cheaper than SonderMind. It has better client reviews across popular review platforms. BetterHelp has an extensive network of therapists with more experience.
However, your requirements and location will be the basis of your final decision. The cost and type of therapy available at each platform will help you decide the appropriate platform for you.
FAQs
Does any platform offer a free trial?
BetterHelp and SonderMind do not offer free trials.
Which platform provides insurance support?
You can contact SonderMind’s customer support through email and phone, while BetterHelp is available by email.
Which is better? Online or in-person therapy?
This varies from person to person. Some find in-person convenient as they can bond with the therapist closely. However, some prefer online therapy as it does not require commuting and is convenient.