Best Online Therapist Services 2026

What Is Online Therapy?

Like the name suggests, online therapy is a term used to describe mental health counseling that you can receive from the comfort of your own home in front of your PC or right at your fingertips on your smartphone.

Often referred to as “e-therapy” or “internet therapy,” online therapy isn’t meant for people who are in the midst of a mental health emergency or who need urgent medical care. Instead, it’s a way for people to get easy, convenient, and reliable counseling that tends to be much cheaper than in-person therapy. In addition, having an online therapist can be a real help for people who have mobility issues or simply live too far away from a licensed therapist for it to be convenient.

Online therapy has surged in popularity over the last few years, and for good reason: it has made finding a therapist easier, more affordable, and for many people, more comfortable than asking for referrals or visiting a therapist in an office. If you’re curious about online therapy but have questions, read on for a closer look at how it works and how it may help you.

Our Recommendations for Online Therapy

Where Are People Most Lonely?

Feeling lonely is something everyone goes through now and then. It can be influenced by factors like relationships, your living situation, and how happy you are. With that in mind, we set out to determine which states have more people feeling lonely by conducting an in-depth survey.

Expert Tips for Coping with Loneliness

Everyone feels lonely from time to time, but it’s important to learn how to cope with loneliness so it doesn’t affect your long-term mental and physical health. Here are some expert tips on how to cope with loneliness.

Recite Self Love Affirmations

Kelly Armatage, a trained counselor and CBT therapist, defines loneliness as an inner void caused by a disconnection from the heart or a rejection of oneself.

“In order to fill up this inner void, it is important to connect to our own heart, connect to our inner child, and open up to love,” says Armatage. One of the best techniques for connecting with your heart is reciting self-love affirmations such as, “There is love, fulfillment, peace, and joy from within.”

Armatage concludes, “As you connect with your heart, you will then know just how unlonely being alone can be.”

Try a New Hobby

Hobbies are an excellent approach to dealing with loneliness because they allow people to focus on activities they enjoy, contributing to a sense of purpose.

Whether it's painting, writing, gardening, or learning to play a musical instrument, a new hobby can bring a sense of fulfillment and self-expression, according to psychologist Dana Klisanin.

Go to Therapy

“The cure for loneliness is connection,” says Dr. Annie Zimmerman, a psychotherapist and author of Your Pocket Therapist. “The best way to be less lonely is to be vulnerable with a safe person.”

However, that’s not always easy. Sometimes, people need an unbiased third person to talk to about their vulnerability. “This is why therapy works — our hidden vulnerable parts finally feel seen and understood,” says Zimmerman.

Whether you live in one of the top loneliest states in America or not can affect how lonely you feel and can affect your levels of loneliness. Consider investing in an online therapy service as a supportive resource if you are experiencing loneliness.

How Does Online Therapy Work?

Most online therapy companies offer 3 main types of counseling: real-time chat, video chat, and phone chat.

Email and text message counseling is popular with people who want to be able to think out their questions and write them out before asking. These tend to not be free-flowing conversations like with phone or video chats, but being able to write out what you want to say can be preferable. Typically these chats are done through your personal email to a special email provided through the site.

Video chat will require a reliable internet connection and will allow you to speak with a virtual therapist face-to-face, if not in the same room. It’s intimate, personal, and allows you to establish a rapport that can be more difficult with the written word.

Real time chat puts you into a special line and allows you to chat back and forth with a counselor in real time. Think of it like having your own chat room with a counselor who’s there to listen to what ails you.

When you sign up for an online therapy service, you’ll typically be asked to take a short quiz to determine which sorts of issues you’re dealing with, which can be used to help the service match you with a counselor who may specialize in your concerns. If you’re seeking out online counseling for your child, the quiz will ask you a lot of questions about what you think the child needs help with, before sending the child an invitation on your behalf.

How Much Does it Cost?

The prices vary by company, but typically online therapy services charge a monthly fee to use the service, and don't charge by minute or hour or text. For instance, BetterHelp, one of the bigger names in the industry, charges a flat fee of between $40-$70 per week, including all messaging, chats, phone, and video sessions.

These memberships tend to be quite flexible, and allow you to quit at any time.

Most online counseling is not covered by insurance, so while it’s cheaper than in-person therapists, you will typically have to pay out of pocket.

How to Choose the Right Online Therapy Service

Before you sign up for an online therapy service, do a little research. Take a look at how the company screens its counselors and if their certification checks out. You can also look at online testimonials by customers to get an idea about the quality of service.

You’ll want to decide which types of counseling you want—chat, video, or email—and if they’re available through the service. If you’re interested in using the service on your smartphone, see if the company has an app and if you’re allowed to have sessions with your counselor by chat on your phone.

Look at the price also, and see if it fits your budget. In addition, see if you can quit the membership at any time, or if its binding.

How to Choose an Online Therapist

Once you’ve decided on an online therapy platform, your next step is to choose a therapist.

Most online therapy sites let you view all of the counselors available on the platform. Since many sites have hundreds of available counselors, you’ll want to narrow down your options, which you can do by considering what you need from a therapist and then reading their bios to find the best fit.

Since every person requires something slightly different from a counselor, it’s a good idea to know at least to some degree what you’re looking for in a counselor. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Specialty: Online therapists specialize in everything from anxiety and depression to couples counseling. Make sure to choose a counselor whose specialties support your goals and needs.

Approach: Counselors offer everything from traditional talk therapy to CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and more. Consider your needs, read up on the different approaches if you need to, and choose a counselor who offers the support that will best serve you.

Accessibility: Make sure to choose a therapist whose schedule aligns with yours. It’s also a good idea to make sure they conduct therapy over your preferred medium, be it live video, phone, or email.