As stigmas surrounding mental health care have decreased, the percentage of adults accessing mental health care increased from 19.2% in 2019 to 21.6% in 2021. Telehealth platforms are one way people get the care they need. These platforms proved their value during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they’ve continued to be a convenient and affordable way for thousands of people to access behavioral health services.
Teletherapy platforms, like Grow Therapy, Alma, BetterHelp, and Talkspace offer a combination of in-person and virtual appointment options, and accept and process health insurance payments. If you’re considering starting therapy but you’re not sure which of these platforms to choose, this article will compare Grow Therapy and Alma to help you understand the differences and decide which one is best for you.
What is Alma?
Alma is an online therapy platform designed to simplify the process of finding mental health care providers. By granting you access to a database of providers, Alma’s user-friendly interface allows you to search based on the following:
- Your specific therapy needs
- Your insurance provider
- Your location
- Your preference for virtual or in-person appointments.
After you answer these key questions, the site provides you a curated list of providers tailored to your needs, including detailed bios showcasing each clinician’s specialties, lived experiences, and approaches to therapy. You can then refine your search further using more specific filters, including:
- Consultation availability
- Provider identity
- Provider specialty
- Provider degree
- Language
- Therapeutic style
Alma offers a built-in free consultation system that allows you to meet with various mental health professionals, such as psychiatrists or social workers, before making a formal appointment. This lets you get a sense if they’re a good fit for you before committing to getting started. Accessible in all 50 states, Alma provides access to licensed therapists with diverse specialties, including those who can communicate in languages other than English.
As a comprehensive platform, Alma handles all insurance payments and appointments, managing the paperwork and claims, and facilitating communication between providers and clients through HIPAA-compliant channels. If you decide that a provider is not the right fit for you, you have the flexibility to change providers at any time.
While Alma has nationwide availability, some states may have limited provider access due to location and contractual agreements with insurance companies. The cost of sessions can vary between $80 and $300, depending on the provider, location, and specialty.
What is Grow Therapy?
Grow Therapy is an online therapy platform similar to Alma, with a core focus on connecting you with the right in-network therapist to meet your mental health needs. You simply input your location, insurance information, and specific needs into the filter to access a list of providers available in your area.
Grow Therapy has over 17,000 providers, ranging in specialty from psychiatrists for medication management to those who focus on areas like couples therapy or teen counseling. The provider profiles on the platform include detailed information such as years of experience, background, specialties, and appointment availability. To provide you with more insight into the therapist’s approach, their profiles also include keywords like “solution-oriented,” “empowering,” or “authentic.”
Grow Therapy allows you to filter the list of providers based on criteria such as:
- Gender
- Age of clients they treat
- Specific identities
- Availability
The platform offers both online and in-person therapy appointments, with communication options such as video calls, email, and messaging through HIPAA-compliant channels within the Grow Therapy portal. Grow Therapy also handles insurance payments, claims, and billing. The benefit to this setup is that your appointments, payments, and general communication with your therapist or Grow Therapy support is all housed on one convenient dashboard. Depending on your health plan, you will pay between $0 and $125 per session using Grow Therapy. The average copay falls around $30 or less.
| Alma | Grow Therapy | |
| Average Cost | $80-$300 for those without insurance and approximately 70% less for those with insurance. | 0-$125 per session, depending on the insurance coverage. The average cost is $21 when factoring in copay and coinsurance. |
| Practicing Therapists | 21,000+ | 17,000+ |
| Modes of Communication | Video, phone, messaging, in-person | Video, email, messaging, in-person |
| Services | Various methods of talk therapy, medication management | Various methods of talk therapy, medication management |
| Accepts/Bills Insurance | Yes | Yes |
| Accepts Out-of-pocket Payment | Yes | Yes |
| In-person or Telehealth | In-person and online | In-person and online |
| Teen and Couples Therapy | Yes | Yes |
Alma vs. Grow Therapy
In many ways, these two platforms are quite comparable. Both platforms:
- Accept insurance and/or out-of-pocket payments
- Offer in-person and virtual appointments
- Offer talk therapy or medication management
- Do not charge to search their provider database
- Offer individual, couple, and family therapy providers
- Have provider bios that show accepted insurance, years in practice, and personal quotes
Both Alma and Grow Therapy give providers access to professional development resources and a community for inter-provider interaction. This commitment to ongoing education and community engagement equips therapists, both seasoned and new, with the latest advancements in the behavioral health field.
So what are the main differences? If you are looking for a therapist, you may notice variations in the insurance companies they are contracted with and provider availability. If you’re a therapist, you will find some subtle differences in your experience on each platform, a.k.a, the “provider experience.”
Provider Experience
Alma: After the credentialing and vetting process, Alma charges providers either a $125 monthly fee or a $1,140 yearly fee to use the platform, which includes features like client management, telehealth capabilities, and billing tools. The average credentialing process with Alma takes 45 days, and the platform encourages providers to refer other interested professionals. Providers on Alma have autonomy in running their private practice without interference from the platform.
Grow Therapy: In contrast, Grow Therapy offers its platform to providers free of charge, with revenue coming solely from insurance payments. This platform comes with free marketing on public directories, as well as features like a comprehensive dashboard, secure messaging, appointment scheduling, electronic health records (EHR), and invoicing and billing support. Providers undergo a thorough vetting and credentialing process before gaining access, which can take one to four months depending on the provider. Grow Therapy also enables providers to obtain health insurance through their platform, a feature not offered by Alma.
| Alma | Grow Therapy | |
| Cost for Providers to Join | $125 per month or $1,140 annually | $0 |
| Provider Health Insurance | No | Yes |
| Credentialing Help | Typically takes 45 days | Typically takes one to four months |
| Community and Professional Development | Yes | Yes |
| Free Consultation | Yes | No |
Insurance and Billing
Alma and Grow Therapy both take care of billing, filing claims, and collecting payments, making the process easier for providers and clients. Clients benefit from using one dashboard for all communication and payment related to their mental health care services. Providers get assistance with credentialing, an easy-to-use dashboard for interacting with clients and managing their business, and help with insurance providers.
The difference between the two is that they may contract with different insurance providers, or offer different services depending on the location and provider. Both platforms regularly list new insurance providers, so always check to see if your provider is on their lists before choosing a therapist. Insurance companies with which Grow Therapy works include:
- Aetna
- All Savers
- Anthem
- AvMed
- Bind
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Carefirst
- Cigna
- Evernorth
- Florida Blue
- Golden Rule
- Highmark
- Humana
- HUSKY Health
- Independence Blue Cross
- Medicaid
- Medicare
- Optum
- OptumHealth Complex Medical Conditions
- Oscar
- United Health/Optum
- United Medical Resources
- UnitedHealthcare Life Insurance
- UnitedHealthcare Shared Services
- UnitedHealthcare Student Resources
Alma breaks down the insurance companies with which they work into different groups. These include:
Optum
- UnitedHealthcare
- UnitedHealthcare Shared Services (UHSS)
- GEHA – UnitedHealthcare Shared Services (UHSS)
- Oscar
- Harvard Pilgrim
- Oxford
- UHC Student Resources
- UMR
- All Savers (UHC)
- Health Plans Inc
- Medica (Eligible if policy is commercial only)
- Surest (Formerly Bind)
Aetna
- Meritain
- Nippon
- Allied Benefit Systems
- GEHA – United Healthcare Shared Services (UHSS)
- Trustmark
- Trustmark Small Business Benefits
- Health Scope
- Christian Brothers Services
Empire BlueCross BlueShield of New York
- Note that Alma is not in-network with any BlueCross BlueShield health plan except Empire BlueCross BlueShield at this time.
- You must reside in New York state to use Empire BlueCross BlueShield benefits through Alma.
The basic billing process is the same with Alma and Grow Therapy. Once you’ve decided on a provider and made an appointment, you enter your insurance information and credit card to take care of copays. You may also enter coinsurance or be notified of any out-of-pocket fees. You can use either platform if you don’t have insurance, but all costs will be out-of-pocket.
Therapy Sessions and Scheduling
Booking a therapy session through either Alma or Grow Therapy is very easy, and both platforms provide plenty of options for when and where you meet your therapist to better fit your schedule.
Grow Therapy lets you search for providers based on whether they offer online or in-person therapy, and some offer both. Once you’re ready to schedule an appointment, you’ll see the provider’s complete schedule, where you can pick a day or time that works for you. With most providers, you’re able to see them within as little as two days. You can change your appointment at any time using the platform and will not be charged as long as you make changes at least 24 hours before the appointment.
Alma’s platform works similarly, with the only major difference being that you have the option for a free consultation before your first appointment. Once you’re ready to make your first full appointment, you can do it through the platform with the ability to view available days and times.
Final thoughts
Telehealth platforms make it much easier to access mental healthcare. Alma and Grow Therapy both help you find the right therapist, make appointments, and manage your care from a single dashboard. They also focus on using your in-network health benefits to get you affordable care.
The main difference is in the provider experience: Alma charges providers to use the platform, Grow Therapy does not. Grow Therapy offers quick access to in-network therapists at an affordable cost. Book your first appointment to get started on a journey of better mental health and well-being.