Key takeaways
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Grow Therapy offers both in-person and telehealth services, whereas Rula provides in-person therapy only in California and telehealth nationwide.
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Grow Therapy has a larger network of providers compared to Rula, increasing options for clients seeking specialized care.
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Pricing is similar, with Grow Therapy averaging $21 per session and Rula averaging $15, both depending on insurance coverage.
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Both platforms support therapists with administrative tasks like billing and insurance credentialing, but Grow Therapy includes a built-in telehealth video platform, whereas Rula uses Zoom.
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Grow Therapy provides a seamless marketplace for finding therapists, allowing clients to book sessions instantly, while Rula requires entering some personal details before browsing providers
Along with the rise of teletherapy has come an influx of online therapy platforms. This increase in accessibility has been amazing for helping people get the mental health treatment they need — but it can also make it harder to determine which online therapy platform is the best fit for you.
With multiple options, how do you know which to pick? Understanding the differences and specific features can help you choose. Whether you’re a client or provider deciding between Grow Therapy and Rula, read on to learn more to guide you in your decision.
What is Grow Therapy?
Grow Therapy, founded in 2020, has its headquarters in New York City. Its mission is to make therapy accessible and affordable to all Americans by empowering licensed therapists to launch their own private practices.
Grow Therapy is available in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Appointments are available both online and in person. Grow Therapy offers therapy services and psychiatry services (medication management).
This platform allows clients to find a therapist who’s right for them with an easy-to-navigate marketplace. You will start off by selecting whether you want virtual or in-person care, as well as your state, insurance, and needs. Then, you will see a list of high-quality providers that meet your criteria.
From there, you can filter further for:
- Treatment methods
- Gender
- Age of clients they treat
- Identity
- Language
- Availability
Grow Therapy providers accept many major insurance carriers. For clients, communication options include video appointments, email, and messaging on HIPAA-compliant channels. There is one simple dashboard for communicating with your mental health provider, payments, and appointments. For providers, Grow Therapy takes care of back-end administrative work.
The exact cost of therapy will depend on your specific insurance plan. Grow clients pay anywhere from $0 to $125 per session, with the average out-of-pocket copay falling at $21 per session. If you decide your original therapist is not the best fit for you, you can switch to another Grow therapist at no additional fee.
What is Rula?
Rula, originally called Path Mental Health, was founded in 2019. It is headquartered in Los Angeles and is a 100% remote company. Its mission is “to make mental healthcare work for everyone.” Rula empowers licensed therapists to expand their practice and gives clients access to high-quality mental healthcare.
Rula is available in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. While appointments are available online in all states, in-person therapy is only available in California. Rula offers therapy and psychiatry services (medication management).
This platform allows clients to find a therapist by using filters. Start by entering your date of birth, state, insurance, and type of care needed. Then, you will see a list of clinicians that meet this criteria.
After you get an initial list of providers, you can further filter by:
- Specialty
- Day and time
- Gender
- Race
- Language
- Treatment approach
Rula providers accept many major insurance plans. For clients, live video sessions take place on Zoom, and you pay for sessions through the Rula platform. For providers, Rula provides administrative assistance with billing and insurance.
Again, the pricing of therapy will depend on your insurance plan. Rula clients pay an average copay of $15 per session.
Grow Therapy vs. Rula
For clients
| Grow Therapy | Rula | |
| Average Cost | $21 average cost per session with insurance | $15 average cost per session with insurance |
| Practicing Therapists | 17,000+ | 10,000+ |
| Modes of Communication | Video, email, messaging, in-person | Video, in-person, messaging through portal |
| Services | Various methods of talk therapy, psychiatry, and medication management | Various methods of talk therapy, psychiatry, and medication management |
| Accepts/Bills Insurance | Yes | Yes |
| In-Person or Telehealth | In-person and telehealth | Telehealth in all states, in-person only in California |
| States Covered | 50 plus Washington, D.C. | 50 plus Washington, D.C. |
| Specialties Offered | 30 | 80+ |
For providers
| Grow Therapy | Rula | |
| Community Portal Offered? | Yes | Yes |
| Help With Billing, Client, and Insurance Admin? | Yes | Yes |
| Free To Join? | Yes | Yes |
| Easy Scheduling System? | Yes | Yes |
| Built-In Telehealth Video Platform? | Yes | No (Zoom) |
Specialties of Grow Therapy vs. Rula
Grow Therapy and Rula offer a wide variety of specialties, addressing many mental health and wellness concerns.
Some examples of specialties of Grow Therapy providers are:
- Anxiety
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Depression
- Bipolar disorder
- Eating disorders
- Mood disorders
- Career counseling
- Couples counseling
- Family conflict
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Grief
- Racism
- Sexual abuse
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Self-harming behaviors
- Suicidal ideation and behavior
- Substance use disorders
Examples of specialties from Rula are:
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Anxiety
- Autism
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
- Eating disorders
- Grief
- Mood disorders
- OCD
- Self-esteem
- Sexual abuse
- Suicidal ideation
- Trauma and PTSD
- Substance abuse
- Career counseling
- Life coaching
- Chronic Illness
- LGBTQIA+
- Personality disorders
- Self-harming
- Divorce
- Family Conflict
- Marital & Pre-marital
- Parenting
- Relationship Issues
Provider benefits of Grow Therapy vs. Rula
Grow Therapy makes it easy for therapists to start their private practice. It’s free to join, and Grow will help with everything on the administrative side. “One of the biggest perks of working with Grow Therapy is how much they handle on the backend,” says Stacy Thiry LMHC, a Grow Therapy provider. “Billing, insurance credentialing, and client referrals? They take care of it. That means I can focus on what I do best — helping people — without drowning in paperwork or chasing down insurance claims. Plus, their support team is always there when I need them, which makes a huge difference.”
In addition to the administrative support, all clinicians gain access to a private community for Grow therapists. Here, you can connect with others to build connections, share support, and get advice. Grow Therapy helps its providers get clients by providing marketing support.
It is also free for providers to join Rula. Benefits include insurance credentialing, administrative support, and billing. There is a dedicated support team to help providers with anything they need. There is also access to a community of therapists where you can receive case consultations and attend office hours.
Additionally, they offer marketing support and payment protection for providers.
Insurance and billing for Grow Therapy vs. Rula
Both Grow Therapy and Rula accept many insurance plans. This allows you to use your insurance coverage for affordable mental healthcare from in-network providers. Both online therapy platforms also offer self-pay or cash-pay options for people who do not have insurance.
For Grow, insurance carriers vary by state, but some examples of accepted insurance companies are:
- 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
For Rula, again, insurance varies by state, but some examples of insurance companies that they accept are:
- Aetna
- All Savers
- Allegiance
- Allied
- Bind
- Cigna
- Coastal TPA
- GEHA
- Health Net
- Kaiser Permanente of Southern California
- Medical Mutual
- Meritain
- MHN
- Optum
- Oscar
- Oxford Health Plans
- Sierra Health and Life
- Sutter Health
- UMR
- United Healthcare
- Trustmark Health Benefits
- Western Growers Insurance
For providers
Grow Therapy helps mental health professionals get credentialed with major US insurance companies. Providers submit a credentialing form, and the team helps get therapists in-network with insurance providers in-state. Once credentialed, providers simply submit invoices, and Grow Therapy handles all billing and insurance claims. There is also dedicated live support for providers who have billing questions.
Similarly, Rula helps providers with insurance credentialing and handles all billing and insurance claims. A support team is also available to help with any insurance or billing-related questions.
Therapy sessions and scheduling for Grow Therapy vs. Rula
Whether you’re a client or mental health provider, scheduling first appointments and follow-up visits is simple with Grow Therapy and Rula.
For clients
Grow Therapy makes scheduling easy for clients. Once you use the filters to sort by state, insurance type, in-person versus online, specialties, and more, you will see therapists who meet the criteria. When you select a therapist, you can see their availability calendar. You can click “Book Session” and fill out your information to book an appointment. Most therapists are available for a first therapy session within a few days.
Rula’s scheduling functionality is very similar. However, they ask for a bit of personal information before you get to see available therapists. You will first input your birthday, state, insurance, and type of care you’re looking for. From here, you’ll input your full name and phone number before you can browse providers. Once you see providers who meet your criteria, you’ll see their availability and you can book an appointment directly.
For providers
Providers can choose between offering in-person or virtual appointments. They set their availability, and clients can schedule from there. Since scheduling and client management all happen in one place, this makes things simple for providers. Plus, Grow providers can bring any existing clients over to the grow platform.
“One thing I really love is how simple Grow makes scheduling for clients. They can see my availability online and book an appointment instantly—no emails, no phone tag, no waiting days to hear back,” says Thiry. “For me, that means less time managing a calendar and more time actually working with clients. It makes therapy more accessible and stress-free for everyone.”
Similarly, Rula providers can set their availability so that clients can easily schedule on their own. Rula’s support team can help providers with any questions or issues they encounter.
Key takeaways
Ultimately, Grow Therapy and Rula are both great options for teletherapy platforms offering more accessible, affordable mental healthcare. Both offer convenient scheduling and insurance coverage for clients, and both offer administrative assistance for billing and insurance for providers. However, Grow Therapy has more options for in-person providers than Rula, so if you’re looking for an in-person therapist, Grow might be a better fit for you.
“Whether you’re a therapist looking for an easier way to grow your practice or a client searching for the right provider, Grow Therapy takes the hassle out of mental health care. It connects people to the support they need—quickly, easily, and without all the usual roadblocks,” Thiry says. “If you’re considering it, I highly recommend giving it a try. It’s been a fantastic experience for me, and I know it can be for you, too.”
If you’re a provider, click here to get started and join Grow Therapy. If you’re a client, click here to use our filters to find a therapist who’s the best fit for you.
Curious about other online therapy platforms, too? Learn more about:
- BetterHelp vs. Grow Therapy
- Alma vs. Grow Therapy
- Headway vs. Grow Therapy
- Talkspace vs. Grow Therapy