Alma vs Grow Therapy for therapists
Choosing where to practice? What Alma's and Grow Therapy's own pages tell clinicians, side by side: how you work with each, what each charges you and keeps, what each says about pay, credentialing and malpractice, each fact linked to the page that says it.
With both Alma and Grow Therapy, you keep your own practice and the platform bills insurance for you. Alma charges $125 a month, or $1,140 a year, and keeps nothing from private-pay sessions. Grow Therapy is free to join, and keeps 5% of private-pay sessions. Neither publishes what it pays per session. Alma credentials you with insurers and says it takes up to 45 days; Grow Therapy credentials you with insurers and says it takes an average of 5-7 days (first payor); some payors take 2+ months and some beyond 6 months. Neither provides malpractice insurance: you carry your own policy with either.
Alma vs Grow Therapy: the short version
One line each. Open a platform for every fact it states.
| Platform | How you work with it | Contractor or employee | Cost to you | Pay it publishes | Insurance credentialing | Licenses | Open clinical roles today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alma | Own practice, it bills | Your own practice | $125 a month, or $1,140 a year | No figure published | Credentials you (up to 45 days) | LCSW, LPC/LMHC, Psychologist, Psychiatrist, PMHNP | No public job board found |
| Grow Therapy | Own practice, it bills | Independent contractor (1099) | Free | No figure published | Credentials you | LCSW, LPC/LMHC, LMFT, Psychologist, Psychiatrist, PMHNP | 0 |
Alma vs Grow Therapy, fact by fact
Each platform in its own words, from its pages for providers, its provider help center and its own job postings. Where a platform's pages are silent, we say so.
How you work with it
Contractor or employee
Cost to you
Private-pay sessions
Pay
When you are paid
Insurance credentialing
Clients
Schedule and caseload
Malpractice insurance
In person
What it provides
Requirements
Where
Licenses
Alma
Clinical social workers, Licensed counselors, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Psychiatric nurse practitioners Not pre-licensed or associate clinicians.Grow Therapy
Clinical social workers, Licensed counselors, Marriage and family therapists, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Psychiatric nurse practitioners Not pre-licensed or associate clinicians.The rate neither page prints
Alma and Grow Therapy print no per-session rate: what you are paid depends on your license, your state and the client's insurer. Medicare's schedule is public, so it is the reference point to ask against.
| Session | LCSWs, LMFTs, LPCs | Psychiatric NPs, PAs | Psychologists, psychiatrists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90837 (60 minutes) | $125.25 | $141.95 | $167.00 |
| 90834 (45 minutes) | $85.43 | $96.82 | $113.90 |
Computed from CMS's fee schedule files and the shares in CMS's mental health booklet. Medicare adjusts every amount for where you practice, and commercial insurers set their own rates. Medicare rates in your state
Alma vs Grow Therapy for therapists: questions, answered
- Alma vs Grow Therapy for therapists: what is the difference?
- With both Alma and Grow Therapy, you keep your own practice and the platform bills insurance for you. Alma charges $125 a month, or $1,140 a year, and keeps nothing from private-pay sessions. Grow Therapy is free to join, and keeps 5% of private-pay sessions. Neither publishes what it pays per session. Alma credentials you with insurers and says it takes up to 45 days; Grow Therapy credentials you with insurers and says it takes an average of 5-7 days (first payor); some payors take 2+ months and some beyond 6 months. Neither provides malpractice insurance: you carry your own policy with either.
- Who pays more, Alma or Grow Therapy?
- Alma: Alma does not publish what it pays or reimburses per session. Grow Therapy: Grow prints no rate schedule publicly. Ask each for the rate for your license, state and insurers, in writing, before you sign. For reference, Medicare's 2026 national amount for a 60-minute session (90837) is $125.25 for an LCSW, LMFT or LPC, $141.95 for a psychiatric nurse practitioner and $167.00 for a psychologist or psychiatrist, before the adjustment for where you practice.
- Is Alma or Grow Therapy cheaper for therapists?
- Alma: Alma charges clinicians a monthly membership fee, printed on its blog as $125/month or $1,140 annually. Alma's pricing blocks offer annual billing at 25% off and say fees are subject to state sales tax, and a separate promotional landing page shows a first-year special. New members are told they get complimentary months while onboarding. Alma's FAQ says it takes no cut of your fee from visits with cash-pay clients: the income from cash-pay clients stays with you, and it charges only the membership fee. Grow Therapy: Grow says providers do not pay subscription fees, and its onboarding page says partnering has no fees or minimum visit requirements. Grow's payment policy for cash-pay appointments pays providers what the client paid, minus a 5% processing fee.
- How does credentialing work at Alma and Grow Therapy?
- Alma: Alma collects your materials, submits them to payers and credentials you under Alma's Tax ID, even if you are already credentialed on your own. Credentialing can take up to 45 days after Alma receives the completed onboarding form. Grow Therapy: Grow handles credentialing and payor enrollment, adding you to its group contracts so you bill insurance through Grow; the enrollment does not transfer if you leave. Credentialing with Grow averages 5 to 7 days for your first payor. Further payors can take 2+ months to submit and some run past 6 months. You need at least one in-network payor before you are invited to the platform.
- How often do Alma and Grow Therapy pay therapists?
- Alma: Alma says members can choose a weekly or bi-weekly payout schedule, and its insurance page lists a weekly payout schedule. Grow Therapy: Payouts start every Friday morning (ET) by direct deposit via Stripe, arriving in 1 to 3 business days.
- Are Alma and Grow Therapy therapists contractors or employees?
- Alma: Alma says the practice stays yours. Grow Therapy: Providers join as independent 1099 contractors and set their own schedule.
- Do Alma or Grow Therapy provide malpractice insurance?
- Alma: Members must carry their own professional liability insurance, $1 million per claim and $3 million aggregate, covering the license they practice under. Grow Therapy: You must carry individual professional liability insurance, generally at least $1 million per incident and $3 million aggregate (lower limits for NPs in CA and FL; $500k/$1.5M for NPs, MDs and DOs in IN and MDs and DOs in PA), with a certificate listing you as named insured. Grow recommends CPH Insurance.
- Can pre-licensed or associate clinicians join Alma or Grow Therapy?
- Alma does not accept pre-licensed or associate clinicians. Grow Therapy does not accept pre-licensed or associate clinicians.
- Can you see clients in person through Alma or Grow Therapy?
- Alma: Alma lists rates for both teletherapy and in-person visits, and can add your physical office as a credentialed location. Grow Therapy: You can accept in-person sessions as well as virtual ones and set which days clients can book each.
Know when Alma or Grow Therapy changes its pay or terms
We re-check what every platform pays, charges and requires each month. When one changes, you get one short email saying what changed and where.
Paid AI-training work for clinicians
AI companies hire licensed clinicians as remote contractors to write and grade mental-health material for their models: 8 roles open today, at $45 to $155 an hour as posted.
Building your own practice instead?
The Practice Academy, from Practice of the Practice, is a paid membership with courses, coaching and a community for therapists starting or growing a private practice. Referral link: OnlineTherapy.me earns a fee from Practice of the Practice if you join through it. It never changes what these pages report about any platform.
Spending evenings on notes?
Blueprint is AI software for therapists that drafts progress notes, treatment plans and client letters, and handles claims and eligibility; it runs alongside the EHR you already use or as its own all-in-one EHR. Referral link: OnlineTherapy.me earns a fee from Blueprint if you join through it. It never changes what these pages report about any platform.