Headway vs Grow Therapy for therapists
Choosing where to practice? What Headway'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 Headway and Grow Therapy, you keep your own practice and the platform bills insurance for you. Headway is free to join, but charges $9.99 per marketplace-client session from Nov 2026, and keeps 2.95% of private-pay sessions. Grow Therapy is free to join, and keeps 5% of private-pay sessions. Neither publishes what it pays per session. Headway credentials you with insurers and says it takes anywhere from 3 weeks to 4 months to be approved; 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.
Headway 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headway | Own practice, it bills | Your own practice | Free to join; $9.99 per marketplace-client session from Nov 2026 | No figure published | Credentials you | LCSW, LPC/LMHC, LMFT, Psychologist, Psychiatrist, PMHNP | 8 |
| Grow Therapy | Own practice, it bills | Independent contractor (1099) | Free | No figure published | Credentials you | LCSW, LPC/LMHC, LMFT, Psychologist, Psychiatrist, PMHNP | 0 |
Headway 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
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
Headway 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
Headway vs Grow Therapy for therapists: questions, answered
- Headway vs Grow Therapy for therapists: what is the difference?
- With both Headway and Grow Therapy, you keep your own practice and the platform bills insurance for you. Headway is free to join, but charges $9.99 per marketplace-client session from Nov 2026, and keeps 2.95% of private-pay sessions. Grow Therapy is free to join, and keeps 5% of private-pay sessions. Neither publishes what it pays per session. Headway credentials you with insurers and says it takes anywhere from 3 weeks to 4 months to be approved; 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, Headway or Grow Therapy?
- Headway: Headway prints no rate schedule publicly. 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 Headway or Grow Therapy cheaper for therapists?
- Headway: Joining is free, but Headway's help center announces a $9.99 service fee on every appointment with a new client who found you through its marketplace (its matching, its ads, its booking team, a connected health plan or health system, or its AI integrations such as ChatGPT), starting state by state in November 2026 and in every state by the end of 2026. The fee applies to insurance and private-pay sessions for as long as you see that client, and is deducted from your payout; clients you add yourself, clients who book through your direct link, and clients who reach your profile on their first visit from a search engine (not an ad) carry none. Headway's payout for a private-pay session deducts 2.95% of your session rate for payment processing and its cost of supporting the session. There is no fee when the client pays by bank account. 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 Headway and Grow Therapy?
- Headway: Headway credentials you itself with insurers through its own payer agreements; credentialing you completed on your own with a carrier is not honored through Headway. Headway's help center puts the wait for approval at anywhere from 3 weeks to 4 months, and up to 8 weeks more for insurers to add you to their systems before you are paid. 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 Headway and Grow Therapy pay therapists?
- Headway: Paid twice a month, on the 15th and the last day of the month. Grow Therapy: Payouts start every Friday morning (ET) by direct deposit via Stripe, arriving in 1 to 3 business days.
- Are Headway and Grow Therapy therapists contractors or employees?
- Headway: You keep your own practice; Headway's pages describe providers keeping their practice in one place on Headway and do not describe them as its employees. Grow Therapy: Providers join as independent 1099 contractors and set their own schedule.
- Do Headway or Grow Therapy provide malpractice insurance?
- Headway: Every provider must buy their own professional liability insurance; minimum limits vary by state and license type. Headway does not require being named an additional insured. 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 Headway or Grow Therapy?
- Grow Therapy does not accept pre-licensed or associate clinicians. Headway's pages do not say.
- Can you see clients in person through Headway or Grow Therapy?
- Headway: You can see clients in person at an office location you list on Headway, as well as by telehealth. In-person visits in a client's home are not supported. Grow Therapy: You can accept in-person sessions as well as virtual ones and set which days clients can book each.
Know when Headway 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.