Headway vs Rula for therapists
Choosing where to practice? What Headway's and Rula'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 Rula, 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. Rula is free to join. 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; Rula credentials you with insurers and says timelines vary by state and payer. Neither provides malpractice insurance: you carry your own policy with either.
Headway vs Rula: 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 |
| Rula | Own practice, it bills | Independent contractor (1099) | Free | No figure published | Credentials you | LCSW, LPC/LMHC, LMFT, Psychologist, Psychiatrist, PMHNP | 0 |
Headway vs Rula, 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
Rula
Its pages do not say.Pay
When you are paid
Insurance credentialing
Clients
Schedule and caseload
Malpractice insurance
In person
What it provides
Requirements
Where
Benefits
Headway
Its pages do not say.The rate neither page prints
Headway and Rula 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 Rula for therapists: questions, answered
- Headway vs Rula for therapists: what is the difference?
- With both Headway and Rula, 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. Rula is free to join. 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; Rula credentials you with insurers and says timelines vary by state and payer. Neither provides malpractice insurance: you carry your own policy with either.
- Who pays more, Headway or Rula?
- Headway: Headway prints no rate schedule publicly. Rula: Rula prints no pay figure. 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 Rula 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. Rula: Rula says joining and using it is completely free, with no minimum hours or caseload. The only deduction found is optional: in Wingspan, Rula's payout tool, an Instant payout deducts a fee while a Standard payout is free.
- How does credentialing work at Headway and Rula?
- 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. Rula: Rula runs credentialing and payer enrollment and credentials you under its group contracts even if you are already in-network on your own. You must keep your license, NPI, liability policy and CAQH profile current; re-credentialing happens about every 3 years. Rula's sign-up page says most therapists are credentialed and see their first client in 3 weeks or less, while its FAQ says payer timelines vary by state and payer.
- How often do Headway and Rula pay therapists?
- Headway: Paid twice a month, on the 15th and the last day of the month. Rula: Paid every other Friday by direct deposit through Wingspan, for sessions in the previous two weeks.
- Are Headway and Rula 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. Rula: Rula's therapists are 1099 independent contractors who operate as their own business, with no employer-provided benefits.
- Do Headway or Rula 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. Rula: Contractor therapists must carry their own professional liability insurance, a minimum of $1M per occurrence and $3M aggregate for non-prescribing therapists, renewed annually, as an individual policy.
- Can you see clients in person through Headway or Rula?
- 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. Rula: Providers can opt in to see patients in person through Rula if they already have an office with an address. Rula also offers discounts on rented therapy rooms in California and Virginia.
Know when Headway or Rula 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.