Who pays more, LifeStance Health or Headway?

LifeStance Health: Pay is printed in each job posting, by location and license, mostly as an annual range tied to a compensation model based on productivity; a posting says LifeStance may pay more or less than the posted range. Headway: Headway 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.

For therapists

LifeStance Health vs Headway for therapists

Choosing where to practice? What LifeStance Health's and Headway'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.

Clinician facts · checked 3 wk ago

Not statedLifeStance Health: cost to you

FeeHeadway: cost to you

LifeStance Health hires you as an employee; Headway lets you keep your own practice and 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. LifeStance Health prints pay from $71,000 - $90,000 per year in its own job postings; Headway publishes no pay figure. LifeStance Health credentials you with insurers; Headway credentials you with insurers and says it takes anywhere from 3 weeks to 4 months to be approved. LifeStance Health: Many of its therapist postings list malpractice insurance among the benefits (139 of the postings open on 2026-10-31 mention it), for example '100% malpractice insurance coverage' in its Ashburn, VA posting. Headway requires your own policy.

Side by side Rates Questions Pay alerts

Apply to LifeStance Health Apply to HeadwayOn each platform's own site, which reviews every application.

At a glance

LifeStance Health vs Headway: 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
LifeStance Health	Employer	Employee (W-2)	Not stated	$71,000 - $90,000 per yearLicensed Clinical Mental Health Therapist, Peoria, IL $75,000 to $87,000+ per yearLicensed Clinical Therapist (LISW-CP/LPC/LMFT), Mt. Pleasant, SC 5 more	Credentials you	LCSW, LPC/LMHC, LMFT, Psychologist, Psychiatrist, PMHNP, PA, Associates	1,356
Headway	Own practice, it bills	Your own practice	Free to join; $9.99 per marketplace-client session from Nov 2026 Keeps 2.95% of private-pay sessions	No figure published	Credentials you	LCSW, LPC/LMHC, LMFT, Psychologist, Psychiatrist, PMHNP	8

Side by side

LifeStance Health vs Headway, 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.

FactLifeStance HealthHeadway

How you work with it

LifeStance Health

LifeStance hires clinicians as W-2 employees into full-time or part-time roles at its centers, with hybrid in-person and telehealth schedules. Its postings describe pay as a compensation model based on productivity.

Headway

You keep your own practice and Headway credentials you with insurers under its own payer agreements, handles claims, and pays you on a fixed schedule. You set your own working hours in its provider portal.

Contractor or employee

LifeStance Health

Clinicians are W-2 employees: its therapist postings say W-2 or W2 employed, and none of the 1,390 open clinical postings on its job board mentions independent contractor work.

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.

Cost to you

LifeStance Health

Its pages do not say.

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.

Private-pay sessions

LifeStance Health

Its pages do not say.

Headway

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.

Pay

LifeStance Health

Pay is printed in each job posting, by location and license, mostly as an annual range tied to a compensation model based on productivity; a posting says LifeStance may pay more or less than the posted range.

$71,000 - $90,000 per year (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Therapist, Peoria, IL)
$75,000 to $87,000+ per year (Licensed Clinical Therapist (LISW-CP/LPC/LMFT), Mt. Pleasant, SC)
$100,000 to $112,000+ per year (Child & Adolescent Therapist (LCSW, LPC, LMFT), Ashburn, VA)
4 more figures

Headway

Headway prints no rate schedule publicly. It says session rates vary by license type and insurance plan and that a practice consultant quotes them on the first call. Once you are a provider, rates are shown by carrier and CPT code in the provider portal under Rates & Agreements.

When you are paid

LifeStance Health

Its pages do not say.

Headway

Paid twice a month, on the 15th and the last day of the month. Headway's rates article says providers are paid on time every two weeks whether or not Headway has been reimbursed by the insurer.

Insurance credentialing

LifeStance Health

LifeStance credentials and enrolls its clinicians itself: it holds delegated credentialing authority from several payors and submits local payor applications on the clinician's behalf after hire.

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.

Clients

LifeStance Health

LifeStance says billing, admin and marketing are done for therapists.

Headway

Headway matches new clients from its marketplace to you, and you can also bring your own clients, who get a direct booking link. Private pay clients can be seen and billed through Headway (not Medicare or Medicaid clients). Marketplace matches can be paused after a pattern of cancelled or missed first appointments.

Schedule and caseload

LifeStance Health

The therapist page says therapists make their own schedules and choose their telehealth and in-person mix. Some postings add on-site or hybrid terms, for example a minimum of 3 days in the office at the Ashburn, VA posting. No minimum caseload is stated.

Headway

You set your own weekly working hours and locations in the provider portal, and new clients can book only into the openings you leave. Clients cannot book less than 2 hours ahead.

Malpractice insurance

LifeStance Health

Many of its therapist postings list malpractice insurance among the benefits (139 of the postings open on 2026-10-31 mention it), for example '100% malpractice insurance coverage' in its Ashburn, VA posting. The careers benefit pages do not list it.

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.

In person

LifeStance Health

Clinicians can see clients in person at LifeStance centers or by telehealth, in a hybrid mix.

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.

What it provides

LifeStance Health

LifeStance says it provides support services that minimize administrative work, and postings add that administrative support handles billing and scheduling and that clinicians work in a full EMR.

Headway

Headway includes a free EHR (scheduling, messaging, notes, telehealth video, billing). You may keep using another EHR instead.

Requirements

LifeStance Health

The therapist page says an active clinical license is required, and postings require licensure in the state of the role (for example Illinois: an active license, not in process).

Headway

You must be licensed and credentialed with the client's plan in the state where the client is during the session. Headway also requires your own professional liability insurance, an NPI and a DataSpring (CAQH) profile, and a DEA registration for prescribers. PSYPACT is not accepted as a license. Some Anthem BCBS plans require you to live in the state.

Where

LifeStance Health

LifeStance says it is hiring in 35 states and has more than 550 centers.

Headway

Headway supports independently licensed providers in all 50 states.

Benefits

LifeStance Health

Health, dental, vision and life insurance, paid parental leave and a 401(k) with matching. Postings also mention a 401k match of up to 4%, CEUs and sign-on bonuses at some locations.

Headway

Its pages do not say.

Licenses

LifeStance Health

Clinical social workers, Licensed counselors, Marriage and family therapists, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Psychiatric nurse practitioners, Physician assistants, Pre-licensed or associate clinicians Accepts pre-licensed or associate clinicians.

Headway

Clinical social workers, Licensed counselors, Marriage and family therapists, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Psychiatric nurse practitioners

Rates

The rate Headway does not print

Headway prints 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.

Medicare 2026, national amount per session (office, or telehealth to a client at home)
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

Questions

LifeStance Health vs Headway for therapists: questions, answered

LifeStance Health vs Headway for therapists: what is the difference?: LifeStance Health hires you as an employee; Headway lets you keep your own practice and 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. LifeStance Health prints pay from $71,000 - $90,000 per year in its own job postings; Headway publishes no pay figure. LifeStance Health credentials you with insurers; Headway credentials you with insurers and says it takes anywhere from 3 weeks to 4 months to be approved. LifeStance Health: Many of its therapist postings list malpractice insurance among the benefits (139 of the postings open on 2026-10-31 mention it), for example '100% malpractice insurance coverage' in its Ashburn, VA posting. Headway requires your own policy.
Who pays more, LifeStance Health or Headway?: LifeStance Health: Pay is printed in each job posting, by location and license, mostly as an annual range tied to a compensation model based on productivity; a posting says LifeStance may pay more or less than the posted range. Headway: Headway 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.
How does credentialing work at LifeStance Health and Headway?: LifeStance Health: LifeStance credentials and enrolls its clinicians itself: it holds delegated credentialing authority from several payors and submits local payor applications on the clinician's behalf after hire. 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.
Are LifeStance Health and Headway therapists contractors or employees?: LifeStance Health: Clinicians are W-2 employees: its therapist postings say W-2 or W2 employed, and none of the 1,390 open clinical postings on its job board mentions independent contractor work. 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.
Do LifeStance Health or Headway provide malpractice insurance?: LifeStance Health: Many of its therapist postings list malpractice insurance among the benefits (139 of the postings open on 2026-10-31 mention it), for example '100% malpractice insurance coverage' in its Ashburn, VA posting. The careers benefit pages do not list it. 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.
Can pre-licensed or associate clinicians join LifeStance Health or Headway?: LifeStance Health accepts pre-licensed or associate clinicians. Headway's pages do not say.
Can you see clients in person through LifeStance Health or Headway?: LifeStance Health: Clinicians can see clients in person at LifeStance centers or by telehealth, in a hybrid mix. 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.

Pay alerts

Know when LifeStance Health or Headway 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.

See the roles

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.

See The Practice Academy

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.

See Blueprint

OnlineTherapy.me is an informational data platform, not an employer, recruiter or legal adviser. Neither LifeStance Health nor Headway pays it for this page or its Apply links. It reports what each platform's own pages said when checked (Oct 13, 2026 and Oct 13, 2026); terms, rates and requirements change, and your agreement with the platform is what binds you.

Keep going

More for therapists choosing a platform

LifeStance Health for therapistsEvery fact LifeStance Health's pages state for clinicians, with its open roles today.Headway for therapistsEvery fact Headway's pages state for clinicians, with its open roles today.Every platform comparedHeadway, Alma, Grow Therapy, Rula, SonderMind and the others in one table, with every head-to-head.LifeStance Health vs Headway for clientsThe same two compared for people choosing care: cost, insurance and how you start.Medicare rates by stateWhat Medicare pays for each therapy code where you practice, by license.Malpractice insurance by platformWhich platforms cover you and which require your own policy.

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