Headway's $9.99 Fee for Therapists: What It Covers, When It Starts, and What It Costs You
Short answer: Headway is adding a $9.99 fee to every session with a client who found you through its marketplace, deducted from your payout for as long as you see that client. It doesn't apply to clients you bring yourself or who book through your own direct link, and Headway's help center says it rolls out state by state starting November 9, 2026, reaching every state by the end of 2026.
Your contracted insurance rate doesn't change, and clients don't pay more. What changes is what you keep from each session with a marketplace client, and that depends on how many of your clients come from Headway's search versus from you.
I used Headway myself when I was building my practice. Early on, Aetna through Headway paid me more per session than my own private pay fee, so I took it. Later I stopped taking insurance. A platform was a useful step for me, and it can be for you too, as long as you know what it costs.
Business education, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Headway's terms can change; confirm the details in your own Headway account and agreement. Headway's help center and the other sources below were checked November 2, 2026.
The short version
- The fee: $9.99 per session with a client Headway connected you with, for the whole time you see them. It's the same for every health plan, and it applies to private pay sessions with that client too.
- Who's exempt: clients you add yourself, clients who book through your direct link, clients who come straight to your Headway profile from a search engine or by searching your name, and anyone you started seeing before the fee started in your state.
- When: state by state from November 9, 2026, per Headway's help page updated October 31. You get at least 7 days' notice by email and an in-app banner.
- The math: one weekly marketplace client costs about $480 a year in fees. Three cost more than an annual Alma membership.
- Your lever: where your clients come from. The more people find you directly, the less the fee touches you.
In this guide
- What is Headway's marketplace fee?
- When does the Headway fee start in my state?
- Which sessions include the fee, and which don't
- How much the Headway fee costs per year
- Headway vs. Alma vs. private pay after the fee
- What to do now: a checklist
- Ethics questions therapists are raising
- Frequently asked questions
For the full side-by-side of the two biggest platforms, see Alma vs. Headway.
What is Headway's marketplace fee?
Headway's help center article on the marketplace service fee describes it as "a $9.99 marketplace service fee on every appointment with a new client who finds you through our marketplace," the place where prospective clients search for care on Headway. Headway says the fee supports "marketplace improvements, marketing, health system partnerships, support, and more."
Three details matter most:
- It recurs. The fee "applies for as long as you see that client, not just their first session."
- It comes out of your pay. It's deducted from your regular payout, one fee per session. There's no separate bill, and Headway says it "isn't a change to your contracted rate" and has "no impact on what clients pay."
- It covers private pay, too. It "applies to both insurance and private pay sessions" with a marketplace client.
Until now, Headway's pitch to therapists was that it charged no membership fee. It still doesn't. The new fee is tied to the clients its marketplace sends you.
When does the Headway fee start in my state?
Headway's help page, updated October 31, 2026, says the fee "will be introduced on a state by state basis starting November 9th 2026, and reach every state by the end of 2026." It follows your primary practice state, and Headway says it will notify you at least 7 days before it starts for you, by email and with a banner in your account.
Earlier reports gave a different timeline. ClearHealthCosts reported on October 12 that the fee "kicked in Oct. 8" for Virginia, Washington, Georgia, Ohio, and Illinois, and a therapist-started Change.org petition also named October 8. Headway's current page says November 9, and Choosing Therapy's Headway review (updated October 27) also describes the fee as starting in November. Because the sources disagree, go by the notice in your own account and email: that's the date that applies to you.
Headway also says the fee is never retroactive. It applies to marketplace clients who book with you on or after your state's start date.
Which sessions include the fee, and which don't
This is the part most worth understanding, because it decides what you actually pay. Headway sets each client's "source" by how they first found you on Headway, and that source stays the same for every session after that.
| Situation | Fee? |
|---|---|
| Client matched with you through Headway's marketplace search | Yes, every session |
| Client who found you through a Headway ad | Yes |
| Client placed by Headway's booking team | Yes |
| Client referred by a connected partner, such as a health plan or health system | Yes |
| Client who found you through Headway's AI integrations, like ChatGPT | Yes |
| Client you add yourself (Add Client or your calendar) | No |
| Client who books through your direct link, wherever you shared it | No |
| Client who lands straight on your Headway profile from a search engine (not an ad), or by searching your name on Headway | No |
| Anyone you started seeing before the fee started in your primary state | No |
| Cancelled sessions and no-shows | No (any cancellation fee you charge is paid to you in full) |
Source: Headway help center, checked November 2, 2026.
A few rules that are easy to miss:
- Source is set per provider. If a client already sees someone else on Headway and then finds you on the marketplace, they're a marketplace client for your sessions only.
- Group practices: the fee follows each provider's primary state, and the admin controls marketplace settings. A supervisor and supervisee are never both charged for the same session.
- Turning off marketplace visibility stops new marketplace clients, and new fees, but clients who already booked through the marketplace after your start date keep the fee.
Notice that Headway's own exemptions favor clients who find you directly: through your link, your website, or a plain web search for your name. Clients who come through Headway's AI integrations, like ChatGPT, count as marketplace clients, but people who find you through your own website, Google profile, or AI search and book through your link don't.
How much the Headway fee costs per year
$9.99 is small for one session. Because it repeats, what matters is how many marketplace clients you see each week. These are illustrations using 48 working weeks, not quotes.
| Weekly marketplace clients | Sessions a year | Fees a year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 48 | About $480 |
| 3 | 144 | About $1,440 |
| 5 | 240 | About $2,400 |
| 10 | 480 | About $4,800 |
| 15 | 720 | About $7,190 |
As a share of what you're paid, the fee hits lower-paying plans hardest:
| What a session pays you | $9.99 as a share |
|---|---|
| $80 | About 12.5% |
| $100 | About 10% |
| $120 | About 8.3% |
| $150 | About 6.7% |
Headway doesn't publish its insurance rates, so plug in your own. The free therapy fee calculator helps you see what you'd keep per session, and per year, with and without the fee.
Headway vs. Alma vs. private pay after the fee
The old comparison was simple: Headway costs nothing up front, Alma charges a membership. Now it depends on where your clients come from. All figures as of November 2, 2026.
| Headway | Alma | Private pay on your own | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Membership | None | $125 a month, or $95 a month billed annually ($1,140 a year), per Choosing Therapy's October 2026 review | None |
| Per-session platform fee | $9.99 on marketplace clients only | None reported | None |
| Clients you bring yourself | No fee if added directly or booked through your link | Covered by the membership | Yours |
| Private pay income | $9.99 still applies to marketplace clients' private pay sessions | Alma says "the income from your cash-pay clients stays with you" (Alma for providers) | Yours, minus your card processor's fee |
| Insurance billing and credentialing | Included | Included | You do it, or don't take insurance |
Here's the rough break-even: at 48 weeks a year, three weekly Headway marketplace clients cost about $1,440 in fees, more than Alma's $1,140 annual plan. One or two cost less. If most of your platform clients come from your own referrals and website, Headway's fee may barely touch you.
Fees are only half the picture. Pay rates differ by platform, plan, state, license, and session code, and a few dollars more per session from one platform can outweigh any fee. Our guide to credentialing with insurance companies covers the third option, contracting with insurers directly, and how much to charge for therapy covers setting a private pay fee.
What to do now: a checklist
You don't have to decide anything today. These steps keep your options open.
- [ ] Find your direct link. It's in your Headway Profile settings. Use it everywhere you send people to book: your website, your Psychology Today profile, your email signature, your referral partners.
- [ ] Watch for your notice. Headway emails you and shows a banner at least 7 days before the fee starts for you.
- [ ] Check your Payments tab after it starts. Each marketplace fee shows as its own line, and that client's page shows it under Pricing.
- [ ] Count your sources. How many current clients came from Headway's search, and how many from you? That number tells you what the fee will cost.
- [ ] Decide on marketplace visibility. You can turn it on or off in Sigmund under Settings, then New Clients Settings. Turning it off hides you from Headway's search but keeps your direct link working.
- [ ] Compare rates in writing. Ask Headway, Alma, and any insurer you'd contract with directly for your actual rates by plan and session code.
- [ ] Read your updated agreement. Note how you'd leave, what happens to records, and how much notice you get of future changes.
If you're still opening your practice, this decision fits into a bigger order: license, entity, insurance choice, then fees. The state-by-state guide shows what your state requires, and the cornerstone guide to starting a private practice puts each step in order.
How Well Launched helps: Well Launched walks you through the insurance decision for your license and state: private pay, a platform, going direct, or a mix, and what each means for your fee and paperwork. Then it helps you get found directly, with a website, Google profile, and directory profiles that send people to you, so fewer of your clients depend on any one platform's search. The free checklist shows where each step fits.
Ethics questions therapists are raising
Some therapists and billing consultants quoted by ClearHealthCosts have asked whether a recurring fee tied to a referred client conflicts with professional ethics codes that restrict paying for referrals, or with state fee-splitting laws. Headway calls it a marketplace service fee, and as far as we could find, no licensing board or court has ruled on whether a fee like this counts as a referral payment.
If this concerns you, ask your licensing board or a health care attorney in your state before your start date. That's a question only they can answer for your license.
Many therapists also signed the Change.org petition asking Headway to replace the recurring charge with a one-time client acquisition fee; it showed 1,788 verified signatures when we checked on November 2, 2026. Headway hasn't announced any change to the fee.
Frequently asked questions
Does Headway charge therapists a fee now?
Yes, for some clients. Headway still has no membership fee, but it's adding $9.99 to every session with a client who found you through its marketplace, rolling out state by state from November 9, 2026. Clients you bring yourself don't carry it.
Does the Headway fee apply to private pay clients?
Yes, if they're marketplace clients. Headway says the fee applies to both insurance and private pay sessions with a client who found you through its marketplace.
How do I avoid the Headway marketplace fee?
Bring your own clients and have them book through your direct link. Clients you add yourself, clients who book through your link, and clients who reach your Headway profile from a search engine or your name don't carry the fee. You can also turn off your marketplace visibility, which stops new marketplace clients.
Does the fee apply to clients I already see?
No. Headway says the fee is never retroactive: clients you started seeing before the fee started in your primary practice state don't carry it, however they found you.
Do clients pay more because of the fee?
No. Headway says there's "no impact on what clients pay for care," and your contracted rate doesn't change. The fee is deducted from your payout.
Is Headway still cheaper than Alma?
It depends on your marketplace clients. With no marketplace clients, Headway has no fees. At about three weekly marketplace clients, Headway's fees pass Alma's $1,140 annual membership.
Sources
- Headway Help Center, "Understanding the marketplace service fee" (updated October 31, 2026) (checked November 2, 2026)
- ClearHealthCosts, "Headway adds new charge for client therapy referrals on its site" (October 12, 2026)
- Change.org, "Urge Headway to adopt a fair fee structure for marketplace referrals" (checked November 2, 2026)
- Choosing Therapy, Headway for therapists review (updated October 27, 2026)
- Choosing Therapy, Alma for therapists review (updated October 19, 2026)
- Alma, for providers (checked November 2, 2026)
Get found directly, in the right order
The free checklist lays out every step to open your practice for your license and state, including the insurance decision. Want your website and profiles built so clients can find you on their own? See the plans.
Related: Alma vs. Headway · Credentialing with insurance companies · How therapists show up in ChatGPT and AI search
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