The Best Online Marriage Counseling Services of 2024

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Updated on March 7, 2024

We may receive referral fees from providers listed below. See our full disclaimer.

Marriage counseling can repair and revive troubled relationships. Yet despite its importance, many married couples do not attend counseling for practical reasons. The work involved in having to coordinate the schedules of the two partners, especially if they have children, can be difficult. Another common challenge is for the partners to agree to spend money on therapy, especially if some of their relationship issues are tied to finances, as is quite common.

Luckily, online marriage counseling helps couples overcome these obstacles by offering a digital version of professional couples therapy. While there may not be many platforms offering online marriage counseling, there are a few reputable options, each with its own set of features, innovations, and areas of focus. For those that are unfamiliar with online therapy, choosing between the various providers can be tricky. To help couples navigate through their options, we’ve researched, compared, and reviewed the leading online marriage counseling services.

2024’s Best Online Marriage Counseling Services Compared

Talkspace

Editor’s Rating
Highlights
Price:
$99 per week
Mobile Apps:
iOS, Android
Session Types:
Video, Chat, Voice, Messaging
Pros
  • Unlimited therapy with a marriage therapist
  • All therapists are licensed and experienced
  • Convenient and easy-to-use mobile app
  • Therapy by chat, video, and audio message
  • HIPAA compliant
Cons
  • Response time depends on the individual therapist

Talkspace makes it very easy to use their service. It’s actually one of their standout features, making them a popular therapy destination. Clients signing up for the marriage counseling package on Talkspace are matched with therapists who specialize in helping couples work on their marriages and relationships.

If you’re also battling depression, stress, anxiety, or numerous other mental health issues, Talkspace therapists can help with those, and discuss their implications on your marriage.

Read our full Talkspace review.

Hey Ritual

Editor’s Rating
Highlights
Price:
$25-$65 per week
Mobile Apps:
Hybrid App
Session Types:
Video via Zoom
Pros
  • Specializes in relationship counseling
  • Sessions for individuals and couples
  • Most affordable packages
  • 14-Day money-back guarantee
  • Save 20% with promo: counseling20
Cons
  • No option for text messaging with therapists

Hey Ritual is an online marriage and relationship counseling service that’s more affordable and convenient than anything we’ve seen to date.

We tested Hey Ritual and found the sessions to be remarkably comparable in format and content to in-office sessions.

In addition, they provide digital tools for users to use in between sessions that enhance the efficacy of the live sessions.

Overall, Hey Ritual is worth considering for anyone looking to work out relationship issues with their partner or simply receive individual guidance from a professional.

Read our full Hey Ritual review.

Online-Therapy.com

Editor’s Rating
Highlights
Price:
$50 to $110 per week
Mobile Apps:
N/A
Session Types:
Video, Voice, Text Messaging
Pros
  • Unlimited communication with your therapist
  • Therapy sessions via video, voice text chats
  • Partners can join live sessions from two different devices at once
  • Therapist-guided worksheets
  • Special discount of 20% off the first month
Cons
  • No mobile app

Couples counseling at Online-Therapy.com takes a more holistic approach to helping partners rediscover their love through joint couples therapy sessions, engaging in ongoing communication with their therapist via text messaging, and employing the use of online tools, including a journal and activity plan.

Therapists at Online-Therapy.com guide users through worksheets and interactive online books via live chat and messaging. In addition, they provide a complete toolbox of resources to empower couples to improve their relationships.

Couples can join weekly live couples therapy sessions from different devices, adding even more convenience to their already user-friendly platform.

Read our full Online-Therapy.com review.

Calmerry

Editor’s Rating
Highlights
Price:
$50 to $90 per week
Mobile Apps:
iOS, Android
Session Types:
Video, Chat, Voice, Messaging
Pros
Cons

Calmerry is an affordable and user-friendly platform for teletherapy, connecting users with licensed professional counselors that we found to be highly engaged with their users.

At this time, they do not offer sessions to couples. However, they do have highly qualified and credentialed therapists who work with individuals one-on-one to help them with their marriage and relationship issues.

These sessions can be very useful in helping individuals work through the issues that may be contributing to conflicts within their relationships.

Read our full Calmerry review.

ReGain Counseling

Editor’s Rating
Highlights
Price:
$60 to $90 per week
Mobile Apps:
iOS, Android
Session Types:
Video, Chat, Voice, Messaging
Pros
  • Specializes in relationship counseling
  • Couple and individual and sessions available
  • All therapists are licensed and experienced
Cons
  • Three-way phone and video sessions not supported
  • Partners can see each other’s messages to the therapist

Regain provides marriage and couples therapy via live chat, video, and phone sessions. The therapists on their platform are licensed and experienced in providing couples therapy, whether that comes in form of a live session with the couple, or just a one-on-one session with one of the partners to discuss their relationship.

The ability to have remote sessions makes it easier for couples to find time at home to coordinate their schedules and attend therapy consistently. Aside from the convenience factor, Regain also makes getting professional marriage counseling affordable, with an unlimited therapy package that allows the couple to engage in an ongoing text-based conversation with their therapist throughout the day, helping them express and deal with issues as they come up.

Read our full ReGain Counseling review.

BetterHelp

Editor’s Rating
Highlights
Price:
$80 to $90 per week
Mobile Apps:
iOS, Android
Session Types:
Video, Chat, Voice, Messaging
Pros
  • All therapists are licensed and experienced
  • Sessions can begin with 24 hours of signup
Cons
  • Response time depends on the individual therapist
  • Not covered by insurance

BetterHelp is widely respected for helping millions of individuals overcome various mental health issues. By sheer size alone, they are the largest counseling service online – both in terms of people serviced and the total number of therapists on their platform. With BetterHelp, you have access to thousands of licensed professionals, many of whom are also marriage counselors and relationship experts. During the signup process, their matching system pairs users with therapists specializing in the areas most relevant to their needs, including marriage counseling. These therapists can assist couples or individuals who need help with their marriages, while also helping them cope with other underlying issues such as anxiety or trauma. BetterHelp also offers attractive pricing for unlimited counseling plans for couples.

Read our full BetterHelp review.

Relationship Hero

Editor’s Rating
Highlights
Price:
$80 per hour
Mobile Apps:
iOS, Android
Session Types:
Chat, Phone
Pros
  • Free 10-minute consultation
  • Monthly commitment not required
Cons
  • Sessions conducted by coaches, not licensed therapists

Relationship Hero was founded with a simple goal in mind—to provide expert advice on relationships through a private and convenient online platform. There is no need for an appointment and coaches are available 24/7 so that clients who need it most can get the instant advice they are looking for. With more than 100 people turning to this platform every day, Relationship Hero has become a valuable resource for those who need advice to navigate the difficult waters of their relationship.

Read our full Relationship Hero review.

MDLive Counseling

Editor’s Rating
Highlights
Price:
$108 per session
Mobile Apps:
iOS, Android
Session Types:
Video, Phone
Pros
  • Secure video and phone sessions
  • Easy to use appointment scheduler
  • HIPAA compliant
Cons
  • More expensive than other options

MDLive is great option for marriage counseling online. They have a phenomenal scheduling system and require high professional standards from their therapists. They also work with most major insurances, which is rare for a therapy platform.

Read our full MDLive Counseling review.

Amwell

Editor’s Rating
Highlights
Price:
$109 to $129 per session
Mobile Apps:
iOS, Android
Session Types:
Video, Phone
Pros
  • Accepts insurance
  • HIPAA compliant
Cons
  • Few therapists to choose from
  • No unlimited therapy packages offered
  • No chat messaging with therapists

Amwell is an online medical care platform that puts people in touch with healthcare professionals. In addition to doctors, and mental health professionals, they also have couples counselors available via web and mobile app for virtual sessions.

Read our full Amwell review.

Why Consider Online Marriage Counseling?

Despite so many modern-day conveniences brought to us by technological advances, fast-paced lifestyles place a high demand on our time. Between juggling a career, family obligations, errands, our health, and social life, it’s rare to find time to focus on the less tangible aspects of our lives. Our mental well-being, stress levels, and certainly our marriages don’t receive nearly as much attention as they deserve.

While we can all benefit from better prioritizing those areas of our lives that are most important, there’s only so much “fat” you can cut before you get to the “meat.” We lead busy lives and that’s not going to change. What can change, however, is how we leverage our technological advances to save us time and provide us with access to things that maybe have previously been out of reach. That’s where online marriage counseling comes in.

Coordinating weekly sessions with your spouse or partner in a therapist’s office can be a major inconvenience, not to mention a significant expense. But new platforms now exist that allow you to attend sessions with professional, licensed therapists online or via mobile app. Not only is this solution more convenient than in-person couples counseling, but it’s also more affordable. One session with a marriage counselor can cost as much as a monthly subscription for unlimited online counseling. Another often overlooked benefit is that whereas your communication with in-person marriage therapists in between sessions is normally nonexistent, with some of the providers listed above you and your spouse can engage in an ongoing dialogue with your therapist via chat, and discuss issues as they come up. This allows couples to deal with quarrels in real-time rather than having to take notes on them, and then discuss them days later with their therapists after they’ve potentially snowballed into larger fights.

The technology behind online counseling platforms is straightforward. Chat sessions are conducted in a personalized chat room that resembles your SMS function on your phone. If you’d like to speak with your counselor over the phone, you simply pick a date and time from the calendar in your designated chat room, which the therapist then confirms. Video chat scheduling works the same way as how you’d set up a phone call (simply choose a date and time that’s convenient for you from the calendar).

This level of flexibility with your therapist can open up a world of options previously unavailable to those engaging in marriage counseling. Want to talk alone, without your partner? No problem. Want to schedule an emergency dual session? No problem.

Although convenience and cost are important, the most important aspect of therapy is effectiveness. Since it’s a fairly new industry, there are no long-term studies on its efficacy. However, one recent study did report a 90% satisfaction rate for counseling online. The study, which was conducted by the Zurich University, touched on some fairly common-sense reasons as to why there was such a high satisfactory rate. Respondents noted the ability to ‘go over’ the lessons they learned within their chat room instead of relying on their memory. Furthermore, patients felt more intimacy within the online counseling sessions. They also reported that sessions with in-office therapists felt rushed compare with their online counterparts. Additionally, seeing an online counselor gave them a feeling of more individual attention.

What is Online Marriage Counseling?

Online marital counseling is exactly what its name suggests. It’s the modern-age version of marriage counseling, enabling two people in a relationship to seek professional therapy services online, via live chat, video conferencing, phone call, or messaging. Aside from being less expensive than in-person marriage counseling, it comes with additional benefits that are unique to digital services. First, sessions can be conducted from anywhere, rather than forcing the couple to coordinate their busy schedules and meet at a specific location that suits them both. Next, if the couple finds that their counselor is not a good fit, they can request a new therapist with the click of a button. Compared with the logistical headache of switching an in-person therapist, this feature is a major benefit. Lastly, it allows the couple to engage in an ongoing dialogue with their therapist throughout the day in real-time. If you are looking to save your marriage, rekindle your love, or just work out some relationship issues, online marriage counseling may be an effective solution.

So... Why Hasn’t Online Marriage Counseling Taken Off?

It’s true, online therapy for individuals has seen explosive growth, with some providers becoming household brands. If online marriage counseling is virtually the same thing, why haven’t couples flocked to this more affordable and convenient option?

Unfortunately, there are several reasons for this, many of which overlap with the myths and stigmas around counseling for individuals. However, progress is being made on this front as we, as a society, increasingly come to understand the value of professional therapy and mental health as a whole.

Online Couples Counseling Myths​

  • “Couples counseling will take years.”: False. Most couples going through online marriage counseling attend for only a short period of time, typically just 8-12 weeks. After all, time is of the essence and you want to get somewhere, without letting problems drag on. In fact, many of the therapists use new techniques to create a more efficient therapy session. This means getting to the bottom of the issues quicker, so you can start enjoying and creating a healthier and exciting relationship.

  • “My partner won’t show up so therapy won’t work.”: Mostly false. For starters, there is a common misconception that it takes two people in the marriage to show up to the counseling session. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Most online marriage counseling sessions start with only one partner involved. And, in many ways, this is more beneficial than starting with both people in the relationship. For example, imagine you have decided to sign up without your partner. After a few weeks, you personally notice a change in your attitude. This change will also be noticeable to your partner which can be an advantage in getting your partner to open up in a therapy session as well.

  • “Marriage counseling simply won’t work.”: False. There is no one-size-fits-all guide to it, but the reality is there could be. Online marital counseling comes with many misconceptions, but the most dominant one isn’t a problem with the service, but rather the individual (or couple). Try hard not to come into it with the mindset that it won’t work. Remember, this has worked for tens of thousands of couples; there’s no reason why you cannot benefit from it either. It can work, you just need to give it a chance.

  • “The therapist instinctively and subconsciously takes sides.”: Emphatically false. The counselor is here to help your relationship and only that. There is no judgment. No blaming. No lecturing. You will experience none of this from the therapist. In the exercises, your therapist will work with you and/or your partner on bettering issues like communication, consideration and thoughtfulness, compassion, connection, etc. All of this helps to drastically improve your marriage or relationship and does not benefit one partner over the other.

  • “It’s way too inconvenient.”: False. All you need is a computer or mobile device with an internet connection and you’re good to go. By allowing users to attend sessions online and communicate with their therapists via chat, these platforms make therapy more convenient than ever. Counseling can take place at any time, from any place.

  • “I can’t afford therapy.”: Mostly false. Traditional in-office therapy sessions range anywhere from $150 to $400, per session. Even when you factor in just the copay, for those that are covered, it’s not a service that’s affordable to the masses. With online marriage counseling, it’s a completely different story. You can find services that charge as little as $65 per week for live sessions and unlimited counseling. This has made the cost of therapy within reach for numerous couples.

The above-debunked myths are unfortunately what many couples tend to focus on, instead of looking towards the positives of online marriage counseling, and there are many. So let’s take a more detailed look at some of these.

Benefits of Online Couples Counseling

  • Scheduling: Coordinating a session time with two partners and a therapist can be difficult for most busy people, often resulting in lateness, cancellation, and postponement. The ability to meet from anywhere, at any time makes it much simpler to find a time that works for everyone.

  • A More Relaxed Environment: For some, the cold, sterile feel of a therapist’s office makes it difficult to open up about the most sensitive topics in their lives. Online therapy, however, allows them to attend sessions from spaces where they feel more at ease to open up, which can be far more effective.

  • Consistency​: When it comes to counseling, consistency is key and that’s exactly what you get with online counseling services. When for some reason, a couple is unable to attend a therapy session with an in-person counselor, they often cannot make-up the session due to scheduling conflicts. With online therapy, there’s much more flexibility to re-schedule since there’s no need to find a babysitter, leave work early or commute to the therapist’s office. Sessions can take place during your lunch break at work, from your home late at night, or pretty much anytime throughout the day that you and your therapist can find a window of time to speak.

  • Effectiveness​: The ability to engage in an ongoing conversation with the therapist via the private message board allows the couple to have “vent” sessions in real-time as issues come up, and receive feedback and guidance from the therapist before the next live session.

Summary

While you won’t know if online marriage counseling is right for you and your partner until you try it, there’s a lot that can be learned from hearing feedback from other people. Our editor reviews detail what you can expect from using each therapy provider. In addition, our user reviews can provide added insight into what people liked and disliked about the various services so that you can make a more informed decision.