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Healthcare · head to head

Included Health vs Talkspace for Business

Included Health logo

Included Health

Healthcare

Care navigation and virtual care in one contract for self funded employers and health plans

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Talkspace for Business logo

Talkspace for Business

HR

Employer and payer channel for Talkspace therapy, sold as an in-network benefit rather than a session block

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Included Health owning both the navigation recommendations and the virtual care delivery creates a structural incentive to steer members to the vendor own clinicians, and an employer should require disclosure and measurement of how often that happens.; Talkspace for Business access depends on the member insurance plan, so a workforce split across several carriers gets inconsistent coverage and the benefits team fields complaints it cannot resolve.
  • They diverge on capability: Included Health covers Care navigation, Talkspace for Business covers Messaging and live therapy.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Included Health and Talkspace for Business actually diverge.

Attributes where Included Health and Talkspace for Business differ
AttributeIncluded HealthTalkspace for Business
CategoryHealthcareHR

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Included Health

  • Care navigation
  • Provider quality steerage
  • Expert medical opinion
  • Virtual primary care
  • Virtual behavioural health
  • Virtual urgent care
  • Benefits integration

Only in Talkspace for Business

  • Messaging and live therapy
  • Psychiatry
  • In-network insurance billing
  • Fifty state licensure
  • Teen and youth programmes
  • Medicare coverage
  • Broker and consultant channel

Both cover

  • Employer reporting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Included Health

  • A large self funded employer whose members cannot tell which specialist to see and who currently absorbs the cost of poor referral decisionsnot Talkspace for Business
  • An employer that has bought several point solutions and needs one front door that routes members to the ones already paid fornot Talkspace for Business
  • A self funded plan wanting expert second opinions before high cost elective surgery, where a changed recommendation pays for the programmenot Talkspace for Business
  • An employer replacing separate navigation and telehealth vendors with one contract and one member experiencenot Talkspace for Business

Talkspace for Business

  • An employer whose workforce already has behavioural health coverage and wants engagement and access improved rather than to buy a second paid benefitnot Included Health
  • A school district commissioning adolescent therapy access across a city rather than staffing counsellors at every schoolnot Included Health
  • A health plan expanding behavioural health network adequacy without recruiting providers directlynot Included Health
  • An employer with a geographically dispersed workforce where local therapist availability, not funding, is the binding constraintnot Included Health

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Included Health

  • Owning both the navigation recommendations and the virtual care delivery creates a structural incentive to steer members to the vendor own clinicians, and an employer should require disclosure and measurement of how often that happens.
  • Pricing is per employee per month across the whole eligible population, so a plan with low navigation engagement pays for everyone to serve the minority who call.
  • Savings claims rest on avoided costs and changed referral decisions, which are counterfactual by nature, so performance guarantees need very careful definition or they measure activity rather than money.
  • The company is a merger of three organisations with different origins, and members and benefits teams still encounter seams between navigation, virtual primary care and behavioural health that the single brand implies are absent.
  • It sells primarily to large self funded employers, so mid market employers and fully insured plans find both the pricing and the implementation effort disproportionate to their size.

Talkspace for Business

  • Access depends on the member insurance plan, so a workforce split across several carriers gets inconsistent coverage and the benefits team fields complaints it cannot resolve.
  • The clinical model grew from asynchronous messaging, which suits some presentations poorly, and buyers expecting a conventional weekly video therapy relationship should confirm what their population will actually get.
  • Published research is extensive but largely vendor-affiliated and focused on engagement and symptom scores rather than independent comparative effectiveness against alternative benefits.
  • Because much of the cost sits with the health plan, the employer has weaker leverage over provider supply and wait times than under a directly purchased session block.
  • Coverage is United States centric, so a multinational employer cannot use this as a global mental health benefit and will need a second vendor for other regions.

Pricing, plan by plan

Included Health

On request
  • Included Health$undefined/year
    • Per employee per month across the eligible population, quoted not published
    • Navigation and virtual care modules priced separately or bundled
    • Some components offered with performance guarantees tied to measured savings

Talkspace for Business

On request
  • Talkspace for Business$undefined/year
    • Delivered in network and reimbursed by the health plan where coverage applies
    • Employer or public body contracts for access, engagement and reporting
    • Sponsored session blocks available where insurance coverage does not apply

Which should you pick?

Choose Included Health if

  • You need care navigation.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want provider quality steerage.
Included Health review

Choose Talkspace for Business if

  • You need messaging and live therapy.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want psychiatry.
Talkspace for Business review

Questions people ask

Is Included Health or Talkspace for Business better?
Neither clearly leads. Included Health starts at On request and Talkspace for Business at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Included Health or Talkspace for Business?
Included Health starts at On request and Talkspace for Business at On request.
Does Included Health or Talkspace for Business run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Included Health best used for?
Included Health is most often used for a large self funded employer whose members cannot tell which specialist to see and who currently absorbs the cost of poor referral decisions, an employer that has bought several point solutions and needs one front door that routes members to the ones already paid for, a self funded plan wanting expert second opinions before high cost elective surgery, where a changed recommendation pays for the programme, an employer replacing separate navigation and telehealth vendors with one contract and one member experience. Of those, a large self funded employer whose members cannot tell which specialist to see and who currently absorbs the cost of poor referral decisions and an employer that has bought several point solutions and needs one front door that routes members to the ones already paid for are not what Talkspace for Business is typically brought in for.
What can Included Health do that Talkspace for Business cannot?
Included Health covers Care navigation, Provider quality steerage, Expert medical opinion, Virtual primary care. Talkspace for Business covers Messaging and live therapy, Psychiatry, In-network insurance billing, Fifty state licensure. Both handle Employer reporting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Included Health: What exactly is Included Health?

The combination of Grand Rounds Health navigation, Doctor On Demand virtual care and the original Included Health concierge service, operating under one brand since late 2021.

Talkspace for Business: Who pays for the therapy?

Frequently the health plan, because Talkspace is in network with major insurers and Medicare. Employers may also buy sponsored session blocks where coverage does not apply.

Included Health: Who pays for it?

The self funded employer or the health plan pays a per employee per month fee. Virtual care visits may also carry member cost sharing depending on plan design.

Talkspace for Business: Is this a separate product from consumer Talkspace?

It is the same clinical network and platform sold through an organisational channel with contracting, eligibility and reporting layered on top.

Included Health: Is there a minimum size?

No published minimum, but it sells primarily to large self funded employers and the pricing and implementation effort do not suit small organisations.

Talkspace for Business: Does it include psychiatry?

Yes, prescribing care and medication management are available within the same provider network.

Included Health: How does it recommend providers?

Through data driven quality analysis rather than a plain directory. Ask specifically how those recommendations are produced and how often they resolve to the company own virtual clinicians.

Talkspace for Business: Can we use it outside the United States?

No. Provider licensure and insurance coverage are United States based, so multinational employers need a separate vendor elsewhere.

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