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Healthcare · head to head

Kareo vs Talkspace

Kareo logo

Kareo

Healthcare

Cloud-based EHR and billing for small practices

From
$99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Talkspace logo

Talkspace

Healthcare

Consumer online therapy and psychiatry app billed by subscription or insurance copay

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Kareo kareo is now part of Tebra and sold under the Tebra brand rather than as a standalone product; Talkspace without insurance, self-pay plans can run into the hundreds of dollars a month, materially more than many people expect from an app-based service.
  • They diverge on capability: Kareo covers Electronic Health Records, Talkspace covers Messaging therapy.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kareo and Talkspace actually diverge.

Attributes where Kareo and Talkspace differ
AttributeKareoTalkspace
Starting price$99/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionSubscription or insurance copay
PlatformsWeb, MobileiOS, Android, Web
Founded2010Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Healthcare).

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 Kareo

  • Electronic Health Records
  • Scheduling
  • Patient Portal
  • Medical Billing
  • Payment Processing
  • Labs
  • Pharmacies
  • Clearinghouses

Only in Talkspace

  • Messaging therapy
  • Live sessions
  • Psychiatry
  • Insurance billing
  • Therapist matching and switching
  • Teen therapy

What people use each for

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

Kareo

  • Practice management, scheduling and billing for independent medical practicesnot Talkspace
  • Electronic health records and e-prescribing for small clinicsnot Talkspace
  • Insurance claim submission and patient payment collectionnot Talkspace

Talkspace

  • Someone wanting to start therapy without waiting weeks for an in-person appointmentnot Kareo
  • A person whose insurance is in-network with Talkspace, getting therapy at a standard copaynot Kareo
  • Someone who prefers asynchronous messaging therapy over scheduled live sessionsnot Kareo
  • A patient needing psychiatric medication management alongside or instead of talk therapynot Kareo

Where each one falls short

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

Kareo

  • Kareo is now part of Tebra and sold under the Tebra brand rather than as a standalone product
  • Tebra publishes no rate: pricing varies with provider count, features and implementation requirements and is quoted during a demo
  • Billing counts clinical providers such as MDs, DOs, NPs and PAs, so adding a prescriber raises the bill even though non clinical staff are free
  • Electronic prescribing of controlled substances setup costs about $75 per provider as a one time fee
  • PDMP integration costs $500 one time per facility plus about $50 per user per year

Talkspace

  • Without insurance, self-pay plans can run into the hundreds of dollars a month, materially more than many people expect from an app-based service.
  • Psychiatry is billed as a separate service from therapy, so a user wanting both medication management and talk therapy pays two distinct charges.
  • Message-based therapy is not equivalent to weekly live sessions for every clinical need, and some conditions are better served by in-person or live-only care.
  • Therapist continuity is not guaranteed; a matched provider can leave the platform, requiring the user to rematch and rebuild rapport with someone new.
  • Cancelling a subscription plan requires navigating Talkspace's account settings or support, and complaints about difficulty cancelling or unexpected renewal charges have been documented by users.

Pricing, plan by plan

Kareo

$99/month
  • Starter$99/month
    • EHR
    • Scheduling
    • Patient Portal
  • Professional$199/month
    • Everything in Starter
    • Billing
    • Reporting

Talkspace

On request
  • Messaging Therapy (self-pay)$undefined/week
    • Roughly 69 USD a week billed monthly, messaging only
    • Live session add-ons cost extra
  • Messaging Plus Sessions (self-pay)$undefined/week
    • Roughly 99 to 129 USD a week billed monthly, includes live sessions
  • Insurance plan$undefined/session
    • Cost set by the user's own insurance plan, not Talkspace, when in-network
  • Psychiatry$undefined/visit
    • Initial evaluation priced separately, commonly a few hundred dollars
    • Lower cost follow-up visits

Which should you pick?

Choose Kareo if

  • You need electronic health records.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want scheduling.
Kareo review

Choose Talkspace if

  • You need messaging therapy.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want live sessions.
Talkspace review

Questions people ask

Is Kareo or Talkspace better?
Neither clearly leads. Kareo starts at $99/month and Talkspace at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kareo or Talkspace?
Kareo starts at $99/month and Talkspace at On request.
Does Kareo or Talkspace run on more platforms?
Kareo runs on Web, Mobile. Talkspace runs on iOS, Android, Web.
What is Kareo best used for?
Kareo is most often used for practice management, scheduling and billing for independent medical practices, electronic health records and e-prescribing for small clinics, insurance claim submission and patient payment collection. Of those, practice management, scheduling and billing for independent medical practices and electronic health records and e-prescribing for small clinics are not what Talkspace is typically brought in for.
What can Kareo do that Talkspace cannot?
Kareo covers Electronic Health Records, Scheduling, Patient Portal, Medical Billing. Talkspace covers Messaging therapy, Live sessions, Psychiatry, Insurance billing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Kareo: Does Kareo publish its pricing?

No. Kareo (now rebranded as Tebra) uses custom per-practice pricing that varies based on the number of providers, features needed, and implementation requirements. Pricing is determined during a demo with the sales team.

Source
Talkspace: Does insurance make Talkspace cheaper?

Yes, if in-network with your plan, you generally pay your plan's standard copay rather than Talkspace's self-pay list price.

Kareo: Are there discounts for adding multiple modules?

Yes. Tebra states that many practices qualify for bundled pricing or volume incentives when adopting multiple modules like EHR, billing, and patient experience tools together.

Source
Talkspace: Is psychiatry included in a therapy plan?

No, psychiatry for medication management is billed separately from therapy subscription plans.

Kareo: What are the additional costs for controlled substance prescribing?

For providers who prescribe controlled substances, EPCS setup costs approximately $75 per provider as a one-time fee, and PDMP integration costs $500 one-time per facility plus around $50 per user per year.

Source
Talkspace: Can I choose my own therapist?

You are matched initially based on an intake questionnaire, but you can request a different therapist if the match is not a good fit.

Kareo: Does Kareo offer a free trial?

Kareo's website does not mention a free trial option. Access to pricing and trial arrangements requires contacting the sales team to request a demo.

Source
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