Headway, Alma and Grow Therapy are insurance-panel platforms: free to join, but the payer contract belongs to the platform, not to you, and the platform keeps a share of every insurance session. DENmaar, TheraThink and GetPaneled are fee-for-service agencies: you pay them directly and, in most cases, keep your own contract under your own NPI and tax ID. Alma discloses a flat $125 a month; Headway and Grow Therapy do not publish their insurance-reimbursement share. GetPaneled publishes a flat $79 per payer; DENmaar and TheraThink price around a bundled billing service rather than a stand-alone credentialing fee.
Which one fits depends on whether keeping your own contract matters more to you than getting onto panels for no upfront cost. Telesure is not itself a credentialing service; it is a marketplace that matches you with an independent specialist so you can compare scope, timeline and price across more than one option before committing to anyone.
What is the difference between a panel platform and a credentialing agency?
A panel platform credentials you under its own contract with each insurer and takes a share of what you are paid; a credentialing agency charges you a fee and, in most cases, leaves the contract in your name. Headway, Alma and Grow Therapy are platforms. DENmaar, TheraThink and GetPaneled are agencies. The distinction matters most if you ever want to leave: losing platform access usually means losing the panel access that came with it, while an agency-credentialed contract is yours to keep.
| Service | Model | Who holds the contract | What it costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headway | Panel platform | Headway | No fee to join; undisclosed share of insurance payouts; 2.95% confirmed on private-pay sessions |
| Alma | Panel platform | Alma | $125 a month, disclosed |
| Grow Therapy | Panel platform | Grow Therapy | No fee to join; a share of insurance reimbursements Grow Therapy does not publish |
| DENmaar | Fee-for-service agency, bundled with billing and EHR | Not stated on DENmaar's own pages | Custom quote; CoreFour package targets four major commercial payers |
| TheraThink | Fee-for-service billing company, credentialing offered alongside billing | Your own NPI and tax ID | Billing runs a percentage of paid claims plus $35 a month per tax ID and rendering NPI; credentialing has been offered free when signing up for billing |
| GetPaneled | Fee-for-service credentialing agency | Your own practice details | $79 per payer, published bundle pricing up to $499 for five payers across two states |
What is Headway and who should choose it?
Headway credentials therapists under its own arrangement with major commercial insurers, including Aetna, Cigna, several Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, UnitedHealthcare, Oscar and Oxford, plus a growing list of state Medicaid plans. There is no fee to join. Headway does not publish the percentage it keeps from insurance session payments; it has confirmed a 2.95% fee specifically on private-pay sessions billed through the platform.
Choose Headway if
You want the fastest route onto major commercial panels with no upfront cost, and you are comfortable with Headway, not you, holding the payer contract.
What is Alma and who should choose it?
Alma is a panel platform similar to Headway, with one disclosed difference: a flat $125 a month membership fee instead of an undisclosed cut of insurance payments. Alma's credentialing grants access to payer rates under Alma's own tax ID, so the contract is Alma's, not yours, the same as Headway.
Choose Alma if
You would rather know your exact monthly cost up front than accept an undisclosed percentage of every insurance payment, and contract ownership is not a priority.
What is DENmaar and who should choose it?
DENmaar bundles credentialing with billing and an EHR under one vendor, built around a CoreFour package targeting four major commercial insurers that DENmaar states cover most behavioral health claims. Pricing is a custom quote rather than a published rate, and DENmaar's own pages do not state whether the resulting contract sits under your NPI or DENmaar's.
Choose DENmaar if
You want credentialing, billing and an EHR from a single vendor and are willing to go through a sales conversation to get a price.
What is Grow Therapy and who should choose it?
Grow Therapy is a panel platform, like Headway and Alma, with a built-in client-matching directory added on top; joining is free and Grow Therapy is paid through a share of insurance reimbursements it does not publish. Grow Therapy states an average of five to seven days to submit its own onboarding paperwork, but its own help centre puts full payer credentialing, the point a session can actually be billed, at four to six months on average, sometimes longer.
Choose Grow Therapy if
You also want client referrals from a directory alongside credentialing, and a platform-held contract is an acceptable trade for speed.
What is TheraThink and who should choose it?
TheraThink is primarily a mental health billing company that also offers credentialing, keeping your own NPI and tax ID throughout rather than moving you onto a group contract. Billing runs a percentage of paid claims plus a $35 monthly fee per tax ID and rendering NPI; credentialing has been offered free as part of signing up for billing rather than priced as a stand-alone service.
Choose TheraThink if
You are already looking at a percentage-of-collections billing service and want credentialing folded into onboarding while keeping your own contract.
What is GetPaneled and who should choose it?
GetPaneled is a fee-for-service credentialing agency with a published flat price, $79 per payer, that credentials you under your own practice details rather than a group contract. Bundle pricing runs from $199 for three payer enrollments up to $499 for five payers across two states, with additional payers or states priced separately.
Choose GetPaneled if
You already know which payers and states you need, want a published flat price instead of a custom quote, and keeping your own contract matters to you.
Where does Telesure fit?
Telesure is not a credentialing service; it is a marketplace that matches you with an independent licensing or credentialing specialist so you can compare scope, timeline and price before committing to anyone. An independent specialist works under your own contract, the same as an agency, but the specialist and the price are yours to choose rather than fixed by one company's package.
The choice usually comes down to one question: does keeping your own contract matter more than avoiding an upfront fee? If yes, an agency or an independent specialist through Telesure keeps the contract in your name. If no, a panel platform gets you seeing insured patients with nothing to pay upfront, in exchange for the platform holding what you built.
Need this handled rather than researched?
Telesure matches clinicians with licensing and credentialing specialists so you can compare scope, timeline and price before committing to anyone.
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Juney Ham is the founder and CEO of Telesure, the marketplace that matches clinicians with independent licensing and credentialing specialists. Previously co-founder of Upside and CMO at Hired. Every regulatory figure on this page is taken from the issuing state board, compact commission or CMS and was verified on 28 September 2026. Fees and compact status change; confirm with the relevant board before relying on them.
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