Couples therapy typically costs between $150 and $400 per session in the United States — running roughly 55% higher than individual therapy rates. Based on self-pay data drawn from more than 104 million therapy sessions, individual therapy averages $153 per session nationally, which puts the average couples session at around $237 before factoring in your specific state, your therapist’s credentials, or your insurance status.
Marriage counseling and relationship therapy generally follow the same pricing structure as couples therapy. The different names mostly reflect what a couple wants to focus on — a marriage in crisis, a newer relationship working through a specific conflict, or a premarital check-in — rather than a separate service category with its own fee schedule. If you want a number specific to your state and situation, our therapy cost calculator will estimate it directly using the same couples-therapy pricing model referenced throughout this article.
💰 Calculate Your Local Couples Therapy Estimate
Compare self-pay rates in your state with in-network insurance copays, sliding scale options, and online subscriptions.
What Determines the Cost of Couples Therapy?
A few factors push couples therapy above the individual-session rate. The most obvious is time: couples sessions commonly run 60 to 90 minutes, compared to a standard 45- to 60-minute individual session, simply because there’s more ground to cover with two people in the room. Therapists also generally price relational work higher because it requires additional clinical training beyond a standard individual-therapy license — managing two (or more) perspectives, de-escalating conflict in real time, and tracking a relationship’s dynamics rather than one person’s internal experience is a distinct skill set.
Credentials matter here too, the same way they do for individual therapy. A licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) has trained specifically in relational and systemic work and may charge accordingly. A psychologist (PhD or PsyD) who also sees couples will typically charge toward the higher end of the range, consistent with their individual-therapy rates. Specialized training — Gottman Method certification is one of the best-known examples — can also push rates higher, since it represents additional post-licensure education specific to relationship work.
Location plays the same role it does for any therapy: rates in high cost-of-living states and metro areas run well above the national average, while rates in states with a larger supply of relationship-trained clinicians tend to sit closer to (or below) the average.
🔍 What Is Your Conflict Style Under Stress?
Before entering therapy, understanding how you and your partner instinctively react during arguments — whether through pursuing, withdrawing, pleasing, or freezing — helps clarify what your relational dynamic actually needs.
Does Insurance Cover Couples Therapy?
This is one of the most common — and most frustrating — questions couples run into, and the honest answer is: usually not, at least not directly. Health insurance is built around treating an individually diagnosed condition, and “relationship distress” isn’t a billable mental health diagnosis under most insurance frameworks. Without an individual diagnosis code attached to one partner (for example, an anxiety or depression diagnosis where the relationship is a contributing factor), most insurers won’t reimburse a session billed specifically as couples or marriage therapy.
That said, coverage isn’t always a flat no. Some therapists bill couples sessions under one partner’s individual diagnosis and mental health benefit, when that’s clinically accurate and permitted by the plan — worth asking about directly rather than assuming it’s off the table. A smaller number of insurance plans, particularly some employer-sponsored plans with broader behavioral health riders, do explicitly cover “family therapy” codes that can sometimes apply to couples work.
The most reliable way to find out is to call your insurer directly and ask specifically whether your plan covers CPT code 90847 (family/couples psychotherapy with patient present) — that’s the billing code most couples therapists use when insurance does apply.
If your plan doesn’t cover it, the same self-pay and sliding-scale options available for individual therapy generally apply here too, and many couples-specific therapists offer income-based reduced rates even when they don’t advertise it upfront.
How Much Does Marriage Therapy Cost? (Is It Different From Couples Therapy?)
Functionally, marriage therapy and couples therapy cost the exact same thing — you’re paying for the same style of session, at the same rates, from largely the same pool of providers.
The distinction that does sometimes affect price is who’s providing it. Marriage counseling is occasionally offered through faith-based or pastoral counseling centers, which frequently charge significantly less than a private-practice therapist, and in some cases offer it free as part of a religious community’s services. If cost is the primary concern and you’re comfortable with a faith-based framework, this is worth exploring specifically for marriage-focused (rather than general relationship) counseling.
Outside of that specific case, expect marriage counseling from a licensed therapist to fall in the same $150–$400 self-pay range as couples therapy generally, and to run into the same insurance-coverage limitations described above.
Premarital Counseling Cost
Premarital counseling is a distinct enough use case to call out separately, since pricing here often works differently than ongoing couples therapy. Many premarital counseling programs are sold as a fixed-length package — commonly 4 to 8 sessions — rather than open-ended weekly therapy, and package pricing frequently runs a bit lower per session than standard couples therapy, often somewhere in the $100 to $300 per session range.
There’s also a genuinely low-cost path here that doesn’t exist for general couples therapy: many churches, synagogues, and other religious institutions offer premarital counseling for free or for a nominal fee as a standard part of preparing couples for a religious wedding ceremony. If you’re planning a religious ceremony, it’s worth asking your officiant directly before assuming you need to pay private-practice rates.
Online Couples Therapy Cost
Online-only platforms built specifically for couples — ReGain is the best-known example, and BetterHelp and Talkspace both offer couples-specific plans as well — generally price couples therapy as a weekly subscription rather than a per-session fee, typically running $65 to $105 per week, billed monthly (roughly $260 to $420 per month).
This can work out cheaper than in-person self-pay rates on a straight cost comparison, but it’s worth going in with clear expectations about the trade-off: these platforms typically match you with a therapist from their own network rather than letting you choose freely by credential or specialty, and session format (often text-based check-ins between live video sessions) differs meaningfully from a traditional in-person weekly appointment. For couples specifically, the ability to choose a therapist trained in a particular relational approach can matter more than it does for individual therapy, so it’s worth weighing that trade-off deliberately rather than choosing purely on price.
How Many Sessions of Couples Therapy Do You Need? (Total Cost Estimate)
Per-session cost only tells part of the story — the real budgeting question is how many sessions you’re likely to need. Most structured couples therapy approaches (the Gottman Method being one of the most widely used) are generally designed around a course of roughly 12 to 20 sessions for a specific, well-defined issue, though ongoing or more complex situations can run longer.
- 12-Session Course (Short-term focus): At weekly sessions and an average rate of $237, a 12-session course runs roughly $2,844.
- 20-Session Course (In-depth repair): A 20-session course runs closer to $4,740.
While this is a wide range, calculating the total helps set realistic budget expectations before you start rather than being surprised partway through.
Many couples opt for a biweekly cadence rather than weekly, which stretches that same course of sessions over a longer calendar period without necessarily changing the total number of sessions needed or the total cost — it just spreads the expense out more gradually, which is worth considering if the total feels daunting up front.
Get Your Personalized Couples Therapy Estimate
Every number in this article is a national or regional average — your actual cost depends on your specific state, whether you have insurance and what kind, and which format of therapy you’re considering. Our therapy cost calculator is built on the same underlying rate data referenced throughout this article, and applies the same ~55% couples-therapy modifier directly to your state’s baseline rate, so you can get a number specific to your actual situation in under a minute rather than estimating from a national average.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does insurance cover couples therapy?
Usually not directly, since “relationship distress” isn’t a billable individual diagnosis under most insurance plans. Some therapists can bill couples sessions under one partner’s individual mental health diagnosis when clinically appropriate — ask your therapist and insurer directly, and ask specifically about CPT code 90847.
How much does marriage counseling cost per session?
Marriage counseling generally costs the same as couples therapy — roughly $150 to $400 per session — except when provided through a faith-based or pastoral counseling center, which often charges significantly less.
How long does couples therapy take?
Most structured couples therapy programs are built around 12 to 20 sessions for a specific issue, though ongoing or more complex situations can run longer. Weekly and biweekly cadences are both common; biweekly simply spreads the same number of sessions over more time.
How much does premarital counseling cost?
Premarital counseling is often sold as a fixed package of 4 to 8 sessions, typically priced somewhat lower than ongoing couples therapy — commonly $100 to $300 per session. Many religious institutions offer it free or low-cost for couples planning a religious ceremony.
Is online couples therapy cheaper than in-person?
Generally yes on a straight cost basis — platforms like ReGain, BetterHelp, and Talkspace price couples therapy at $65 to $105 per week (about $260–$420/month) — though you typically have less control over therapist selection than choosing an in-person provider directly.
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