Headway's $9.99 Fee: How to Avoid It on New Clients

Last updated: November 2, 2026

Starting this month, Headway takes $9.99 out of your payout for every session with a new client it connects you with. Not just the first session. Every one, for as long as that client stays with you.

But the fee has clear limits, and they're written into Headway's own terms. Clients who book through your direct link don't trigger it. Neither do clients who land on your profile from a regular Google search. So the real question isn't whether to panic. It's how many of your new clients you can send through those fee-free doors.

Below is what the fee is, who it applies to, and the practical setup that keeps more new clients on the right side of it. (Terms as of November 2, 2026. Headway has already revised them once since announcing, so check its help center before you change anything in your practice.)

The fee in short

Headway charges $9.99 per appointment with a qualifying client. It comes straight out of your regular payout, so there's no separate bill. The amount is the same for every health plan, and it applies to insurance and private-pay sessions alike.

The rollout goes state by state, based on your primary practice state. It started in November 2026 and should reach every state by the end of the year. Headway says you'll get at least seven days' notice by email and a banner in your account, and the fee is never applied to sessions before your start date.

Your contracted rate doesn't change. Neither does what your clients pay. The money comes out of your take-home, and there's no fee on cancellations or no-shows.

Which clients it applies to (and which it doesn't)

The fee depends on how a client first found you. Headway sets that source on the client's first booking, and it sticks for the whole time you see them.

Two details catch people out. Health system referrals were exempt in the first version of the terms, but the October 16 update moved them onto the charged side. And if you turn off your marketplace listing later, clients who already booked through the marketplace after your start date keep the fee for as long as you see them.

If a client you brought in yourself shows up as a marketplace client, raise it with Headway support before their next session.

What it can add up to

Here's a simple example, not an average. Say 10 of your weekly clients came to you through Headway's marketplace after your start date, and you see them for 45 weeks of the year. That's 10 × 45 × $9.99, or $4,495.50 a year out of your pay. At 20 marketplace clients a week, it's $8,991.

Plug in your own numbers. If only two or three of your clients came through the marketplace, the fee barely registers. If most of your caseload did, it's real money, and that's the number worth working on.

How to steer new clients to fee-free routes

None of this is a trick. Every step below uses an exemption Headway wrote into its own terms. The idea is simple: make your direct link the easiest way to book you, everywhere a client might find you.

1. Grab your direct booking link. You'll find it in your Headway profile settings. Treat it as your one main booking link from now on.
2. Put it on your website. Make it the "Book a consultation" button, and put that button on every page, not just the contact page. Clients who book from your own site cost you nothing extra.
3. Add it to your directory profiles. Psychology Today and any other directory you're listed on should point to your website or your direct link wherever the profile allows a link.
4. Use it in your email signature and replies. When someone emails or calls to ask about openings, send the direct link, not a link to your Headway search listing.
5. Get your Google Business Profile in shape. Plenty of clients search your name or "therapist near me" before they book. A complete Google profile that points to your website catches those people first. And even when someone lands on your Headway profile straight from a normal Google result on their first visit, Headway's terms say that client is exempt too.
6. Decide on your marketplace setting. In Headway, New Clients Settings controls whether you appear in its client search. Turning it off stops new marketplace clients (and new fees), and your direct link keeps working. But if the marketplace fills most of your openings right now, keeping it on might still be worth $9.99 a session. That's your call, not a rule.

Check where your current clients come from

Before you change anything, spend 20 minutes on this. Go through your new clients from the last three months and note how each one first found you: Headway search, your direct link, Google, Psychology Today, a referral from a colleague, or word of mouth.

If most already came through your link or your own site, the fee will barely touch you. If most came from Headway's marketplace, that's your starting point. A few months of steady work on your website and Google profile can shift that mix, so fewer of next year's clients carry the fee.

Where wwisermind fits

If your website doesn't have a clear booking button, or your Google profile is thin, that's exactly the work we do at wwisermind. Our free website scorecard is a good first step. It shows what's missing on your site in a few minutes, no sign-up needed.

No pressure either way. Even just putting your direct link in the right places this week will keep more of what you earn.