Mindbloom vs Better U: Price, Support and Refunds

• Choose Better U for the lowest price. Five sessions cost $500 and nine cost $792, and you pay before meeting a clinician. A Better U nurse can sit with you by video for another $59 per session.
• Choose Mindbloom for more clinician time, a published refund schedule and a superbill. Six sessions cost $1,290, billed at $430 a month for three months.
• Both prescribe compounded ketamine at psychedelic doses for use at home, and neither takes insurance. Each is defending an unresolved wrongful-death lawsuit.

Both Better U and Mindbloom screen you by video, then have a compounding pharmacy mail ketamine for at-home sessions. Better U’s first course costs $500 for five sessions and is prescribed for depression, anxiety or PTSD. Mindbloom charges $1,290 for six sessions. Both require another adult aged 18 or older to be present for every dose.

From there, the programs differ. West Hollywood-based Better U also sells weight-loss and hormone treatments. Mindbloom focuses on ketamine therapy and has published two peer-reviewed studies of its clients. Mindbloom includes more clinician contact and publishes its refund schedule. Better U stops issuing refunds once a prescription reaches the pharmacy, and its 2026 reviews include complaints about support.

This article is for information only and is not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or licensed clinician before starting, stopping, or changing any treatment.

ChoosingTherapy.com may earn a commission from the companies whose services are linked on this page.

Mindbloom vs Better U: side-by-side comparison

Prices and terms as of September 7, 2026. Better U’s per-session labels differ between pages, but the totals are the same everywhere.

Choose Better U if

• You are paying cash and can put down no more than $500. Better U’s smallest program costs $790 less than Mindbloom’s, and split-pay starts at $45 a month.
• You want a published dose ceiling. Better U lists its tablet strengths and twice-weekly schedule. Mindbloom does not publish a range.
• You want phone support. Better U publishes weekday phone hours. Mindbloom’s help center lists chat and email.
• You already have a sitter, or you would pay $59 per session for Better U’s registered nurse to join by video.
• You prefer troches or a nasal spray rather than an injection.

Choose Mindbloom if

• You want cancellation costs spelled out. Mindbloom gives a full refund if its clinician finds you ineligible, then publishes the fee at each later stage. Better U’s terms call its fees non-refundable, and users report losing a $100 clinician fee plus 3.5% even before treatment.
• You want more than one clinician consult. A six-session Mindbloom program includes two, plus three guide sessions and unlimited messaging.
• You want a superbill to try for out-of-network reimbursement. Better U does not mention superbills anywhere on its site.
• You want injectables. Mindbloom says it is the only at-home provider that offers them, and our research found no comparable at-home alternative. Better U’s former medical director told the Wall Street Journal in 2024 that the company did not consider that safe at all.
• You live in Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia or Wyoming. Mindbloom serves all 11, while Better U’s footer does not list them.

Check Mindbloom’s pricing for your state

Price and when you pay

Better U has two programs. The Introduction package includes five sessions for $500 and, according to Better U, is for mental health challenges that began within the past 12 months. The Transformation package includes nine sessions for $792 and is aimed at problems that have lasted longer than a year. You pay the full amount at a Stripe checkout to Better U Clinical, P.A., the affiliated medical group, before the clinician evaluation. Third-party financing is available. The homepage advertises split-pay from $45 or $49 a month, and users mention Affirm. A July 2026 Trustpilot reviewer objected to paying for every session before speaking with a clinician.

Better U requires an adult to be present for every dose. If you do not have one, virtual peer support from a registered nurse costs another $59 per session. That brings five sessions to $795 and nine to $1,323. Reviewers also mention a Spotify Premium subscription for the session playlists.

Mindbloom charges $1,290 for six sessions, billed at $430 a month for three months. Twelve sessions cost $2,220, and 18 cost $2,970. Billing continues until the program is paid in full, even if you have not finished the sessions. Returning clients pay $954 for six sessions or $2,322 for 18. The clinician consult is included, and Mindbloom says there are no hidden fees.

A first Mindbloom program costs about twice Better U’s list price per session. Add Better U’s nurse, and the gap narrows to between 1.0 and 1.4 times. Neither company bills insurance, though both accept HSA and FSA cards. Mindbloom provides a superbill for clinician video consults using CPT codes 99204 and 99214. It estimates up to $650 back on a 6-session program, depending on out-of-network coverage, but our research found no reported amount that was actually reimbursed. Better U’s terms say it is not in-network with any commercial health insurance plans. They also say clients agree not to submit claims to Medicare or Medicaid.

Dose options and sitter requirements

Better U publishes its protocol. The product page lists 200, 300 and 400 mg troches or rapid-dissolve tablets. Doses range from half a tablet to two tablets per session, with a ceiling of 800 mg. The same page sets a twice-weekly schedule and says 18 tablets are dispensed every 25 days.¹ The protocol sheet also lists a compounded nasal spray at 150 mg/ml. Users report troches up to 400 mg each, with some taking two to reach the published 800 mg limit. Better U’s CEO said in 2025 that the program is not a microdose.

Mindbloom does not publish a dose range. Its medical director has confirmed that the company does not publish a standard set of numbers. Users report tablet doses from 300 to 1,200 mg, held in the mouth for seven minutes, and injected doses from 60 to 100 mg. Sessions last 45 minutes to an hour. Mindbloom recommends three to seven days between the early sessions, then seven to 14 days between later ones. Its informed consent says not to proceed if your blood pressure is above 150/100.

Both companies require a sitter. Before the first Mindbloom session, a guide meets the client’s monitor by video. Mindbloom directs clients who do not have one to hire someone through Care.com. Better U says its peer supporter must be over 18 and present for every dosing session. Users report that Better U does not enforce the rule, and some say they dosed alone. Better U sends a blood pressure cuff but does not publish a cutoff.

Clinician and coaching support

A Better U package starts with one 30- to 55-minute video evaluation by a licensed clinician. Its safety information says patients may then check in with the prescriber on a recurring basis, monthly in Better U’s example, but no number of follow-ups is published. Coaching includes one 30-minute preparation call, plus one integration session in the five-session package or two in the nine-session package. Better U’s team page lists two psychiatrists, a physician assistant and a nurse practitioner as prescribers. One 2025 reviewer said they were booked with the PA because every MD appointment was full.

Mindbloom’s six-session program includes two clinician video consults: one for approval and another after session two. The 12-session program includes three, and the 18-session program includes four. Its guides are coaches, not licensed therapists. Clients get three to five one-to-one guide sessions, unlimited messaging and access to daily group integration circles. Mindbloom says its clinicians are psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners or physician assistants specialized in psychiatry. Former staff describe the clinician pool as nurse practitioners and physician assistants rather than psychiatrists.

Support is the main theme in Better U’s 2026 complaints. A multi-year client wrote on Trustpilot in January that nearly every appointment seemed to bring a new doctor or provider and that phone calls were rarely returned. Michigan users reported in July that the contact button was broken and messages went unanswered for five days. Better U had replied to 84% of negative Trustpilot reviews as of September 2026. Mindbloom reviewers complain about support chat and guides leaving mid-program. Trustpilot says Mindbloom has not replied to negative reviews.

Refunds

Better U’s June 2026 terms say fees paid are non-refundable and that buying a package does not guarantee treatment success.² Its working refund policy appears in responses to complaints rather than on the site. Better U refunds patients found ineligible before treatment starts, but not after a prescription reaches the pharmacy. One reviewer whose clinician requested outside medical clearance said the company kept a $100 clinician fee and 3.5% of the balance. In May 2026, Better U refunded a client after the pharmacy sent nasal spray instead of troches, calling it an internal error.

Mindbloom publishes its schedule in the help center. You receive a full refund if you cancel more than 24 hours before the consult or if the clinician finds you ineligible. The fee is $150 within 24 hours, $645 after the first prescription ships, and the full $1,290 after the second.³ You must cancel through chat or email because Mindbloom has no phone line.

Check what Mindbloom includes at each program size

The legal record for both companies

Each company is a defendant in one pending wrongful-death case. Neither case has been decided.

The Wall Street Journal reported in March 2026 that the family of Tricia Anne Dewey, a 41-year-old paralegal from Pound Ridge, New York, is suing Better U.⁴ A physician working with Better U prescribed ketamine while Dewey was taking prescribed Xanax. She died after the first dose, and the cause of death was ruled intoxication from the combination. Her family alleges Better U knew about the interaction. Better U has not responded publicly, and we could not locate the court file. Benzodiazepines do not appear on Better U’s published exclusion list. Mindbloom lists high-dose benzodiazepines among interacting drugs.

Ward v. Mindbloom was filed in Pitt County, North Carolina, on October 21, 2025.⁵ The estate of Phillip Ward, 27, alleges that he died of ketamine toxicity in 2023 while a Mindbloom client. Mindbloom’s CEO said the company was saddened to learn of Phillip’s death and that the care Mindbloom provided him was no different from its standard. Mindbloom is separately suing the Wall Street Journal for defamation over a 2024 headline.

As of September 7, 2026, we found no FDA, DEA, FTC, attorney general or medical board action naming either company. Both appeared in a September 2024 letter from Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi to the White House drug policy office about telehealth ketamine.⁶ Both rely on a DEA telemedicine rule that permits clinicians to prescribe controlled substances without an in-person visit. The rule runs through December 31, 2026, unless extended.⁷ The FDA says ketamine is not approved for any psychiatric condition. It also says at-home use of compounded ketamine carries additional risk because no health care provider is onsite.⁸

Mindbloom has two observational studies of its own clients in the Journal of Affective Disorders, published in 2022 and 2024. Neither included a control group.⁹ Better U publishes internal survey percentages and says a safety study is coming.

What Better U and Mindbloom users say

Lower price is the main reason users report moving from Mindbloom to Better U. They also cite Better U’s higher allowed dose per month. People considering the opposite switch, after reaching a higher Mindbloom dose, report checking whether Better U’s schedule can accommodate it and generally finding that it can.

Users who favor Mindbloom usually point to its structure. They say the higher price covers more clinician contact, more guide support and a program that helps some clients keep journaling and stay engaged.

Better U’s 2026 critics report inconsistent lozenge potency after a pharmacy change, support problems and discomfort with seeing ketamine marketed alongside weight-loss drugs. Mindbloom’s critics describe shipping gaps and being disqualified after a clearance form was not filed.

If neither program fits

Neither program is built for someone who wants insurance-covered care. Spravato is an esketamine nasal spray taken in a clinic rather than at home. It is the ketamine-class treatment insurers cover. Neither Better U nor Mindbloom offers it, and we earn nothing from it. For in-network care without ketamine, Talkiatry puts most patients at about $30 a visit once insurance applies. Grow Therapy averages $21 a session with insurance.

Call or text 988 if you are in crisis. Neither Better U nor Mindbloom offers a 24-hour clinical line.

Our Mindbloom review walks through a full session. Our Better U review from 2025 covers its app and playlists. Both use older prices than the ones in this comparison.

See Mindbloom’s programs and installment pricing