Online Dietitian Services Compared: Insurance, Cost and What’s Included

Key takeaways

• Four of the five services we checked on October 7, 2026 state a self-pay price, from $75 to $225 a visit; most patients use insurance instead.^[12]
• Medicare covers medical nutrition therapy for diabetes, kidney disease or a kidney transplant in the last 36 months, with a doctor's referral: 3 hours in the first year and 2 hours a year after, at no cost if you qualify.^[16]
• HealthCare.gov lists diet counseling for adults at higher risk for chronic disease among the preventive services most plans must cover in network at no cost.^[19]
• A registered dietitian holds a national CDR credential; you can check one with CDR's free credential verification.^[23]

In short: Online dietitian services connect you with a registered dietitian over video, and most of them bill your health insurance, so many people pay little or nothing per visit. They differ in which insurers they take, what a visit costs if you pay yourself (from $75 to $225 a visit on the sites we read), how long visits last, and whether they offer messaging or GLP-1 support. This page sets five services side by side, in alphabetical order, as each one described itself on October 7, 2026. We do not rank them, because they are licensed health care providers and the right fit depends on your plan, your state and your needs.

A dietitian is one of several routes to support. Our weight-loss programs hub covers commercial and medical programs, our insurance guide explains what plans tend to cover, and find a provider helps you look for local clinicians, including dietitians. If you are also thinking about medicine, telehealth weight-loss programs compared looks at services that can prescribe. This page is general education, not advice for your situation; talk with your clinician about what you need.

What each service says it includes

Every cell in this table comes from the company’s own website, read on October 7, 2026. “Not stated on its site” means we did not find it on the pages we read, not that the service does not offer it. Details change often, so confirm them with the company and your insurer before you book.

Service	Insurance accepted	Self-pay (cash) price	Visit length	App or messaging	States	GLP-1 support	Who the dietitians are
Berry Street	In network with Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare “and many more”; says 1,250+ plans	Not stated on its site	Not stated on its site	Video visits; message your dietitian in the app; in-person sessions in many states	“Most states”; ask to confirm yours	Separate GLP-1 program: video visit with a Berry Street prescriber, FDA-approved brand-name medicines only, with a dietitian	Registered dietitians; says providers are “certified and licensed where required”
Culina Health	In network with most major plans, including Aetna, BCBS, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare; Original Medicare and some Medicare Advantage plans for qualifying conditions; HSA and FSA funds for copays	Memberships $99, $169 or $229 a month; extra sessions $75 (30 min) or $100 (45 min)	60-minute first session, 45-minute ongoing sessions; membership sessions 30 or 45 minutes	App for ongoing support; message your dietitian between sessions	“Nationwide via telehealth”; matched with a dietitian who practices in your state	“GLP-1 Journey” nutrition support	Registered dietitians; co-founded by dietitians; team speaks 14 languages
Fay	“Most major insurance plans”; says 700+ plans, including Aetna, Anthem, Blue Cross plans, Cigna, Optum, Oxford, UnitedHealthcare and UMR	About $150 a session without insurance	Not stated on its site	Video (some dietitians also in person); app to track progress and keep in touch with your dietitian	“Nationwide network”	Dietitians who list “Ozempic/GLP-1s” as a specialty	Registered dietitians; says each goes through credential verification and an interview
Nourish	BCBS (including Anthem, Highmark, Independence), UnitedHealthcare (including UMR, Oxford), Aetna, Cigna, Devoted Health and Medicare for qualifying diagnoses; Medicaid not accepted	$145 a session; superbill available	Usually 50 to 60 minutes	Zoom visits; message your dietitian, log meals and see labs in the app	All 50 states	GLP-1 care listed among its specialties	All providers are registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs); network of 9,000+
Season Health	BlueCross Blue Shield, Aetna and UnitedHealthcare; Medicare and Medicaid in select states	$145 first session, $75 after (out of network)	Not stated on its site	App with recipes and a prepared-meal marketplace	Not stated on its site	GLP-1-focused nutrition consultations	Registered dietitian nutritionists

Several services also publish how many of their patients pay nothing out of pocket: Nourish says 94%, Berry Street and Season say 95% (Season counts in-network patients), and Culina says 93% of its patients get insurance coverage. These are the companies’ own figures, not independent data, and your plan’s deductible, copay or coinsurance decides what you pay. Culina says the copays it sees most often are $30 to $60 a session.

Self-pay prices side by side

Culina Health (standalone rate)$100–$225

Fay$150–$150

Nourish$145–$145

Season Health$75–$145

$0$113$225

Stated self-pay price per dietitian visit (USD, alphabetical)

Item	Low	High
Culina Health (standalone rate)	$100	$225
Fay	$150	$150
Nourish	$145	$145
Season Health	$75	$145

Culina's standalone rate ($225 first visit, $100 follow-up) applies if a membership ends early; members pay $99-$229 a month. Berry Street does not state a self-pay price.

Source: Company websites (Culina Health, Fay, Nourish, Season Health) (checked on October 7, 2026)

Paying yourself makes sense for some people, for example when insurance does not cover nutrition visits for your diagnosis or you have a high deductible you have not met. Culina says it offers memberships for exactly that case: $99 a month for one 30-minute session, $169 for two 30-minute sessions or $229 for two 45-minute sessions, each with a 60-minute first visit, and you can cancel or change the plan at any time. Unused sessions do not roll over. If you have a health savings account (HSA) or flexible spending account (FSA), ask whether you can use it; Culina says its patients can use HSA and FSA funds for copays and out-of-pocket costs. Nourish says it can give you a superbill, a receipt you can send to your insurer to ask for out-of-network payback.

For the wider picture of what weight care costs, including medicines and procedures, see our cost hub.

Registered dietitian or “nutritionist”?

The two words are not the same. A registered dietitian (RD), also called a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN), holds a national credential from the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), the credentialing agency of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. To sit the RD exam today, CDR requires at least a graduate degree from an accredited institution, accredited coursework and supervised practice, and then a passing score on the national registration exam. Many states also license dietitians. “Nutritionist” on its own is a looser word: Nourish points out that it is not a protected title, and Berry Street notes that in some places people without formal credentials can use it. Some other credentials, such as the Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS), also involve advanced training.

You can check a credential yourself. CDR has a free credential verification lookup on cdrnet.org, and the Academy’s “Find a Nutrition Expert” directory on eatright.org lets you search for RDNs by location, specialty, language and insurance or payment options. Medicare pays for its nutrition benefit only when a registered dietitian or qualified nutrition professional provides it.

What Medicare covers: medical nutrition therapy

Medicare Part B covers medical nutrition therapy (MNT) if you have diabetes or kidney disease, or have had a kidney transplant in the last 36 months, and a doctor refers you. It includes a first nutrition and lifestyle assessment, one-on-one or group nutrition therapy, help with the lifestyle factors that affect your condition, and follow-up visits. If you qualify, Medicare.gov says you pay nothing for these services.

Under the CMS national coverage policy, your treating physician can order more hours in the same year if there is a change in your condition, diagnosis or treatment that calls for a change in your nutrition therapy. Medicare covers MNT and diabetes self-management training (DSMT) together when both are needed, as long as they are not on the same day.

For online visits, Medicare.gov says that through December 31, 2027, Medicare covers telehealth services you get from anywhere in the U.S., including your home. Medicare Advantage plans may offer more. Three of the five services above say they accept Medicare in some form: Culina (Original Medicare and some Advantage plans), Nourish (for qualifying diagnoses) and Season (in select states). Nourish and Culina both say the referral must come from an MD or DO. Without diabetes, kidney disease or a recent kidney transplant, Original Medicare’s MNT benefit does not apply, although Nourish notes that some secondary plans cover a wider range of diagnoses. Our guide to type 2 diabetes and weight covers other parts of care for diabetes.

What private plans may cover: preventive diet counseling

Under the Affordable Care Act, most health plans must cover a set of preventive services at no cost to you. HealthCare.gov lists “diet counseling for adults at higher risk for chronic disease” and “obesity screening and counseling” among the preventive services for all adults. It says these are generally covered at no cost when you see an in-network provider, and that in most cases you won’t pay a copay or coinsurance for them even before you meet your deductible. Plans still decide details such as how many visits and for which diagnoses, so ask.

Those preventive services are tied to recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). In 2020 it gave a “B” grade to offering or referring adults with cardiovascular disease risk factors to behavioral counseling on a healthy diet and physical activity. It noted that the counseling in studies was mostly delivered by people other than physicians, including registered dietitians. In 2018 it recommended that clinicians offer or refer adults with a BMI of 30 or higher to intensive, multicomponent behavioral programs. The Task Force notes that the 2020 topic is now being updated.

Our medical weight loss guide explains how dietitian visits fit next to clinician care and medicines.

How to check your own coverage

Most of these services offer to check your insurance for you before you book, which helps. You can also call the member services number on your insurance card. Culina, which has a step-by-step insurance verification guide, reminds patients that it is up to the policyholder to confirm coverage and pay for denied claims. Nutrition visits are often billed as “medical nutrition therapy”, so use those words when you ask.

Write down the date, the name of the person you spoke to and a reference number for the call. If a claim is later denied, that record helps. Nourish says it handles insurance verification and claims for you, and Season says that if your insurance denies payment or the claim goes toward your deductible, it will not charge you for sessions that have already happened. Read each company’s billing terms before your first visit.

Dietitians across state lines

Services ask for your state first because a dietitian’s license is issued by a state. The Dietitian Licensure Compact’s official site explains that a dietitian needs a compact privilege to practice in a member state where they are not licensed. Culina says it matches you with a dietitian who practices in your state, and some Fay dietitians say they are licensed in several states. The compact is a new interstate agreement meant to make practice in more than one state easier; its site says it has reached activation status but is not yet issuing practice privileges, and that implementation will take about 12 to 24 months. If you move or travel, tell the service, because your dietitian may not be able to see you from another state.

Dietitians and GLP-1 medicines

All five services mention support for people on GLP-1 medicines. Nourish and Berry Street describe it as nutrition care that helps with getting enough nutrients, protecting muscle and managing side effects such as nausea. Only Berry Street says it also runs a program where its own clinicians can prescribe. It says it requires a live video visit with a prescriber before any GLP-1 prescription, prescribes only FDA-approved brand-name medicines, and pairs patients with a dietitian from the start. The other four describe nutrition support, not prescribing. For eating well on these medicines, see our GLP-1 diet guide.

What people weigh up

• Your insurer first. The biggest cost difference usually comes from whether a service is in network with your plan, not from its self-pay price.
• Approach to weight. Approaches differ. Berry Street says it takes a Health at Every Size approach and is “anti-diet”, treating weight loss as a possible side effect of better nutrition. Other services offer weight management as a specialty. Ask a dietitian how they work before you start.
• Time between visits. If you want quick answers between sessions, look for in-app messaging, which Berry Street, Culina, Fay and Nourish describe.
• Specialty and language. Most services let you choose a dietitian by condition; Culina says its team speaks 14 languages, and Nourish lists Spanish-speaking dietitians.
• Food help. Season pairs visits with recipes and prepared meals in its app. If ready meals appeal to you, our researched picks of meal delivery for weight loss compare other options.

A dietitian is not the only kind of help. Some people start with a self-guided app; our researched picks of weight-loss apps list the main ones, and how to choose a weight-loss program has a checklist that works for any service. To bring numbers to your first visit, try the calorie calculator, and for background on eating patterns, see our nutrition hub and diets hub.

Services we could not include

We include a service only when we can read its own current pages on the day we check. Foodsmart blocked automated reading of its website on October 7, 2026, so we could not check what it offers, and we did not include services whose sites we could not read in full. We will add more when we can check them directly. No company paid to be on this page, and none can buy a place on it; see our editorial standards.

Not sure which kind of support fits you? Find My Options sorts approaches by your goals, and 40 ways to lose weight compared shows where dietitian care sits next to diets, activity, medicine and surgery.

Questions to ask a professional

• Would seeing a registered dietitian help with my health goals or conditions?
• Can you refer me for medical nutrition therapy, and which diagnosis should the referral include?
• Should my dietitian and my other clinicians share notes, and how do I set that up?
• If I take a GLP-1 or diabetes medicine, what should I ask a dietitian about protein and side effects?
• How many visits make sense for me, and how often?

Frequently asked questions

Which online dietitian service is best?

We do not rank them, because they are licensed health care providers and the right fit depends on your insurance, your state and your needs. Compare which insurers each one takes, the self-pay price, visit length, messaging and specialties, and check the details with your plan.

Does insurance cover an online dietitian?

Often, yes. All five services we checked bill major insurers, and HealthCare.gov lists diet counseling for adults at higher risk for chronic disease as a preventive service. What you pay depends on your plan, your diagnosis and whether the service is in network, so ask your plan about medical nutrition therapy.

Does Medicare pay for a dietitian?

Medicare Part B covers medical nutrition therapy if you have diabetes or kidney disease, or had a kidney transplant in the last 36 months, and a doctor refers you: 3 hours in the first year and 2 hours each year after, at no cost if you qualify. Your doctor can order more hours if your condition or treatment changes.

How much does an online dietitian cost without insurance?

On the sites we read on October 7, 2026, stated self-pay prices were $145 a session at Nourish, about $150 at Fay, $145 for a first visit and $75 after at Season Health, and Culina Health memberships of $99 to $229 a month. Berry Street did not state a self-pay price.

Is a nutritionist the same as a registered dietitian?

Not always. A registered dietitian (RD or RDN) has a national credential from the Commission on Dietetic Registration, which now requires a graduate degree, supervised practice and a national exam. "Nutritionist" is not a protected title everywhere. You can check an RD on CDR's credential verification page.

References

1. Berry Street: Frequently Asked Questions (insurance, states, in-person sessions, dietitians vs nutritionists). Berry Street. (accessed October 7, 2026) Other
2. Berry Street: dietitians covered by insurance (1,250+ plans). Berry Street. (accessed October 7, 2026) Other
3. Berry Street GLP-1 FAQ. Berry Street. (accessed October 7, 2026) Other
4. Berry Street app. Berry Street. (accessed October 7, 2026) Other
5. Culina Health: virtual registered dietitians covered by insurance. Culina Health. (accessed October 7, 2026) Other
6. Culina Health: insurance and Medicare. Culina Health. (accessed October 7, 2026) Other
7. Culina Health membership plans. Culina Health. (accessed October 7, 2026) Other
8. Fay: registered dietitians covered by insurance. Fay Nutrition. (accessed October 7, 2026) Other
9. Fay billing support and pricing. Fay Nutrition. (accessed October 7, 2026) Other
10. Fay: weight loss dietitians (700+ insurance plans). Fay Nutrition. (accessed October 7, 2026) Other
11. Nourish: online dietitian covered by insurance (FAQ). Nourish. (accessed October 7, 2026) Other
12. Nourish: does my insurance cover nutrition counseling?. Nourish. (accessed October 7, 2026) Other
13. Nourish: Medicare dietitians. Nourish. (accessed October 7, 2026) Other
14. Season Health: virtual dietitian visits covered by insurance (FAQ). Season Health. (accessed October 7, 2026) Other
15. Season Health: dietitians for GLP-1 support. Season Health. (accessed October 7, 2026) Other
16. Medical nutrition therapy services. Medicare.gov (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services). (accessed October 7, 2026) Government page
17. National Coverage Determination: Medical Nutrition Therapy (180.1). Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (accessed October 7, 2026) Government page
18. Telehealth coverage. Medicare.gov (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services). (accessed October 7, 2026) Government page
19. Preventive care benefits for adults. HealthCare.gov (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services). (accessed October 7, 2026) Government page
20. Healthy Diet and Physical Activity for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Adults With Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Behavioral Counseling Interventions. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, 2020. (accessed October 7, 2026) Guideline
21. Weight Loss to Prevent Obesity-Related Morbidity and Mortality in Adults: Behavioral Interventions. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, 2018. (accessed October 7, 2026) Guideline
22. RD Examination: eligibility requirements. Commission on Dietetic Registration. (accessed October 7, 2026) Society statement
23. CDR credential verification. Commission on Dietetic Registration. (accessed October 7, 2026) Society statement
24. Find a Nutrition Expert. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. (accessed October 7, 2026) Society statement
25. Dietitian Licensure Compact. Dietitian Licensure Compact (Council of State Governments). (accessed October 7, 2026) Government page

Facts checked on October 7, 2026

Educational information, not medical advice. Talk with a qualified healthcare professional about your own situation. In an emergency call 911.