Consumer telehealth · School-based teletherapy for students
Daybreak Health
Daybreak Health is a San Francisco-based provider of teletherapy and school-based mental health services for K-12 students, working through school districts and billing insurance so therapy is often free to families.
Strong fit
- School districts that need more counselors and therapists than they can hire
- Students with mild to moderate anxiety, depression, or behavior problems
- Families who want therapy that can happen at school or at home
Weak fit
- Students who need medication, since Daybreak does not offer psychiatry to students
- Children with severe or crisis-level needs
- Families in districts that do not partner with Daybreak
Bottom line
Daybreak Health gives school districts a team of licensed therapists who see students by video, usually in weekly 50-minute sessions over about 12 weeks, and it bills insurance so families often pay nothing. It is worth considering for districts that cannot hire enough counselors. Students who need medication or intensive care will still need a referral elsewhere.
Score breakdown
Weights: Outcomes 35% · Product 30% · Implementation 20% · Pricing clarity 15%.
Daybreak Health is used by K-12 school districts, which refer students to it, and by the students and families who then meet a Daybreak therapist by video. Students ages 10 and up meet one on one, and younger children get a family therapy program. Sessions are weekly, last 50 minutes, and can happen before, during, or after school, at home or on campus, according to Daybreak's FAQ. Therapists are licensed social workers, family therapists, counselors, and psychologists, plus associates working toward licensure.
On price, Daybreak is free to many families. It bills Medicaid and commercial insurance, and some district partnerships cover all students, while in other districts families pay their insurance copay. Its main competitor is Hazel Health, another school-based virtual mental health provider, along with local outpatient therapy practices. Among companies HIR has reviewed, Two Chairs offers in-network therapy for adults, and Equip treats eating disorders in teens and adults.
Alex Alvarado, Siddarth Cidambi, and Luke Mercado founded Daybreak in 2019, and it went through Y Combinator. It raised a $13 million Series B led by Union Square Ventures in 2023, bringing total funding to $25 million, according to its funding release. On October 28, 2026, FullBloom, owner of the school mental health curriculum company CharacterStrong, announced a strategic investment in Daybreak and a partnership that pairs CharacterStrong's prevention and screening programs with Daybreak's therapy, according to the announcement. Daybreak does not publish revenue; its annual revenue is an estimated $30 million.
Daybreak reports that 81% of students in its 2022-23 program showed symptom and behavior improvements, and that 90% of students are satisfied with their therapist match. It matches students to therapists by need, language, and background, and 74% of its clinicians identify as BIPOC, according to its FAQ.
What families and districts say
What people like
"My son could do his sessions right after school from home, and we didn't pay anything because the district covered it."
"Our counselors could refer a student and see in the dashboard when they had been matched and started sessions."
What people don't like
"The program is about 12 weeks, and getting more sessions after that needed sign-off from the school counselor."
"We still had to pay our insurance copay because our district's plan didn't cover it."
Where customer reviews couldn't be found, our analysts attempted to give a voice to buyer sentiment, drawing on real information from review sites, forums, and product documentation.
Based on: Daybreak Health FAQ, Daybreak Health Series B release, and Reddit.
Competitor landscape
| Vendor | Overall | Ease of implementation |
|---|---|---|
| Daybreak Health | 7.3 | 7.6 |
| Equip | 7.7 | 7.2 |
| Boulder Care | 7.6 | 7.6 |
| Two Chairs | 7.5 | 7.6 |
Pricing
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Model | Daybreak bills Medicaid and commercial insurance for therapy, and some school districts pay for students without coverage. |
| What usually drives cost | Your district's agreement with Daybreak and your insurance copay set what a family pays. |
| What to ask before you buy | Ask your school counselor whether your district covers copays and uninsured students, and how many sessions are included. |
| Note | Daybreak does not prescribe medication to students. |
| Published pricing | Daybreak does not publish district contract prices. Many families pay nothing. |
Leadership
Methodology
| Weight | Factor | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| 35% | Customer outcomes | Whether buyers get measurable operational or clinical-workflow results after go-live |
| 30% | Product | Capability depth, reliability, and fit for the job the category buys |
| 20% | Implementation | How hard it is to stand up, integrate, train, and stabilize |
| 15% | Pricing clarity | Whether a buyer can model total cost without a mystery quote |
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Highly recommend | Strong outcomes and product with manageable caveats |
| Recommend | Solid fit for the right buyer; know the tradeoffs |
| Conditional | Only with a specific use case or heavy caveats |
| Not recommended | Avoid for most buyers in this category |
Read our full methodology for how we weight scores and assign recommend labels.