Per-head price is the wrong number to compare. Here's the right one.
A clear guide for HR leaders and founders: how EAP pricing works in India, what utilisation does to your real cost, and how to choose between per-employee plans and pay-per-use counselling.
Reviewed by Lekh Bajaj, Clinical Psychologist (RCI) · Updated 9 Nov 2026
At a glance
TL;DR
For context, one Indian EAP provider advertises plans from ₹199 per employee per year (Pazcare), and an example from an Indian benefits platform budgets about ₹3,000 per employee per year for mental health access (Onsurity). In the UK, the Employee Assistance Professionals Association puts typical costs at roughly £5–£15 per head (Institute of Directors). Treat all of these as reference points rather than quotes: what's included varies widely.
| Model | How you pay | Works well when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per employee (PEPY / PEPM) | Fixed fee for every employee, per year or month, whether or not they use it | Large headcount, predictable budgets, need for a 24/7 line | Paying for 92–97% of staff who never use it; session caps; lock-ins |
| Pay-per-use / session packs | You buy a block of counselling sessions and pay only for what's used | Small and mid-sized teams, first-time programmes, low expected usage | Needs a clear way for employees to book; top-ups when the pack runs out |
| Hybrid | Smaller base fee per employee plus a charge per session | Mid-to-large teams wanting some predictability and real therapy | Complex invoices; check what the base fee actually covers |
Workshops and manager training are usually priced separately, per session or per day, in all three models. See mental health workshops for employees for typical formats.
Sources: 1to1help utilisation data reported for 2025; Business Standard on average EAP usage of around 5%; Ambrosian Resources on typical 3–8% utilisation. Usage is rising: a 2026 analysis of over 6,000 corporate counselling bookings found mental wellness usage up 44% since 2023, but also that roughly a quarter of employees who booked a session never attended it (ekincare report via Business Standard). Continuity with a named counsellor and easy video access are among the things that tend to help employees follow through.
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Example: 100 employees × ₹500 = ₹50,000 a year. At 5% utilisation, 5 employees use it, so each user effectively costs ₹10,000, or ₹2,500 per session if each takes four sessions.
A pay-per-use counselling pack plus one workshop a year is usually the most cost-effective start. You can see real demand before committing to more.
Compare a session pack with a per-employee or hybrid plan using cost per user. Add manager training so people are actually referred to support.
Per-employee plans become more competitive, especially if you need a 24/7 line. Many large firms also add specialist clinical counselling for complex cases.
Coach For Mind uses a pay-per-use model: your company buys a pack of confidential counselling sessions, and employees book them privately with our RCI-registered clinical psychologists and qualified counselling psychologists, online across India or in person at our Gurgaon clinic. Workshops can be added onsite in Gurgaon and Delhi NCR or online. There is no annual retainer and no minimum team size, and pricing is a custom proposal based on your headcount and goals. We don't run a 24/7 crisis helpline, so we suit companies that want real, continuous therapy for employees. See corporate counselling & EAP services.
Figures are third-party reference points as published, checked 9 Nov 2026. They are not Coach For Mind prices or quotes.
There is no standard rate. Publicly advertised Indian EAP plans start from around ₹199 per employee per year for app-led, mostly digital programmes, while plans with more one-to-one counselling cost several times that. The real figure depends on headcount, the number of counselling sessions included, whether family members are covered, languages, and whether workshops are bundled.
Three are common: a fixed fee per employee per year (PEPY) or per month (PEPM) regardless of usage; pay-per-use, where the company pays only for sessions actually taken; and hybrid models that combine a smaller base fee with per-session charges. Workshops are usually priced separately, per session.
Low. Indian EAP providers and surveys commonly report utilisation of roughly 3–8% of employees a year, with one large provider reporting 4.6% in 2025. That means most employees in a per-head plan never use it.
Often, for small and mid-sized teams with low expected usage, because you only pay for sessions employees actually attend. Per-employee plans can be better value for very large organisations or where you expect high usage and need extras such as a 24/7 helpline.
Check the number of counselling sessions per employee, who the counsellors are and their qualifications, whether sessions are with the same counsellor each time, online and in-person options, languages, family coverage, workshops, manager support, crisis support, reporting, and any minimum headcount or lock-in.
Divide the total annual fee by the number of employees who actually use it, then by the sessions each user takes. This cost per user and cost per session lets you compare a per-head plan fairly against a pay-per-use counselling pack. The calculator on this page does it for you.
Coach For Mind offers a flexible, EAP-style programme: companies buy confidential counselling session packs for employees, delivered by RCI-registered clinical psychologists and counselling psychologists online across India or in Gurgaon, plus optional workshops. There is no retainer or minimum team size, and pricing is by custom proposal. It does not include a 24/7 crisis helpline.
For HR & founders
Message us on WhatsApp with your team size and what you need — counselling, workshops or both. We'll send a custom proposal with no lock-in.
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