7 Cups
7 Cups operates the world's largest online mental health community, providing free 24/7 emotional support through 563,000+ trained volunteer listeners across 189 countries, supplemented by paid online therapy, an AI chatbot (Noni), and a licensed therapist directory.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersPalo Alto, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What 7 Cups does
7 Cups, operating as 7 Cups of Tea, CO (Delaware-incorporated, founded 2013), runs what it terms the world's largest online mental health community, providing free 24/7 anonymous emotional support through a network of more than 563,000 trained volunteer listeners. The platform's core free offering consists of 1:1 chat with listeners, structured group support rooms (Sharing Circles, Exploration Garden), and topical community forums covering depression, anxiety, relationships, LGBTQ+ and other issues. As of 2025 the platform reports having helped 73 million+ people across 189 countries in 140 languages, with 1.8 billion+ messages exchanged cumulatively and 35+ million hours of free support delivered by volunteers.
The product surface is anchored on three tiers. The first, free peer support, is delivered through a web application and iOS/Android apps and is supported by the 7 Cups Academy volunteer training curriculum. The second, paid Online Therapy, provides monthly subscriptions starting at $150/month with licensed clinicians via video, phone, chat, and messaging, delivered under HIPAA-compliant and SOC 2 Type II-certified infrastructure. The third, AI-driven support, centers on the Noni chatbot — a generative-AI counsellor trained to listen, help users explore emotions, identify triggers, and problem solve — supplemented by a Pi chatbot and proprietary computational linguistic safety models that monitor for banned members and unsafe language across the platform. Analytics are powered by Amplitude, integrated since 2015 to optimize engagement and freemium-to-paid conversion.
The business model is freemium by design: the company states that 99.8% of services are free, funded by the 0.2% of users who upgrade to paid therapy. A second monetization layer is B2B — licensed therapists pay $39.99/month to claim their profile and gain visibility in the therapist directory. Display advertising provides an additional, lower-margin revenue stream. Distribution is primarily self-serve and product-led through the website and mobile apps, amplified by earned media coverage (WSJ, The New Yorker, TechCrunch) and an Apple App Store rating of 4.5. Recent strategic action includes a February 2026 partnership with FC Mother to integrate 7 Cups into maternal-health protocols, expanding into adjacent verticals through channel partnerships.
7 Cups firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- 7 Cups
- Legal name
- 7 Cups of Tea, CO
- Website
- https://7cups.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- 7 Cups operates the world's largest online mental health community, providing free 24/7 emotional support through 563,000+ trained volunteer listeners across 189 countries, supplemented by paid online therapy, an AI chatbot (Noni), and a licensed therapist directory.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
7 Cups industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Mental Health Services
- NAICS
- Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers (621420), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- General Mental Health Therapy Platforms (Talk Therapy) (HLALAEAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Membership/Subscription Concierge Virtual Care (HLALAAAH)
Keywords
Where 7 Cups is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Palo Alto
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
7 Cups business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Freemium to Paid Therapist Upgrade: Platform is 99.8% free services funded by 0.2% of users who upgrade to paid therapist access. Users receive free peer support and community access, with optional paid therapy with licensed professionals.
- Online Therapy Subscriptions: Paid monthly therapy with licensed therapists starting at $150/month. Generates revenue through ongoing subscription fees from users seeking professional mental health support.
- Therapist Profile Premium Features: Therapists can pay $39.99/month to claim their profile and receive additional benefits in the therapist directory. Basic listings remain free.
- Advertising & Sponsorships: Display advertisements shown contextually to support free services. Advertisements may be served based on general interest categories or aggregated data to keep platform free.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free emotional support with volunteer listeners |
| Subscription | Monthly | Paid therapy with licensed therapists starting at $150/month |
| Subscription | Monthly | Therapist profile claiming at $39.99/month |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
7 Cups product offering
Product offeringCore offering
7 Cups operates a mental health support platform that connects users to trained volunteer listeners for free 24/7 anonymous chat, provides paid online therapy with licensed therapists starting at $150/month, and delivers AI-powered emotional support via the Noni chatbot. The platform also offers community forums, support groups, self-help guides, growth paths, and a teen-specific support service for users aged 13-17.
Product overview
7 Cups is a mental health support platform comprising multiple interconnected products: a free peer support network with volunteer listeners for 24/7 anonymous chat, paid Online Therapy with licensed therapists, the Noni AI chatbot for AI-powered emotional support, Community Forums and Support Groups for peer connection, Self-Help Guides and Growth Paths for self-guided healing, Teen Support services for users aged 13-17, a Therapist Directory for professional referrals, 7 Cups Academy for listener training, Daily Journal for self-reflection, Local Support Services for finding nearby resources, and Crisis Resources for emergency intervention. The platform operates on a freemium model where approximately 99.8% of services are free, funded by 0.2% of users who upgrade to paid therapist access.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Noni: AI chatbot counselor trained to listen, help explore and provide judgment-free support
- Pi
Products and services
- Free 24/7 Chat Support Anonymous virtual chat with 563,378 trained volunteer listeners available 24/7 for free emotional support. Users can connect instantly without account creation for judgment-free conversations on stress, anxiety, loneliness, and general mental wellness.
- Online Therapy with Licensed Therapists
Quantifiable outcome
- 73 million people helped through chats, communities, and self-guided tools
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use 7 Cups
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
7 Cups technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability4 records
Feature4 records
7 Cups partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- FC MothercoreFC Mother, a global movement leveraging football for maternal health, partnered with 7 Cups to integrate its emotional and mental health support platform into FC Mother's protocol. The partnership builds on FC Mother's validated research published in Early Childhood Matters journal showing 97% of mothers felt less anxious and 100% felt less lonely. Through this integration, fans globally can refer mothers to receive free mental health support. FC Mother aims to reach 600 million people by 2030 leveraging its five-year legacy partnership with FIFA World Cup 2026 Host City Monterrey.
- Amplitudecore7 Cups switched to Amplitude Analytics in 2015 to gain deeper insights into user engagement and healing outcomes on their platform. The partnership enabled tracking of a larger volume of events at lower cost, helping optimize features like Daily Journal and convert free members to paid services. Amplitude analytics supports the company's freemium business model optimization.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
7 Cups competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- BetterHelp: Largest D2C online therapy subscription platform in the US, offering licensed-therapist messaging, chat, phone, and video sessions. Directly competes with 7 Cups' paid Online Therapy tier and shares the freemium/PLG funnel approach, though BetterHelp operates without a volunteer layer.
- Talkspace: Public online therapy platform providing licensed therapist access via messaging and live sessions, with both D2C and B2B (employer, health plan) distribution. Directly comparable to 7 Cups' therapy subscription offering and a key competitor for any enterprise contract expansion.
- Cerebral: Subscription-based online mental health platform combining therapy with medication management. Comparable business model (monthly subscription, telehealth delivery) and target conditions (anxiety, depression) overlap directly with 7 Cups' paid therapy product.
- Woebot Health: AI-chatbot-first mental health platform offering conversational CBT-based support, with both consumer and enterprise offerings. Directly comparable to 7 Cups' Noni chatbot on technology and user experience, and a likely competitor for B2B AI-mental-health contracts.
- Wysa: AI chatbot mental health platform combining conversational AI with optional human therapist escalation, sold to both consumers and employers/health plans. Comparable AI-plus-human hybrid model and similar freemium positioning make it a close peer in the AI mental health category.
- Togetherall: 24/7 peer-to-peer mental health support community moderated by trained clinicians, primarily sold to universities and employers. Closely mirrors 7 Cups' volunteer listener + community forum model and competes for the same institutional B2B contracts.
Broad incumbents
- Lyra Health: Enterprise-focused mental health benefits platform serving employers and health plans with therapy, coaching, and self-serve tools. Comparable therapy delivery layer but operates predominantly B2B and at materially larger scale, representing the incumbent 7 Cups would compete with in employer/payer sales.
- Headspace Health: Large consumer and employer mental health and meditation platform combining self-guided content with therapy (Ginger acquisition). Comparable in addressing anxiety, depression, and loneliness, with a much broader content library and stronger B2B distribution.
Emerging players
- Calm: Subscription meditation and mental wellness app that has expanded into therapy and mental health content. Adjacent rather than direct overlap with 7 Cups, but competes for the same anxious/stressed consumer wallet share and employer benefit dollars.
- Wisdo: Peer-support community platform focused on mental health and chronic conditions, with both consumer and health-plan offerings. Comparable community-led growth model and overlapping target population with 7 Cups' free listener and forum products.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
7 Cups social profiles
Digital presence7 Cups compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
7 Cups financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
7 Cups leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
7 Cups funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
7 Cups M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about 7 Cups
What does 7 Cups do?
7 Cups operates a mental health support platform that connects users to trained volunteer listeners for free 24/7 anonymous chat, provides paid online therapy with licensed therapists starting at $150/month, and delivers AI-powered emotional support via the Noni chatbot. The platform also offers community forums, support groups, self-help guides, growth paths, and a teen-specific support service for users aged 13-17.
Is 7 Cups a public or private company?
7 Cups is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was 7 Cups founded?
7 Cups was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is 7 Cups based?
7 Cups is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States, in the North America region.
How does 7 Cups make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Freemium to Paid Therapist Upgrade is the primary driver. The others are online Therapy Subscriptions, therapist Profile Premium Features and advertising & Sponsorships.
Who are 7 Cups's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are BetterHelp, Talkspace, Cerebral, Woebot Health, Wysa and Togetherall. Broad incumbents are Lyra Health and Headspace Health. Emerging players are Calm and Wisdo.
Does 7 Cups have an API?
No public API is recorded for 7 Cups.
What industry is 7 Cups in?
7 Cups's product category is Online Mental Health Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLALAEAA, General Mental Health Therapy Platforms (Talk Therapy), with a secondary code of HLALAAAH, Membership/Subscription Concierge Virtual Care. Its NAICS code is 621420 and its SIC code is 8300.