Maybe I’m biased, but I believe that pretty much everybody could benefit from nutrition counseling. As a registered dietitian nutritionist, I don’t just dole out cookie-cutter nutrition advice. I help clients feel more confident in their food choices and more empowered in their health. I also know that so many people don’t seek out nutrition services because they’re confused or worried about the cost.

If you’re doing some research into nutrition counseling services in North Carolina, one of the first things to note is that the cost of nutritionist will vary based on several factors, including location, qualifications, and health insurance coverage. And if you’re looking for help with specific health and wellness goals, you might need to seek out a registered dietitian nutritionist with the right specialty.

Finding a registered dietitian nutritionist who you click with is hard enough — finding one who also fits your budget can be even harder. Below, I’ll go over the average cost of a nutritionist in North Carolina, the different factors that might affect the price, and how to find affordable (or free!) options.

Average cost for a nutritionist or registered dietitian

Honestly, it’s really hard to determine the average cost of of nutritional counseling with a nutritionist or registered dietitian. As a nutrition private practice owner in North Carolina, I’ve done tons of market research on what other North Carolina registered dietitians in the area are charging for their services, and most cost $120-$170 per session for clients whose visits aren’t covered by insurance.

According to the health insurance company Sidecar, that number is actually quite a bit lower. They estimate the average cash price of a nutritionist visit in North Carolina to be $72-$107 per session. That said, they don’t specify how long these visits are, where the visits are done, what kind of qualifications the provider has, and whether or not the visits are for general nutrition advice or more specific health issues.

Another unfortunate thing about figuring out the cost of nutritionist services is that many dietitian nutritionists don’t post prices on their website. (At Ruby Oak Nutrition, we’re always transparent about pricing and publish all of our current prices on our Insurance and FAQ page.) To give you a clearer picture for the average cost of a dietitian who’s not covered by insurance in North Carolina, here’s a rough average of what you can expect to pay for an hour-long follow-up appointment with a nutritionist in various cities, based on a sample of prices published on nutritionist websites.

What affects the cost of a nutritionist or dietitian? 

There are so many factors that influence the cost of working with a dietitian or nutritionist.

Registered dietitian versus nutritionist

A registered dietitian, RD (interchangeably called a registered dietitian nutritionist, RDN) is a licensed healthcare provider who has at least one degree in nutrition. In addition to several years of education, RDs must complete at least 1000 supervised clinical training and practice hours and sit through a rigorous exam before they’re allowed to offer clinical nutrition counseling or see clients.

A nutritionist doesn’t need to go through any schooling or supervised practice, and isn’t required to take an exam. In fact, anyone is allowed to call themselves a nutritionist in most states — even if they have zero experience or education.

I always recommend seeking out a registered dietitian nutritionist to help you work towards your nutrition goals, no matter what they are. RDs have a much better understanding of health conditions and chronic conditions, and you can also find an RD who is a board-certified specialist in whatever area you need help, like eating disorder recovery, oncology nutrition, renal nutrition, women’s health, or diabetes management.

The other massive benefit of working with a registered dietitian instead of a nutritionist is that RDs are able to accept health insurance, which means that you can get higher-quality services for little or no out-of-pocket cost.

Different health concerns and nutrition specialties

Just as you wouldn’t make an appointment with a dermatologist for an annual pap smear, you can’t just book with any dietitian you find on Google and expect them to help you reach your nutrition goals.

At Ruby Oak Nutrition, we specialize primarily in eating eating disorders, and we also help clients with pregnancy and postpartum nutrition, breastfeeding and lactation, chronic health conditions, and pediatric nutrition. We have registered dietitians that specialize in each of these areas. Other nutrition practices specialize in things like weight management, food allergies, gastrointestinal issues and gut health, sports dietetics, or general health goals.

Because working with eating disorders requires lots of extra education and takes a bit more time than other types of medical nutrition therapy (because we create meal plans outside of appointment times, talk to your doctor and your therapist, and sometimes help you transition to other levels of care), eating disorder nutrition services sometimes cost more than other types of nutrition services.

Initial consultation versus follow-up appointments

Your first appointment with a dietitian nutritionist — the initial consultation — will cost more than follow-up sessions. Before your initial consultation, your dietitian will need to review your intake paperwork and insurance information, and after your appointment they’ll come up with a customized treatment plan for you. All of this extra work takes time, which is why your first appointment will be more expensive than the follow-up appointment you have as you continue working towards your goals.

How can I pay for nutrition services?

There are two main ways to pay for nutrition services: using coverage from your insurance provider, or paying for services in cash. At Ruby Oak Nutrition, we’re in-network with some of the major health insurance companies in North Carolina because we want to make our services accessible to as many people as we can.

Using health insurance to cover nutrition counseling

If you have health insurance and want to use it to pay for nutrition counseling, you can search for a registered dietitian who accepts your health insurance plan. You can try using your insurance company’s “find a provider” tool, although we’ve found that these are often inaccurate or incomplete. A better way might be search Google for a dietitian in your area that specializes in the issue you need help with and accepts your insurance. For example, you could Google “Eating disorder dietitian raleigh north carolina blue cross blue shield.” Or, “lactation dietitian durham north carolina aetna.”

Using health insurance to cover nutrition is a fabulous option, because it often means that you pay zero dollars out of pocket. Many insurance providers fully cover a certain number of nutrition counseling visits each year as preventative care. Other insurance plans might require a small co-pay or co-insurance fee (usually $20-$40 per session) for appointments, which is still far less expensive than paying for nutrition counseling in cash.

Cash payment for nutrition counseling

If you aren’t using your health insurance to pay for nutrition counseling, you’ll need to pay in cash. If you don’t have health insurance or if your health insurance plan doesn’t cover nutrition counseling, cash pay is your only option. Some people may opt to pay for nutritional counseling in cash even if they have health insurance because they can’t find an in-network provider who specializes in the area they need help with, or because they don’t want health insurance companies to have access to certain health information and diagnoses.

If you’re paying for a nutritionist in cash, you should expect to pay between $120-$170 for a North Carolina dietitian nutritionist. Sometimes if your provider is out of network with your insurance company, you can request a superbill (kind of like a medical receipt) to submit to you insurance plan for partial reimbursement.

Is it worth paying for a nutritionist?

There are so many benefits to working with a dietitian nutritionist. Today’s world is full of terrible nutrition advice given by social media influencers who don’t know anything about you or your health — nutrition counseling with a dietitian is the opposite of that. At Ruby Oak Nutrition, we typically work with clients for several months (ands sometimes years) so that we can get to know each client’s personality, lifestyle, goals, challenges, schedule, and unique health circumstances. We’re able to provider the best, most effective, evidence-based care because we’re nutrition experts and because we take the time to personalize our guidance to each client. This kind of nutrition support is absolutely worth paying for.

That said, we also know that most people can’t afford to spend several thousand dollars per year to work with a dietitian nutritionist. That’s why we’re in-network with North Carolina’s largest health insurance providers. Most of our clients are able to get nutrition counseling at no cost (or a very low cost) because they use their insurance plans for coverage.

Get personalized nutrition support from Ruby Oak’s team of registered dietitians.

Whether you’re struggling with an eating disorder or want help managing your diabetes, our team of registered dietitians at Ruby Oak Nutrition is here to help. Many of our clients seek us out because they’re tired of being told that losing weight will solve all of their health problems, or because they feel like other dietitians just hand them boring meal plans without getting to know them.

We take a different approach to nutrition and wellbeing. We don’t focus on weight as the primary measure of someone’s health, and we don’t focus on weight loss as the main goal of nutrition counseling. Instead, we help our clients figure out what health means to them, and then we offer nutrition guidance to support whatever goals they have.

Our clients tell us that they feel heard, understood, and supported without feeling pressured to follow strict diets or give up their favorite foods. We’ve successfully helped clients recover from eating disorders, manage their blood sugar, lower their blood pressure and cholesterol, meal prep more easily, and so much more!

Go here to learn more about nutrition counseling for kids, teenagers, and adults, in-network with most major insurance companies and offered virtually to clients in North Carolina and over a dozen other states.

Ready to book an appointment? Click here to book online.

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You might also like:

• Blue Cross Blue Shield Dietitians: What Patients Need to Know
• Questions to Ask an Eating Disorder Dietitian When Seeking Treatment
• Empowering Recovery: Finding the Right Eating Disorder Dietitian in North Carolina
• Diet Culture on Social Media: How to Recognize it and Protect Your Mental Health