How much does a private GP cost in the UK?
If you are looking at private GP services for the first time, the range of prices can seem confusing. The variation is real, and it reflects genuine differences in what you are buying rather than arbitrary pricing. Here is how to make sense of it.
One-off appointments
Most private GP services charge per consultation. Phone or video appointments typically sit between £80 and £120. In-person clinic appointments are closer to £100 to £150. Home visits, which take more of the doctor's time and involve travel, usually run from £150 to £250.
These prices are for the consultation itself. If a prescription is needed, it will be issued as a private prescription, which means you pay the full cost of the medication at the pharmacy rather than the NHS flat charge (£9.90 per item in England). For a short course of antibiotics, that difference is small. For an ongoing medication, it is worth factoring in from the start.
Monthly membership
Membership plans make sense if you expect to use a private GP more than once or twice a year. At the lower end, £50 to £80 per month usually covers a set number of consultations and same-day access. Plans that include home visits, annual health reviews, and a direct line to a named doctor sit higher.
My own memberships start at £95 a month. That covers same-day or next-day appointments, home and office visits across Kent, and direct access to me rather than a reception team or a rota of different doctors. The pricing reflects the level of availability I offer: I respond personally to all new enquiries and see my patients consistently rather than triaging them into slots.
What drives the price up
Location is one factor: London services typically charge more than those elsewhere in the country, largely because of overhead costs. The type of service matters too. A service that offers a different available doctor on each visit is cheaper to run than one that provides a named GP with genuine continuity. If you are managing an ongoing condition or want someone who actually knows your history, that distinction is worth paying for.
Diagnostics also affect the overall cost. Some practices include basic blood tests within their membership fee; others charge per test. If you anticipate wanting regular monitoring, ask about this before committing.
Prescriptions and investigations
Private prescriptions are dispensed at the full drug cost. For most short courses, that is comparable to or only slightly more than the NHS prescription charge. For common medications like amoxicillin or ibuprofen, the difference is minor. For branded or less common drugs, it can be more significant.
Blood tests range from around £30 for a basic screen to several hundred pounds for a more detailed panel. Scans are charged separately by the imaging provider. A good private GP will be selective about what they order rather than arranging unnecessary investigations, which keeps costs down without compromising the quality of care.
What to look for beyond the headline price
When comparing services, ask whether you will see the same doctor each time, what the process is for getting an appointment (is it genuinely same-day or does "same-day" mean something more like "within three days"), and whether there are additional charges for prescription letters, referral letters, or results review.
A service that looks cheaper per consultation but routes you to a different doctor on each visit, charges separately for letters, and has no out-of-hours line may work out more expensive in practice, and almost certainly offers less useful care for anything beyond a single isolated problem.