Pay-per-visit telehealth platforms charge $69 to $99 per person, per visit, without insurance. Affordable Medical Access charges $15.95 a month for an entire household of up to eight, with unlimited visits and no per-visit fee. That works out to under $24 per person for a full year — roughly a quarter of what one single visit costs elsewhere.
How much does an online doctor visit cost without insurance?
Expect $69 to $99 at the major platforms for a general or urgent care visit, and $99 to $179 for a therapy session. Budget marketplaces start around $29. Critically, every one of those prices is per person, per visit.
Here is what the major platforms charge cash-pay patients as of August 2026.
| Platform | Urgent / general visit | Mental health session | Covers a household? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teladoc | $75 – $89 | $99+ | No — per person, per visit |
| MDLIVE | $82 – $85 | from ~$108 | No — per person, per visit |
| Amwell | $69 – $79 | Varies | No — per person, per visit |
| Doctor on Demand | $89 – $99 | $134 (25 min) / $179 (50 min) | No — per person, per visit |
| PlushCare | ~$129 | Varies | No — per person, per visit |
| Sesame | $29 – $62 | Varies by provider | No — per person, per visit |
| Affordable Medical Access | $0 per visit | $0 per visit | Yes — up to 8 members, $15.95/mo total |
That last column is the difference most cost comparisons never mention, and it is the one that decides what a family actually pays.
Why does “per person, per visit” matter so much?
Pay-per-visit pricing scales with two things at once: how many people are in your household, and how often any of them need care. A flat household membership scales with neither. Your cost is the same whether one person uses it once or eight people use it all year.
Most people compare telehealth options as though they are the only person who will ever need a doctor. That is not how a household works. Kids get strep. A spouse gets a sinus infection. Someone needs a prescription refill while travelling. A parent needs a counselor.
On a per-visit platform, every one of those is a separate charge, at full price, with no family rate and no cap. Most of these services have no household concept at all — you are not getting a worse deal on a family plan, you are getting no family plan, because they do not offer one.
What does a year actually cost a household?
Affordable Medical Access costs $191.40 for a full year, total, for up to eight people. On a pay-per-visit platform at $89, a family of four averaging two visits each would pay $712 for the same year.
| Household over one year | Pay-per-visit at $89 | AMA membership |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person, 1 visit | $89 | $191.40 |
| 2 people, 2 visits each | $356 | $191.40 |
| Family of 4, 2 visits each | $712 | $191.40 |
| Family of 4 + 12 therapy sessions | $2,320 | $191.40 |
| Household of 8, 2 visits each | $1,424 | $191.40 |
The right-hand column never changes. That is the whole point.
Divided across a full household of eight, $191.40 a year is $23.93 per person, per year — for unlimited visits. One single urgent care consultation on Teladoc costs nearly four times that.
Who is this actually cheaper for?
Anyone in a household of two or more. A single adult who expects one visit every couple of years is genuinely better off paying $29 to $89 for a one-off consultation.
Worth being straight about that, because it is the honest boundary. If you live alone, rarely get sick, and have no interest in counseling, a marketplace visit when you need one is the cheaper choice. A membership only saves money if it gets used.
But the breakeven is low and it drops fast with household size:
- 1 person — breakeven at about 2 visits a year
- 2 people — breakeven at about 1 visit each
- 4 people — breakeven if any two people need one visit all year
- Multi-generational or 8-member households — breakeven on the second visit anyone makes
For most families with children, a grandparent in the house, or a college student away from home, the membership pays for itself inside the first month someone gets sick.
What does online therapy cost without insurance?
Between $99 and $179 per session at the major platforms. Because therapy is a course of care rather than a single visit — and because more than one person in a household may need it — this is where per-visit pricing becomes unaffordable fastest.
At $134 a session, twelve sessions is $1,608 for one person. If a second household member also needs support, that doubles. Under the membership, both are covered and the annual cost stays $191.40.
This is the widest gap in the entire comparison, and it is the one most families do not see coming.
How does telehealth compare to urgent care or the ER?
Self-pay urgent care runs $150 to $280 before add-ons. An uninsured ER visit averages well over $2,000. Telehealth is the cheapest appropriate setting for anything that does not require hands-on examination.
Urgent care costs also climb once you count what gets added. Lab work bills separately. Hospital-affiliated urgent care centers add a facility fee of $50 to $200 on top of the physician fee, which can push the identical visit 30 to 50 percent higher than an independent clinic. And those charges apply per person too — take two kids in, and you pay twice.
What does a telehealth membership not cover?
It is not health insurance. It does not cover hospital stays, surgery, imaging, lab work, or specialist referrals, and it does not qualify as Minimum Essential Coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
Anyone selling a $15.95 product as a replacement for insurance is selling you something dangerous. A membership handles the routine and the after-hours. Insurance handles the catastrophic. You need both, and the membership is inexpensive precisely because it is not trying to be the other thing.
Virtual visits also cannot handle anything requiring physical examination or imaging: broken bones, serious injuries, chest pain, difficulty breathing, or severe abdominal pain. For a life-threatening emergency, call 911.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an online doctor visit cost without insurance?
Typically $69 to $99 per person per visit at major platforms like Teladoc, Amwell, MDLIVE, and Doctor on Demand. Budget marketplaces such as Sesame start around $29. Affordable Medical Access charges $15.95 per month for a whole household with no per-visit fee.
How many people does one membership cover?
Up to eight household members on a single $15.95 monthly membership, with unlimited visits for everyone covered. Most pay-per-visit platforms have no household option at all — each person pays the full rate separately.
What is the cheapest way for a family to see a doctor online?
A flat household membership, in almost every case. A family of four averaging two visits each would pay roughly $712 a year at $89 per visit, compared with $191.40 for a year of membership covering up to eight people.
How much is that per person?
Spread across a full household of eight, $191.40 a year works out to about $23.93 per person for unlimited visits — less than a quarter of what one single consultation costs on most platforms.
How much does online therapy cost without insurance?
Between $99 and $179 per session at the major platforms. Under a household membership, counseling is included at no per-visit fee for every covered member.
Is a telehealth membership the same as health insurance?
No. It is a membership benefit, not insurance, and it does not qualify as Minimum Essential Coverage under the Affordable Care Act. It does not cover hospital stays, surgery, lab work, or specialist care.
One price. Your whole household.
$15.95/month covers up to 8 household members. Unlimited 24/7 virtual urgent care and licensed behavioral health counseling. No co-pays, no deductibles, no per-visit fees — no matter how many people use it, or how often.
Get Covered Now — $15.95/mo | Obtener Cobertura — $15.95/mes
This article is for general information and is not medical advice. For a life-threatening emergency, call 911. Competitor pricing reflects published cash-pay rates as of August 2026 and is subject to change; verify current pricing directly with each provider. Affordable Medical Access is a telehealth membership benefit, not health insurance, and does not qualify as Minimum Essential Coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
