Blog · Practice growth

Zocdoc vs Fill The Lobby for providers: cost, fees and owning your bookings

Zocdoc says providers pay no upfront or subscription cost. A one-time fee applies when a new patient books through its Marketplace or affiliated partners, and Zocdoc says the amount varies by specialty and location; we found no published figure. Fill The Lobby is built for cash-pay and private-pay practices: a published $2,500 pilot, booking pages on the practice's own site, and everything set up in the practice's name.

By Ghazanfar Idrees, Co-founder & CEO · · 9 min read · How we write

Zocdoc's provider pages say there is no upfront or subscription cost. A practice pays a one-time booking fee when a new patient books through the Zocdoc Marketplace or its affiliated partners, charged at the moment of booking, and Zocdoc says the amount varies by specialty and location. We found no published fee amount on the Zocdoc pages we checked (16 October 2026), so ask for yours in writing.

This page is for owners of cash-pay and private-pay specialty practices. We're Fill The Lobby, a patient acquisition and retention agency for those practices, so we're one of the options. What we say about Zocdoc, Healthgrades and WebMD Care comes from their own pages, listed under Sources.

How much does Zocdoc cost for providers?

Zocdoc's booking fee explainer describes the Marketplace as pay-per-booking, with no monthly fees or spend minimums. Its pages set out how the fee works:

  • When it's charged. Zocdoc calls it a marketing fee, charged at booking rather than on the visit outcome. Its Reach More Patients page says the fee applies when a new patient books, even if they later cancel. If a patient cancels within 24 hours of booking, Zocdoc says it may waive the fee in good faith.
  • What it covers. Its cost and value page says the fee reflects a new-patient booking, not a guaranteed completed visit.
  • What's free. Existing patients, even through the Marketplace, and some other booking sources. If a patient you've already seen through Zocdoc books as new, you can submit a claim within 7 days.
  • Controls. You can cap monthly spend on new-patient Marketplace bookings, or pause spend, which removes your providers from new-patient Marketplace visibility.
  • Sponsored Results. An optional product, billed separately and outside the spend cap. Its Sponsored Results page describes a bid you set, charged per booking rather than per click. Zocdoc says standard Marketplace placement is organic, not paid.

We couldn't open Zocdoc's terms or its pricing help article when we checked. Before you sign, ask in writing for the fee for your specialty and location, which partner sites you'd be enrolled in (its transparency page says that for certain partners, providers are enrolled by default and may opt out), and what happens to your profile, reviews and booking history if you stop.

To see what a listing really costs, price it per completed visit. Zocdoc's dashboard shows completed visits, cancellations and no-shows, so divide a month's booking fees by completed new-patient visits and compare that with your other channels.

Zocdoc vs Fill The Lobby at a glance

Zocdoc's site describes a pay-per-booking Marketplace and a separate product, Practice Solutions. We bring patients to the practice's own website and booking pages, run what happens after the click, and are measured on booked appointments.

What differsZocdocFill The Lobby
PriceA one-time fee per new-patient booking through its Marketplace or affiliated partners, varying by specialty and location. No amount on the pages we checked$2,500 flat for the 30-day Proof Pilot, no retainer behind it. Ad spend sits on top, paid from your own accounts straight to Google and Meta
What the fee followsThe booking, even if the new patient later cancels. Zocdoc may waive it for a cancellation within 24 hours of bookingNothing per booking. One fee for the 30 days
CommitmentNo subscription or long-term commitment; spend can be capped or paused30 days, then a plan priced by clinician count, in writing before you decide, or walk away
Where patients bookZocdoc.com, its app and partner sites, beside other providersBooking pages on your own website, in your name
Paid visibilitySponsored Results: a bid-based placement in Zocdoc search, billed per bookingGoogle and Meta ads from your own accounts; during the pilot we never touch the spend or mark it up
Calls, follow-up, reviewsPractice Solutions: an AI phone assistant, reminders, recalls, review requests and website scheduling. Zocdoc says it's especially relevant for mid-market and large organizations managing multiple providers, locations or booking channels. No price on the pages we checkedCalls answered, follow-up, reactivation and reviews are four of our eight services. The pilot builds the website, booking flow and ads; a long-term plan is priced by clinician count, in writing before you decide
ReportingIts dashboard shows bookings by source and appointment outcomes, including no-showsWeek 4: what was booked, where each booking came from and what each cost
If you leaveVerified reviews come from Zocdoc bookings and show on Zocdoc. We found no published statement on what happens to them, or to booking data, if you leave (checked 16 October 2026). Ask in writingAd accounts, data, pages and history in your name from day one; you keep everything built
BAANot mentioned on the provider pages we checked (16 October 2026). Ask in writingSigned before any patient data moves, with every client
Built forIts Reach More Patients page says the insurances and visit types you choose decide who sees you in search, and offers access to commercially insured patients. It can also show a self-pay price you setCash-pay and private-pay practices, in eight specialties

We work in eight specialties: private-pay therapy, psychiatry, ketamine and Spravato, IOP and PHP, concierge and DPC, functional medicine, weight loss and GLP-1 and gastroenterology. Every tactic we sell runs first on Shifa Therapy and Counsel Clinic, the two platforms our founders own and run, with their own money.

Zocdoc vs Healthgrades vs WebMD Care for providers

From each directory's own pages:

What differsZocdocHealthgradesWebMD Care
Cost to the practiceNo upfront or subscription cost; a fee per new-patient booking through its Marketplace or affiliated partnersA free Healthgrades Pro account to claim and update your profileA Basic Profile is free
Paid placementSponsored Results, billed per bookingNone described on the help pages we checked; its provider marketing page didn't open for usA Featured Profile, pinned to the top of local search results for your expertise. Its help center says it doesn't charge per lead or per booking; we found no published price
How a patient reaches youPicks an open slot from your EHR, its reach page saysNo provider booking feature on the pages we checked. The Pro dashboard counts clicks on your profile's phone number as call conversionsOnline booking sends appointment requests you view, accept, flag or reschedule
Other providers on or near your profilePractices can pay, through Sponsored Results, to appear ahead of competitors in its searchA Compare Care widget appears on your profile unless you request an opt-outBlocking competitor ads on your profile is a Featured Profile benefit; Competitive Intercept shows Featured practices on local competitors' Basic Profiles
Your profile contentVerified reviews come from Zocdoc bookingsBuilt from government and commercial data. Providers grant a perpetual, irrevocable license to material they supply, and its help center says its policies prohibit complete removal of public informationA listing can exist before you claim it

None of the provider pages we checked on the three sites publish a BAA commitment (16 October 2026). Ask any directory for its position in writing before patient information moves.

Bookable isn't the same as chosen

Our short illustrated film shows the difference between being bookable and being chosen.

Illustrated scenario. Characters are fictional.

A directory makes a practice bookable, next to other practices. Zocdoc says patients searching your specialty in your area see your profile and real availability, and sells Sponsored Results as a way to "appear ahead of competitors in search results". On Healthgrades, a Compare Care widget sits on your profile unless you request an opt-out. On WebMD Care, Competitive Intercept can show a Featured practice on a local competitor's Basic Profile.

Being chosen by name works differently. The patient finds your practice, reads your pages, books on your calendar and hears from you again. That takes being found, booked and kept as one system, which is what our eight services do: ads bring the patients, and the other seven stop them leaking on the way to the calendar, through a missed call, a thin Google profile or an inquiry nobody followed up.

Our position: a directory or booking platform can be one way in. It shouldn't be the only one. Owning your bookings means:

  • Booking pages on your own site, in your name, with your practice alone on the page.
  • Ads in your own accounts. The paid options on the directory pages we checked are placements inside those directories. Our Google and Meta campaigns run from yours.
  • A BAA first. We sign one with every client before any patient data moves, keep patient health information out of ad platforms, never upload patient lists for targeting, and review ads against APA, ACA, NASW and state board advertising rules.
  • Measured on booked appointments, each traced to its source and cost.

We run the booking pages, calls, follow-up and ads behind any listing you keep. Start with a free audit, try the 30-day Proof Pilot for $2,500 flat, or book a 30-minute call.

When Fill The Lobby isn't the right fit

  • Hospital systems and pharma. We work with cash-pay and private-pay practices.
  • Practices built on insurance volume.

Sources

We checked the Zocdoc, Healthgrades and WebMD Care sites on 16 October 2026. If something here has changed, email sales@fillthelobby.com and we'll correct it.

Questions

Zocdoc for providers: quick answers.

Zocdoc charges its fee at booking. Its Reach More Patients page, answering "Why do providers pay for cancellations and no-shows?", says the fee is tied to the booking, not the visit, and that Zocdoc sends patients email and text reminders before appointments. The waivers we found cover a cancellation within 24 hours of booking, which Zocdoc may waive in good faith, and a 7-day claim when a patient already seen through Zocdoc books as new. We found no no-show waiver on the pages we checked (16 October 2026), so ask in writing.

Zocdoc says no. Its page on patient charges says providers should not pass its marketing fees to patients. For a cash-pay practice, that means the fee comes out of the visit price you set, so include it when you work out what each new patient costs you.

None of the Zocdoc provider pages we checked (16 October 2026) mention a business associate agreement. We couldn't open its terms or privacy pages, so the contract may address it. Ask Zocdoc in writing before any patient data moves. Fill The Lobby signs one with every client before any patient data moves.

Reviewed October 2026.

Keep reading.

What a patient acquisition agency doesBooking pages for practicesThe 30-day Proof PilotWhat is AI visibility, and how do you audit it for your practice?AI in healthcare marketing: what a private practice can use now

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