Private Health (PMI) · private GP vs insurance · 2026

Private GP appointments vs health insurance: what each costs

You can see a private GP two ways: pay per visit, or get one bundled into a health insurance policy. They solve slightly different problems, and the cheaper route depends on whether you just want quick access to a doctor or you are really after cover for treatment further down the line.

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Quick answer

The short version

Pay-per-visit private GP: roughly £40–£100 by video and £70–£150 face to face in 2026, more in central London and for home visits.
Health insurance rarely exists just to give you a GP — but most policies now throw in a digital GP (video or phone) as a standard benefit, at no extra per-visit cost.
If a GP is genuinely all you want, a pay-as-you-go appointment or a cheap GP app usually beats buying a full policy.
Insurance earns its keep on the treatment a GP might refer you for — scans, consultants, surgery — not the appointment itself.

The numbers

Private GP costs in 2026, and where insurance fits

Route to a private GP	Typical 2026 cost	Worth knowing
Video or phone GP (pay per visit)	£40 – £100	Usually 10–20 minutes; prescription and tests charged on top
Face-to-face GP (pay per visit)	£70 – £150	Central London often £120–£250; longer slots cost more
Home visit	£200 – £600	You pay for the convenience and the travel
Digital GP app subscription	~£10 – £30/month	A set number of video appointments, or unlimited on some plans
Digital GP via health insurance	Included in the premium	Standard on most major 2026 PMI plans; often capped per year
Individual PMI premium	~£80/month average	Bought mainly for treatment cover; the GP is a small extra

Indicative UK ranges for orientation, drawn from published private-GP and PMI pricing — not a quote. Duration and location move the price most, and an appointment fee rarely includes blood tests, a prescription or a referral letter.

Paying as you go

What a private GP appointment actually costs

The headline price is only part of it. A quick video consultation with an online-only service can be as little as £40 for ten or fifteen minutes, which is fine for a repeat prescription or a second opinion. Sit down with a GP in person and you are usually looking at £70–£150, and in the pricier bits of London — Harley Street, the City, Canary Wharf — a longer appointment can top £200. Want the doctor to come to you? A home visit runs into the hundreds.

The bit people forget is the extras. That consultation fee buys you the doctor’s time and not much else. Blood tests, a private prescription (where you pay the real cost of the medicine, not the NHS charge), a referral letter to a specialist — those are usually billed separately. A £90 appointment can quietly become £200 once a couple of tests are added. It is still quick and it still skips the NHS queue, but it pays to ask what is and is not included before you book.

Through a policy

What health insurance gives you on the GP front

Here is the thing most people get wrong: you don’t buy private health insurance to see a GP. You buy it to cover the consultants, scans and operations a GP might send you towards. The GP service is a bonus that has quietly become standard. In 2026 all the big names — Bupa, AXA Health, Vitality, Aviva, WPA and The Exeter — bundle a remote GP into most plans, so a policyholder can book a video or phone appointment without paying per visit. A few, Vitality among them, also give access to face-to-face GP slots through networks like DocTap in some cities.

Two catches are worth flagging. First, the bundled GP is often a digital service with a cap — a set number of appointments a year rather than truly unlimited — and the details vary a lot between insurers. Second, and more usefully, a private GP inside your policy can refer you straight into the treatment your policy actually pays for, which is often smoother than turning up with a self-pay letter. If you want the fuller picture of what a policy funds, the private health hub covers underwriting, hospital lists and referrals, and our guide to private health insurance cost shows what drives the premium.

Deciding

Which works out cheaper for you

Start with what you actually want. If the goal is simply to talk to a doctor quickly — a rash, a sick note, a repeat script — then paying £40–£90 for the odd appointment, or a £15-a-month GP app if you go often, will cost far less than an £80-a-month policy. Buying full PMI to get GP access is a bit like buying a car for the cup holders.

Where the maths flips is when a GP appointment is the first step, not the whole journey. See a private GP about a dodgy knee and the referral leads to an MRI, a consultant and maybe surgery — and now you are into thousands of pounds that a policy would have absorbed. That is the real trade-off: pay-per-visit is cheap for the appointment and brutal for the treatment, while insurance is the other way round. If you are weighing up the treatment side specifically, our insurance vs self-pay comparison runs the numbers on the bigger bills.

Common questions

Private GP vs health insurance: FAQs

How much does a private GP appointment cost in the UK in 2026?

A video or phone consultation is typically £40–£100, and a face-to-face appointment £70–£150. Central London clinics often charge £120–£250, and a home visit can run £200–£600. These are indicative ranges — the length of the appointment and where you are seen move the price most, and tests or a prescription are usually extra.

Does private health insurance include GP appointments?

Most major policies in 2026 include a digital GP — a video or phone service such as Bupa’s, AXA’s Doctor@Hand, Vitality GP or Aviva’s Digital GP — as a standard benefit. It is usually capped at a set number of appointments a year, and face-to-face private GP visits are often still paid for separately unless your plan specifically includes them. Check the policy wording, as insurers differ.

Is it cheaper to pay for a private GP or buy health insurance?

If a GP appointment is all you want, paying per visit or using a cheap GP app is almost always cheaper than a full policy — an average individual premium is around £80 a month. Insurance only works out better value when the GP is a gateway to treatment (scans, a consultant, surgery) that would otherwise cost you thousands. Think about what you are really buying.

Can a private GP refer me for private treatment?

Yes. A private GP can write a referral to a private consultant or for a scan, whether you are self-paying or claiming on a policy. If you have insurance, a GP included in your plan can often refer you straight into the treatment the policy covers, which tends to be smoother than arranging it yourself. Most insurers still want a referral before they approve specialist treatment.

Does the appointment fee cover blood tests and prescriptions?

Usually not. The consultation fee buys the doctor’s time; blood tests, a private prescription and a referral letter are typically billed on top. A private prescription also means paying the full cost of the medicine rather than the flat NHS charge. It is worth asking what is included so a modest appointment fee does not turn into a much larger bill.

Do I still need an NHS GP if I use a private one?

It is sensible to keep your NHS registration. Seeing a private GP does not remove you from the NHS, and you will still want NHS cover for emergencies, ongoing prescriptions and anything the private route does not handle. Plenty of people use a private GP for speed on a one-off issue while keeping their NHS practice for everything else.

Are digital GP apps as good as seeing a doctor in person?

For advice, prescriptions and triage, a video GP is quick and convenient, and it is what most insurers bundle. But some things genuinely need an examination — a lump, an ear, a joint — and there a face-to-face appointment is worth the extra cost. A good rule of thumb: start digital, and pay for an in-person visit when the doctor needs to look at or feel something.

Information only — not financial advice. This page compares the cost of paying for a private GP with the GP access bundled into health insurance to help you understand the trade-offs; it is not a recommendation to buy, avoid or self-fund any care, and not an endorsement of any insurer. Figures are indicative UK ranges, not quotes. My Insurance Expert is not an FCA-authorised intermediary and does not arrange or sell policies. Last updated: 2026-09-16

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