Which is the cheapest online doctor service in Australia?
For eligible Medicare cardholders, NewDoc bulk-bills every consultation it offers at $0 — with no after-hours surcharges. The eScript, Mental Health Treatment Plan, and any same-visit specialist or pathology referral are included at no extra charge. NewDoc operates generally between 8 am and 11 pm most days, with availability varying day to day.
Hola Health bulk-bills consultations only outside business hours (and bulk-bills Mental Health Treatment Plans at any time). The other eight services compared on this page (Doccy, InstantScripts, Updoc, InstantConsult, Doctors on Demand, hub.health, Mosh, EUCA MD) are private-pay only with various per-product, per-consult, or monthly-subscription pricing models — InstantConsult bulk-bills only patients under 12 months.
Australian online doctor services compared
The major Australian online doctor telehealth services compared on this page all offer same-day remote consultations. Where they differ — and where the cost adds up over time — is in their pricing model and bulk-billing eligibility.
NewDoc bulk-bills every consultation it offers under Medicare for eligible cardholders, with the eScript and any same-visit document included at no extra charge. Hola Health bulk-bills consultations only outside business hours (weekday evenings, Saturday afternoons, Sundays, and public holidays) and bulk-bills Mental Health Treatment Plans at any time. Doccy, InstantScripts, Updoc, InstantConsult, Doctors on Demand, hub.health, Mosh, and EUCA MD are private-pay only with per-product, per-consult, or subscription pricing models — InstantConsult bulk-bills only patients under 12 months. The table below compares all 10 services across the dimensions that affect what you actually pay and what you get.
| Provider | Pricing model | Lowest listed price | Bulk-billed? | Doctor type | Same-day | MHTP | Referrals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NewDoc | Bulk-billed Medicare consult | $0 (Medicare) | Yes | FRACGP-qualified GPs only | Yes | Yes (bulk-billed) | Yes (included in consult) |
| Doccy | Per-product fee | From $12.90 (1-day medical certificate) | No | AHPRA-registered doctors | Yes (24/7 form-based) | Not publicly listed | Specialist referrals offered; price not publicly listed |
| Hola Health | Per-product fee + after-hours bulk billing | From $14.90 (medical certificate) | After-hours only (and MHTPs always) | AHPRA-registered doctors | Yes | Yes (100% bulk-billed) | Specialist referral from $39 (separate fee) |
| InstantScripts | Per-product fee | $19 (prescription or 1-day medical certificate) | No | AHPRA-registered doctors | Yes | Treatment plans from $49 | Specialist referral $24 (separate fee) |
| Updoc | Per-consult fee + monthly subscription tiers | $19.95/month (subscription); $39.95 single medical certificate | No | AHPRA-registered doctors | Yes | Mental health support offered; tier and pricing varies | Included in higher subscription tiers; per-item otherwise |
| InstantConsult | Per-consult fee | $45 (general consultation) | Patients under 12 months only | AHPRA-registered Australian doctors | Yes | Not publicly listed | Specialist, pathology, and imaging referrals offered; per-item prices not publicly listed |
| Doctors on Demand | Per-consult fee | $29.90 (QuickScript repeat prescription) | No | AHPRA-registered doctors (3+ years registration) | Yes (24/7) | Mental Health Care Plans listed in footer; price not publicly displayed | Specialist, allied-health, pathology, and imaging referrals offered; per-item prices not publicly displayed |
| hub.health | Per-product fee | $24.95 (medical certificate) | No | Australian-based doctors and nurse practitioners | Yes | Not publicly listed | Not publicly listed (specialist / pathology / imaging referrals not itemised on homepage) |
| Mosh | Per-program / per-product fee (men's health focus) | Not publicly listed on homepage | No | AHPRA-registered doctors and nurse practitioners | Per program | Mental health is one of the program areas; specific MHTP availability and price not publicly itemised on the homepage | Program-based; not itemised as standalone referrals |
| EUCA MD | Per-consult fee | Not publicly listed on homepage | No | AHPRA-registered Australian doctors only (no nurse practitioners) | Yes | Not publicly listed | Specialist, pathology, and imaging referrals offered; per-item prices not publicly listed |
Comparison data verified as at 9 May 2026. Each cell reflects the lowest publicly listed pricing or feature stated on the provider's own website. Prices and features change — check each provider's site for current information before booking. "Bulk-billed" = no out-of-pocket cost for eligible Medicare cardholders. Sources: NewDoc, Doccy, Hola Health, InstantScripts, Updoc, InstantConsult, Doctors on Demand, hub.health, Mosh, EUCA MD.
How to choose an online doctor service
The right service depends on what you need from a single visit and how often you expect to use the service. The questions below help match the model to your situation.
Are you eligible for Medicare?
If yes, a bulk-billed service is almost always the cheapest option because the consultation is $0 and the eScript or referral is included. NewDoc bulk-bills every consultation it offers under Medicare (operating hours generally 8 am to 11 pm most days, varies day to day). Hola Health also bulk-bills consultations, but only outside business hours (and bulk-bills Mental Health Treatment Plans at any time). During weekday business hours, NewDoc is the only one of these two services bulk-billing consultations.
Do you need just a script, or also a referral or certificate?
Private-pay services charge separately for each product. With InstantScripts, for example, a script is $19, a specialist referral is $24, and a multi-day medical certificate is $49 — three items in one visit totals about $92 in document fees. With a bulk-billed Medicare consultation (NewDoc, Hola Health after-hours), all of those outputs are included in the consultation at $0 for eligible cardholders.
Do you need ongoing chronic-condition care?
Chronic-condition management means recurring consultations, pathology orders, and script repeats. A bulk-billed Medicare consultation keeps every review at $0 for eligible cardholders, while private-pay services add a fee at every step. For diabetes, hypertension, mental health, or any condition that needs regular monitoring, the bulk-billed approach compounds in your favour.
Do you want a GP specifically, or are you happy with any AHPRA-registered prescriber?
Australian general practitioners (FRACGP-qualified) train for many years specifically in primary-care medicine. NewDoc states it uses FRACGP-qualified general practitioners only. Some other services do not publicly itemise their practitioner training mix; if this matters to you, check each provider's own site for current information.
Do you need a Mental Health Treatment Plan?
A Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP) is the gateway to up to 10 Medicare-subsidised psychology sessions per calendar year. NewDoc and Hola Health both bulk-bill MHTPs (Hola Health bulk-bills MHTPs at any time, with no timing restrictions). InstantScripts lists treatment plans on a per-product basis. Mental health telehealth consultations are also exempt from the standard 12-month face-to-face Medicare requirement, so eligibility is broader than for many other consult types.
Provider profiles
Each provider has a different model and different strengths. The cards below summarise what stands out about each — verified against the provider's public information as at 9 May 2026.
NewDocBulk-billed
- •Bulk-billed via Medicare for eligible cardholders — $0 out-of-pocket for the consultation, eScript, mental health treatment plan, and any same-visit specialist or pathology referral.
- •Generally available 8 am to 11 pm most days; specific availability varies day to day.
- •Australian-trained, FRACGP-qualified general practitioners only.
- •Disaster-zone exemption applies — the standard 12-month face-to-face Medicare requirement does not block first-time NewDoc patients.
- •Private fee available for non-Medicare patients, with the script and any referral still included in the single consultation fee.
Doccy
- •Headline product is medical certificates from $12.90 for a 1-day certificate. Multi-day certificates and other services are listed but per-product prices are not all publicly displayed on the services page.
- •Doccy's services page additionally lists prescriptions, specialist referrals, blood tests, and weight loss alongside certificates. Per-product pricing for non-certificate services is not displayed publicly on the page sampled.
- •Private-pay only — no Medicare bulk-billing mentioned on the public site.
- •Available 24/7 with a 2-minute consultation form rather than a scheduled appointment.
Hola Health
- •Bulk-billed under Medicare during designated hours: weekdays 6 pm – 7:30 am, Saturdays from 12 pm, and all day Sundays and public holidays. Outside those hours, telehealth consults are private from $39.
- •Mental Health Treatment Plans are 100% bulk-billed at any time, with no timing restrictions.
- •Per-product pricing during business hours: telehealth consult from $39, instant script from $18.90, medical certificate from $14.90, GP referral from $39, chemist delivery from $5.99.
- •After-hours bulk-billing covers eligible Medicare cardholders only.
InstantScripts
- •Per-product pricing per their public help-centre price list: online prescriptions $19, single-day medical certificates $19, multi-day certificates $49, blood test referrals $24, specialist referrals $24, telehealth consultations from $49, treatment plans from $49.
- •Private-pay only — no Medicare bulk-billing.
- •One of the earliest entrants in the Australian per-product telehealth space.
Updoc
- •Single-consult pricing: medical certificate $39.95, standard telehealth consult from $59.95, priority telehealth consult from $99.95, weight loss consult from $99.95.
- •Monthly subscription tiers: Updoc Plus $19.95/month (medical certificates only), Updoc Pro $49.95/month (certificates + prescriptions + referrals + pathology + imaging), Updoc Platinum $79.95/month (Pro features + weight loss).
- •Private-pay only — no Medicare bulk-billing.
InstantConsult
- •Operating hours per their site: 6 am to midnight AEST, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, including all public holidays.
- •Bulk-billing only stated for patients under 12 months of age; standard consultation $45 for other patients.
- •Doctor-led only — site does not mention nurse practitioners.
- •Services per public site: consultations, online prescriptions (eTokens), medical certificates, specialist referrals, pathology requests, radiology requests.
Doctors on Demand
- •Operating hours per their site: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including public holidays.
- •Public price list shows only QuickScript at $29.90 (other services listed with placeholder pricing on the homepage; full price list not publicly displayed at the verification date).
- •Practitioner pool described as 200+ AHPRA-registered doctors with at least 3 years' registration; multilingual coverage (25+ languages).
- •Schedule 4 controlled substances (eg. benzodiazepines) are not routinely prescribed.
hub.health
- •Operating hours per their site: 8 am to 8 pm, 7 days a week.
- •Multi-condition telehealth, not single-condition. Service areas include general health, women's health, men's health, sleep, and skincare.
- •Per-product pricing: telehealth consult $49, medical certificate $24.95, prescription $35, sleep consult $49, contraception consult $35.
- •Private-pay only.
Mosh
- •Men's-health-focused multi-condition telehealth — not a general GP service. Program areas: hair loss, erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, mental health, weight loss, skin care.
- •Material scope distinction vs NewDoc's general GP scope: Mosh is targeted at men and structured around treatment programs rather than open-scope GP visits.
- •Per-program pricing not publicly displayed on homepage; users would need to start a quiz / consultation to see prices.
- •Private-pay only — no Medicare bulk-billing mentioned.
EUCA MD
- •After-hours and weekends advertised as available with no extra cost; specific operating-hours window not publicly stated on the homepage at the verification date.
- •Doctor-led only — site explicitly states no nurse practitioners.
- •Services per public site: doctor-led telehealth consultations, prescriptions, medical/carer certificates, specialist referrals, pathology requests, radiology referrals.
- •Pricing not publicly displayed on homepage; users browse doctor profiles and book directly.
- •Private-pay only — no Medicare bulk-billing mentioned.
Worked example: a single visit with three needs
Consider a Medicare-eligible patient who needs three things from one telehealth visit: a repeat blood-pressure script, a pathology referral for a lipid panel, and a single-day medical certificate. With a bulk-billed Medicare consultation (NewDoc, Hola Health after-hours) all three are included in a single $0 consultation. On InstantScripts' public per-product price list, the same three items would be a $19 script + $24 pathology referral + $19 single-day certificate, totalling about $62 in product fees. Doccy publicly lists certificates from $12.90 but does not publicly list per-product fees for scripts or referrals, so a direct comparison there is not possible. Updoc uses per-consult fees (medical certificate $39.95, standard consult from $59.95) or monthly subscription tiers.
The cost gap widens for chronic-condition care. A Medicare-eligible patient seeing a GP four times a year for diabetes management with two scripts per visit pays $0 with NewDoc (every review consultation is bulk-billed). On InstantScripts at $19 per script and $49 per consultation, the same year of care would total roughly $348 in product and consult fees on the publicly listed prices.
Beyond cost: what else matters
Cost is the most measurable axis but not the only one. Factors worth weighing include continuity of care (do you see the same GP for follow-ups?), the practitioner's training and scope, whether mental health is bulk-billed or charged separately, how referrals are issued and delivered, and the experience of the booking and consult flow itself.
The right choice depends on what matters most to you. For Medicare-eligible patients who need a daytime consultation, NewDoc's bulk billing is structurally cheapest. For patients who can flex into after-hours, Hola Health's after-hours bulk-billing also reduces cost. For one-off products (a single script or certificate) a per-product service may be simpler. Check each provider's current pricing and feature list directly before booking.
Always check direct sources
Pricing and features change. Every claim on this page was verified against the provider's own public website as at 9 May 2026. Before you book, check the provider's current pricing and feature list directly. We update this page when our verification cycle picks up a change.
Last reviewed 10 May 2026. Editorial policy