Overview

Healthgrades brings doctor and hospital search, patient feedback, appointment requests, and health education into one service. Its local focus is valuable when you need to reduce a large choice of clinicians to a practical shortlist. Search results are not a substitute for checking a provider’s credentials or suitability, but the combination of filters, ratings, and profile information gives patients a workable starting point.

Provider pages can be claimed and enhanced, while hospitals and medical groups can pay to promote profiles marked as sponsored. That distinction matters when comparing organic listings with promoted visibility. Healthgrades was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Denver.

Key features

Doctor search can be filtered by insurance, distance, availability, patient reviews, gender, age, and specialty. These filters are most useful when coverage, travel time, appointment timing, or a particular type of clinician determines your shortlist.

Every provider listed in the National Provider Identifier Registry receives a free profile that the provider can claim and supplement. Healthgrades says its profiles contain more than 10 million patient ratings, with reviews confirmed and audited before publication. That scale provides meaningful comparison material, although a rating still needs to be read alongside the provider’s profile and your own care requirements.

Healthgrades Choice combines experience, hospital quality, patient satisfaction, and medical-sanctions criteria. Providers cannot pay for or influence the designation, making it a more independent signal than a paid placement. Patient Favorite has defined eligibility requirements: at least a 4.0 rating, six total reviews, five written reviews in the past five years, and an active license without sanctions or malpractice claims.

Hospital ratings are based on patient outcomes, with methodology adjusted for risk factors including age, gender, and medical condition. This makes the ratings more useful for outcome-oriented comparisons than a simple popularity score, while still leaving patients to judge which measures matter for their situation.

A free account lets you save doctors and request or book online appointments for featured doctors. That qualifier is important: appointment convenience is not universal across every listing. Healthgrades also publishes articles, appointment guides, slideshows, videos, and quizzes covering conditions and procedures. Healthgrades Rx, powered by Optum Perks, offers prescription savings, and online care and prescription features are supported by partnerships with Optum Perks Online Care and Optum Perks.

Customer support is handled through an online form. Providers can claim listings, display reviews, and choose a paid promoted profile, but sponsored status should be kept separate from quality designations when evaluating a result.

Pricing

Healthgrades for consumers

Free (free to use; advertiser supported). This is the right choice for patients who need provider search, ratings, saved doctors, educational content, and prescription-discount access without a subscription. There is no paid consumer tier described, so users accept advertising and the fact that online appointment requests or bookings are available only for featured doctors.

Elevated Profile

49.95 USD per month, billed monthly and renewing automatically until canceled. This plan is for providers who want a paid, elevated presence rather than only a claimed free profile. It is not a patient plan, and the recurring renewal term makes cancellation timing important. Providers seeking basic directory visibility can start with the free profile; the paid option is most relevant when promoted placement justifies the ongoing cost.

Platforms

Healthgrades is available on Android, iOS, and the web. The web version is the natural choice for broad comparison and reading longer editorial content, while mobile apps suit searches and saved-provider access away from a desk.

Who it's for

Healthgrades is best for patients choosing local doctors or hospitals who want to combine insurance, location, availability, specialty, and patient feedback in one search. It also fits providers who need a claimed profile and, optionally, paid promotion. It is less suitable when you require guaranteed online booking for every provider or want an unpromoted, purely clinical ranking without sponsored listings.

Pros and cons

Pros

Detailed local filtering: insurance, distance, availability, demographic preferences, specialty, and reviews can narrow a broad search quickly.
Large review base: more than 10 million patient ratings and confirmed, audited reviews provide substantial comparison material.
Independent quality label: Healthgrades Choice cannot be bought or influenced by providers.
Free consumer access: search, profiles, saved doctors, educational content, and Rx savings do not require a subscription.

Cons

Booking is selective: online appointment requests and bookings apply to featured doctors rather than every listing.
Sponsored visibility: paid provider promotion can appear alongside ordinary listings, so prominence is not itself a quality judgment.
Provider subscription renews automatically: the Elevated Profile costs 49.95 USD per month until canceled.
Support is form-based: customers are directed to an online support form rather than a stated direct channel.

Alternatives

Browse Healthcare Provider Directories when you want to compare directory options broadly, or Business Directories for a wider directory category.

Choose Practo Doctor Directory when a freemium directory with Android, iOS, and web access offers a free provider profile, one clinic by default, and no charge for appointments booked through Practo.

Healthdirect National Health Services Directory is a free Android, iOS, web, and API directory, particularly relevant to integration partners seeking health-service information.

Pick Clinic Directory when you want a web listing you can claim and manage, with patient reviews and a paid Essentials tier at 29.00 CAD per month.

WebMD Physician Directory is another freemium Android, iOS, and web option with a free basic profile covering insurance, credentials, and conditions treated.

NHS Service Finder is a free web directory for health and social care professionals in England.

Use Medicare Care Compare for a free public provider search and comparison tool.

NPPES NPI Registry suits users needing active NPI records through public web search or API access, with the first 2100 search results and hourly query limits.

InterSystems IRIS is a paid platform with a free Community Edition rather than a consumer provider directory.

Verdict

Choose Healthgrades if you want a free, local-first way to compare doctors and hospitals using insurance, availability, patient ratings, and outcome-oriented hospital information. Its main reason to look elsewhere is limited appointment coverage and the presence of sponsored provider promotion; patients who need universal booking or a narrowly defined public-service directory may be better served by an alternative.

	Healthgrades	PRIME
Free plan	Yes
Paid from	$39.95/mo
Platforms	Android, iOS, Web	Web
Free plan	Yes
Claim listing	Yes
Reviews on profiles	Yes
Audience focus	local
Verified profiles	Yes
Specialty filters		Yes
API access		Yes

Healthgrades vs PRIME

Healthgrades

PRIME