Last updated: June 2026
Most people who want to ask a doctor a question online have the same three needs: a real physician on the other end, a fast response, and a price that does not require insurance. The seven apps below each meet those needs in different ways, from AI-assisted triage that hands off to a live clinician, to subscription models that make unlimited visits affordable. This list covers apps actively serving US patients as of June 2026, with transparent pricing verified from each vendor's own site.
| App / Service | Best For | Price | Rating | Free Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Momentary | AI-assisted first step + physician oversight | Varies | Physician-reviewed | No |
| Counsel Health | Free AI + low-cost doctor chat | Free AI / $29 per visit | App Store: new (2026) | Yes |
| Sesame Care | Uninsured or high-deductible patients | From $34 per visit | 4.8 App Store | No |
| K Health | Affordable subscription, text-based | $29/mo or $35 per visit | 4.7 App Store | Free symptom checker |
| HealthTap | Free Q&A + affordable video visits | Free Q&A / $59 per visit | Near-perfect (TopConsumerReviews, Apr 2026) | Yes |
| Teladoc Health | Insurance-covered telehealth | $89 per visit (uninsured) | 50M+ visits completed | No |
| JustAnswer Medical | Quick one-off answers, 24/7 | $46-$65/mo | 4.7 Trustpilot | No |
How We Ranked
For this list, "best" means: a platform that lets a person send or ask a medical question and receive a response from a credentialed clinician or a physician-supervised AI, with a low barrier to entry, transparent pricing, and without requiring a scheduled in-person appointment. We scored eight candidates on six criteria: clinical credibility (30%), scope fit (20%), cost and value (15%), speed and availability (15%), user experience (10%), and trust signals (10%). Those weights reflect a condition-specific and fast-answers hybrid, given that the core job is getting a clinician's answer quickly to a question that may touch on any health topic. Every score rests on a source logged during evaluation in June 2026. Momentary is our own product. We scored it on the same criteria as every other entry.
1. Momentary AI Health Navigator — Physician-reviewed AI triage as the first step
Momentary is a physician-reviewed AI health tool that helps users understand symptoms, explore what might be happening, and decide on next steps. It is built for the moment between noticing a symptom and knowing what to do about it, offering personalized guidance without requiring an appointment. Physician oversight is built into the product design, which means responses are shaped by clinical review rather than general-purpose language model output alone.
Pros: Momentary applies physician oversight at the tool layer, not just as a disclaimer, which meaningfully separates it from consumer AI chatbots answering health questions without clinical review. The tool is designed to help users arrive at a live doctor visit better prepared, a step that research from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality links to better outcomes from the actual visit. It is available on demand, without scheduling or insurance verification.
Cons: Momentary is not a substitute for a physician visit and cannot prescribe medication, order labs, or provide a formal diagnosis. Users with acute or urgent symptoms should move directly to a live provider.
Pricing: Varies; check the current offering at momentarylab.com.
Best for: Anyone who wants a physician-reviewed AI answer as a first step before deciding whether to book a live visit.
Rating: Physician-reviewed AI tool; not a consumer app store product at time of evaluation (June 2026).
2. Counsel Health — Free AI chat with a live doctor available in minutes
Counsel Health pairs a free, medical-grade AI chatbot with the option to bring a board-certified physician into the same conversation for $29. The AI gathers symptom history, connects to a user's medical records through national health information exchanges, and provides personalized guidance. If a physician is needed, one typically joins the chat within two minutes during clinical hours (8 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week). The company reports a 96% issue resolution rate and $381 in average annual savings per engaged member (Counsel Health, February 2026). Counsel is currently available in most US states but not in Arkansas, DC, Kansas, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Washington state, West Virginia, or Wisconsin.
Pros: The free AI tier is genuinely free without a trial countdown, making it a low-barrier first step for anyone with a question. The hand-off from AI to physician happens in the same chat window, which avoids the friction of starting a new visit. The company's emergency-detection agent continuously monitors conversations for clinical emergencies such as stroke or heart attack, a meaningful safety layer absent from general-purpose AI tools.
Cons: Clinical hours cap at 9 p.m., so overnight access to a live physician is not guaranteed. The service is not yet available in eight states, and it launched its consumer-facing product in late 2025, meaning the long-term track record is shorter than established platforms.
Pricing: $0 for AI chat; $29 per visit for physician access; $199 per year for unlimited physician access.
Best for: People who want a free AI starting point with an easy, affordable upgrade to a real doctor.
Rating: Named to the 2026 New York Digital Health 100; Andreessen Horowitz and Google Ventures backed (Counsel Health, February 2026). App Store rating not yet available at scale as of June 2026.
3. Sesame Care — Transparent cash pricing with 10,000+ doctors across 45+ specialties
Sesame operates as a direct-pay marketplace where more than 10,000 board-certified providers list their own prices and availability. Urgent care visits start at $34, with no insurance required and no surprise bills after the visit. Patients can filter by specialty, read provider reviews, and book a same-day appointment across all 50 states. The company reports over $50 million saved by patients and a 95% patient satisfaction rate (Sesame Care website, accessed June 2026). An optional Sesame Plus membership at $10.99 per month or $99 per year discounts visits further and includes a free annual lab draw.
Pros: Price transparency is Sesame's defining feature. Every visit cost is displayed before booking, a rarity in US healthcare. The marketplace model means patients can choose their specific provider and compare credentials and prices, unlike most telehealth platforms that assign whoever is available. Coverage spans 45+ specialties, including dermatology, pediatrics, and mental health.
Cons: Sesame does not accept health insurance, which means it is not useful for patients who have met their deductible or who use HSA-linked coverage in the traditional sense (though HSA and FSA cards are accepted as payment). Provider quality varies because Sesame functions as a marketplace rather than a single employer-vetted clinical team, and a handful of user reviews describe inconsistent experiences across individual providers.
Pricing: From $34 per visit (varies by provider and specialty); Sesame Plus $10.99/month or $99/year.
Best for: Uninsured or high-deductible patients who want to compare prices before booking.
Rating: 4.8 stars on the App Store (Sesame App Store listing, June 2026); multiple-year Healthline Best Overall Care award through 2024.
4. K Health — AI-assisted triage with text-based doctor access at the lowest per-visit price
K Health's app uses AI trained on a clinical database to walk users through a symptom assessment before connecting them to a board-certified clinician via text chat. The AI symptom checker is free. A single clinician visit costs $35, and a monthly subscription unlocks unlimited primary care visits for $29 per month. K Health states its symptom checker achieves 85% accuracy (K Health, as cited in Medical News Today, 2022). Clinicians are available daily, though hours are limited to roughly 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET. K Health does not accept insurance for most services, and all care is cash-pay. The app holds a 4.7 out of 5 stars on the Apple App Store based on user reviews, with a notably weaker 3.4 out of 5 on Trustpilot across 1,530 reviews (Trustpilot, June 2026).
Pros: The $29 monthly subscription is among the lowest all-in prices for unlimited clinician access available in US telehealth as of June 2026. The AI intake process shortens the time a clinician needs to spend gathering history, which can speed up the overall interaction. The free symptom checker is a useful triage layer for anyone unsure whether their question needs a clinician at all.
Cons: K Health is text-only. There is no video option, which limits what a clinician can assess. A small proportion of users report long queue waits during peak hours, occasionally reaching several hours, and the BBB currently holds an F rating for the company based on 197 consumer complaints, though App Store scores tell a more positive story. K Health does not offer specialist access, only primary care.
Pricing: Free symptom checker; $35 per single visit; $29/month subscription for unlimited primary care visits; $49/month for primary care plus mental health.
Best for: Cost-conscious patients comfortable with text-only care for common conditions.
Rating: 4.7 out of 5 on the Apple App Store; 4.6 out of 5 on Google Play; 3.4 out of 5 on Trustpilot (1,530 reviews, June 2026).
5. HealthTap — Free Q&A library plus affordable video visits with 90,000 doctors
HealthTap provides two products in one: a free, searchable library of doctor-answered health questions for anyone to browse, and a paid video visit service backed by a network of 90,000 board-certified physicians across 147 specialties. Free account holders can post questions anonymously and receive answers. Paid video visits cost $59 per visit, or $44 with a $15 per month membership. After a first paid visit, users can text their physician for follow-up questions or prescription refills at no additional charge. Urgent care is available daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET.
Pros: The free Q&A feature is a genuine resource for people who just want to understand a condition or medication without paying anything. The 90,000-physician network spans nearly every specialty, and the post-visit text access adds meaningful value for patients managing ongoing questions after an appointment. Insurance is accepted alongside cash-pay options.
Cons: Video visits are capped at 15 minutes, which some users describe as feeling rushed for complex questions. The platform's primary focus is virtual primary and urgent care, so it is not the right fit for someone who needs a dermatologist or specialist on demand. Some users report occasional technical glitches during video sessions.
Pricing: Free for Q&A; $59 per video visit; $44 per visit with a $15/month membership.
Best for: People who want to browse free doctor answers before deciding whether to book a paid visit.
Rating: Near-perfect score from TopConsumerReviews (April 2026 evaluation).
6. Teladoc Health — Insurance-integrated telehealth with 20+ years of operations and 50 million visits
Teladoc is the largest US telehealth platform by volume, having completed more than 50 million virtual visits over its 20-plus year history. It connects patients to board-certified doctors and specialists for urgent care, mental health, dermatology, chronic condition management, and more. Teladoc accepts most major insurance plans, and for many employer-sponsored plans the cost per visit is zero or a standard copay. Without insurance, urgent care visits start at $89. Same-day appointments are typically available, with some users reporting callback times under 15 minutes for urgent requests.
Pros: Teladoc's insurance acceptance is its primary strength. Patients whose employer or insurer includes Teladoc in their benefits can access care at little or no out-of-pocket cost, making it the most cost-effective option for insured users. The breadth of specialties and its long operating history provide a level of institutional trust that newer platforms have not yet earned.
Cons: Teladoc's iOS and Android apps have drawn consistent criticism for crashes, login failures, and features that fail to load, with multiple independent reviewers in 2026 recommending users default to the web platform instead. The $89 uninsured rate is among the higher per-visit prices on this list. Provider selection is not patient-controlled, meaning users cannot choose their specific doctor.
Pricing: Varies by insurance; $89 per visit for urgent care without insurance; therapy and psychiatry priced separately.
Best for: Patients with insurance that covers Teladoc who want reliable, broad-coverage telehealth.
Rating: 50 million+ visits completed; 90% patient retention rate (Teladoc Health, company-reported).
7. JustAnswer Medical — Fastest question-and-answer access with 12,000+ verified experts
JustAnswer is not a treatment platform. It is a question-and-answer service that connects users with verified medical professionals, lawyers, veterinarians, and other experts via text chat. Medical questions are typically answered within six minutes, and most responses are complete within 30 minutes. The network includes more than 12,000 verified experts across 150+ categories. Physicians on JustAnswer cannot prescribe medications, diagnose conditions, or order tests. The service is best suited for people who need fast, informed guidance on what a symptom might mean, whether a medication interaction is a concern, or how urgent a situation is.
Pros: JustAnswer's average six-minute initial response time is the fastest in this comparison for on-demand question access. The platform operates 24/7 with no appointment needed, and a second opinion from a different expert is always available at no additional charge. The breadth of the expert network means a question about a pediatric rash reaches a pediatric expert, not a generalist.
Cons: JustAnswer does not provide treatment, diagnosis, or prescriptions, which limits its usefulness to informational guidance only. The pricing model has drawn frequent consumer complaints about unclear billing and auto-renewal to a monthly membership that some users did not anticipate. The BBB rating varies; Trustpilot holds it at 4.7 out of 5 across a large review base, while some consumer review sites note credential inconsistency across the expert pool.
Pricing: $46-$65 per month for a subscription with unlimited questions; a 7-day trial is available at $1.
Best for: People who want a fast, informed answer at any hour and do not need a prescription or formal diagnosis.
Rating: 4.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot; 4.0 out of 5 on the Apple App Store; 4.2 out of 5 on Google Play (ConsumersAdvocate.org, 2024 data).
When a question has moved beyond something an app can help with, the right next step is a live physician visit. Whether the concern is a new symptom, a medication question, or a condition that needs ongoing management, connecting with a board-certified primary care doctor online takes minutes and requires no waiting room. See a doctor online through Momentary Virtual Care to get answers from a licensed provider, often the same day.
FAQ
Which is the best online doctor consult app?
The best app depends on what the visit needs to accomplish. Sesame Care is consistently strong for uninsured or high-deductible patients who need transparent pricing and a same-day appointment. Teladoc is usually the right answer for anyone whose insurance covers it, because the effective cost to the patient is often zero or a standard copay. For a fast, free first answer, HealthTap's Q&A library covers a wide range of conditions at no cost.
Can I chat with a doctor online for free?
HealthTap offers a genuinely free Q&A service where anyone can post a health question and receive a response from a physician. Counsel Health's AI chat is also free, with an option to add a live physician for $29 if the question requires clinical judgment. K Health's symptom checker is free as well, though speaking with a clinician starts at $35. Fully free live physician access is not widely available; most platforms offering real clinician interaction charge at least a per-visit fee.
What is the best site to ask medical questions?
For questions that need a physician's answer, Sesame Care, Counsel Health, and HealthTap each offer strong options at different price points. For a question that needs only general medical information, HealthTap's free library and the Mayo Clinic's symptom checker are credible starting points. For anything that requires a diagnosis or treatment, a platform that connects to a licensed clinician is the appropriate choice rather than an information-only resource.
Is there a free AI doctor?
Several apps use AI in their intake or triage process, but no app provides a free AI that legally functions as a licensed physician. Counsel Health offers a free medical-grade AI chatbot that is physician-supervised and designed for clinical triage, with the option to connect to a real doctor for $29. K Health's free symptom checker uses AI to assess symptoms before a paid clinician visit. For a physician-reviewed AI health tool that helps interpret symptoms and determine next steps, use Momentary's AI health navigator to get personalized guidance before deciding whether a live visit is needed.
References
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. QuestionBuilder App. https://www.ahrq.gov/questions/question-builder/index.html. Last reviewed June 2022.
- Counsel Health. 2026 New York Digital Health 100 Announcement. https://www.counselhealth.com/newsroom/2026-new-york-digital-health-100-list. Published February 3, 2026.
- Fierce Healthcare. Counsel Health raises $25M Series A. https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/ai-and-machine-learning/counsel-health-raises-25m-series-rolls-out-consumer-chatbot. Published October 17, 2025.
- Medical News Today. K Health: Everything you need to know. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/khealth-reviews. Accessed June 2026.
- Trustpilot. K Health reviews. https://www.trustpilot.com/review/khealth.ai. Accessed June 2026.
- Healthline. Best telehealth companies in 2026. https://www.healthline.com/health/best-telemedicine-companies. Updated April 28, 2026.
- Sesame Care. 24-hour virtual urgent care. https://sesamecare.com/complaint/online-urgent-care. Accessed June 2026.
- ConsumersAdvocate.org. JustAnswer review. https://www.consumersadvocate.org/online-doctors/c/justanswer-review. Accessed June 2026.
- TopConsumerReviews. HealthTap vs PlushCare for April 2026. https://www.topconsumerreviews.com/best-online-doctors/compare/healthtap-vs-plushcare.php. Updated April 6, 2026.
- Teladoc Health. App Store listing. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/teladoc-health/id656872607. Accessed June 2026.
- GoodRx. 13 doctor-recommended telehealth apps. https://www.goodrx.com/healthcare-access/telehealth/popular-telehealth-apps. Updated May 29, 2026.
- American Medical Association. Telehealth, in-person diagnoses match up nearly 90% of the time. Referenced in GoodRx sourcing. 2022.
