Most med spas that mention consultation pricing on their website offer the consultation free. On October 31, 2026 we read 354 med spa websites in 21 US cities: 137 say the consultation is free or complimentary, and 11 publish a fee. Those 11 charge between $50 and $250, with a median of $150, and 9 of them credit, waive or deduct the fee when the patient books treatment. Below are the counts, the terms attached to the fees, and how to choose for your own clinic.
How we counted
The sites come from our September 2026 study of med spas across 21 US metro areas, the same set behind our Botox price-per-unit survey and membership price survey. On October 31 we read each homepage plus up to eight linked pages about memberships, pricing, specials or consultations, and kept the passages that mention a consultation.
- 354 sites could be read. The rest were blocked by a bot check, refused the request or returned a server error. We did not try to get past any of them.
- A clinic counts as free when a page says the consultation is free, complimentary, no-charge or no-obligation. It counts as paid when a page prints a dollar amount as a consultation fee, deposit or charge.
- Fees inside booking widgets, images or PDFs could not be read. The paid count is a floor, since a clinic can charge at checkout without saying so on its pages.
- One clinic can appear in both counts, because a few offer a free general consultation and a paid one for a specific service. 8 of the 11 clinics with a fee also use free or complimentary wording somewhere on the pages we read.
How many med spas offer a free consultation
137 of the 354 clinics (39%) state on their website that a consultation is free or complimentary. Typical wording is "Book a free consultation" on a button, or an FAQ answer such as "we provide complimentary 15-minute consultations for most treatments". The remaining 214 clinics do not state a consultation price either way, which is the largest group by far.
What the paid consultations cost
We took the lowest consultation fee each of the 11 clinics prints. The amounts, in order: $50, $50, $75, $100, $100, $150, $150, $175, $197, $200 and $250.
- Median: $150. Five clinics charge $100 or less, two charge $150 and four charge $175 or more.
- Cheapest: $50 at two clinics, and both credit it toward treatment.
- Most expensive: $250 for a physician consultation, waived if the patient has a service the same day.
- Virtual consultations appear among the paid ones: a $197 45-minute wellness consultation, and a bridal-prep consultation priced at $50 to $100.
- Wording varies. Some call it a fee, others a deposit ($100 at two clinics) or a hold on the card ($75).
Credited, waived or kept
Almost every clinic that charges ties the fee to a booking. Reading the terms next to each price:
- 9 of 11 credit, waive or deduct the fee when the patient goes ahead. Phrases include "credited in full toward your program", "deducted from the final cost" and "the fee is waived" for same-day service.
- 2 of those 9 only apply the credit to same-day treatment, so a patient who consults first and books next week pays the fee.
- 1 clinic calls the $150 fee non-refundable.
- 1 clinic prints the amount but we could not read its credit terms on the pages we fetched.
That makes the fee closer to a booking deposit than a charge for advice. The patient's money goes toward the treatment, and the clinic gets some protection against a no-show. Our guide to med spa cancellation policies covers how clinics write the matching terms for late cancellations.
How to decide for your clinic
The data does not show which model earns more, since we have no booking numbers from these clinics. It shows what patients see when they compare clinics: a free consultation is the default, and a fee needs a reason. These steps follow from that.
- Keep short consultations free if your first visit is a quick conversation before a treatment you already list with a price. A free first step with a visible price is what most clinics that mention a policy offer.
- Charge for a longer or physician-led consultation, such as a 45-minute virtual wellness plan or a medical weight-loss intake, where the visit has its own deliverable. Say what the patient receives.
- Credit the fee to treatment, and say for how long. Of the clinics that charge, 9 in 11 do some version of this. "Credited toward any treatment within 30 days" is clearer than "applied toward services".
- Print the fee and its terms on the booking page, before the patient picks a time, and again in the confirmation email.
- Collect the fee at booking if you charge one. It protects the appointment slot, and a consultation form that asks for the right details makes the visit shorter.
If you'd like a second opinion on how your booking and consultation pages read to a new patient, we'll review them for free and send the top three fixes, no call required: get a free audit.