A free, accurate Healthgrades profile is worth claiming for any plastic surgery practice in 2026. A paid upgrade is worth it only as a 90 day test with a tracked consult count. Healthgrades is a general provider directory, not a cosmetic marketplace, and it does not publish prices or cosmetic specific traffic, so budget it below Google Business Profile and RealSelf.
What is Healthgrades built for?
Healthgrades is a general doctor directory. Its business site sells Sponsored Profiles, Health System Advertising and Large Group Practice Advertising, and its case study headline claims a health system generated “$8M+ in new patient revenue” from Sponsored Profiles. That is a health system result, not a solo or small group cosmetic practice, so do not use it to forecast your own return.
The consumer site makes one promise that applies to you. Healthgrades says on its home page that “Doctors who claim their free Healthgrades profile connect with the right patients 2x more.” That is the company’s own claim about its own platform. It does not say how many patients, which specialties, or over what period, so treat it as a reason to claim the profile, not as a forecast.
Does a plastic surgery practice get cosmetic patients from Healthgrades?
Healthgrades does not publish cosmetic specific search volume, consult requests or bookings, so nobody outside the company can quote a number you can verify. If an agency or rep quotes one, ask for the source and the date.
The structure of the site points the same way. Its paid products on the business site are built around health systems and large groups of 100 or more providers, and the listed features are premium placement, competitive intercept and cross-promotion. Healthgrades also claims that a large group’s “cost per conversion is half what you spend on other pay-per-click programs.” That is a vendor claim with no published method, and it describes large groups. Do not carry it over to a single surgeon practice without your own data.
The honest read: Healthgrades is one place a patient may check you after finding you elsewhere. It is rarely the place a cosmetic patient starts. See Healthgrades vs RealSelf for surgeons for the platform split.
What does a paid Healthgrades upgrade cost?
Healthgrades does not publish current pricing for individual practice upgrades. The home page links to “available upgrades” and a “Claim Your Free Profile” flow, and the business site offers only a contact form and an “Upgrade my profile” option. Older posts and reseller pages quote monthly figures. We are not repeating them, because we could not confirm them on Healthgrades’ own pages.
Get the quote in writing before you decide. Ask five things: the monthly price, the contract length, whether it removes competitor listings from your profile, what lead or call tracking you receive, and how to cancel. A rep who will not answer those has told you what you need to know.
Where does Healthgrades fit next to other channels?
Healthgrades matters less as more patient research ends inside an answer. Pew Research Center analyzed 68,879 Google searches from 900 U.S. adults in March 2025. About 18 percent of those searches produced an AI summary. Users clicked a traditional result link in 8 percent of visits with a summary and 15 percent without one, and clicked a link inside the summary itself in 1 percent of visits.
For a practice, that means fewer clicks reach any directory, and the question becomes which sources the answer is built from. Whether a Healthgrades profile gets cited in ChatGPT or Google AI Mode is not something Healthgrades or any independent study we found reports. A consistent name, address, phone and specialty across your profiles keeps the record accurate wherever an engine looks. That is a reason to claim and verify the free profile, nothing more.
| Channel | What it does for a practice | Cost to start | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | Map results, reviews, calls, directions | Free | Do first, always |
| Review habit (Google) | Social proof across every platform | Staff time | Do second |
| RealSelf | Cosmetic research, galleries, patient Q&A | Paid tiers | Evaluate for your procedure mix |
| Healthgrades free profile | Accurate listing, general directory presence | Free | Claim and verify |
| Healthgrades paid upgrade | Fewer competitor listings, extra placement | Quote on request | 90 day test only |
| Earned press | Citations AI engines and editors can see | Time or retainer | Add after the basics |
For the first two rows, see Google Business Profile for cosmetic surgeons and RealSelf vs Google reviews for surgeons.
When is a Healthgrades upgrade worth testing?
Test it when three things are already true. Your Google Business Profile is complete and your reviews are current. Your website has procedure pages that answer the questions a consult request starts with. And your front desk asks every new consult how they found you and logs the answer.
Then run a 90 day test. Record the monthly price, the number of consult requests that name Healthgrades, and the number that book. Divide the total spend by booked consults. If the cost per booked consult is higher than your Google Ads or referral cost, cancel. If no new patient names Healthgrades in 90 days, you have your answer without a dashboard.
Skip the upgrade if you have an incomplete Google profile, no review process, or a thin website. Those fixes cost less and reach more patients. If you want a written look at where your practice shows up on Google and in AI answers before you spend, request a free audit.
Nothing here is clinical guidance. These are marketing decisions about how a practice is found, not about procedures, candidacy or outcomes.
Frequently asked questions
Is Healthgrades worth it for plastic surgeons? The free profile is worth claiming and keeping accurate. A paid upgrade is worth it only if a 90 day test shows booked consults at a cost below your other channels. Healthgrades publishes no cosmetic specific traffic or conversion data to justify more.
Is a Healthgrades profile free for doctors? Yes. Healthgrades offers a free profile claim and says doctors who claim it “connect with the right patients 2x more.” The company does not publish the basis for that figure, so use it as a reason to claim, not as a forecast.
How much does Healthgrades cost for a practice? Healthgrades does not publish current prices for individual practice upgrades on its consumer or business pages. Ask for a written quote covering price, contract length, what the upgrade changes on your profile, and cancellation terms.
Is Healthgrades better than RealSelf for a cosmetic practice? They do different jobs. Healthgrades is a general directory and RealSelf is built around cosmetic research. Most practices get more from a complete Google Business Profile and a verified RealSelf presence before paying Healthgrades. See the platform comparison.
Does Healthgrades help a practice appear in ChatGPT or Google AI Mode? No source we found reports it does. Keep your name, address, phone and specialty consistent across profiles so any engine reads an accurate record, and judge the paid upgrade on consults, not on AI visibility.
How should a practice measure Healthgrades? Ask every new consult how they first found the practice and what they checked before booking. Log it for 90 days, then divide spend by booked consults and compare to your other channels.
The short version
Claim the free Healthgrades profile, keep it accurate, and treat any paid upgrade as a 90 day test with a booked consult count. Put your first dollars into Google Business Profile, reviews and procedure pages, then add earned press.
Want to see where your practice appears when a patient asks an AI engine for a surgeon? Start with a free audit.
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