7 Best Practo Alternatives in India (2026) — For Patients & Doctors
May 11, 2026
You typed “best cardiologist in Delhi” into Google. Practo showed you 47 doctors. All of them had four-star ratings. All of them looked equally qualified. You had no idea who to actually trust.
Sound familiar?
Or maybe you’re a doctor. You’re paying a monthly fee to Practo. A patient searches for a cardiologist in Delhi and finds you — ranked below three doctors who paid more that month. Your 15 years of experience doesn’t show up. Your specialisation doesn’t matter. Your rank does.
This is the reality of healthcare discovery in India in 2026. And it’s why millions of patients and thousands of doctors are quietly looking for something better.
This guide covers the 7 best Practo alternatives in India — not just a list of apps, but an honest breakdown of what each one actually does well, what it doesn’t, and who it’s really for. Read it once and you’ll never feel lost choosing a healthcare platform again.
First — What is Practo actually good at?
Let’s be fair. Practo is a genuinely useful platform and it has helped millions of Indians access healthcare more easily. It’s good at:
- Booking in-clinic appointments with local doctors
- Online consultations via video and chat
- Medicine delivery and lab test bookings
- Storing digital health records
If you need to quickly book a GP appointment or order medicines online, Practo does the job well.
But here’s where it falls short — and why you’re reading this article.
For patients: The doctors ranked highest on Practo are not necessarily the best doctors. They are the doctors who have paid for better visibility or have accumulated the most reviews. A brilliant specialist who doesn’t invest in digital marketing may appear on page three. A mediocre doctor with a good marketing budget appears first.
For doctors: You are one listing among hundreds. You compete on the same page as every other doctor in your specialty. Patients choose based on price, availability, and review count — not on your actual expertise or outcomes.
There is a better way. And there are several good alternatives depending on what you specifically need.
The 7 Best Practo Alternatives in India (2026)
1. Tata 1mg — Best for Medicines, Lab Tests, and Everyday Consultations
Imagine a platform where you can consult a doctor, order your medicines, book a blood test, and store all your health records — and do all of it at prices that are genuinely competitive. That is Tata 1mg.
Backed by the Tata Group, 1mg has become the go-to platform for millions of Indian families who want reliable, affordable healthcare at home. It works with over 1,000 licensed pharmacies across India and its doctors are available around the clock.
What patients love about it:
- Medicine prices are lower than most platforms and it shows you cheaper generic alternatives automatically
- Lab tests can be booked with home sample collection and reports arrive in 24–48 hours
- Free chat consultations for basic medicine queries
- App is clean, fast, and easy to use even for older family members
What it doesn’t do as well as Practo:
- If you need to book an appointment with a specific specialist at a specific clinic in your city, Practo’s local network is deeper
- 1mg is stronger as a pharmacy-first platform than as a specialist discovery platform
Best for: Patients managing chronic conditions, families who order medicines regularly, anyone who wants the reliability of the Tata brand behind their healthcare.
Consultation fee: Rs.199–799 depending on specialty App rating: 4.7★ on App Store, 4.6★ on Google Play
2. Apollo 24|7 — Best When You Want a Hospital-Backed Doctor
Here’s a question most patients don’t think to ask: is the doctor you’re consulting on Practo affiliated with any reputed hospital, or are they just a private practitioner who signed up on the platform?
Apollo 24|7 answers this question by giving you direct access to doctors from Apollo Hospitals — one of India’s most trusted hospital networks. When you consult on Apollo 24|7, you know exactly who is behind the platform.
What patients love about it:
- E-consultation guaranteed within 15 minutes
- Apollo Circle membership gives you ongoing discounts if you consult regularly
- Particularly strong for serious conditions — cardiology, oncology, neurology — where you want a hospital-grade specialist
- Medicine delivery and home lab tests available
What it doesn’t do as well as Practo:
- Doctor network is limited to Apollo-affiliated doctors, so if your preferred specialist is not Apollo-linked, they won’t be here
- Works best in cities where Apollo has a strong physical presence: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata
Best for: Patients dealing with serious or complex conditions, anyone who prefers hospital-affiliated doctors over independent practitioners, patients in cities with strong Apollo presence.
Consultation fee: Rs.199–599 depending on specialty App rating: 4.6★ on average
3. MediBuddy — Best for Families and Corporate Employees
Picture this: your mother needs a gynaecologist consultation, your father has a follow-up with a cardiologist, and your child needs a paediatrician. All in the same month. On Practo, each consultation is a separate paid booking.
MediBuddy Gold is a family health subscription that gives your entire household unlimited video consultations. One annual fee, unlimited access, all specialties. For families that consult doctors frequently, the savings are significant.
What patients love about it:
- MediBuddy Gold family subscription — unlimited consultations for the whole family
- 24/7 access to doctors across 20+ specialties
- Particularly strong corporate wellness programme — many Indian companies provide MediBuddy as an employee benefit, which means it’s free if your employer has a tie-up
- Hospitalization assistance and insurance claim support — genuinely useful when dealing with serious illness
What it doesn’t do as well as Practo:
- For one-off consultations without a subscription, pricing is similar to others
- In-clinic appointment booking network is smaller than Practo in some cities
Best for: Families who consult doctors multiple times a year, corporate employees whose companies provide MediBuddy benefits, patients who want a comprehensive family health plan.
Consultation fee: Rs.149–499; Gold family subscription available App rating: 4.7★ on average
4. MFine — Best for Fast Consultations With Free Follow-Up
Most people don’t realise that on Practo, if you consult a doctor today and have a follow-up question tomorrow, you often pay again. MFine includes 5 days of free follow-up with every consultation. For conditions that need monitoring — skin infections, fevers, stomach issues — this makes a real difference.
MFine also uses AI to help you find the right specialist before you book. Instead of guessing whether you need a gastroenterologist or a general physician, the platform’s symptom checker guides you to the right doctor automatically.
What patients love about it:
- Consultations available in under 5 minutes for common conditions
- 5 days of free follow-up after every consultation
- AI symptom checker — you describe what’s wrong and it matches you to the right specialist
- Home lab test collection with reports in 24–48 hours
What it doesn’t do as well as Practo:
- In-clinic appointment booking network is limited compared to Practo
- Better for online consultations than for finding physical specialists
Best for: Patients who need quick consultations and follow-up care, anyone who doesn’t want to pay twice for the same health issue, tech-savvy users who want AI-assisted healthcare.
Consultation fee: Rs.199–699 depending on specialty App rating: 4.5★ on average
5. Lybrate — Best for Anonymous Consultations and a Large Doctor Network
Some health questions are hard to ask out loud. Questions about sexual health, mental health, fertility, or embarrassing symptoms. Lybrate is the only major platform in India that lets you post anonymous health questions — a real doctor answers, and nobody knows it was you.
Beyond anonymity, Lybrate also has a larger doctor network than Practo — over 1.5 lakh registered doctors — and typically lower consultation fees.
What patients love about it:
- Anonymous question feature — ask sensitive health questions without revealing your identity
- Lower consultation fees than most competitors
- Large network of 1.5 lakh+ doctors across India
- Personalised doctor recommendations based on your health profile
What it doesn’t do as well as Practo:
- Medicine delivery is limited — not its core strength
- In-clinic appointment booking in smaller cities can be patchy
Best for: Patients with sensitive health concerns, anyone looking for affordable specialist consultations, users who want the largest possible doctor network to choose from.
Consultation fee: Rs.100–500 depending on specialty App rating: 4.4★ on average
6. PharmEasy — Best for Medicine Delivery at the Best Price
If your main reason for using Practo is ordering medicines and you feel like you’re paying more than you should, PharmEasy is worth comparing. It is primarily a pharmacy platform — and it does medicine delivery better than most.
What patients love about it:
- Wide selection of prescription and over-the-counter medicines
- Delivery within 24–48 hours across major Indian cities
- Diagnostic test bookings with home sample collection
- Free doctor chat for medicine-related queries
What it doesn’t do as well as Practo:
- Online specialist consultations are not its strength
- In-clinic appointment booking is limited
Best for: Patients who primarily need medicines delivered, anyone managing stable chronic conditions with regular prescriptions, price-conscious buyers who want the best deal on medicines.
Consultation fee: Free chat for medicine queries; paid for specialist consultations App rating: 4.4★ on average
7. BestDoctorsInTheCity.com — Best for Finding the Right Doctor Before You Book Anywhere
Every platform on this list has one thing in common: the doctors you see first are the ones who have paid to be seen first.
BestDoctorsInTheCity.com was built because of this problem.
It is not a booking platform. It does not sell medicines. It does not do teleconsultations. It does one thing — and it does it better than anyone else in India: it tells you who the best doctor actually is for your condition in your city.
For Patients — Here is why this matters
Think about the last time you needed a specialist. Maybe a cardiologist for your father. Maybe the best IVF clinic in Delhi for yourself. Maybe a dermatologist for a skin condition that wasn’t getting better.
You went to Practo. You saw 40 doctors. You picked one based on reviews and availability. You had no way of knowing if that doctor was genuinely among the best in Delhi for your specific condition — or just the one with the best marketing.
BestDoctorsInTheCity.com researches this for you. The team independently evaluates specialists across Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, and other cities — looking at qualifications, hospital affiliations, years of experience, and areas of specialisation. The result is a curated guide for each specialty: the best cardiologist in Delhi, the best dermatologist in Delhi, the best gynaecologist in Delhi, the best IVF clinic in Delhi, the best oncologist in Delhi — and more.
No paid rankings. No review manipulation. No doctor appearing at the top because they paid a subscription fee.
It is completely free for patients. No account needed. No app to download. Just honest information.
Beyond specialist guides, BestDoctorsInTheCity.com publishes in-depth health guides on conditions like PCOS, cancer treatment, knee replacement, hair loss, IVF success rates, depression, and more — written in plain language and reviewed by qualified doctors. These help you understand your condition before you walk into a consultation, so you ask better questions and make more informed decisions.
The smartest way to use it: Come to BestDoctorsInTheCity.com first. Find out who the best specialist is for your condition in your city. Then book an appointment with that specific doctor through Practo, Lybrate, Apollo — whichever platform they use. You get the independence of unbiased research and the convenience of your preferred booking platform.
For Doctors — Here is the honest problem with Practo
You trained for years. You specialised in a field. You built a reputation. And then you listed on Practo — and found yourself competing with 60 other doctors in your specialty in Delhi, ranked below people who paid more for visibility that month.
Your patients can’t tell the difference between you and a doctor with half your experience, because Practo doesn’t show them that difference. It shows them reviews, price, and availability.
BestDoctorsInTheCity.com works differently.
When a patient finds you here, they are not choosing between 60 doctors. They are reading specifically about you — your background, your training, your specialisation, your clinic. They arrive already convinced. The quality of enquiry is completely different.
What a listing on BestDoctorsInTheCity.com actually means for your practice:
Patients searching “best cardiologist in Delhi” or “best dermatologist in Delhi” are not casual browsers — they are high-intent patients who have already decided to see a specialist and are choosing who. Being featured in these curated guides puts you in front of exactly those patients at exactly that moment.
Listing options for doctors:
- Basic listing — Your name, photo, and clinic details on your specialty page
- Featured listing — Top placement, review badge, priority visibility for patients searching your specialty
- Premium listing — Top spot, a dedicated article about your practice, and social media mention
- City exclusive — The only doctor featured for your specialty in your city — complete ownership of that search category
Media credibility that works for you too:
BestDoctorsInTheCity.com has been featured in Hindustan Times, Business Standard, Silicon India, IANS and more. When you are listed on a platform with that kind of editorial credibility, it reflects on your practice.
BestDoctorsInTheCity.com vs Practo — The Real Difference
| Practo | BestDoctorsInTheCity.com | |
|---|---|---|
| How doctors are ranked | Paid visibility + reviews | Independent editorial research |
| Free for patients | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Conflict of interest | Commercial marketplace | None — editorially independent |
| Medicine delivery | ✅ Yes | Not applicable |
| Online consultation | ✅ Yes | Not applicable |
| Best used for | Booking appointments | Finding the right doctor first |
| Doctor competition | You vs 60 others in your city | Curated — you are featured, not buried |
| Media credibility | Established platform | HT, Business Standard, IANS, more |
How to find the Best Doctor in your city without getting lost on Practo
Here is a simple process that actually works:
Step 1 — Start with BestDoctorsInTheCity.com Look up the specialty you need. Read the curated guide for Delhi. You now know the names of genuinely top specialists — not just the ones who paid for visibility.
Step 2 — Verify credentials Every registered doctor in India has a registration number on the National Medical Commission’s register. Takes 2 minutes to verify.
Step 3 — Book through whichever platform that doctor uses Most top specialists are listed on Practo, Lybrate, or Apollo 24|7. Once you know who you want to see, booking is easy on any platform.
Step 4 — For basic care, don’t forget eSanjeevani The Government of India’s free telemedicine service for basic consultations. Completely free, completely legitimate, completely underused.
No single platform does everything perfectly. The patients who get the best healthcare outcomes in India in 2026 are the ones who use each platform for what it is actually best at — and start their journey with independent research before they book.
Last reviewed May 2026. Consultation fees and platform features may change — always verify on the respective platform before booking.
Sources: National Medical Commission India, Ministry of Health Telemedicine Guidelines, Onsurity Telemedicine India Report 2026, PMC Research on mHealth Applications in India.
Dr. Dheeraj Yadav
Ayurvedic Physician & Certified Bach Flower Remedy Practitioner
Dr. Dheeraj Yadav is a licensed Ayurvedic doctor and certified Bach Flower Remedy practitioner with deep expertise in holistic and natural healing. He carefully reviews all health-related content on this website to ensure it is accurate, safe, and consistent with the principles of traditional and integrative medicine.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health decisions.