If you’re ready to implement more efficient & effective marketing strategies for your practice, book your FREE strategy session & marketing plan: https://go.medspamagicmarketing.com/schedule
One of the most debated topics in aesthetics is whether med spa consultations should be complimentary or paid. On the surface, it seems like a simple decision—charge for your time so that it’s valued, or offer it for free to encourage more bookings. But the reality is far more nuanced.
In this article, I’ll break down the pros and cons of both approaches, share what the marketing data actually shows, and give you a framework for deciding which strategy fits best for your practice right now.
Why This Conversation Matters
The question of charging for consults almost always comes up in conversations about growth and patient acquisition.
If you’re actively trying to:
- Attract more new patients
- Expand your client database
- Increase ROI from your marketing
- Or simply fill up your schedule with more appointments
…then how you handle consultations plays a major role in your results.
If your goal is client acquisition and you don’t yet have as many appointments as you’d like, then offering free consultations can be one of the most effective strategies to accelerate growth.
Action Creates Perception: Why Free Consults Work
One of my favorite marketing principles comes from the book The Advertising Effect:
“Action changes attitude faster than attitude changes action.”
In other words, the best way to shape someone’s perception of your brand is to let them take an action—like coming in for a consult—and experience your value firsthand.
The consultation is your at-bat. It’s the chance to:
- Prove your expertise
- Build trust and rapport
- Get the patient comfortable with your team and your space
- Begin developing a long-term relationship
When you charge for that opportunity, you add friction. A patient who’s curious but undecided may hesitate, and some of those people will never even get in the door.
That friction matters because it directly impacts your customer acquisition cost (CAC). If patients have to pay just to talk to you, fewer people will book, meaning your advertising dollars won’t stretch as far.
The Case for Free Consultations
Let’s lay out the benefits clearly.
When you don’t charge for consultations, you get:
- More opportunities (“at-bats”) – More people walk through your doors, giving you more chances to win them over.
- Perception through experience – Patients experience your expertise rather than just reading about it in an ad.
- Lower acquisition costs – With fewer barriers, your ads convert more efficiently.
- Stronger relationships – Even when someone doesn’t buy right away, the relationship is started.
The Downside
Of course, free consults aren’t perfect. You will inevitably meet a few people who come in, take up your time, and don’t purchase anything. That can feel frustrating.
But here’s the important reality: in practices that run free consultations, 80–90% of patients who show up for a consult do purchase something. The “time-wasters” are actually a small minority.
A Numbers-Based Example
To illustrate, let’s look at the math.
- Suppose you spend $1,000 on ads.
- If you’re offering free consultations, that might generate 5 consultations.
- Out of those 5, even if only 4 buy, you still gained 4 paying patients.
Now, let’s say you charge for consultations:
- That added friction means fewer people will book—maybe only 2 or 3 out of the same $1,000 ad spend.
- Even if every one of them buys, that’s still only 2–3 paying patients instead of 4.
This is why the data across marketing campaigns consistently shows that maximizing volume of at-bats is more profitable than trying to filter for “quality” upfront.
Yes, you’ll get a few unqualified leads—but the absolute number of high-quality, paying patients will still be higher.
What About No-Shows?
One valid concern with free consultations is the no-show problem. Without a barrier, it’s common to see 30–40% (or more) of patients simply not show up.
You can handle this in two ways:
- Refundable booking deposits – Charge a small deposit at booking, refundable upon arrival, to weed out casual no-shows.
- Strong show-up sequences – Use reminder texts, calls, and emails to confirm the appointment and build excitement.
If you’re running free consultations without either of these safeguards, expect frustration. With the right system in place, however, no-shows become much more manageable.
When Charging for Consultations Makes Sense
Now, are there times when you should charge for consults? Yes—but only under specific conditions.
If your practice is:
- Already fully booked,
- Consistently struggling to fit new patients into the schedule,
- And genuinely supply constrained,
…then charging can be an acceptable strategy.
In that case, you’re not trying to maximize volume—you’re trying to filter for the most committed patients because your time is scarce.
This is basic supply and demand economics: if you can get away with charging and still achieve your goals, then it’s justifiable.
But understand the trade-off: you will inevitably lose some prospects to competitors who offer free consultations. If they build the relationship first, they’ll likely win the long-term patient.
Addressing the “Cheapening the Brand” Concern
A pushback I hear often is:
“Won’t free consultations cheapen my brand?”
I don’t believe that’s true, and the data backs me up.
We had Sara Shikhman on the podcast, who built and later sold a multi-location, multi-million-dollar med spa. When she audited her patient base, she discovered that 80% of her top 20% spenders originally came from Groupon promotions.
The lesson? A low-barrier entry point doesn’t cheapen your brand. It just gets patients in the door. Once they’ve experienced your expertise, many of them become your highest-value clients, paying premium prices over time.
The same logic applies to free consultations. You’re not discounting your treatments—you’re simply giving patients the opportunity to meet you without friction. That’s how you prove your value.
The Role of Provider Time and Compensation
Of course, one real consideration here is provider time and pay.
Free consultations mean more time spent on appointments that don’t directly generate revenue. If you’re compensating providers in a way that makes this burdensome, you’ll need to balance your scheduling and payment structure carefully.
But from a marketing and acquisition standpoint, free consults almost always win. The business model just has to support them.
Where I Stand
Based on the data and the campaigns we’ve run:
- For 90%+ of practices, free consultations are the best strategy.
- They maximize growth, lower acquisition costs, and give you more chances to prove your value.
- Charging only makes sense if you’re already maxed out and need a filter.
Put simply: if you’re trying to grow, free consultations are the way to go.
How Med Spa Magic Marketing Helps
This is the exact kind of strategy we help clients navigate at Med Spa Magic Marketing.
We build systems that not only generate consultations through Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads, but also improve show-up rates with well-crafted reminder sequences.
And here’s the offer: I provide a 1.5-hour planning session where I’ll outline a customized marketing plan for your practice. You’ll walk away with the full blueprint of what we’d implement—whether you choose to execute it yourself, work with another partner, or hire us.
We don’t hold anything back on this call. You’ll leave with clarity, confidence, and a roadmap to maximize your marketing investment.
If you’re interested, you can learn more at medspamagicmarketing.com.
Final Takeaway
Free consultations aren’t about cheapening your brand—they’re about removing friction and giving patients a chance to experience your value.
For most practices, the math is clear: more consultations mean more paying patients, even if a few don’t convert. Charging should only be considered if you’re already too busy to handle demand.
If you’ve experimented with free versus paid consultations, I’d love to hear your experience. Share your results in the comments—I often pass these insights along to other med spa owners so we can all grow together.
