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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

MDLIVE vs Zocdoc

MDLIVE 4.7★ · Free to download 70
Winner Tie
Zocdoc 4.9★ · Free to download 65

For direct telehealth consultations, MDLIVE is generally better, but for finding and booking in-person appointments with local doctors, Zocdoc offers a wider selection despite its accuracy issues.

Full reviews: MDLIVE · Zocdoc

MDLIVE excels in providing direct virtual care with many positive doctor experiences, though it struggles with app reliability and billing. Zocdoc is a strong platform for discovering and booking local doctors, but faces significant challenges with insurance accuracy and app functionality.

Head to head

Features & Service Offering tieR3R5R11R18
MDLIVE MDLIVE primarily offers direct telehealth consultations, including medical and psychological help, with many users appreciating the convenience of virtual visits and quick prescription refills R5. Some users also find it useful for pediatric appointments . However, there are complaints about doctors not providing prescriptions when needed R3R11R31 and a lack of pediatric providers for certain needs R18.
Zocdoc Zocdoc focuses on helping users find and book appointments with local doctors, dentists, and specialists, offering a wide range of providers R65. Users value the ability to filter by insurance and read patient recommendations R65. However, the app has been criticized for irrelevant search results R104, issues with finding doctors near current location , and problems with appointment types being incorrect .
Ease of Use & App Reliability tieR1R4R5R6
MDLIVE MDLIVE is praised for its quick and easy virtual calls R5 and straightforward appointment booking . However, many users report significant app glitches, loading screen issues, difficulty signing in, and broken features like notification settings or profile switching R1R4R13R19. Messaging with doctors can also be challenging R6.
Zocdoc Zocdoc is generally found easy to book and use for finding doctors . However, users frequently encounter issues with the app's functionality, including problems with logging in , data not syncing between the website and app , and difficulties with video chat . The recent integration of AI for search has been widely criticized for making the app less functional and harder to navigate R84R98R100.
Reliability of Information & Appointments edge: MDLIVER3R8R11R14
MDLIVE MDLIVE's medical providers are often described as wonderful, professional, and helpful R8R14. However, there are serious concerns about appointment cancellations without notification , long wait times despite short estimates , and some doctors providing unhelpful advice R3R11.
Zocdoc Zocdoc faces significant reliability issues, particularly with insurance information. Many users report booking appointments with doctors listed as 'in-network' only to find out they are not, leading to cancellations or unexpected bills R67R69R70. There are also instances of incorrect phone numbers , doctors not working on scheduled days , appointments being canceled due to technical issues , and even being sent to abandoned buildings .
Billing & Support tieR1R7R15R29
MDLIVE MDLIVE users report severe billing problems, including being charged for missed appointments after insurance changes R1, being billed for services not delivered or not covered by insurance R7R15, and double charges . Customer support is often described as unhelpful, with long waits for callbacks and unresolved issues R7R15R29.
Zocdoc Zocdoc users also experience billing issues, particularly related to incorrect insurance network information leading to unexpected out-of-network charges R67R69R70. There are also reports of being charged for missed appointments due to app errors or incorrect information . The process of uploading forms and insurance information is often described as difficult and redundant .
Pick MDLIVE if

Pick MDLIVE if you primarily need quick virtual consultations for non-emergency situations and your insurance covers telehealth, as many users find the doctors to be helpful and the service convenient R16R18.

Pick Zocdoc if

Pick Zocdoc if you need to find and book in-person appointments with a variety of local specialists and are willing to double-check insurance and appointment details directly with the provider R65.

Evidence note: Both apps have a high lifetime rating, but recent reviews for both show significant negative sentiment, particularly around app reliability and billing/insurance accuracy. The free-to-download nature of both apps means that negative reviews are not necessarily from non-paying users, but rather from users encountering friction with core functionality or service delivery.

Frequently asked

Does MDLIVE offer prescriptions?
Yes, MDLIVE doctors can provide prescriptions, with many users reporting quick refills for their medications R16. However, some users have had experiences where doctors would not provide a prescription despite worsening symptoms R3R11R31.
Is Zocdoc reliable for finding in-network doctors?
Zocdoc aims to help users find in-network doctors, and many users appreciate this feature R65. However, a significant number of reviews indicate that the app frequently lists doctors as in-network when they are not, leading to appointment cancellations or unexpected out-of-network bills R67R69R70.
Are there issues with MDLIVE's app functionality?
Yes, many users report significant issues with MDLIVE's app functionality, including constant glitches, difficulty signing in, problems with notifications, broken profile switching, and the app force closing R1R4R13R19.
Has Zocdoc's search functionality changed recently?
Yes, Zocdoc has integrated an AI-driven search engine, which many users criticize for negatively impacting functionality, providing irrelevant results, and making it difficult to navigate or filter searches effectively R84R98R100R104.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R3] MDLIVE 3/5 · US Good when they help: Love using the app but my most recent 2 “visits” provided no help. I was in unbearable pain from a sinus infection but the 2 MDs wouldn’t do anything except recommend what I already said I was doing. Finally saw a dr in person who gave antibiotics and felt better the next day.
  2. [R5] MDLIVE 5/5 · US Very efficient video call: So easy to do!
  3. [R11] MDLIVE 1/5 · US Incompetent Medical Advice: Beware! They will sure take your money and tell you to keep doing what you’re doing instead of giving a prescription, despite worsening symptoms.
  4. [R18] MDLIVE 5/5 · US Quick and efficient: MDLIVE has been so helpful to me, I’m so glad they accept my insurance so there is no copay either. The providers are always kind too! I do wish they had pediatric providers so that when one of my children have a need that isn’t a medical emergency they too can be seen! I have not been able to receive care for them, I’ve tried twice.
  5. [R1] MDLIVE 1/5 · US Great doctors poor back end support: Don’t do it. Find another way. If you change insurance they will deactivate your account and still charge you for missed appointments. When you ask to merge your old account to your new account it will treat you as a new patient. You will pay missed appointment fees for appointments in your deleted account. The app constantly glitches. Signing-in is an adventur
  6. [R4] MDLIVE 2/5 · US Troubles on iPhone: I cannot turn on notifications. When I go into notifications, it is not listed there when I try to turn them on from the app there it kicks me over to settings for the app in iPhone, but the settings do not include notifications. The app is not even listed under notifications in the iPhone. I had difficulty signing up and had to do it online and had challenges with different b
  7. [R6] MDLIVE 3/5 · US OK not great - messaging: Video messaging is simple once you have an appointment. Regular messaging with doctor is challenging as is tracking that messaging as in seeing the history. Very frustrating in that sense.
  8. [R8] MDLIVE 5/5 · US SO GREAT TO HAVE: The medical providers are wonderful. This app is so great to have!!
  9. [R14] MDLIVE 5/5 · US Wow this is the best: The doctor on staff was amazing!
  10. [R7] MDLIVE 1/5 · US Billing Nightmare: Be careful with giving them your credit card information. They will bill you for services they don’t deliver or that should be paid for by insurance. I’ve had to call support multiple times and they say they will correct it, but they seem to be lying and probably just wait people out until they give up. I only got my money back after reporting the issue to the Better Business
  11. [R15] MDLIVE 1/5 · US Will not bill your insurance: I used this app and was immediately charged. I entered my insurance information when I created the account and before the appointment. I called my insurance company to see why they didn’t pay it and they said MDLive never sent it to be processed…they charged me $89. I called and was told a supervisor would call to investigate within 24 hours, and I’m still waiting 3 d
  12. [R29] MDLIVE 1/5 · US Took my money!: I had issues logging in and was on the phone with someone helping me and they cancelled and charged me after 6 minutes of my appointment time!
  13. [R16] MDLIVE 5/5 · US Great experience: I had a bad sunburn and didn’t feel like going to Urgent Care and with a $0 copay this was the best option. My pain medications were called in and ready in an hour so I could start to feeling better right away. The doctor was friendly and gave me good tips on what to do and didn’t make me feel bad for not wearing enough sunscreen!
  14. [R31] MDLIVE 1/5 · US Fraud company: I had a very frustrating and disappointing experience with MDLIVE. I used the app specifically to get a prescription for a medication that I have already been taking regularly. I followed all the steps in the system, selected that I needed a prescription, entered the exact medication, and provided my usage history. Based on this process and the options clearly stating “prescription,
  15. [R65] Zocdoc 5/5 · US Phenomenal app!: What a relief it is to have an app like this available at our fingertips. With a simple picture of your health insurance, it immediately lets you know who’s in your network! Then you get a list of doctors along with patient recommendations and locations so you can easily book your own appointment! How brilliant… you don’t even need to phone the doctors! It couldn’t be simpler:)!
  16. [R67] Zocdoc 2/5 · US Medicaid: So I was initially very happy with this app had all my doctors and everything. Then MY doctors started not accepting Medicaid so I needed to switch. I have attempted to make 34 doctors appointments that all were ‘in network’ just to get them cancelled on me because they are NOT in fact IN network. Please update the system or check with providers MORE on their insurance policy.
  17. [R69] Zocdoc 3/5 · US If you want to constantly book appointments and find out they don’t actually take your insurance: …use Zocdoc! It happens id say 70% of the time that I book appointments through Zocdoc. I’m either called by the doctors office, or like today, actually showed up to find out. Pretty fed up at this point.
  18. [R70] Zocdoc 1/5 · US Docs not in network: Will say a doctor is in network but they aren’t.
  19. [R13] MDLIVE 1/5 · US Loading screen: I feel like the best feature on this app is the loading screen. They spent a lot of time on it and so am I
  20. [R19] MDLIVE 1/5 · US Switch profile has been broken for over a year: When you have a dependent on your account, it defaults to them. Switching profiles says that it will switch view to {your name} but it doesn’t actually do it. So I’m physically unable to schedule an appt for myself or manage my own data at all. I have tried the profile switch from the dashboard and from settings. Neither options works. App is complet
  21. [R84] Zocdoc 2/5 · US AI Slop Has Taken Over ZocDoc: Integrating the entire app with AI that you can't turn off has killed the app's functionality and ability to navigate the search and filters function. There is no back up human or manual search option so if the AI doesn't understand what you're looking for, oh well, no ZocDoc for you. I used to recommend this app to multiple people for its easy way to connect with th
  22. [R98] Zocdoc 1/5 · US New AI search is trash and you can’t turn it off: I used to love Zoc doc to find providers on my insurance near me then did the research myself to find which I want to use. Now you are forced to use their system which they say can make mistakes. I wouldn’t mind except there is no way to go back to the old system
  23. [R100] Zocdoc 1/5 · US Poor change to AI: They changed this app to AI driven search engine that is working terribly. Not showing providers that are open even when they are. Showing the wrong picture for providers. Having to repeatedly set the same distance filters every time you search.
  24. [R104] Zocdoc 2/5 · US Semi useless: this app/website is sort of useless Even if you set your distance filters, you will still get locations hours away. Even with my filters got locations 4 hours a way. You could put in exactly what specialty you’re seeking and you will not get it Example: I typed in a search for OB/GYN I got internists and family/ primary care. I live between two major cities. The area I live in is

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store