How Much Do Doctors Spend On Advertising in the USA?

The actual advertising budget for each clinic and practice is different. Some clinics/doctors are very aggressive and spend $1000 per day (or more) and some spend $1000 a month on advertising. We also have few clinics/doctors who do not spend any money on online advertising, they doctors rely on referrals and very strong SEO rankings. This data refers to online advertising, not offline advertising spend. For example we have a medical practice with 30+ locations, on average they spend  – per location – $1600 per month on online mediums and $1000 per month for offline, traditional mediums.  Another medical practice with 5 locations, spends $5400 per month per location, entirely on online strategy. They are no longer spending any advertising budget on offline, traditional advertising channels.  A single location in 8 exam rooms, with extreme competition, spends $15000 per month on online advertising, with average patient count of 80 -110 patients per day.  A plastic surgeon with medium competition spends $8000 per month on online advertising.

Also you have to understand that every practice area is different. If it’s a brand new practice, and they are just starting out, they will need to spend more $$ on the initial launch. If a practice is going through some issues (legal, business related, partnership related etc) they may pause or stop all advertising.  For example  let’s review specific specialties:

For Medical Spas and Aesthetic practices, it is highly recommended to have  online advertising budget. The typical range is $3000 to $10000 per month,  with average budget of $4210 per practice in USA.

For anti-aging wellness, hormone practices, it is highly recommended to have an advertising budget. The typical range is $2000 to $6000 per month,  with average budget of $3300 per practice in USA.

Plastic surgeons need online advertising, more than any other category. It is next to impossible to be successful without proper online  advertising budget. The typical range is $5000 to $15000 per month,  with average budget of $6677 per practice in USA.

The typical range is $1000 to $4000 per month,  spend on average spend $2390 per month per location.  However these are “average” locations with medium competition. If a dermatology is also focused on cosmetic procedures, their budgets are more like Medical Spas and aesthetic clinics.

The typical range is $1000 to $9000 per month,  spend on average spend $3700 per month per location. However these are “average” locations with medium competition. There are many factors, number of exam rooms and how many providers, and fixed overhead also dictates how aggressive each owner is. Brands and chains spend more on advertising than stand alone locations. We have also noticed if the owner is a doctor/physician, vs a business person, doctor/physician owners will have a hard time understanding value of advertising. doctor/physician owners view advertising and marketing as an expense, rather than an “investment” with an ROI (Return On Investment).

Walk-in Clinics – with primary care services and some “urgent care” services spend $1000 to $3400 per month, with an average monthly budget of $1900 per month.

Primary care doctors spend $600 to $1900 per month, with an average monthly budget of $1390 per month.

Primary care doctors spend $800 to $1900 per month, with an average monthly budget of $1298 per month.

The typical range is $600 to $1900 per month,  spend on average spend $1100 per month per location.

The typical range is $3000 to $8500 per month,  spend on average spend $4210 per month per location.

The typical range is $4000 to $10000 per month,  spend on average spend $5900 per month per location.

The typical range is $3300 to $7500 per month,  spend on average spend $4700 per month per location.

The typical range is $900 to 3800 per month,  spend on average spend $2500 per month per location.

These dental practices treat general dentistry patients, like cleaning, and yearly preventive exams, however their focus is big ticket items. This typically includes dental implants, Invisalign, and other similar services. The typical range is $2550 to 6900 per month,  spend on average spend $4200 per month per location.

The typical range is $1300 to 3210 per month,  spend on average spend $2240 per month per location.  These type of practices include Endodontists, TMJ disorders, sleep apnea, oral appliances etc.

The typical range is $8300 to $18850 per month,  spend on average spend $9600 per month per location.  These type of practices include dentists who do not accept insurance, and accept limited amount of patients, but each patient  is treated as a “celebrity” with extreme focus on customer service, and results for each patient. Services include invisalign, porcelain veneers, whitening, bonding, laminates, implants, and orthodontics.

The typical range is $800 to 2200 per month,  spend on average spend $1655 per month per location.

The typical range is $800 to 2100 per month,  spend on average spend $1580 per month per location.

The typical range is $500 to 2700 per month,  spend on average spend $1650 per month per location.

The typical range is $2100 to 8700 per month,  spend on average spend $4300 per month per location.

The typical range is $1200 to 3210 per month,  spend on average spend $2341 per month per location.  These type of practices include multiple focused areas, like heart health, general wellness, diabetic patients, mind – brain wellness, pain management, hormonal imbalance and many other areas. These type of practices have to compete with traditional non-integrative  practices, so conversion cost per patient is higher than traditional primary care practices.

The typical range is $1600 to 3100 per month,  spend on average spend $2100 per month per location.  These type of practices include multiple focused areas, like regenerative medicine,  spinal decompression therapy, chiropractic care, neuropathy treatments, active physical rehabilitation, back braces/knee braces, PRP based treatments. These type of practices have to compete with traditional non-integrative  practices, so conversion cost per patient is higher than traditional primary care practices.

The typical range is $900 to 2800 per month,  spend on average spend $1320 per month per location. Traditional chiropractic medicine treatments covering problems that occur in musculoskeletal system, including muscles, ligaments, cartilage, bones, tendons, and nervous system. They employ soft tissue therapies, at home exercises & manipulating the spine or joints.

The typical range is $900 to 3200 per month,  spend on average spend $1900 per month per location.

The typical range is $800 to 1700 per month,  spend on average spend $1200 per month per location.

The typical range is $500 to 1580 per month,  spend on average spend $940 per month per location.

The typical range is $1200 to 2200 per month,  spend on average spend $1400 per month per location. 

The typical range is $1500 to 3000 per month,  spend on average spend $1900 per month per location.

Physical therapy clinics have expanded into many areas  and they offer services overlapping with other practices also. For example  here is list of services for physical therapy practice : post-surgery rehabilitation, senior rehabilitation programs, work injury rehabilitation, back stabilization, balance training, functional capacity evaluations, neurological rehabilitation, orthopedic rehabilitation, pain management, physical therapy, wellness & weight loss program, vestibular sports medicine, graston technique, fitness program – So this can be quite large.  Most clinics like these spend $1200 to $3400 per month, with an average monthly budget of $1900 per month, per location.

Cost for patient acquisition for telemedicine ranges from a small practice – approx $1500 per month to $15000 or even beyond.
Use case 1: Small practice in rural area targeting approx. 200,000 population = $1500/mon. All of these ads should be digital ads. Local SEO does not work effectively for telemedicine practices.

Use case 2: Small to medium size practice, targeting an area targeting approx. 2 million population = $12,000/mon. All of these ads should be digital ads. Local SEO does not work effectively for telemedicine practices.

Data from 2020 to 2023.  Also note that brands spend much more than non-brand focused medical practices, they also have more patients and perceived medical care provided is of higher value to patients, as evidenced by reviews received by the medical practices. The data is here for your guidelines and not guaranteed to generate same or similar results.