What does private physiotherapy cost?

The figures below are the prices physiotherapy practices are currently publishing on Quokka, read from their own booking systems rather than gathered by survey.

The short answer

Appointment	Cheaper quarter	Typical	Dearer quarter
Initial assessment	£60	£75	£99
Follow-up session	£55	£66	£90

Measured 26 August 2026 across 387 practices offering initial assessments and 336 offering follow-ups. "Typical" is the median: half cost less, half cost more.

The number that actually matters is the course, not the session

Physiotherapy is rarely one appointment, and a practice charging £5 less per session is not cheaper if it wants twice as many of them. A common course is an initial assessment plus three to six follow-ups, which at typical prices comes to roughly £270 to £470.

Ask at the first appointment (or before booking) what the physiotherapist expects the course to look like. A good answer is specific: a number of sessions, spaced a certain way, with something you should be able to do by the end. "We'll see how you go" is worth pressing on, politely.

What moves the price

• The first appointment costs more, almost everywhere, because it includes an assessment. The gap is usually £10 to £25.
• Length. Initial assessments are typically 45 to 60 minutes; follow-ups 30 to 45. A practice quoting a low follow-up price may be quoting a shorter one.
• Location, with London well above the rest of the country.
• What is included. Some practices price shockwave therapy, acupuncture or extended rehabilitation sessions separately; others fold them in.

Will insurance cover it?

Often, but usually with conditions: many policies require a GP referral, cap the number of sessions, or only cover practitioners on the insurer's own list. Check with your insurer before the first appointment rather than after: retrospective approval is much harder to get.

Quokka does not process insurance claims. If you are claiming, you will normally pay the practice and reclaim, or arrange direct billing with the practice yourself.

Physiotherapist, osteopath or chiropractor?

They overlap more than their marketing suggests, and for common back and joint problems the evidence does not strongly favour one over another. Typical prices differ, though:

	Typical appointment
Physiotherapist	£70
Osteopath	£67
Chiropractor	£55

The practical differences are in emphasis. Physiotherapists tend toward exercise-based rehabilitation, osteopaths and chiropractors toward hands-on manipulation. They also differ in regulation. Physiotherapists are registered with the HCPC, osteopaths with the General Osteopathic Council, chiropractors with the General Chiropractic Council. All three registers are public and free to search. See checking a clinician is registered.

This is not medical advice, and if you are unsure which is right for your problem, ask a GP.

Where these figures come from

Prices are read automatically from each practice's own booking system and refreshed regularly. The table covers appointments priced between £15 and £500 at practices whose listings were live on the date shown, split by whether the practice's own name for the service describes an initial assessment or a follow-up.

Prices change. Always check the price on the practice's listing before booking. Browse physiotherapists.