You're sick, it hurts, something feels off — and you don't know if it's a
wait-it-out thing or a see-someone-today thing. These general symptom checkers ask you questions
the way an intake nurse would, then tell you the level of care that fits: rest at home,
a telehealth visit, urgent care, or the ER.
What they give you is possible causes and a next step — information, not a diagnosis.
If your symptoms are severe or getting worse, skip the checker and get care.
⚠ Call 911 first — don't check symptoms — if you have:
Chest pain or pressure
Trouble breathing
Stroke signs — face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty (FAST)
Severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)
Loss of consciousness
Bleeding that won't stop
The checkers
Ada
TRULY FREE
You enter your age, BMI, symptoms and how long they have lasted, answer follow-up questions, and get a report of possible conditions drawn from a library of 3,600 conditions. Ada’s U.S. terms state plainly that it makes no medical diagnoses and provides no treatment plans — it gives you information and a suggested level of care.
Who pays: Free to you. Ada licenses the same technology to health systems and partners, and that business funds the consumer checker.
Price: $0 — the web assessment is labelled “fast, easy, & free,” with no paywall on the report.
Age: Ages 16+. Ada’s policy: you must be 16 or older to use it; under-18 use requires a legal guardian’s consent.
Privacy: Ada publishes a privacy policy plus a U.S. Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy describing what it collects and when it shares data — read it before entering detailed health history.
Verified Oct 23, 2026, on the provider's own site.
You chat about what you are feeling; Buoy asks adaptive follow-up questions and returns personalized information on possible causes, treatments, and where to seek care. You can run a check for yourself, a child, or a loved one.
Who pays: Free to you. Buoy licenses the same engine to businesses and health systems as a “digital front door” that steers members to in-network care.
Price: $0 — Buoy’s own page calls it “free, private, and built by doctors,” with no paywall or account requirement.
Privacy: Buoy states it will not share personal information with third parties unless you authorize it, and that it is HITRUST-certified.
Verified Oct 23, 2026, on the provider's own site.
You pick a symptom and related factors from lists, and the checker narrows the potential conditions related to that symptom. Mayo’s own About page: “This is not a diagnostic tool” — it helps you narrow your search and decide when to seek care. Separate adult and child versions.
Who pays: Nonprofit Mayo Clinic. Advertising revenue on the site supports its not-for-profit mission.
Price: $0 — free on mayoclinic.org, no paywall or login.
Privacy: Mayo uses advertising cookies on its site and states it will never sell data collected through them; you can manage cookie preferences on the site.
Verified Oct 23, 2026, on the provider's own site.
You chat about a health question; the system asks intake-style questions and returns possible conditions with probabilities, likely treatment plans, and a summary you can show your own provider. Its site says to always review its recommendations with a medical professional — it does not replace one.
Who pays: The free chat is the front door; Doctronic earns from paid video visits with its physicians (some employers also offer it as a benefit).
Price: AI chat: $0, unlimited, no sign-up and no credit card (a free account is only needed to save chats). Video visit with a licensed physician: $39, in all 50 states + DC, or your standard copay with insurance.
Age: Ages 18+. Parents or guardians may use it on behalf of their children; children may not operate it themselves.
Privacy: Anonymous by default — it does not ask your name unless you create an account. States it never trains AI on your data and never sells or shares it; deleting your account deletes your data.
Verified Oct 23, 2026, on the provider's own site.
Lotus markets itself as an AI primary-care practice: it pulls your medical records, labs, wearables, and insurance into one profile, works through possible conditions and a care plan, and says a board-certified physician reviews the plan and can prescribe. Go by the directory rule, not the marketing: treat anything it produces as information to discuss with a clinician you trust, not as a diagnosis.
Who pays: Free to patients, no insurance needed. Lotus says it earns revenue from premium sponsorships inside the app rather than billing patients, currently subsidized by venture funding — if that model changes, the price may too.
Price: $0, per Lotus’s own funding announcement.
Privacy: Lotus describes the profile as HIPAA-aligned and encrypted — but it is a large amount of your health data in one place. Read its privacy terms carefully before connecting records.
Verified Oct 23, 2026, on the provider's own site.
A dedicated health space inside the general ChatGPT chatbot: ask health questions and, if you choose, securely connect Apple Health and supported medical records so it can explain a lab result in context, compare it with your prior tests, summarize changes since your last appointment, and help you draft questions for your doctor. OpenAI’s own framing: it is “supporting, not replacing” care from medical professionals.
Who pays: OpenAI’s subscription business — Health is a feature of ChatGPT, included on the free plan and every paid plan.
Price: Included with ChatGPT, including the Free plan, for logged-in U.S. users (rolling out). The stronger health model is on paid plans (Plus is $20/month).
Age: Ages 18+, U.S. users, per OpenAI’s rollout page.
Privacy: OpenAI states connected health data is not used to train its foundation models or target ads, is permission-gated per use, and synced data is deleted within 30 days if you disconnect.
Verified Oct 23, 2026, on the provider's own site.
An AI doctor you reach by text message — no app to install and no account needed to start. Text a symptom, a medication question, or a lab result at any hour; it sorts out the details, rules out the dangerous possibilities first, and tells you what to do next, including when you need a human clinician. In Pymander's own words, it is a medical AI system, not a licensed doctor — information to discuss with your physician, not a diagnosis.
Who pays: Free to patients. Pymander's human layer — diagnosis and prescriptions with a licensed clinician in the loop — is listed on its site as coming soon; the text consult itself has no paid tier.
Price: $0 to text the AI doctor, per Pymander's own FAQ. Standard carrier message rates may apply.
Privacy: Encrypted in transit and at rest, with HIPAA-aligned safeguards; the company states it never sells your data or uses it for ads. An account is optional — only needed to connect records, labs, and wearables.
Verified Oct 24, 2026, on the provider's own site.