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Healthcare · head to head

Doctolib vs Shepherd

Doctolib logo

Doctolib

Healthcare

Patient booking and practice management for European healthcare professionals

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Shepherd logo

Shepherd

Veterinary

Cloud veterinary practice management built by a practising vet

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Doctolib availability is limited to France, Germany and Italy, so a clinic group operating outside those markets cannot use it at all and a multinational provider cannot standardise on one booking system.; Shepherd quote-only pricing with no published rates
  • They diverge on capability: Doctolib covers Patient booking marketplace, Shepherd covers Consultation-first records.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Doctolib and Shepherd actually diverge.

Attributes where Doctolib and Shepherd differ
AttributeDoctolibShepherd
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Cloud
CategoryHealthcareVeterinary

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Doctolib

  • Patient booking marketplace
  • Practice agenda
  • Teleconsultation
  • Automated reminders
  • Electronic patient record
  • Carte Vitale and reimbursement
  • e-Prescription
  • Doctolib Team

Only in Shepherd

  • Consultation-first records
  • Charges from treatment
  • Inventory
  • Cloud-based

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Doctolib

  • A French general practice that wants new patients to find and book it without a phone call, and needs Carte Vitale billing in the same toolnot Shepherd
  • A German physiotherapy clinic replacing a paper diary and cutting no-shows through automated SMS remindersnot Shepherd
  • A dental group with several sites that needs one shared agenda and per-site patient routingnot Shepherd
  • A specialist starting a new practice in Paris or Berlin who has no existing patient list and needs the directory as a source of referralsnot Shepherd

Shepherd

  • Practices losing revenue to treatment delivered but never billednot Doctolib
  • Clinics replacing on-premise legacy systemsnot Doctolib
  • Independent practices wanting something designed around clinical work rather than administrationnot Doctolib

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Doctolib

  • Availability is limited to France, Germany and Italy, so a clinic group operating outside those markets cannot use it at all and a multinational provider cannot standardise on one booking system.
  • No pricing is published anywhere on the site; every plan routes to a sales form, so a practice cannot budget or compare against alternatives without giving up contact details and sitting through a call.
  • Contracts run on a twelve month commitment per practitioner, so a practice that hires a locum or loses a partner mid-term keeps paying for the seat.
  • The commercial value is the marketplace listing rather than the software, which means leaving Doctolib costs a practice its inbound patient discovery, not just a data export; that asymmetry weakens the practice in every renewal negotiation.
  • Clinical depth is thinner than a dedicated electronic health record, so practices with complex documentation, coding or research requirements often run Doctolib for scheduling alongside a second clinical system and reconcile the two by hand.

Shepherd

  • Quote-only pricing with no published rates
  • A smaller vendor than the established systems, with a correspondingly shorter track record
  • Cloud-only, so consultations depend on clinic connectivity

Pricing, plan by plan

Doctolib

On request
  • Doctolib Pro$undefined/month
    • Marketplace listing and patient booking
    • Practice agenda
    • SMS and email reminders

Shepherd

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Shepherd review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Doctolib if

  • You need patient booking marketplace.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want practice agenda.
Doctolib review

Choose Shepherd if

  • You need consultation-first records.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want charges from treatment.
Shepherd review

Questions people ask

Is Doctolib or Shepherd better?
Neither clearly leads. Doctolib starts at On request and Shepherd at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Doctolib or Shepherd?
Doctolib starts at On request and Shepherd at On request.
Does Doctolib or Shepherd run on more platforms?
Doctolib runs on Web, iOS, Android. Shepherd runs on Web, Cloud.
What is Doctolib best used for?
Doctolib is most often used for a french general practice that wants new patients to find and book it without a phone call, and needs carte vitale billing in the same tool, a german physiotherapy clinic replacing a paper diary and cutting no-shows through automated sms reminders, a dental group with several sites that needs one shared agenda and per-site patient routing, a specialist starting a new practice in paris or berlin who has no existing patient list and needs the directory as a source of referrals. Of those, a french general practice that wants new patients to find and book it without a phone call, and needs carte vitale billing in the same tool and a german physiotherapy clinic replacing a paper diary and cutting no-shows through automated sms reminders are not what Shepherd is typically brought in for.
What can Doctolib do that Shepherd cannot?
Doctolib covers Patient booking marketplace, Practice agenda, Teleconsultation, Automated reminders. Shepherd covers Consultation-first records, Charges from treatment, Inventory, Cloud-based.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Doctolib: Can I use Doctolib in the UK or the US?

No. Doctolib operates in France, Germany and Italy only. There is no English-market offering.

Shepherd: What does Shepherd cost?

Pricing is quoted per practice and not published.

Doctolib: Does Doctolib publish its prices?

No. Every tier on the site routes to a contact form, and quotes are per practitioner per month with a twelve month commitment.

Shepherd: What makes it different from other veterinary systems?

It was designed by a practising vet around the consultation workflow, so charges accrue from recorded treatment rather than being entered as a separate billing step.

Doctolib: Is Doctolib a full electronic health record?

Not really. It covers consultation notes, documents and prescribing, but practices with heavy clinical documentation needs usually keep a separate EHR.

Shepherd: Is it cloud-only?

Yes, which removes server maintenance and makes connectivity a dependency.

Doctolib: What happens to my patient bookings if I leave?

You keep your patient data on export, but you lose the public listing, which is where a large share of new bookings originate.

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