Doctolib alternative for wellness practitioners: the 3 real options

You are a naturopath, sophrologist or hypnotherapist, and you would like your clients to book online, just as they do with their physiotherapist. Your first instinct might be Doctolib. But since the announcement of October 2022, which took effect six months later, the platform no longer lists practitioners without an RPPS or Adeli number, which includes most wellness practitioners. Looking for a Doctolib alternative as a wellness practitioner therefore comes down to choosing between three approaches: a specialised directory, a booking page in your own name, or both. Here is what has changed, what sets apart the tools people mention to you, and what to check before you get started.

What Doctolib decided in October 2022

In a press release dated 26 October 2022, Doctolib announced that it would list "only professionals recognised by the health authorities". For regulated professions, the right to practise is verified in particular through an RPPS or Adeli number. Practitioners without one were informed that they would no longer be able to use the service, and were given six months to reorganise their appointments.

According to Le Quotidien du Médecin on the same day, 5,700 practitioners were affected: 2,700 non-medical hypnotherapists, 1,500 sophrologists, 800 naturopaths and a handful of reflexologists. So if your profession has neither an RPPS nor an Adeli number, do not build your practice around Doctolib. The conditions currently in force can be checked with Doctolib directly.

The episode is also a reminder of a simple rule: when your bookings go through a platform, its admission rules apply to you, and they can change.

How is it different from Calendly / Planity / Doctolib?

These three tools are not aimed at the same audience. Doctolib is for professionals recognised by the health authorities, Planity focuses on hairdressing and beauty with a wellness section, and Calendly presents itself as a meeting scheduling tool.

For a wellness practitioner, the right question is not "which tool is best" but "which one is built for a session sold to an individual": a price, a duration, sometimes a deposit, and a client followed over several months. If you are weighing it up against a wellness directory, our Resalib alternative page covers that comparison in detail.

Doctolib alternative for wellness practitioners: three approaches

The specialised wellness directory

You have a profile there, and people looking for a sophrologist or naturopath near them can find you. In return, you are one profile among many, and the directory sets its own rules. The link you share is theirs.

The booking page in your own name

Your clients book on a page that shows only you: your sessions, your prices, your hours. You put this link on your Google Business Profile, your Instagram profile, your website or your business cards. On the other hand, nobody brings it to you. If you do not share it, it gets no bookings.

Both at once

The directory helps new clients find you; the page in your own name is for your regulars and your social networks. The risk: two calendars that do not talk to each other, and the same slot booked twice. Before combining them, check that the directory can write its appointments to your Google Calendar or Outlook. With Calendrio, events in these connected calendars then block the slots on your page.

Example: Inès, a sophrologist, opens online booking

Let's take an example (fictional name). Inès has just finished her sophrology training. Her physiotherapist uses Doctolib and she was planning to do the same; she finds out that her profession is not accepted there. She sees clients in a shared practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and offers video sessions at the end of the day for working people who finish late.

She offers three sessions: a first session of 1 h 15 (discussing the client's needs, discovering the method), 45-minute follow-up sessions at the practice, and the same by video. Why two follow-up services? In Calendrio, a service has a single location, or "Client's choice", which then offers every location: practice, video, phone and home visit. To offer only the practice and video, she creates two services. With three services, the Free plan (two services) is not enough for her. She can group her follow-ups into a single service at the practice, or move to the Pro plan, at €39 excl. VAT per month.

Her settings, service by service:

• Duration: the slots offered follow the length of each session, 1 h 15 or 45 minutes.
• Specific hours: the practice only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, video at the end of the day, within her opening hours.
• Deposit on the first session, paid online by card (Stripe), from the Free plan.
• Video: the Google Meet link is created automatically if her Google calendar is connected.
• Reminders: an email the day before from the Free plan; with a paid plan or during the trial, an SMS as well, at the time she chooses.

That leaves the text on her page. From October 2020 to September 2021, the DGCCRF (the French consumer protection authority) inspected 381 establishments offering non-conventional care practices and found an anomaly rate of 66%. So Inès names her sessions simply ("First sophrology session"), displays her prices and promises no health outcomes. If she is unsure about a wording, she asks her professional federation or a lawyer.

The checklist before choosing a tool

Whether you are looking at a directory, a meeting tool or Calendrio, ask the same questions. Copy this list and tick it off as you try things out.

The commission question deserves a close look: our article commission-free booking software explains what to look for. As for the last question, Calendrio lets you download your contacts and your services as CSV, on every plan.

What Calendrio does not do

• It is not a healthcare platform. Calendrio does not verify any RPPS number and does not present you as a healthcare professional. The text on your page remains your responsibility.
• It does not bring you a ready-made audience. You can appear in Calendrio's "Find a pro" directory if you choose to, but your bookings will depend first and foremost on the link you share.
• The Free plan has its limits. Two services, an email reminder the day before with no choice of timing, no SMS and no group sessions.

What Calendrio offers wellness practitioners

Calendrio gives you a booking page in your own name, settings specific to each session (duration, location, deposit, hours), reminders before each appointment and a client record with your private notes. No commission is taken on payments with the paid plans and during the trial. The professions concerned are presented on the wellness practitioners page.

The simplest thing is to try it with your real sessions. Create your page for free: until 30 November 2026, the trial goes from one month to three months with this link, with no credit card and no commitment, and includes the features of the paid plans (SMS reminders, group sessions, breaks between appointments).