Is Maple Free in BC? What It Actually Costs in 2026

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Short answer: Maple is free to join, but in BC it is not free to use. To see a doctor or nurse practitioner you need the $85/month membership, unless your employer, school or insurance plan covers Maple for you. We checked Maple's pricing and coverage pages on October 7, 2026.

That's a different answer from the one you'll find in older articles, including an earlier version of our own review. Here's what changed, what you'd pay, and what costs nothing with a BC Services Card.

What you pay, line by line

The membership price is the same across Canada outside Quebec, where it is $95/month.

Why older articles say Maple is free in BC

For a period, Maple published a help article describing MSP-covered general practitioner visits for BC residents during a set weekday window. People understandably summarized that as "Maple is free in BC."

That article is no longer on Maple's help desk. Maple's current page on provincial coverage says the company only charges a fee where provincial plans don't cover its services, and then lists the places with public programs: Nova Scotia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island. British Columbia isn't there, and Maple's pricing page doesn't mention MSP at all.

So the practical position for a BC resident today is this: add your Personal Health Number when you sign up, and if the app offers you a covered visit, use it. Otherwise expect the membership screen.

Three ways Maple can still cost you nothing

1. Workplace or school benefits. Maple partners with employers and benefits providers across Canada. Many plans include fully covered visits or reduced pricing. Check your benefits booklet or ask HR, then add the coverage to your Maple account before requesting a visit.
2. Private health insurance. Some individual plans reimburse virtual care. Maple's help desk explains how to attach insurance to your account.
3. A covered visit shown in the app. If Maple's public coverage ever returns to BC, the app is where you'd see it first.

If none of those apply, the membership is the only route.

Is $85 a month worth it?

It depends almost entirely on how often you'd use it.

• A family with young children that would otherwise make two or three clinic trips a month gets real value: one fee covers everyone, any hour.
• Someone covering a short gap — between family doctors, or during a busy month — can join for one month and deactivate. That works out to $85 for as many visits as you need in that period.
• A healthy adult who needs care twice a year is paying $1,020 annually for something MSP already provides elsewhere at no charge.

Maple's strengths are speed and hours. Its limits are the same as every virtual service: no hands-on examination, no controlled substances, and no ongoing relationship with one provider. Our full Maple review goes through those trade-offs in detail.

What is free in BC instead

If the goal is simply to get care without paying, these all cost nothing with active MSP coverage:

• Pharmacists. BC pharmacists can assess and prescribe for a list of minor ailments and for contraception. No appointment platform, no fee.
• 811 (HealthLink BC). A registered nurse answers 24 hours a day and will tell you what level of care fits. Call 711 if you are hearing impaired.
• Walk-in clinics. Billed to MSP. Many now take same-day bookings online or by phone. Browse walk-in clinics in Vancouver.
• Urgent and Primary Care Centres. Open seven days a week including evenings, for problems that need attention within a day but aren't emergencies. See whether UPCCs are free and what they cost without MSP.
• MSP-billed virtual care. Several virtual services bill MSP directly for eligible BC residents, usually by appointment rather than on demand. We compare them in our BC telehealth roundup — confirm each one's current terms before you book, because these programs change.

None of those is as fast as Maple at 2 a.m. That's the honest trade: Maple sells convenience, and the public system gives you the care itself.

The bigger fix

Paying monthly for episodic visits is a workaround for not having a regular provider. If that's your situation, do the free things in parallel: register with the Health Connect Registry, check our tracker of clinics and doctors accepting new patients in Vancouver, and read what to do while you wait for a family doctor.

If Maple fits how you'd use it, you can create a free Maple account here and check for employer or insurance coverage before choosing the membership.

This guide is general navigation information, not medical advice. For health questions call 811 (HealthLink BC); in an emergency call 911.