Orthotics Cost – Orthotics Price Guide

The complete guide to the total cost of orthotics in Australia

The guide is intended for you to understand the different types of orthotics as well as the process that your podiatrist may go through to dispense a pair of orthotics and arrive at a total price. Many podiatry clinics do not publish the total price of their orthotics for various reasons and this makes it difficult for you to make an informed choice about the cost of orthotics. We believe it is more of an industry norm rather than a plan to deceive the general public.

We used the Australian Podiatry Association (APodA) fee survey of 2020 to develop this price guide. Power Podiatry has been manufacturing and prescribing orthotics for over 30 yrs and we feel that we are qualified to discuss the cost of prescribing orthotics. We will give the most common price range for orthotics and the highest price range charged by podiatrists for comparison so that you can have an idea of the broad range of fees that are being charged around the country.

Orthotic cost range in Australia :Summary

• Custom Orthotics: $400 – $1000+
• Off the shelf Orthotics: $100 – 500+

*The total costs could be significantly more

To avoid an unpleasant surprise we have broken down the total cost of foot orthotics for you below which includes the cost of podiatry visits.

Types of Orthotics

The podiatry association and many health funds divide orthotics into 5 categories that have different price ranges.

• Custom Functional Orthotics – made from cast, impression or scan of the foot
• Moulded Cast Orthotics – may be a pre-form moulded to a cast or a non-functional design moulded to a cast
• Moulded Non-cast Orthotics – may be directly moulded to the foot and customised
• Off the Shelf Orthotics – may be customised or not
• Ankle Foot Orthotics (AFO) – orthotic for the foot and above ankle

• 

• 

• 

• 

In the fee survey a majority of the podiatrists did not prescribe moulded orthotics or AFO’s in any great number. The most common prescribed orthotics were custom and off the shelf orthotics with the custom orthotics being the most prescribed.

To make this article more relevant to the Australian customer we will only breakdown the costs of custom and off the shelf orthotics.

What is the real cost of orthotics?

If you rang a podiatry clinic and asked for the cost of orthotics you would be told that there is a range of prices depending on the type of orthotic and the amount of consultations that were required. The consultations make up a significant portion of the total expense of an orthotic and should be taken into consideration. Power Podiatry has always quoted on an inclusive price so that you know exactly how much you are going to pay including consultations.

You should also ask about the policy for adjustment of orthotics that are not performing as required. In other words do you have to keep on paying a consultation fee for adjustments and aftercare. Do they offer an inclusive aftercare period and what happens at the end of this period if you are not happy with the orthotics.

Inclusive Total cost of orthotics

The number of consultations that you pay for may vary from clinic to clinic. For comparison we are going to assume that you are a new patient to the clinic and will have an initial consultation before proceeding to the series of consultations required to end up with a pair of orthotics.

• Initial comprehensive consultation
• Biomechanical assessment
• Cast, impression or scan (not required for off the shelf)
• Orthotics (pair)
• Subsequent consultation for fitting and education

Some clinics may include the fitting into the price of the orthotics and others may not so we have included one subsequent consultation.

Custom Orthotics

Consultation	Item No.	Cost (most responses)	Highest Cost
Initial	F004	$80 – 89	$140+
Biomechanical	F118	$80 – 89	$150+
Cast/scan x2	F301 x2	$120 – 138	$240+
Custom Orthotic x2	F221 x2	$400 – 498	$1000+
Subsequent (fitting)	F012	$70 – 79	$120+
TOTAL		$750 – 893	$1650+

Costs may vary greatly from clinic to clinic as you can see from the price range.

Off the shelf Orthotics

Consultation	Item no.	Cost (most responses)	Highest Cost
Initial	F004	$80 – 89	$140+
Biomechanical	F118	$80 – 89	$150+
Off the shelf orthotic (customisable)	F246 x2	$100 – 198 $200 – 298*	$500+
Subsequent (follow-up)	F012	$70 – 79	$120+
TOTAL		$330 – 455 $430 – 555*	$780+

*The 2nd most common price response was included for your information because it had nearly as many responses.

Orthotic guarantee

Some clinics will offer you an orthotic guarantee and will happily refund you the cost of the orthotics only if you are not satisfied with the product. The consultation fees are not included in the guarantee and as you can see from the above breakdown of the total cost of the orthotic package this may amount to 50% or more of the total cost. The “Orthotic Guarantee” is often used in marketing of orthotic services by some clinics so take this into consideration if this has swayed you to select their clinic over another.

Conclusion…

We hope that this helps you understand the total cost of providing an orthotic solution for a foot condition. We have tried to give you the information that you need to make an informed decision and help you ask the right questions. Your podiatrist will be happy to explain the best choice of orthotic for your needs or even give you a treatment plan that does not require an orthotic if possible.

How much does a podiatry visit cost?

Orthotics are they really no better than a sham