Drug rehab costs range from free at state-funded facilities to over $100,000 at luxury centers, with most people paying somewhere in between. A standard 30-day inpatient program runs $20,000 to $44,000, while outpatient treatment costs $2,000 to $8,000 for three months. The actual price depends on the type of program, how long you stay, where the facility is located, and what insurance you carry.
Inpatient vs. Outpatient: The Biggest Price Split
The single largest factor in cost is whether you live at the facility or go home each day. Inpatient (residential) rehab includes housing, meals, 24-hour medical supervision, therapy, and structured programming. That full package is why prices start around $20,000 per month and can reach $44,000 or more at standard facilities. Luxury and executive programs with private rooms, resort-style amenities, and concierge services can push well past $50,000 to $100,000 per month.
Outpatient treatment strips away the room-and-board costs. You attend therapy sessions, group meetings, and check-ins several times a week while living at home. A typical three-month outpatient program costs $2,000 to $8,000 total, making it the most affordable structured option. The tradeoff is less supervision and more exposure to everyday triggers, which works well for some people and poorly for others depending on the severity of the addiction and the stability of their home environment.
Programs That Fall in Between
Not every program fits neatly into the inpatient or outpatient box. Partial hospitalization programs (sometimes called day programs) have you at the facility for six or more hours a day but let you sleep at home. These typically cost $3,000 to $15,000 per month. Sober living homes, where you share a structured residence with others in recovery while attending outpatient therapy, run $4,000 to $16,000 per month. Both options give more support than standard outpatient care at a fraction of full residential pricing.
How Program Length Affects Total Cost
Thirty days is the most common starting point, but many clinicians recommend 60 or 90 days for more severe addictions or for people who have relapsed before. The math is straightforward: a 60-day stay at a standard residential facility could run $40,000 to $88,000, and 90 days could reach $60,000 to $132,000. Outpatient programs are already priced for longer durations, so extending from three months to six months might only add another $2,000 to $8,000.
Longer stays are consistently associated with better outcomes. If cost is the barrier to a longer program, it’s worth exploring the insurance, financial aid, and state-funded options below before defaulting to the shortest stay.
Medication Costs During and After Treatment
If your treatment involves medications to manage cravings or withdrawal, that adds a separate line item. The most common medications for opioid and alcohol use disorders are oral buprenorphine (often sold as Suboxone), injectable buprenorphine (Sublocade), naltrexone (sold as a monthly injection called Vivitrol), and methadone.
Medicare’s 2025 payment rates give a useful benchmark for what these drugs actually cost when bundled with counseling and monitoring. Methadone-based treatment runs about $42 per week. Oral buprenorphine costs around $69 per week. Injectable buprenorphine jumps to roughly $1,800 per month because of the drug’s formulation. Monthly naltrexone injections cost about $1,475 per dose. Without insurance, retail prices can be higher, but manufacturer discount programs and generic options can bring costs down significantly, especially for oral buprenorphine and methadone.
Many rehab programs bundle medication into their overall price. If you’re comparing facilities, ask whether medication-assisted treatment is included or billed separately.
What Insurance Actually Covers
Federal law requires most health insurance plans that offer mental health benefits to treat addiction coverage the same way they treat medical and surgical benefits. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act means your plan cannot impose higher copays, stricter visit limits, or tighter preauthorization rules on substance use treatment than it does on comparable medical care. This applies to employer-sponsored plans, marketplace plans, and Medicaid expansion coverage.
There is one important caveat: the law does not force plans to offer substance use benefits in the first place. In practice, most plans sold through the ACA marketplace do include them because the ACA lists mental health and substance use services as one of ten essential health benefit categories. But if you have a grandfathered plan or certain small-employer arrangements, coverage may be limited or absent. Call the number on the back of your insurance card and ask specifically what substance use treatment benefits are included, what facilities are in-network, and what your out-of-pocket maximum would be.
With good insurance, out-of-pocket costs for a 30-day inpatient stay can drop to $1,000 to $10,000 depending on your deductible, coinsurance rate, and whether the facility is in-network. Even partial coverage transforms the financial picture.
Free and Low-Cost Options
If you have no insurance or can’t afford the out-of-pocket share, several pathways exist.
- State-funded programs. The federal government distributes money to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories through the Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant. States use these funds to operate or contract with local treatment centers that serve uninsured and underinsured residents at no cost or very low cost. Wait lists can be long in some areas, but the programs exist in every state. Your state’s behavioral health agency can point you to them, or you can search SAMHSA’s treatment locator at findtreatment.gov.
- Sliding scale fees. Many nonprofit and federally qualified health centers offer addiction services on a sliding fee scale based on your income and family size. If your household income falls at or below the federal poverty level, you qualify for a full discount (sometimes free care, sometimes a small nominal charge). Partial discounts typically apply for incomes up to twice the poverty level. You’ll need to provide proof of income and household size, but the process is straightforward.
- Nonprofit and faith-based programs. Organizations like the Salvation Army and many local nonprofits run residential programs funded by donations rather than patient fees. These programs may have fewer clinical bells and whistles than private facilities, but they provide structured environments, group support, and often connections to ongoing recovery resources.
- Medicaid. If your income qualifies, Medicaid covers substance use treatment in every state. In states that expanded Medicaid under the ACA, single adults earning up to about $20,800 per year (in 2024) are eligible. Medicaid typically covers both inpatient and outpatient treatment with little or no cost to you.
Hidden Costs to Ask About
The sticker price of a program doesn’t always tell the whole story. Some facilities charge separately for the initial medical detox phase, which can add $1,000 to $5,000 for a three-to-seven-day supervised withdrawal. Medications, lab work, and psychological testing may also be billed on top of the base rate. Before committing, ask the admissions team for a written breakdown of what the quoted price includes and what might generate additional charges.
There are also indirect costs to factor in: lost wages during an inpatient stay, childcare, travel to and from outpatient sessions, and the cost of aftercare once the initial program ends. Aftercare often means weekly therapy, support group attendance, and possibly ongoing medication, which can range from minimal (if covered by insurance) to a few hundred dollars per month out of pocket. Planning for these costs upfront helps you choose a program length and intensity level you can sustain through the full recovery process, not just the first 30 days.