The cost of detox depends entirely on what kind of detox you’re looking for. Medical detox for alcohol or drug withdrawal typically runs between $250 and $800 per day for inpatient care, with total costs ranging from roughly $1,000 to $5,000 or more for a standard stay. Commercial juice or dietary cleanses are far cheaper, usually $60 to $200 for a three-day program. Here’s what shapes the price for each type.
Medical Detox Costs
Medical detox is supervised withdrawal from alcohol, opioids, benzodiazepines, or other substances. It takes place in a hospital, standalone detox facility, or residential treatment center where clinical staff monitor your vitals and manage withdrawal symptoms with medication when needed.
Most medical detox stays last two to three days, with some extending to five days when a patient’s condition requires it. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services notes that five days is the general upper limit, though individual cases can go longer. Since facilities charge by the day, the length of your stay is the single biggest factor in your total bill. A three-day inpatient detox might cost $1,500 to $3,000 at a standard facility, while a five-day stay at a higher-end center could run $4,000 to $10,000 or more.
What Drives the Price Up or Down
Geographic location matters. Urban centers, especially cities like New York, San Francisco, or Los Angeles, tend to charge significantly more than facilities in smaller cities or rural areas due to higher operating costs. A detox bed in Manhattan can cost two or three times what a comparable program charges in a midsize Midwestern city.
Facility type creates the widest price gap. A basic medical detox unit in a hospital setting costs less than a private residential center, which costs less than a luxury facility with private rooms, gourmet meals, and spa-like amenities. Luxury detox programs can charge $10,000 to $30,000 or more for a single stay. The core medical service is similar across all tiers. What changes is the comfort level and the extras.
The substance you’re detoxing from also affects cost. Alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawal can be medically dangerous, often requiring more intensive monitoring and medication management, which can extend your stay and increase the bill. Opioid detox, while intensely uncomfortable, is generally shorter and may be managed on an outpatient basis with medication, bringing costs down considerably.
Outpatient Detox as a Lower-Cost Option
Not everyone needs to detox in a residential setting. Outpatient detox programs let you visit a clinic daily (or several times a week) for medication, monitoring, and check-ins while sleeping at home. This approach works best for people with mild to moderate withdrawal risk, a stable home environment, and no history of severe withdrawal complications like seizures.
Outpatient detox typically costs $100 to $500 per day, and total costs for a full course of treatment often land between $500 and $2,000. It’s a realistic option for opioid withdrawal in particular, where medications can be prescribed and taken at home under supervision. For alcohol withdrawal with a history of heavy, long-term drinking, most providers recommend inpatient monitoring due to the risk of life-threatening complications.
Insurance and Payment Options
Health insurance covers medical detox in most cases. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act requires most insurance plans to cover substance use treatment at the same level as other medical care. That said, your out-of-pocket cost depends on your plan’s deductible, copay structure, and whether the facility is in-network. With insurance, a standard inpatient detox stay might cost you a few hundred dollars rather than several thousand.
If you’re uninsured, publicly funded detox programs exist in every state, often operated through community health centers or state-funded treatment facilities. Wait times can be longer, and amenities are basic, but the medical care is real. Sliding-scale payment based on income is common at these programs, and some charge nothing at all. SAMHSA’s national helpline (1-800-662-4357) can connect you with local options.
Juice Cleanses and Dietary Detox Kits
If you searched “how much is detox” looking for a juice cleanse or dietary detox program, costs are much lower but still vary quite a bit. The industry standard is a three-day cleanse priced between $60 and $200. Per-day costs for juice-based programs designed to replace all meals range from $20 to $70. Shipping adds roughly $60 on top of that for most brands, since the juices need to stay refrigerated in transit, though some companies offer free shipping.
Longer cleanses of five to seven days can run $200 to $500. Some brands sell single-day “reset” kits for $30 to $50, which work as a lower-commitment entry point. Powdered detox supplements and tea-based programs are the cheapest option, often $15 to $40 for a multi-day supply, though these products have little scientific backing for their health claims.
Worth noting: your liver and kidneys already detoxify your body continuously. There’s no clinical evidence that juice cleanses remove toxins more effectively than your organs do on their own. The short-term weight loss people experience on these programs comes from calorie restriction and water loss, not toxin removal. If you enjoy the structure of a cleanse as a reset for your eating habits, that’s a personal choice, but it’s not a medical necessity.
Detox vs. Full Rehab
One important distinction: detox and rehab are not the same thing. Detox handles the physical process of withdrawal, which takes days. Rehab addresses the behavioral and psychological side of addiction, which takes weeks or months. Many people search for detox costs expecting it to cover the full treatment journey, but detox is only the first step.
A 30-day residential rehab program (which usually includes detox in the first few days) costs $5,000 to $30,000 on average, with luxury programs exceeding $50,000. Outpatient rehab programs that meet several times per week typically run $3,000 to $10,000 for a full course. If you’re planning for addiction treatment, budget for the full continuum of care rather than detox alone, since detox without follow-up treatment has high relapse rates.