How Much Does Rehab Cost in Portugal? An honest guide

Clinically reviewed byNerea Encinas SánchezDirector of the centre, MSc General Health PsychologyRegistered psychologist, COPAO AO13857

Checked for accuracy on 28 July 2026. Next review due July 2027. This page is general information about our programme and is not a substitute for advice about your own situation.

The addiction picture in Portugal

Portugal treats drug dependence as a health matter rather than a criminal one. Since 2001, personal possession of drugs has been decriminalised and dealt with through health and social routes instead of the courts, and treatment for drug addiction, alcohol addiction, or a combined drug and alcohol addiction is delivered through the public health service (Serviço Nacional de Saúde). In practice this means the first door for most people is a free, confidential public service, not a private clinic, whatever form the substance use disorder, substance abuse or drug abuse takes. Alcohol, which remains the most common reason people seek treatment, is handled through the same public network of assessment and care, alongside support for the physical and mental health issues, including drug or alcohol addiction and problem drug and alcohol consumption, that often go with it. Every patient is assessed individually, since the right level of care depends on the severity of dependence and on wider mental health needs, not on a single fixed pathway.

Free and community options in Portugal

Start here. These are free, national, and for a great many people they are enough.

Information checked 25 July 2026. SICAD runs the national network of CRIs that deliver public, mostly outpatient, addiction treatment; Linha Vida 1414 and SNS 24 are free access and advice routes; AA and NA are free mutual-aid fellowships with meetings across the country.

Who each free service is for

Whatever the mix of drugs and alcohol involved, SICAD and your local CRI are the main public route: assessment, counselling, medical support and psychological care, often including individual and group therapy, and, where clinically needed, opioid substitution programmes, therapy sessions, and referral on to a detox or inpatient rehab unit with accommodation. Linha Vida 1414 is a free, anonymous line for anyone with questions about their own or a loved one’s use, and can point you to the nearest service. SNS 24 is the general health line for urgent, non-emergency advice at any hour. AA and NA run free, twelve-step meetings, most days, in person and online, and work alongside any treatment, with English-speaking AA groups in Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve for those who prefer them.

Private residential rehab in Portugal: the honest reality

There are private residential clinics in Portugal, most of them around Lisbon and the Algarve, ranging from a straightforward rehab clinic to a luxury rehab retreat by the coast. Names vary, from private rehab and rehab centre to drug and alcohol rehab centres or alcohol and drug rehab, offering alcohol rehab treatment, residential rehab, or dedicated alcohol rehabilitation programmes, but the underlying rehab services should be broadly comparable: a clear assessment, an evidence-based treatment plan that may include cognitive behavioural therapy, and a level of care matched to the severity of the substance dependence involved. One name families often ask about is Heritage, in the Algarve, which publishes rates from around €6,000 a month, although at that price the room is usually shared rather than private, so compare like for like. We take no placement fees and are not paid to rank anyone, so before you commit to any centre, confirm two things directly: that it is registered with the Portuguese health regulator, the Entidade Reguladora da Saúde (ERS), and that the price it quotes you matches its own published figures. Finding the right rehab, or the right rehab centre for a loved one, usually means comparing a handful of rehab facilities, whether badged as a treatment and rehabilitation centre or a residential treatment centre in the wider international sense, on this basis rather than on branding alone. For most people the free public route above is the right first step, and residential care, in Portugal or abroad, almost always means travelling away from home, which is worth knowing when you weigh up treatment and rehabilitation in another country, whatever type of rehab you eventually choose.

Indicative cost of rehab in Portugal

Here is how the real rehab costs break down, and roughly how much rehab costs at each level. Costs vary by length of stay, whether admission into rehab includes a medically supervised detox, whether private accommodation is included and where the centre is, and the same applies whether you are pricing up the cost of alcohol rehab, the cost of drug and alcohol rehab treatment, or a purely outpatient rehab programme.

• Public treatment (SICAD / CRI): free, funded through the SNS. This includes outpatient assessment, counselling and rehab treatment, and referral to a public detox or inpatient rehab unit where clinically indicated.
• Private residential rehab in Portugal: published directories list a wide band, commonly from around €2,000 to €6,000 a week, so roughly €8,000 to €24,000 for a 28-day stay, with luxury coastal clinics well above that. These are indicative directory ranges for a residential rehab programme of this kind, not quotations.
• Detox on its own: where a private medically supervised detox is needed first, it is usually billed separately from the residential fee.

Funding routes. The public system is free at the point of use. Private care is met from savings, by private health insurance where a policy covers residential treatment, or through a centre’s own payment plan. It is worth asking any private provider, in Portugal or abroad, exactly what its headline price does and does not include, what is included in the cost of treatment, and what admission into rehab actually involves, whether that is called a rehab programme, an inpatient rehab stay, or a treatment programme.

Cost ranges checked 25 July 2026. Typical published ranges, not quotations, and every centre sets its own fees.

Considering residential treatment abroad?

Sierra Recovery, Málaga, Spain

We are a registered health centre in Humilladero, Málaga, treating in English, with a clinical model adapted from the one used by PROMIS in the UK since 1986 and aftercare that continues when you get home. £9,900 for the published 28-day residential programme, private room included; any hospital detox is arranged and billed separately. We are a rehabilitation centre, not a hospital or detox unit, so where a medically supervised detox is needed it is completed first, in an appropriate medical setting, with qualified nurses on the team during your stay. Our director is Nerea Encinas Sánchez, and we charge no referral fees. Our methodology is the Regulation Model.

See exactly what is included · our regulation and licensing.

Which option is right for you

Start with the free public service (SICAD / CRI) if you are unsure, if cost is the barrier, if you are looking for free rehab or rehab for alcohol without charge, or if you want to stay near family and work; it is also the right starting point if a previous relapse means you are dealing with alcohol or drug problems again. Call Linha Vida 1414 or SNS 24 if you just need to talk it through or find the nearest service today. Private residential in Portugal if you want a faster, more intensive stay close to home and can meet the cost, whichever of the treatment options or rehab options suits you best. Treatment abroad, in Spain, only if a private residential stay is out of reach at home, distance from your usual surroundings would help, and you can travel and do not need an immediate hospital detox. Use AA or NA alongside whatever you choose to help you stay sober and support long-term recovery once a treatment programme ends. If you are also comparing this against rehab cost in the UK, including whether rehab through the NHS is available free at the point of use in principle like Portugal’s SNS route, or rehab in the UK more generally, our UK vs Spain guide sets both out side by side. If treatment away from home is worth considering, you can read how admission to Sierra works and speak to a clinician before you decide anything, wherever your recovery journey and addiction recovery ultimately take you.