Compare Your Treatment Options
Most people arrive at addiction treatment facing a choice they have no framework for making: which level of care, which medication, which kind of housing. These comparisons lay out what actually differs — hours, cost, who each option suits — so the decision rests on something concrete.
- Sober Living Home vs Halfway House
Sober living is privately paid and open-ended; a halfway house is usually assigned with a fixed time limit. Cost, rules, testing and stay length compared.
- PHP vs IOP
PHP runs 20-30 structured hours a week and IOP runs 9-19, but the real question is whether home can hold the other 148 hours. Compared against ASAM levels.
- Detox vs Rehab
Detox manages withdrawal safely, rehab treats why the drug or alcohol use started, and detox alone rarely holds. What each stage does and when.
- Suboxone vs Methadone
Methadone needs a licensed program with daily visits at first, while Suboxone comes from a regular prescriber. Both work, so access usually decides.
- Inpatient vs Outpatient
Inpatient means living on site with round-the-clock support, outpatient fits around your life, and what decides is the hours treatment does not cover.
- 12-Step vs Non-12-Step
AA and NA are available almost everywhere and cost nothing, while SMART, LifeRing and Refuge are secular alternatives. What differs and how to choose.
Also see our practical guides and insurance coverage explainers.
Information, not medical advice. If you are in crisis, call or text 988 in the US, or reach the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 — free, confidential, 24/7.