SponsoredAddiction Support Groups: Types, Costs, and How to Choose One
Support groups are the one part of addiction recovery that costs nothing and has no waiting list. There is no application, no eligibility screen, and no insurance to verify. If you can get to a meeting or open a browser, you can be in a room with people who have been where you are, today.
That accessibility is also why the choice matters. There are dozens of fellowships, and they disagree with each other on questions that will decide whether you come back: whether recovery requires a higher power, whether you have to quit entirely, and whether taking prescribed medication for addiction counts as being in recovery at all. This page maps the options and tells you what separates them.
Key Points
- Every group on this page is free to attend. No group listed here charges dues or fees.
- The main dividing lines are spiritual versus secular, whether abstinence is required, and how each group treats prescribed addiction medication.
- Fellowships that welcome people taking methadone or buprenorphine exist, and some groups restrict participation for people who do.
- Support groups are peer-led, not clinical. They complement treatment and do not replace it.
- Separate groups exist for family members and children affected by someone else’s substance use.
- Most fellowships now run online meetings daily, which removes the transport and childcare barrier.
In This Article:
- Types of addiction support groups
- What support groups cost
- How to choose the group that fits you
- Alternatives to AA and 12-step programs
- Support groups and medication for addiction
- Groups that do not require abstinence
- What happens at your first meeting
- Support groups for family and loved ones
- How to find a meeting near you
- Where support groups fit alongside treatment
Types of addiction support groups
Addiction support groups fall into roughly nine families, distinguished by what they believe about recovery rather than which substance they address. Most accept anyone with any substance use disorder. Choosing between them is a question of fit, not severity.
Nearly every fellowship below is open to people using any substance, and several also welcome people with behavioral addictions such as gambling. Substance-specific groups exist, but the more useful division is philosophical.
What support groups cost
Attending a support group meeting is free. No fellowship listed on this page charges dues, membership fees, or an admission price, and none requires insurance. The costs that do come up are optional, small, and worth knowing about in advance so they do not surprise you.
This is the plainest answer on the whole site, and it is worth stating without qualification: the price of walking into a meeting is zero. Alcoholics Anonymous states directly that there are no dues or fees for membership, and SMART Recovery states that its meetings and online services are offered free of charge. Traditional 12-step fellowships are self-supporting through voluntary member contributions, which is why a basket is passed at in-person meetings. Putting nothing in it is normal and nobody tracks it.
A handful of real costs sit around the edges. None of them is a barrier to attending your first meeting.
| Item | Typical cost | Is it required? |
|---|---|---|
| Attending a meeting, in person or online | $0 | Never a cost |
| Voluntary basket contribution at 12-step meetings | Whatever you choose, including nothing | No. Members contribute what they can |
| Core literature, such as a fellowship’s basic text | Varies by fellowship | No. Groups routinely give copies to newcomers free, and several fellowships post their core texts online at no cost |
| Workbooks and curriculum for church-hosted programs | Varies by host church | No. Ask the host church about scholarships, which are common |
| Conventions, retreats and campouts | Varies widely | No. Entirely optional social and service events |
| Transport, childcare, time away from a shift | Varies, and often the real barrier | No, and online meetings remove most of it |
If transport or childcare is what stands between you and a meeting, start online. Every major fellowship now runs daily online meetings, and several are online-first.
How to choose the group that fits you
Four questions decide fit for most people: whether the program asks you to accept a higher power, whether total abstinence is required, how the group treats prescribed addiction medication, and whether meetings are available when you can actually attend. The table below answers those four for each major fellowship.
There is no ranking here and no best group. The right group is the one you will keep going back to, so fit is the thing to optimize for. Read the columns in the order that matters to you. Someone who left AA because of the spiritual framing should read column two first. Someone taking buprenorphine should read column four first.
How to read the medication column
Only a few fellowships have published an organizational position on prescribed addiction medication. Where the table says no published position exists, that is the finding, not a gap in our research. It means the national organization has not stated one and local practice will vary, so the group contact is the person to ask.
| Fellowship | Framework | Abstinence required | Stance on addiction medication | Family version | Where it meets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) | Spiritual, 12 steps, sponsorship | Yes, from alcohol | No organizational position. AA’s Conference-approved pamphlet on medications advises members not to act as doctors and to leave medical advice to a physician. Room culture varies | Al-Anon and Alateen, separate organizations | In person and online, roughly 180 nations |
| Narcotics Anonymous (NA) | Spiritual, 12 steps, sponsorship | Yes, from all drugs | NA’s service pamphlet treats medication as a member’s personal decision and an outside issue for groups. Because groups are autonomous, local practice on sharing and service positions varies | Nar-Anon and Narateen, separate organizations | In person and online, worldwide |
| Cocaine Anonymous (CA) | Spiritual, 12 steps | Yes, from cocaine and other substances | No published organizational position. Ask the local group | None specific | In person and online |
| SMART Recovery | Cognitive and behavioral, four-point program | No. Abstinence is encouraged, and participants set their own goal, including moderation or harm reduction | Explicitly supportive. Published its position in 2005 and has welcomed people on legally prescribed medication since its founding | SMART Recovery Family & Friends | In person and daily online |
| LifeRing Secular Recovery | Secular, self-directed recovery plan | Yes | No published organizational position. Ask the local group | None | Mostly online, some in person |
| Women for Sobriety | Secular, women only, New Life program | Yes | No published organizational position. Ask the local group | None | In person and online |
| Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS) | Secular, self-empowerment | Yes | No published organizational position. Ask the local group | None | In person and online |
| Celebrate Recovery | Christian, eight principles alongside 12 steps | Yes, and addresses issues beyond substance use | No published organizational position. Practice varies by host church | Separate programs for children and for teenagers | Host churches, some online |
| Recovery Dharma | Buddhist, meditation-centered, peer-led with no hierarchy | Recovery is self-defined | No published organizational position. Ask the local group | None | Largely online, some in person |
| Refuge Recovery | Buddhist, four truths of recovery | Yes | No published organizational position. Ask the local group | None | In person and online |
| Moderation Management | Behavioral change, goal-neutral | No. Reduced drinking is a valid goal | No published organizational position. Ask the local group | None | Online |
| Wellbriety (White Bison) | Indigenous cultural, Medicine Wheel and 12 steps | Yes | No published organizational position. Practice varies by circle | Family and community centered by design | In person and online |
| Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous (MARA) | Its own Twelve Steps and Traditions, written for people in medication-based recovery and not an adaptation of another fellowship’s | From non-prescribed substances | Built for people on medication. Never in question | None | Online and in person, searchable by state |
One caveat applies to every row. Most fellowships are organized so that each individual group governs itself, which means national literature and local room culture can differ. If a specific issue matters to you, the fastest way to find out is to email the group contact or attend one meeting and listen before you share.
Alternatives to AA and 12-step programs
Several established fellowships operate without a higher power, sponsorship, or the 12 steps. SMART Recovery, LifeRing Secular Recovery, Women for Sobriety, Secular Organizations for Sobriety, Recovery Dharma and Moderation Management are the main options, and all are free.
People look for an alternative for a few consistent reasons: the spiritual framing does not fit their beliefs, the language of powerlessness does not match how they understand their own situation, or they want a program grounded in behavioral science. Those are reasonable objections, and none of them means peer support is off the table.
Secular fellowships tend to share a few features. They ask you to build your own recovery plan rather than follow a fixed sequence, they use tools drawn from cognitive and behavioral therapy, and they treat you as capable of directing your own change. Availability is the main tradeoff. AA and NA have far more in-person meetings in more places, so in a rural area a secular group may only be reachable online. If AA’s literature is what you are weighing, our guides to the Big Book and the AA promises cover what the program actually asks of members.
Support groups and medication for addiction
Medication for opioid use disorder, meaning buprenorphine, methadone or naltrexone, is a standard evidence-based treatment. Some support group members and some individual groups treat people taking it as not being in recovery. Fellowships that explicitly welcome people on medication exist, and it is worth knowing which is which before you walk in.
This is the question most likely to make someone stop going to meetings, and it is the one competitor pages skip entirely. So, plainly: medication-assisted treatment, also called MAT, and medication for opioid use disorder, also called MOUD, are supported by a substantial evidence base. SAMHSA publishes clinical guidance on methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone as substance use disorder treatment options. Stopping medication to satisfy a support group is a medical decision, and no peer group is qualified to make it with you. If someone in a meeting tells you that you are not really in recovery because of a prescription, they are stating a personal opinion, not their fellowship’s clinical policy.
What the major fellowships actually say:
- SMART Recovery published its position supporting medication-assisted treatment in 2005 and says it has welcomed people taking legally prescribed medication since it began. It adopted the term “abstinence-oriented” in part to distance itself from misinformed views about prescribed medication.
- Narcotics Anonymous publishes a service pamphlet, “NA Groups and Medication,” which frames medication use as a member’s personal decision and an outside issue for groups under NA’s Twelve Traditions. It also publishes a pamphlet for prescribers. Because NA groups are autonomous, practice on who may share or hold a service position varies locally.
- Alcoholics Anonymous takes no position on outside issues as a matter of tradition. Its Conference-approved pamphlet on medications, reviewed by physicians who are AA members, advises that no member should act as a doctor and that medical advice should come from a qualified physician. The pamphlet addresses prescribed medication broadly rather than opioid use disorder medication specifically.
- Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous was founded for people in medication-based recovery, so the question never arises. It maintains its own Twelve Steps and Traditions and runs online and in-person meetings searchable by state.
Two practical moves. Ask the group contact before your first meeting whether people on medication share and hold service positions, which is a normal question and tells you what you need to know in one email. And if a room turns out to be hostile, try a different room in the same fellowship before giving up on the fellowship, because group culture varies more than the literature does.
If you are not yet taking medication and want to understand the options, see medication-assisted treatment.
Groups that do not require abstinence
Most fellowships ask members to aim for complete abstinence. A smaller set works with people whose goal is using less rather than stopping. Moderation Management is built around that, and SMART Recovery now welcomes people pursuing moderation or harm reduction goals while still encouraging them to consider abstinence.
Requiring someone to commit to lifelong abstinence before they are ready is one reason people never attend a first meeting. If you are not there yet, or you are not sure, you have options that do not require you to decide first.
Moderation Management is the most established of these. It is free, largely online, and works with members on either a moderation goal or an abstinence goal, including people who start with the first and move to the second. SMART Recovery states that people are welcome at its meetings whether or not they want to try abstinence, including those pursuing controlled use, harm reduction or medication-assisted treatment, and that participants set their own recovery goals. Recovery Dharma leaves the definition of recovery to the individual member. Some all-recovery meetings run by local organizations take the same approach.
Reducing how much you use, using more safely, and staying alive are legitimate outcomes on their own terms. For the services built around that, including naloxone and syringe access, see harm reduction.
What happens at your first meeting
A first meeting takes about an hour. You do not have to speak, you are not required to give your full name, and there is no cost, sign-up, or paperwork. Most groups ask newcomers to identify themselves only if they want to.
The unfamiliarity is a bigger barrier than the commitment, so here is the shape of it.
- Arriving. Most meetings run about an hour to 90 minutes. Turning up a few minutes early gives you a chance to tell someone it is your first time, which most groups respond to warmly.
- Open versus closed. Open meetings admit anyone, including family and observers. Closed meetings are for people who identify as having the problem the group addresses. Meeting listings say which is which.
- Speaking. You can pass. Saying that you are going to listen today is a complete and normal contribution.
- Anonymity. First names are the norm at 12-step meetings. What is said in the room is expected to stay there, though this is a shared commitment rather than a legal protection.
- Format. Some meetings feature one speaker, others go around the room, others work through a chapter or a tool. SMART meetings are facilitated and closer to a structured workshop.
- Afterwards. Nobody follows up unless you ask them to. Sponsorship in 12-step fellowships is something you seek out, not something assigned to you.
If the first group is a poor fit, that is information, not a verdict. Trying three or four before settling is common and unremarkable.
Support groups for family and loved ones
Separate free fellowships exist for the people around someone with a substance use disorder. Al-Anon and Nar-Anon serve adults, Alateen and Narateen serve teenagers, and Adult Children of Alcoholics serves people who grew up with it. None requires the person you are worried about to be in treatment or to know you are attending.
These groups exist because the effects of someone else’s substance use are their own problem, needing their own support, and because attending them does not require you to first persuade anyone else to change.
- Al-Anon Family Groups for anyone affected by another person’s drinking. 12-step based.
- Alateen for teenage members, meeting separately with adult sponsors present.
- Nar-Anon and Narateen for families affected by another person’s drug use.
- Adult Children of Alcoholics for adults raised in homes affected by addiction.
- SMART Recovery Family & Friends for a secular, skills-based alternative that does not use the 12 steps.
If you are the one trying to get someone else into treatment, our guide to helping someone else covers what a family member can and cannot do, including consent and coverage questions.
How to find a meeting near you
Each fellowship runs its own official meeting finder, and those directories are more current than any third-party list including this one. Search by ZIP code for in-person meetings, or filter for online meetings, which most fellowships now run daily.
We do not maintain a meeting database and we would not recommend relying on one that is not run by the fellowship itself. Meeting times, locations and formats change often, and the official finders are the only sources updated as they do. Go directly to the source:
- Alcoholics Anonymous at aa.org, plus local intergroup sites that often list more meetings than the national finder.
- Narcotics Anonymous at na.org.
- SMART Recovery at smartrecovery.org, which lists in-person and online meetings together.
- Al-Anon at al-anon.org, including Alateen.
- Celebrate Recovery at celebraterecovery.com, searchable by host church.
- Cocaine Anonymous at ca.org. Our guide to Cocaine Anonymous covers how the fellowship works.
- Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous at mara-international.org, searchable by state.
- Recovery Dharma and Refuge Recovery maintain their own online meeting calendars.
- SAMHSA runs a free, confidential National Helpline for referrals to local support and treatment: 1-800-662-HELP (4357), or TTY 1-800-487-4889, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in English and Spanish. You can also text your 5-digit ZIP code to 435748 (HELP4U).
For LGBTQ+ specific meetings by state, see our LGBTQ+ addiction resources. If you are in immediate danger or crisis, see emergency phone numbers.
Where support groups fit alongside treatment
Support groups are peer-led, not clinical. They do not provide detox, medication, diagnosis, or therapy from a licensed professional. They work well alongside treatment, before it while you are waiting, and after it ends, and for some people they are the only support they use.
Two distinctions worth keeping straight. A support group is run by its own members and costs nothing. Group therapy is led by a licensed clinician, is part of a treatment program, and is billed to insurance or to you. Both involve sitting in a circle. They are not the same service.
Peer support has a real evidence base. A 2020 Cochrane systematic review examined 27 studies covering more than 10,000 people and found that manualized twelve-step facilitation, meaning clinical work designed to connect people to AA, produced higher rates of continuous abstinence than other established treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy, and performed comparably on measures of drinking intensity. The reviewers also found it reduced healthcare costs, which the authors attributed partly to linking people to a free and widely available source of long-term support.
The gap that support groups can fill is large. SAMHSA’s 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimated that 47.2 million people aged 12 or older needed substance use treatment in the past year and that 84.0 percent of them, about 39.6 million people, did not receive it. A meeting is not treatment, but it is available today and it costs nothing.
What groups do not do is manage withdrawal. If you are physically dependent on alcohol or benzodiazepines, stopping without medical supervision can be dangerous, and that is a clinical matter. Start with detox.
If you have decided you want clinical care alongside meetings, the affordability question is next: what treatment involves and how each level of care is paid for. Free and low-cost programs are listed throughout our directory. Sober living homes, which combine housing with peer support, are covered under sober living.
Frequently asked questions
Are addiction support groups free?
Yes. Every major fellowship is free to attend, with no dues or fees. Traditional 12-step groups are supported by voluntary member contributions, and a person who contributes nothing is a full member. Optional costs such as literature or retreats exist, and groups commonly give literature to newcomers at no charge.
What is the difference between a support group and group therapy?
A support group is peer-led, free, and run by its own members. Group therapy is led by a licensed clinician as part of a treatment program and is billed to insurance or to the person attending. The two are often confused because both involve a group setting.
Can someone attend a support group while taking Suboxone or methadone?
Yes. Medication for opioid use disorder is a standard evidence-based treatment, and no support group is qualified to advise someone to stop taking a prescription. Narcotics Anonymous treats medication as a member’s personal decision and an outside issue for groups, though local practice varies because groups are autonomous. SMART Recovery and Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous explicitly welcome people on medication. Asking the group contact in advance is the fastest way to find out.
Are there support groups for people who do not want to quit completely?
Yes. Moderation Management works with people whose goal is drinking less rather than stopping, and SMART Recovery welcomes people pursuing moderation or harm reduction goals while still encouraging them to consider abstinence. Some groups leave the definition of recovery to the individual member.
Which support group is best for someone who is not religious?
SMART Recovery, LifeRing Secular Recovery, Secular Organizations for Sobriety and Women for Sobriety all operate without a higher power or a spiritual framework. SMART Recovery has the widest availability of the four, including daily online meetings.
Do support groups replace treatment?
No. Support groups do not provide detox, medication, diagnosis, or clinical therapy. They work alongside treatment and after it, and a person who is physically dependent on alcohol or benzodiazepines should seek medical supervision before stopping.
You Might Like
- Medication-Assisted Treatment
- Harm Reduction
- Sober Living
- Free Rehab: How It Works and Who Qualifies
References
- Kelly JF, Humphreys K, Ferri M. Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs for alcohol use disorder. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2020, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD012880. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD012880.pub2.
- Kelly JF, Abry A, Ferri M, Humphreys K. Alcoholics Anonymous and 12-Step Facilitation Treatments for Alcohol Use Disorder: A Distillation of a 2020 Cochrane Review for Clinicians and Policy Makers. Alcohol and Alcoholism. 2020;55(6):641-651. DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agaa050.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
- Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. The A.A. Member: Medications and Other Drugs (P-11). General Service Conference-approved.
- Alcoholics Anonymous. Estimated Worldwide A.A. Individual and Group Membership (SMF-132).
- Narcotics Anonymous World Services. NA Groups and Medication service pamphlet; Narcotics Anonymous and Persons Receiving Medication-Assisted Treatment.
- SMART Recovery. Position statements on medication-assisted treatment and on recovery goals.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Substance Use Disorder Treatment Options: methadone, buprenorphine, naltrexone. https://www.samhsa.gov/
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. National Helpline. Accessed August 10, 2026. https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/helplines/national-helpline
- Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous (MARA International). Meeting finder and organizational materials.
