The Real Deal number
$500 a month, across every Real Deal sober living house. That covers your bed, utilities, drug testing, house meetings, transportation to and from your outpatient program, and access to the recovery community.
This is deliberately below market. Most Texas metro sober living runs $1,000–$3,000 a month. Real Deal keeps it at $500 because the point of sober living is to protect early recovery — not to be another financial pressure that pushes someone to move back into an unstable environment.
Industry comparison
What sober living usually costs.
| Monthly cost | What’s typical | |
|---|---|---|
| Real Deal Sober Living | $500 | Structure, testing, transport, meetings |
| Low-cost / church-affiliated | $400–800 | Bare structure, may lack clinical integration |
| Mid-market Texas metro | $1,000–1,800 | Standard sober living, no clinical |
| Premium / “luxury” sober living | $2,000–5,000+ | Amenities, wellness programming |
What you pay for vs what you don’t
Included at Real Deal
- Bed in a shared or private room (varies by house)
- All utilities (water, electric, internet)
- Drug and alcohol testing
- House meetings and peer support
- Transportation to outpatient program
- Access to Real Deal alumni community
Not included
- Food (residents shop for themselves)
- Personal transportation beyond program transport
- The outpatient treatment itself (covered by insurance)
- Personal expenses and phone bills
Real questions the intake team hears on the phone.
Sober living is housing, not medical treatment. Insurance covers medical care. This is universal across the industry.
Real Deal is already priced below market. Scholarships and payment plans are sometimes available for residents in active outpatient treatment — ask.
A few Texas nonprofits offer sober living at or near no cost. Availability is very limited. SAMHSA’s treatment locator is a starting point.
Generally no — sober living isn’t a qualified medical expense in most cases. Check with your plan.
Yes — first month is paid at move-in, then monthly thereafter.
Talk to house leadership before it happens. Solutions exist. Ghosting the rent is what gets people discharged.
Sources & further reading
Medically reviewed by our clinical team
Last reviewed September 2026. This article is educational and is not medical advice. In an emergency call 911 or the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
