Before you go
Yes. No fee, nothing to join, no catch. What the pot going round is actually for, and what else costs nothing in the UK.
Yes. AA meetings cost nothing to attend, there is nothing to join, and no fee appears at any point. Most groups pass a pot for voluntary contributions towards room hire and tea, and putting nothing in is normal and unremarked. The same goes for NA, Cocaine Anonymous, SMART Recovery and every other fellowship listed on this site. The AA Great Britain helpline is free from any UK phone.
If you have just spent an evening on rehab websites being quoted four figures a week, free is a difficult word to trust. So here is where the money does and does not go.
Last updated: 23 September 2026.
AA's seventh tradition says every group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. That cuts both ways, and the second way is the important one. Nobody funds the fellowship, so nobody owns it. No donor, no sponsor, no parent company with a marketing budget and a target.
Cocaine Anonymous says it in one line on its own site: there are no dues or fees for membership. UK SMART Recovery is a registered charity and runs its meetings free as well. Every meeting listed here is run by volunteers who are in recovery themselves. Nobody is paid to be in that room and nobody is selling you anything, which is also why nobody will chase you if you never go back.
Part way through, a basket, an old ice cream tub or these days sometimes a card reader goes round the circle. It pays the hall hire, the urn, the biscuits and the pamphlets. That is the whole of it.
People put in a coin or two. Plenty put in nothing, especially early on, and plenty more have had months of putting in nothing and years of putting in something. Nobody watches the basket. Nobody counts what you did. If a group ever made you feel you had to pay to be there, it would be breaking one of its own traditions.
No. AA's Big Book and NA's Basic Text can be bought, and neither is a condition of anything. Groups keep copies to read from, pamphlets are free to take, and members hand spare books to newcomers constantly. Nobody will suggest you buy something, and nobody is on commission if you do.
Free: every meeting listed here, in person and online. The fellowship helplines, including AA Great Britain on 0800 917 7650 and Cocaine Anonymous on 0800 612 0225 for England and Wales, both free from UK phones, and NA UK on 0300 999 1212, charged as a local call. Your local NHS or council drug and alcohol service, which usually takes self-referrals. This site, which has no sign-up, no account, and no interest in who you are.
Not free: private residential rehab and private therapy. We do not list them, sell them or take a penny for sending anyone anywhere. If you want honest numbers before you ring round, how much rehab costs has the ranges, and free addiction help in the UK sets out everything that costs nothing.
One line worth keeping separate: meetings are not medical care. If you need help stopping safely, a GP or your local service comes first, and that is free too.
AA, NA, CA and SMART all have UK-wide listings, or search everything near you by postcode or town. What to expect at your first meeting covers the rest, including the fact that you do not have to say a word.
Nothing. There is no attendance fee, nothing to join and no membership charge at any point. Groups pass a pot for voluntary contributions towards room hire and tea, and giving nothing is normal.
No, and there is no joining process to pay for. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking, which you decide for yourself. There are no forms, no subscription, no membership card and no records of who attended.
Yes, both. Cocaine Anonymous states on its own site that there are no dues or fees for membership, and NA runs the same way. Voluntary contributions cover the room hire, and nothing is expected of newcomers.
Yes. UK SMART Recovery is a registered charity and its meetings, in person and online, are free to attend. There is no fee and no membership, and its groups are run by trained facilitators rather than by anyone selling treatment.
Yes. AA Great Britain's helpline is 0800 917 7650, free from UK landlines and mobiles. Cocaine Anonymous is 0800 612 0225 for England and Wales. NA UK is 0300 999 1212, charged as a local call.
No. Groups keep copies to read from, pamphlets are free to take, and members often give spare books to newcomers. Nothing has to be bought to attend a meeting or to recover.