What antidepressants and other mental health medicines cost without insurance

Help in a crisis

If you are thinking about suicide, or you are in a mental health crisis, you can call or text 988 at any hour. The call is free, and the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline answers day and night. If someone is in danger right now, call 911 or head to the nearest emergency room. Cost should never be a reason to wait before you ask for help.

Most antidepressants are low-cost generics

Antidepressants are medicines that treat depression, and some also treat anxiety. Most of the common ones have been sold as generics for years. A generic is a copy of a brand-name medicine that has the same active ingredient, and many companies make it, so the price is low.

Some prices below come from NADAC, a weekly survey of drug costs that Medicaid runs. It records what pharmacies paid to buy each drug, so it shows a cost to the store and not a price to you. In October 2026, pharmacies paid from 3.9 cents to 6.3 cents per generic escitalopram tablet, depending on strength. They paid from 2.9 cents to 5.1 cents per generic sertraline tablet.

At the counter you will pay more than the survey price, because the pharmacy adds its own costs. The survey still shows how cheap the pill itself is. Some pharmacies and public hospitals also keep low-cost generic lists, and many common antidepressants are often on them. Ask whether your medicine is on the store's list, and call a few pharmacies, because the counter price can differ a lot from one store to another.

What a fill costs

Another way to see prices is by the fill, which is one visit to the pharmacy to pick up one prescription. Medicare publishes what its drug plans and their members spent per fill. That figure is closer to a real pharmacy price than the survey is, but it is not a cash price.

In 2024, those plans and members spent about $11 per fill of generic fluoxetine and about $8.98 per fill of generic trazodone. The averages for generic quetiapine and generic buspirone were about $17 and $14.17. For generic duloxetine the average was $23.58, and for generic bupropion it ran from about $20 to $25, depending on the tablet type.

Brand-name versions cost far more than generics. The brand-name version of duloxetine averaged about $667 per fill, and the brand-name version of quetiapine averaged about $729. Asking for the generic is the single biggest way to lower the bill.

Therapy and controlled medicines

Talk therapy helps many people, and its price varies by therapist and by place. Our therapy cost guide explains sliding scale fees, where the fee depends on your income.

Some medicines for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, called ADHD, are controlled medicines. That means a licensed prescriber must write a new prescription for every fill. Pharmacies paid about 23 to 29 cents per generic mixed amphetamine salts tablet in October 2026. For help with substance use, the SAMHSA National Helpline is free at 1-800-662-4357.

Ways to pay less

Ask your doctor whether a generic exists for each of your medicines, and ask the pharmacist to fill it. Then phone a few pharmacies for their cash prices. Our guide to comparing prescription prices gives tips for those calls.

Community health centers charge by income, and many have their own pharmacies and mental health staff. Our guide on community health centers shows how to find one. A cash-pay doctor with a monthly membership can also write refills and check how a medicine is working, and you can search for a cash-pay doctor near you.

Guides for each antidepressant, anxiety medicine and ADHD medicine

• The escitalopram guide covers what pharmacies pay for this common antidepressant.
• The sertraline guide covers its survey price and what to ask the pharmacist.
• The fluoxetine guide shows the Medicare fill figure and the capsule price.
• The bupropion guide explains why the price depends on the tablet type.
• The duloxetine guide compares generic and brand-name spending.
• The trazodone guide covers this low-cost pill, which doctors often prescribe for sleep and mood.
• The quetiapine guide covers generic and brand-name prices.
• The buspirone guide covers this anxiety medicine and its Medicare fill figure.
• The hydroxyzine guide covers the price of this allergy and anxiety pill.
• The therapy cost guide explains sliding scale fees and free crisis help.
• The ADHD stimulant guide explains prices and the rules for controlled medicines.
• The lisdexamfetamine guide covers the newer ADHD medicine, which has a generic capsule and a costly brand version.

A word about safety

Please do not stop, skip or change a mental health medicine on your own to save money. Stopping suddenly can make you feel worse, and some of these medicines need a slow, planned change. If money is the problem, call your doctor or pharmacist before your supply runs out and explain that cost is the reason.

This page gives general information and does not replace a doctor's advice.