The European Ketamine Therapy Cost Index (2026)
The same treatment costs £595 in Mayfair, €200–300 in Frankfurt — and is free in Warsaw. Verified prices from 12 countries, compiled only from published clinic price lists and public reimbursement decisions.
| Country | Private ketamine (per session) | KAP programme | Public / reimbursed route | Clinics publishing | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom # | £265–595 per IV infusion | from ~£6,000 (six-week programme); ~£3,000/year at an NHS self-funded service | Scotland: Spravato accepted by the SMC (SMC2258); England & Wales: NICE declined (TA854), private only | 3 | |
| Germany # | €200–300 per IV infusion | ~€15,000 six-week private day-clinic programme (private insurance often covers in full) | Spravato via GKV for on-label TRD, incl. office-based practices since 10/2023 (GOP 01549); nationwide Praxisbesonderheit keeps it out of the doctor's budget | 2 | |
| Switzerland # | ~CHF 300–500 per infusion (typical range from secondary sources, no directory clinic publishes a list price) | — | Spravato via OKP at 52 BAG-designated centers; insurer pre-approval (Vertrauensarzt), 10-month cap | 0 | |
| Norway # | NOK 4,250–7,590 per session | published packages NOK 12,750–47,640 | World first: public funding of generic IV ketamine for TRD since 25/08/2025 (Nye Metoder ID2022_018), standard co-payments only, counting toward the frikort ceiling | 2 | |
| Portugal # | initial evaluation €120 (per-session infusion price not published) | €3,900 KAP programme with insurance / €5,500 without | Spravato in hospital settings since 05/2025 (INFARMED financing decision) | 1 | |
| Poland # | 1,200–1,450 PLN maintenance infusion | 9,300–15,660 PLN full protocols (e.g. 12 IV infusions + 12 integration sessions) | Esketamine FREE via NFZ drug programme B.147 (~64 contracted centers, live waiting-time portal; max 34 weeks) | 3 | |
| Czechia # | not published per session | initial KAP course 17,600–28,600 CZK for contracted-insurer clients / 39,100–49,200 CZK self-pay (up to 72,070 CZK for the English-language two-therapist variant) | Spravato reimbursed since 02/2025 for adults under 65 (SÚKL conditions); documented exceptional approvals beyond criteria | 1 | |
| Sweden # | being verified, no directory provider currently publishes a private session price | — | Spravato 'strongly restrained' (NT Council, rev. 11/2024); region-by-region funding decisions | 0 | |
| Austria # | €350 ketamine session; €450 with psychotherapy; esketamine session €150–250; first consultation €180–400 | — | Inpatient covered via hospital financing (LKF); outpatient case-by-case chief-physician approval; Wahlarzt refunds typically €80–110 per session | 2 | |
| Spain # | €575 infusion with therapeutic accompaniment (one clinic's published list) | — | Spravato as hospital medicine since 11/2022; 18–74, ≥3 failed strategies incl. augmentation; regional variation | 1 | |
| Netherlands # | no private ketamine market | — | Spravato in the basic package (basispakket) since 09/2021 at specialized ENC-NL-criteria centers; 2 antidepressants + 1 augmentation failed | 0 | |
| France # | no private ketamine market | — | Spravato hospital-only, under 65, ≥2 antidepressants of 2 classes failed; ketamine compassionate framework for suicidal crisis since 03/2026 | 0 |
The 10x spread
Same molecule, £595 in London — and free in Warsaw. What you are actually paying for is rarely the compound: it is the setting, the therapy wrap, the medical monitoring — and sometimes just the postcode. The cheapest published single infusion in the index (£265) comes, of all places, from an NHS self-funded service in Oxford; Poland's 15,660 PLN protocol (12 infusions + 12 integration sessions) works out cheaper per session than most Western European single infusions.
The “with insurance” trap
Lisbon's split — the same KAP programme at €3,900 with insurance and €5,500 without — shows the pattern: “insured” often just means a discount on the self-pay price, not coverage. What your insurer actually covers, country by country, is the reimbursement map; Czechia is the exception that pays — contracts with seven insurers roughly halve the initial KAP course there.
When you should not be paying
The reimbursed routes people miss are the real find of this index. Poland's NFZ programme B.147 funds esketamine fully — with a live public waiting-time portal and free choice of center. Norway publicly funds generic IV ketamine since August 2025 (a world first): the same infusion that costs NOK 7,590 privately costs standard co-payments in the public specialist service. And in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and a dozen other countries a covered esketamine route exists for eligible patients — check the reimbursement map before you sign anywhere.
Red flags priced in
Prepaid long packages and payment before any screening are warning signs — the expensive clinics are not always the careful ones. A fair price includes screening, a physician present during sessions, and integration. The five price questions to ask any clinic are in the editorial cost guide; the rest of the vetting checklist in the clinic-choice guide.
Frequently asked questions
What does ketamine therapy cost in Europe?
Published private infusion prices in 2026 run from £265 at an NHS self-funded service in Oxford, through €200–300 in Frankfurt and NOK 4,250–7,590 in Norway, up to £595 in London; full programmes mostly sit in the low-to-mid thousands (e.g. ~£6,000 in the UK, 9,300–15,660 PLN in Poland, €3,900–5,500 in Portugal).
Where is treatment free?
In Poland, esketamine (Spravato) is fully free for eligible patients via NFZ programme B.147 — drug, administration and monitoring — with a live public waiting-time portal. Norway became the first country in the world to publicly fund generic IV ketamine in August 2025; in the public system you pay standard co-payments at most.
Why do most clinics not publish prices?
Mostly for structural reasons: hospitals bill per-day rates or case rates, other providers price per treatment plan, and esketamine is often billed through insurers after a cost approval. An unpublished price is not a warning sign in itself — but your first question to any clinic should be a written quote for the full course.
Is an expensive clinic automatically a careful one?
No. Prepaid long packages and no screening before payment are red flags at any price point. A fair price includes screening, medical monitoring and integration — not just the drug administration.
Sources and verification
- United Kingdom — Oxford Health NHS FT: ketamine service pricing · Save Minds: fee guide · Eulas Clinics: programme pricing · NICE TA854 (esketamine not recommended) · SMC2258: esketamine accepted, restricted (Scotland)
- Germany — MainOP Frankfurt: published infusion price · OVID Clinic Berlin: day-clinic programme · KV Berlin: GOP 01549 billing code
- Switzerland — Blossom: Switzerland reimbursement overview · BAG: Spravato Limitatio and designated-center list
- Norway — Axonklinikken: price pages · Synapseklinikken: price pages · Nye Metoder: Ketamin ID2022_018, decision of 25 Aug 2025
- Portugal — The Clinic of Change: programmes and published prices
- Poland — KeyClinic: price list · Magwise: price list · FreeMindClinic: price list · NFZ drug programme B.147
- Czechia — Psyon: KAT price list (valid from 01/2026) and insurer contracts
- Sweden — Region Jönköpings län: Spravato treatment and costs
- Austria — Ordination Dr. Buchmayer: fee schedule · PsyTherapie (Dr. Platz): fee schedule
- Spain — Instituto Dr. Scheib: Mallorca price list
- Netherlands — Zorginstituut Nederland: package advice esketamine
- France — PsyAccess France reimbursement guide (ANSM/HAS sources)