How Much Does Ultram (Tramadol) Cost On The Street?

While there are other, more popular prescription opioids that people buy and sell illegally, tramadol is still widely misused for its euphoric effects. In 2025, most tramadol purchased on the street is between $1 and $5 per pill. In some areas, tramadol may cost $10 to $50 per pill due to high demand and low supply.

The street cost of prescription drugs varies widely depending on location, ease of acquisition, supply and demand, and more.

How Much Does A Tablet Of Tramadol Cost?

Tramadol comes in 50 mg and 100 mg pills. While prices will vary, the range is typically between $1 and $5 per pill, depending on the strength. While tramadol is usually bought in pill form, some people may crush and snort the pills or inject tramadol intravenously for a more immediate high. Buying illicit tramadol is particularly dangerous because of the chance that fentanyl or other fatal cutting agents may be present in the tablet, drastically increasing the chance of overdose.

Cost Of Tramadol Per Dosage

Available crowdsourced data does not give a reliable breakdown of the cost-per-mg of tramadol, since prices vary so much.

Tramadol Pharmacy Cost Vs Tramadol Street Prices

As with most prescription drugs, the cost of tramadol is significantly lower than its price on the street.

People with prescriptions can expect to pay an average retail price of around $24 for 30 tablets of 50 mg tramadol.

Cost Of Tramadol In The Pharmacy

Many online pharmacies have coupons or discounts. Some people can get 30 pills of 50 mg tramadol for as low as $3. This puts the cost of a single pill at around $0.10.

Because these pharmacy prices cost less for people who buy in volume, it is cheaper to get pills in prescriptions of 180 pills than in 30-pill increments.

Why Tramadol Costs More On The Street

Tramadol is illegal to have without a prescription, so it costs more to buy the drug through a drug dealer. The typical pharmacy cost of 180 tablets is $125, and as low as $12 with discounts. This equals around $0.07 per 50 mg pill.

The lowest street cost of a 50 mg dose is between 10 and 14 times more expensive than the cheapest pharmacy price options.

Factors That Affect The Street Price Of Tramadol

Tramadol is a prescription pain medicine that’s weaker than other opioids like morphine or oxycodone. It’s used for moderate pain and was thought to be safer when it first came out. Since it’s not as tightly controlled as stronger opioids, tramadol has found its way into illegal drug markets.

Factors affecting illicit tramadol prices:

• How Strong the Pills Are: higher doses (100mg, 200mg extended-release) cost more than regular 50mg pills
• How Easy It Is To Get Legally: tramadol is prescribed more freely than stronger pain pills, so street prices are usually lower
• What Other Drugs Are Available: areas with lots of stronger opioids might have very cheap tramadol prices
• Where You Live: some places have more tramadol prescriptions, making street prices lower
• Brand Vs Generic: name-brand Ultram sometimes costs slightly more than generic tramadol
• Consumer Information: in areas where people don’t know tramadol gets you high, prices might be inconsistent
• Legal Status: tramadol became more controlled in recent years, which affected availability in some places
• Medical Supervision: easier to get from doctors means more pills available for illegal sale
• Withdrawal Relief: people trying to avoid opioid withdrawal sometimes buy it as a cheaper substitute

The illegal tramadol market shows how even “safer” prescription drugs can be misused. Because tramadol is easier to get legally and doesn’t work as strongly as other opioids, street prices are usually much lower than drugs like OxyContin or Percocet. However, people still buy it illegally, especially those who can’t afford stronger drugs or are trying to manage withdrawal symptoms from more powerful opioids.

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Written by the Addiction Resource Editorial Staff