Leasing your own small therapy office in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia (the DMV) costs about $1,257–$1,740 a month once rent, utilities, furniture and soundproofing are counted. Olida’s furnished, soundproofed offices in the DMV cost $20–$30 an hour, or $400–$500 a month for one full day each week, with no lease. Paying by the hour or day is usually cheaper until you see about 29 or more client hours every week, year-round.
By the Olida team · Updated October 2026
Office rent in the DMV depends heavily on which side of the line you are on. Washington DC averages about $58.71 per square foot per year full-service, Bethesda/Chevy Chase about $43.09, and Alexandria about $35.53. The same 250 sq ft lease can cost anywhere from roughly $740 to $1,220 a month in rent.
Many clinicians sublet a colleague’s office instead, which avoids a lease but ties you to someone else’s schedule, furnishings and rules.
The DMV also has three licensing boards. Clinicians licensed in more than one of DC, Maryland and Virginia often split their in-person days between jurisdictions, which is expensive with a lease in each and simple with a membership that works across locations.
| Option | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Office asking rent, Washington DC1 | $58.71 per sq ft per year |
| Office asking rent, Bethesda / Chevy Chase2 | $43.09 per sq ft per year |
| Office asking rent, Alexandria3 | $35.53 per sq ft per year |
| Olida furnished therapy office, no lease | $20–$30 per hour $400–$500 per month for a weekly full day |
Hourly bookings need an $80 monthly membership, which includes $50 of booking credit. A Full Day plan reserves the same room on the same weekday every week with no membership fee, and Full Day members book any extra hours at the hourly rate. Prices update automatically from each location page.
| Location | Hourly | Full day, once a week |
|---|---|---|
| Olida Alexandria | $20–$25/hour | $400/month |
| Olida Bethesda | $20–$25/hour | $400–$450/month |
| Olida Washington DC | $25–$30/hour | $450–$500/month |
Rent is only part of it. Here is a typical budget for leasing 250 sq ft in the DMV, enough for a 100–140 sq ft therapy room once you add a small waiting area and the building’s load factor, on a 36-month lease. One-time costs are spread across the lease, and every line is adjustable in the calculator below.
| Rent 250 sq ft leased at $58.71/sq ft/year | $1,223 |
| Utilities Electricity and HVAC if not included | $100 |
| Internet and phone Business internet and a phone line | $90 |
| Cleaning Janitorial service | $80 |
| Office insurance General liability and contents cover | $40 |
| Waiting room supplies Water, tea, tissues, paper goods | $40 |
| Furniture and decor $5,000 spread over a 36-month lease | $139 |
| Soundproofing and sound masking $1,000 spread over a 36-month lease | $28 |
| Total per month | $1,740 |
A lease costs the same whether you see 4 clients a week or 30. Olida costs scale with the hours you book. This table compares the $1,740 own-office budget above with the cheapest Olida plan mix at $25/hour and $450/month per weekly full day, the middle of our prices in the DMV, assuming 46 working weeks a year.
| Client hours / week | Own office | Olida | Cheaper option |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | $1,740 | $413 Hourly plan | Olida, by $1,326/mo |
| 8 | $1,740 | $450 1 Full Day plan | Olida, by $1,290/mo |
| 12 | $1,740 | $833 1 Full Day plan + hourly | Olida, by $906/mo |
| 16 | $1,740 | $900 2 Full Day plans | Olida, by $840/mo |
| 24 | $1,740 | $1,350 3 Full Day plans | Olida, by $390/mo |
| 32 | $1,740 | $1,800 4 Full Day plans | Own office, by $60/mo |
The break-even point is about 29 client hours a week. Below it, a lease means paying for empty hours. Above it, a lease can be cheaper, provided you keep it full for the whole term and handle furnishing, soundproofing and maintenance yourself.
Pick a location, set your weekly client hours, and adjust any assumption to match the space you are considering.
Olida saves you about $504 a month ($6,051 a year).
A lease only pays off at 25+ client hours a week, every week.
| Rent | $740 |
| Utilities | $100 |
| Internet and phone | $90 |
| Cleaning | $80 |
| Office insurance | $40 |
| Waiting room supplies | $40 |
| Furniture and decor | $139 |
| Soundproofing and sound masking | $28 |
| Total | $1,257 |
| Per session | $27 |
| Full Day plan | $400 |
| 15 extra hours at $23 | $353 |
| Furniture, utilities, cleaning | Included |
| Total | $753 |
| Per session | $16 |
Leasing your own small therapy office in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia (the DMV) costs about $1,257–$1,740 a month once rent, utilities, furniture and soundproofing are counted. Olida’s furnished, soundproofed offices in the DMV cost $20–$30 an hour, or $400–$500 a month for one full day each week, with no lease. Paying by the hour or day is usually cheaper until you see about 29 or more client hours every week, year-round.
It depends on how many clients you see. Using typical rents and the middle of Olida’s prices in the DMV, paying by the hour or day is cheaper below about 29 client hours a week. Above that, a lease can be cheaper, but only if you fill it every week for the full lease term and are ready to furnish and soundproof it yourself.
Beyond rent: utilities, business internet and phone, cleaning, office insurance, waiting room supplies, furniture and decor (about $5,000 for a therapy room and small waiting area), and soundproofing or sound masking (about $1,000). You also pay rent for every hour the room sits empty, including vacations and cancellations.
For individual therapy, 100–140 sq ft is all you need: room for your chair, a couch or two client chairs, a side table and a lamp. Most Olida offices are this size. With a traditional lease you pay for much more than the room itself: the square footage on the lease also covers your suite’s waiting room and hallway, plus a “load factor” share of the building’s common areas such as lobbies, corridors, restrooms and stairwells. That is why a one-room practice often ends up leasing 250 sq ft or more.
Olida Alexandria has the lowest hourly price in the DMV right now, at $20–$25 an hour. Every Olida location includes furniture, soundproofing, Wi-Fi and a client waiting area.
Yes. An Olida hourly membership lets you book rooms at any Olida location, including Washington DC, Bethesda and Alexandria. You still need a license, or a compact privilege, for the jurisdiction where you see each client.
Market rents come from published commercial real estate research and listings, linked below. Rent per square foot is the asking rate; leases add operating expenses, deposits and annual increases that vary by building.
Own-office costs other than rent are Olida estimates for a solo practice and can be changed in the calculator. Olida prices come straight from our location pages. Where a location lists a range, the comparison uses the middle of it. A Full Day plan is counted as covering up to 8 client hours on its day.
Last reviewed October 2026.
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