Skip to content
It is hardly a coincidence that Sober October and spooky season go hand in hand: staying sober (or sober-curious) for the entire month, especially if that’s your first time, might seem like a scary, insurmountable challenge. Making a resolution is one thing, but if you really try to stick to it and abstain from alcohol for that long, you might encounter obstacles and distractions you didn’t expect. At Boisson, we understand the power of reflecting on your relationship with alcohol, so we went ahead and tested out some of the most popular sobriety tracking apps out there.
Below you’ll find the scandalous testimonials our staff members had to share as well as some of the struggles they had along the way.
The sobriety tracking apps reviews, as told by Boisson Staff.
Dry Days
‘Definitely feels a little judgy’
Price: Free
Use: Keeping track of drinking habits while seeing the impact it has on your health and wallet
Boisson Staff Review:
‘I just got my daily notification from them asking if I stayed dry yesterday, so it reminded me to submit feedback :) Pretty easy to use. Definitely feels a little judgy, haha.
Easy to set up. Defaults to UK measurements, so you have to keep an eye on that.
Not crazy about the fact that it's binary in the sense of did you or didn't you drink today. I do like that it tracks calories and money, so you can see what you've saved compared to your normal week.’
Calm App
‘I notice a massive difference on the days/weeks when I have “meditation streaks” — I don’t feel the need to drink!’
Price: Paid with a 7-day free trial. Then $14.99 per month or $69.99 per year.
Use: Claimed to be #1 app for Sleep, Meditation and Relaxation and "the world's happiest app"
Boisson Staff Review:
‘Using Calm’s Daily Calm meditation feature is a go-to for me. I love that the meditations are brief, consistent, and the app tracks your check-ins so you can look back with a sense of fulfillment at the commitment.
For me, choosing not to drink is a decision I make every day, and staying mindful through meditation—even if just for 5 or 10 minutes a day—gives me daily clarity on that choice.
I notice a massive difference on the days/weeks when I have “meditation streaks”—my mood is better, my sleep improves, my anxiety weakens. And I don’t feel the need to drink!
At night, the White Noise soundscape is also a favorite for me. I add it to my Do Not Disturb shortcuts on my phone. All in all, it’s been one of very few apps I’m willing to pay for on a yearly basis.’
I Am Sober
‘The ability to see the hours and monetary savings was a great motivator for me to keep going.’
Price: Free, but there is a Plus version available for $4.99/month
Use: Along with tracking your sober days, it helps you build new habits and connects you to a sober-curious community
Boisson Staff Review:
‘I chose this app because I wanted to track my milestones in sobriety. I found set-up to be a breeze; and was astounded (read: horrified) that you can input how much money and time spent daily on drinking/etc. As you accrue time, you can also see the hours and monetary savings which was a great motivator for me to keep going.
Likes:
I didn’t have to purchase a subscription in order to customize the colors, personalize my clock title, track my milestones, or interact with community posts. There is a Plus version available, but I got what I needed from the free version which I’ve used for almost two years.
The dashboard is simple and perfect for at-a-glance check-ins on my status. There isn’t too much clutter or ads, so I can see my streak summary as soon as I open the app.
The community tab allows you to see others who have the same amount of time which can be helpful to see and show support for others on the dry journey.
I like that it’s not super interactive. I want this app to track my time and not get sucked into endless content and infinite scroll
Dislikes:
The motivation quotes could use some more oomph.’
Less vs DrinkControl
‘Less is a lot easier than DrinkControl, because I don't really feel like sitting there estimating the oz. of everything I had last night... Just trying to remember the sheer amount of drinks can be hard enough.’
Price: Both Less and DrinkControl are free, however, DrinkControl also offers a paid version with detailed, long-term statistics
Use: Log drinks, track alcohol intake and set weekly goals to reduce it
Boisson Staff Review:
Less App takes time and effort to set up, but the dashboard is nicely designed:
‘First off, you have to create an account to begin to use this app.
I thought it was nice, though, that when you sign up for an account, it asks you questions about your previous drinking habits and then sets a reasonable goal for you based on that. You can adjust that goal if you'd like, but for someone trying to slowly land the plane on their drinking, it's a nice approach.
At first it seemed like you couldn't retroactively input drinks, but I just figured out how. The dashboard is really nicely designed however – it sums up your progress over week/month/year and shows you your streaks.
Inaccurate estimate of cost and calories on Less:
What's weird is that it tells you an estimated cost and calories based on your drink intake; however, you can't log exactly WHAT you drank, so it's a total random estimate IMO. All you can tally is the # of drinks you have had, but not what they were or how much they cost. Obviously, cost is going to be way off if you're in a dive bar vs Dante... And then also if you’ve had a double Margarita vs a small pour of champagne, those shouldn't count as the same amount of drinks.
Less vs DrinkControl:
BUT I think this simplified method is a lot easier than DrinkControl, because I don't really feel like sitting there estimating the oz. of everything I had last night... Just trying to remember the sheer amount of drinks can be hard enough.
Vogue articles under the Tips section:
The tips section is nice: it has links to articles from popular publications like Vogue about all related topics – alcohol & health, being sober-curious, etc. I hope one day we're on there! It also features podcasts and mocktail recipes.’
Less, if you’re reading this…
Chase Bank App
‘This app wouldn’t stop me from having another drink, but it’s the only app that would make me remember that I had such intention in the first place.’
Price: Free… but at what cost
Use: Good for inducing hangxiety while also remembering what you did last night
Boisson Staff Review:
‘I’ve used a variety of apps throughout my drinking career – they didn’t last long though, as after a few days of religiously tracking my sober days, I would delete the app as soon as I felt I was craving a drink. The Chase App – let’s be frank – wouldn’t stop me from having another drink, but it’s the only app that would make me remember that I had such intention in the first place.
It has this ‘spending summary’ section, where you can jump straight to the ‘food & drink’ category and see how much you spent at bars you went to – though it is not for the faint-hearted. It might also backfire, as when you check it too often, that can lead to depression and cause you to drink more.
The UI is very friendly however, and the piggy bank icon is so cute! It kinda feels like someone’s approaching you with a sweet, sweet smile but also holding a knife in their hand.
To sum up, the cute piggy notwithstanding, the Chase app is a rather hardcore app. But as we know, all’s fair in love, war, and cutting back.’
Epilogue
Ultimately, sobriety tracking apps can only do so much, and their help is limited. It’s like quitting together with a friend: yes, you can benefit from that, but you also need your own motivation to be strong enough to last for a whole month and keep going if your friend bailed (or you got bored and forgot to track your drinking in the app).
We suggest a holistic approach – use the likes of the Calm app to alleviate your withdrawal symptoms and remind yourself why you’re in it at all and then track your alcohol intake to see your streaks and moderation progress to stay motivated. To further support you on this path and not let you wither during the dry month, we put together our signature Sober October bundle that we’ll deliver straight to your door. Stay dry, don’t cry!
