Reframe alternatives: 5 apps to consider in 2026

Reframe is a serious product. It is a neuroscience-based programme for changing your drinking, delivered as daily course content on iOS and Android, and for people who want to understand the why behind their habits it can be genuinely valuable. It is also subscription based, and that is where a lot of searches for alternatives begin.

Full disclosure: Sobermark is our app, so we are not neutral. We have tried to keep everything below fair, and we tell you when a rival is the better fit.

The two most common reasons people move on from Reframe are money and appetite. A rolling subscription for course content adds up, and some people simply discover they do not want a programme at all. They have done the reading, they know their reasons, and what they actually need day to day is a counter, a nudge, and something to hold onto during a craving. If that sounds like you, here are five directions to go in.

1. Sobermark

Sobermark, our app, is what "just a tracker, done properly" looks like. There are no lessons and no curriculum. You set your quit date and your own numbers, and it counts your days and shows money saved, time reclaimed and units avoided. When a craving hits there are SOS tools, a hold-on breathing exercise and a ride-it-out timer, plus a journal with moods and shareable progress cards for the milestones. Bern, a friendly sun bear, keeps the tone warm without ever lecturing.

On cost, the contrast with course apps is the point. Core tracking is free, and Sobermark Pro is £14.99 a year with a 7 day free trial, £2.99 a week, or £24.99 lifetime, one payment and done. There is no account and no sign up, so your entries stay on your phone. The catch: it is Android only for now, and it is built for quitting outright rather than moderating.

2. Try Dry

Try Dry is the official app from Alcohol Change UK, the charity behind Dry January, and it is free. It tracks your drinking and your dry days, supports challenges like Dry January and Sober October, and comes from an organisation whose motive is public health rather than subscription revenue. For UK drinkers who want a credible, no-cost way to track units and money, it is an easy recommendation.

It is a tracking and challenge app rather than a course, so if you switch from Reframe you are trading structured education for simple self-monitoring. For many people at this stage, that is exactly the trade they want.

3. Drink Less

Drink Less is a free app from UCL researchers, built as an evidence-based tool for cutting down. It has an academic pedigree rather than a commercial one, and its techniques come from behaviour change research. At the time of writing it is an iOS app, which makes it one of the stronger free options for iPhone users specifically.

Choose it if you liked that Reframe grounded itself in science but you want that grounding without a paywall, and your goal is reduction rather than a hard stop.

4. Sunnyside

Sunnyside is not a sobriety app. It is a mindful drinking tracker for people who want to moderate rather than stop, with text-based coaching to keep you on plan. If your honest goal after Reframe is fewer drinks rather than none, Sunnyside takes that goal seriously instead of treating it as a failure state.

Be aware that it is also subscription based, so if price was your reason for leaving Reframe, this is a sideways move rather than a saving. Check their listing for current pricing before you commit.

5. I Am Sober

I Am Sober is the big general-purpose sobriety counter, on both iOS and Android. Its daily pledge ritual gives each day a beginning and an end, and its milestone community means that whatever day you are on, there are other people on the same day talking about it. Coming from Reframe, the shift is from teacher to peer group: less instruction, more company.

It suits people who found Reframe's content interesting but kept wishing there were more voices in the room. Some features sit behind a subscription, so check the store listing for what is currently free.

Who should pick what

If the daily neuroscience lessons are what kept you sober or moderate, stay with Reframe. Nothing on this list replaces a structured programme, and paying for something that works is cheaper than saving money on something that does not.

If you want free and credible, Try Dry (UK, charity-run) and Drink Less (research-built, iOS) are the standouts. If your goal is moderation with a human-ish nudge, Sunnyside is the honest pick despite the subscription. If you want a big community around a counter, I Am Sober is the obvious choice, and it is also where iPhone users should look first, since Sobermark has no iOS app yet.

Sobermark is for the person who has decided to stop, wants a private, calm tracker with craving tools rather than a programme, and would rather pay a small amount once (or nothing at all) than subscribe to content.

Common questions

Is there a free version of Reframe?

Reframe is known as a subscription product, sometimes with a trial. We deliberately do not quote rivals' prices because they change; check the App Store or Google Play listing for the current terms.

Do I need a programme to stop drinking?

Plenty of people stop with nothing but a date, a counter and support from people around them. Others do far better with structure or professional help. Neither route is wrong, and an app is a tool for the route you choose, not the route itself.

Can I keep my streak when I switch apps?

Yes. Trackers like Sobermark, I Am Sober and Try Dry let you backdate your start, so the day count you built while using Reframe carries straight over.

Which of these work offline and without an account?

Sobermark needs no account or sign up at all, and your entries stay on your phone. Most of the others involve an account for community or coaching features; check each listing if that matters to you.