Sober44 vs Sober Time - Sobriety Counter
Sober Time - Sobriety Counter is a freemium, ad-supported counter for any addiction. See how it compares with Sober44 on tapering, cravings, ads and privacy.
Disclosure: Sober44 is our app. We’ve written this comparison honestly, and that includes the places where Sober Time is the better fit. Ratings and pricing are from the US App Store as of September 2026.
Quick answer
Sober Time - Sobriety Counter by Sociosoftware LLC (listed on Google Play as Sober Time - Sober Day Counter) is a sober-time counter for any addiction. It comes with goals, a guided journal, a community forum and a health timeline. It has been on the App Store since 2016 and runs on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Android. The catch is that it shows ads, and its privacy label declares Identifiers used to track you.
Sober44 (Alcohol Free Tracker - Sober44 on both stores) counts your sober time to the second and lets you quit now or step down to a quit date with a daily drink target. There are no ads and no account to set up. The app is free to download, and Pro costs $29.99 a year or $2.99 a week after a 7-day free trial.
Pick Sober Time - Sobriety Counter if you want an Apple Watch app, widgets, a forum, or one app for several addictions. Pick Sober44 if you’d rather cut back before a quit date, log cravings and check in each day without ads.
Side-by-side
| Feature | Sober44 | Sober Time - Sobriety Counter |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | iOS + Android (iPhone, iPad) | iOS + Watch + Android (iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch) |
| US App Store rating | No ratings yet (on the App Store since 2026) | 4.8 (42,200 ratings) |
| Last updated | September 2026 | September 2026 |
| Free-tier limits | Not stated | Not stated on the listing; reviewers say the home-screen widget needs Premium |
| Paid plans | Pro - Annual $29.99; Pro - Weekly $2.99; 7-day free trial | Premium Monthly $4.99; Premium Annual $29.99; no trial stated |
| Live sober counter | Yes, to the second | Yes, to the second, with 10+ display modes from total days to breaths |
| Taper plan before quit day | Yes, a step-down daily drink target with a countdown to quit day | Not stated |
| Money saved | Yes, plus drinks and calories avoided, projected from your drink profile | Yes; drinks and calories avoided not stated |
| Recovery milestones | Yes, nine milestones from 20 minutes to 1 year, plus liver, heart and brain rings in the app | Yes, a Health Timeline since August 2026, plus built-in and custom goals |
| Multiple counters | Not stated | Yes, as many addictions as you want; tier not stated |
| Substances beyond alcohol | Not stated | Yes, its health timeline covers nicotine, cannabis, opioids, stimulants and more |
| Daily check-in and mood | Yes, sober or drank, mood, trigger and a note | Not stated |
| Craving log, breathing, meditation | Yes, a craving log that never resets the counter, box breathing and 10 meditation tracks | Not stated |
| Journal | Yes, entries grouped by day | Yes, guided prompts with a choice of tone, per its release notes |
| Streaks | Yes, every sober run with dates and your record; an honest “drank” check-in keeps the check-in streak | Yes, optional, added February 2026 |
| Community forum | Not stated | Yes, browsable anonymously without an account |
| Widgets | Not stated | Yes, home-screen, lock-screen and watch face widgets |
| Themes and customization | 30+ themes in light and dark | 15+ color themes, scenic or your own photo backgrounds, dark and light modes |
| Export or backup | Not stated | Cloud Sync and auto backups, per its release notes; export not stated |
| Languages | Not stated | 8 |
| Ads | No | Yes |
| Account required | No | Not stated; forum browsing needs none |
| Data stays on device | Yes, check-ins, cravings, journal and selfies stay on the device, with no account | Not stated; it has Cloud Sync |
| Privacy label | No data used to track you; Purchases, Identifiers, Usage Data and Diagnostics not linked to you | Identifiers (Device ID) used to track you; Identifiers, Usage Data and Diagnostics not linked to you |
Where Sober Time - Sobriety Counter wins
It has a long record and a large rating base. Sober Time - Sobriety Counter has been on the App Store since 2016 and has 4.8 stars from 42,200 ratings. Google Play shows the same 4.8 stars from about 65,600 reviews, with 1M+ downloads. Sober44 arrived on the App Store in 2026 and has no ratings there yet.
It tracks more than one habit, and more than alcohol. The listing says “Track as many addictions as you want.” The Health Timeline added in August 2026 covers alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, opioids, stimulants and more. Its release notes call those milestones research-backed, with evidence levels on each. That is the developer’s description. Sober44’s listing doesn’t mention other substances or more than one counter.
It is on your wrist and your home screen. Sober Time has had widgets since at least February 2024. A December 2025 update added an Apple Watch app with watch face widgets, lock-screen widgets, and new savings and day-count widgets for the home screen. Reviewers say the home-screen widget needs Premium. Sober44 has no Apple Watch app, and its listing doesn’t mention widgets.
It gives you a forum, daily prompts and plenty to tweak. The listing describes a community forum you can browse anonymously. The app sends daily motivational messages, and it has had a journal since at least November 2024. A May 2026 update let you choose the tone of its guided prompts. Reviewers praise the daily messages, the journal prompts and the customization. On that last point, the listing offers 15+ color themes, your own photo as a background, and 10+ display modes, from total days to breaths.
Where Sober44 wins
No ads, and no data used to track you. Sober Time’s App Store page carries a “Contains Advertising” note, and Google Play flags it for ads too. Reviewers say its ads are frequent and hard to close, and some report ads for gambling. On top of that, its privacy label declares Identifiers used to track you. Sober44’s listing says “No ads, no account needed.” Its label declares no data used to track you, and the app keeps your check-ins, cravings, journal and selfies on the device.
A plan for the days before quit day. Sober Time’s listing is about counting the time you’ve been clean. It doesn’t mention a taper. Sober44 lets you quit now or pick a quit date, then sets a step-down drink target for every day until then, with a countdown. From the drink profile you enter, it also projects drinks and calories avoided as well as money. Its listing warns that alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous and says to talk to a doctor or a qualified professional before you stop drinking.
Tools for cravings and daily check-ins. Sober Time’s listing does not mention a daily check-in, mood logging, craving logging or breathing exercises. Sober44 has a daily check-in (sober or drank, mood, trigger, note) and a craving log that never resets your counter. Alongside those are guided box breathing and 10 meditation tracks. You also get a nudge at the hour your cravings usually start, plus a trigger breakdown chart for stress, social, habit and boredom.
Pricing
- Sober44 is free to download, with Pro at $29.99 a year or $2.99 a week after a 7-day free trial. The store listing doesn’t say which features are free and which are Pro. There are no ads.
- Sober Time - Sobriety Counter by Sociosoftware LLC is free to download and shows ads. Premium is $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year, and no trial is listed. The store page doesn’t spell out what Premium adds. Reviewers say the home-screen widget needs Premium, though they also praise how much the app does without a subscription.
For a year of use, the two annual plans cost the same $29.99. Pay month by month for Sober Time and it comes to $59.88 over 12 months. Pay week by week for Sober44 and it comes to $155.48 over 52 weeks. So for both apps, the annual plan is the cheaper way in.
Which one should you pick?
Pick Sober Time - Sobriety Counter if you want to track more than one addiction, keep your count on an Apple Watch or a widget, or read a community forum, and ads don’t bother you.
Pick Sober44 if you want to cut back on a set schedule before a quit date, log cravings and a daily check-in, use breathing and meditation tools, and keep your entries on the device with no ads and no account.
Comparing more than these two? Our roundup of alcohol-free tracker apps lines both up against the other apps we compared. Want a number before you download anything? Our free alcohol spending calculator shows what your usual drinks cost over a week, month, year and five years, and what cutting back by 25% to 100% saves. It runs in the browser, so there’s nothing to download.
Frequently asked questions
Is Sober Time - Sobriety Counter free?
It is free to download and shows ads. Premium costs $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year, no trial is listed, and the store page does not say what Premium adds. Reviewers say the home-screen widget needs Premium. Sober44 is free to download with no ads, and Pro costs $29.99 a year or $2.99 a week after a 7-day free trial.
Does Sober Time - Sobriety Counter work on Apple Watch?
Yes. A December 2025 update added an Apple Watch app with watch face widgets, along with lock-screen widgets and new home-screen widgets. Sober44 runs on iPhone, iPad and Android and has no Apple Watch app.
Can Sober Time - Sobriety Counter track more than alcohol?
Yes. Its listing says you can track as many addictions as you want, and the Health Timeline added in August 2026 covers alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, opioids, stimulants and more. Sober44 is built for drinking: it works from a drink profile you enter and counts money, drinks and calories avoided.
Does Sober Time - Sobriety Counter have a plan for cutting back before you quit?
Its store listing does not describe one. Sober44 lets you quit now or set a quit date and follow a step-down daily drink target until that day. Its listing also warns that alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous and says to talk to a doctor or a qualified professional before you stop drinking.
How do Sober Time - Sobriety Counter and Sober44 compare on privacy?
Sober Time's App Store privacy label declares Identifiers (Device ID) used to track you and lists third-party advertising among its purposes. Its release notes mention Cloud Sync and auto backups. Sober44's label declares no data used to track you and lists Purchases, Identifiers, Usage Data and Diagnostics as data not linked to you. It keeps your check-ins, cravings, journal and selfies on the device, with no account.
Do you need an account for Sober Time - Sobriety Counter?
Its listing says you can browse the community forum anonymously without registering an account. It does not say whether tracking, posting or Cloud Sync needs one. Sober44 needs no account.