Quit21Quit21 vs Smoke Free: Quit Smoking Now
By Yevhenii, who makes Quit21 · Checked 31 Oct 2026A side-by-side look at Quit21 and Smoke Free - Quit Smoking Now, an app from 23 Ltd of London, using only what both apps, their developers and published research say publicly. Checked on 31 October 2026. I make Quit21, so read it with that in mind. Where Smoke Free is stronger, this page says so.
Side by side
| Feature | Quit21 | Smoke Free - Quit Smoking Now |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Android and iPhone | Android and iPhone. The App Store listing also shows Apple Watch and Apple Vision support. |
| Price | Free, with a small banner ad | Free to start, with in-app purchases. The App Store lists items from $0.99 to $209.99, including Pro, Complete and expert-support tiers, and does not say which price belongs to which plan. |
| Popularity | New. On Google Play since October 2026, so few ratings. | Over 1 million installs on Google Play (4.7 from about 60,000 ratings) and 4.8 from about 57,000 ratings on the App Store. Its site claims 8 million downloads. |
| What you can quit | Cigarettes, heated tobacco and vaping, each with its own arithmetic | Smoking. Its listings and site speak only of cigarettes; vaping is not mentioned. |
| Daily guidance | A text for every stage: 20 minutes, 8 hours, days 1 to 30, 3 months, 9 months and 1 year. Written separately for smoking and vaping, each with named sources. | Free: health-recovery bars and over 40 craving techniques. Paid Pro: daily missions as part of a stop-smoking plan. |
| Coaching and community | None. The app is a private, quiet space. | An AI Quit Coach in Pro. A separate top tier (Blitz your Quit) adds an expert-tailored plan, four check-ins in the first month, advisor access at any hour and a support chat with other quitters. |
| After a slip | A slip subtracts only what was smoked. Totals, medals and pages already read are kept, and the day count restarts. | Not described on its listings. |
| Help with a craving | SOS: your own reasons and a one-minute paced-breathing exercise, then a note of what set it off. | Craving tips and techniques, with more in Pro. |
| Diary and triggers | A daily diary, a log of triggers and a view of when cravings come. | Notes to spot patterns, a graph of falling cravings and a map of where cravings happen. |
| Money, goals and medals | Money saved, cigarettes not smoked, a piggy bank for something you are saving towards, and 29 medals. | Money saved with a treats goal, cigarettes avoided, life regained, badges (more in Pro), and a certificate on success. |
| Widget | Home-screen widget | Not described on its listings. |
| Languages | English and Ukrainian | English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Welsh on the App Store. |
| Account | None | Not stated on its listings. The coaching and chat tiers involve contact with advisors and other users. |
| Your data | Stays on the phone and is never sent to the developer. The banner ad is served by Google AdMob, which collects device information such as the advertising ID and an approximate location. You can delete everything in Settings. | As declared by the developer. Google Play: personal info and messages are shared with third parties; location, personal info and six other types are collected; users can request deletion. App Store: health and fitness, purchases, location, contact info, user content, identifiers, usage data and sensitive info are linked to you. The two declarations differ, so read both. |
| Ads | A small banner ad on a few screens | Google Play says it contains ads. The App Store description says the free features have no ads. Check what you see. |
| Research | None. Quit21 is not a medical device and its texts have not had a medical review. | Tested in a pre-registered randomised trial of 3,143 smokers (Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2024): offering the app did not raise six-month abstinence overall. Among the quarter who took up the offer it was higher, but that comparison was not randomised. |
Where Smoke Free is stronger
- It offers coaching: an AI Quit Coach, and in the top tier an expert-tailored plan with advisor access and a chat with other quitters. Quit21 has no coach and no community.
- It has a structured plan with daily missions in the paid version.
- It has been researched. A randomised trial of the app was published in a peer-reviewed journal. The result was not a win, but it is evidence, and Quit21 has none.
- It is far more established, with over 1 million installs on Google Play, tens of thousands of ratings and Apple Watch support.
- It maps where cravings happen and graphs how they decline.
Where Quit21 is different
- It covers vaping and heated tobacco as well as cigarettes, and never converts a vape into an invented "cigarette equivalent".
- It explains the day. Each morning there is a page about what is happening in your body, what to expect and one thing to try, with sources named at the bottom.
- A slip subtracts only what was smoked, and the totals you earned stay.
- There is no coach, no chat and no account. Your diary, slips and reasons stay on the phone and are never passed to the advertising code.
- It is deliberately small: a few screens, and nothing to subscribe to at the moment.
Which one to choose
- Choose Smoke Free if you want a coach, a daily plan or human advisors, you want an app with a research record, and you are happy to pay for the upper tiers.
- Choose Quit21 if you are quitting a vape or heated tobacco, you want each day explained rather than only counted, or you want an app that needs no account and keeps your data on the phone.
- Use both if you want the missions or coaching in Smoke Free and a private daily explanation in Quit21. They do not conflict.
Questions
Is Smoke Free free?
The core tracking app is free. Paid upgrades exist (Pro, Complete and an expert-support tier); the App Store lists in-app purchases from $0.99 to $209.99 without saying which is which. Check the current plans in the app.
Does Smoke Free work for vaping?
Its listings and site describe quitting smoking and do not mention vaping. Quit21 has a separate vaping track with its own arithmetic and its own daily texts.
Does Smoke Free actually work?
A pre-registered randomised trial of 3,143 motivated smokers found that offering the app did not raise six-month abstinence: 6.8% against 7.0% without it. Only about a quarter of those offered it took it up, and among them abstinence was higher, but that comparison was not randomised. Several of the authors sit on the app's scientific steering group. No app, Quit21 included, replaces medication or support from a clinician.
What is a good alternative to Smoke Free?
Quit21 is one if you want something quieter: it has no coach, community or account, explains each day of quitting with named sources, and covers vaping and heated tobacco. It is free and keeps your data on the phone.
Are there other apps called Smoke Free?
Yes. The App Store has many apps with "Smoke Free" in the name. This page is about Smoke Free - Quit Smoking Now by 23 Ltd, the one on Google Play as com.portablepixels.smokefree.
Is Quit21 free?
Yes. It is free and shows a small banner ad on a few screens. Nothing is locked behind a purchase at the moment.
Who wrote this comparison?
Yevhenii, who makes Quit21. The facts about Smoke Free come from its Google Play and App Store listings, its own site and a published trial, all linked below, and were checked on 31 October 2026.
Sources
Checked on 31 Oct 2026. Prices, ratings and features change, so check the listings before you decide.
- Smoke Free on Google Play (rating, installs, ads, Data safety, updated 4 August 2026)
- Smoke Free on the App Store (rating, in-app purchases, features, privacy details)
- Smoke Free, developer's site (downloads and research claims)
- Jackson et al. 2024, Journal of Medical Internet Research: randomised trial of the offer of the Smoke Free app
- Quit21 privacy page
If something here is out of date or wrong, write to apps@lymar.dev and I will fix it.