Comparison

QuitNow vs quitSTART

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

QuitNow

This app supports individuals in their journey to quit smoking. It provides tools to track progress, offers a supportive community chat, and includes expert-led sessions and a structured course. Users can monitor health improvements, celebrate milestones, and access AI-powered advice.

Highlights
  • Track smoke-free status
  • Community chat for ex-smokers
  • Live expert sessions
  • Step-by-step quitting course
  • Milestone tracking
  • Health indicator monitoring
  • AI-powered Q&A
Features
Read full description

Have you considered quitting smoking? Whether you’ve already quit smoking or you’re still thinking about it, QuitNow will help you quit tobacco for good. Quitting smoking is one of the best decisions you can make for your health: it reduces your risk of disease, you regain energy, you save money, and you also protect the people around you. But the truth is, quitting isn’t easy. That’s where QuitNow comes in. QuitNow was born in 2011, created by a smoker who wanted to quit. Since then, we’ve grown, brought in addiction specialists, and refined our tools so you can quit tobacco for good: YOUR EX-SMOKER STATUS When you quit smoking, it’s important to clearly see what you’re achieving. That’s why on QuitNow’s home screen you’ll see how long it’s been since you last smoked, how many cigarettes you haven’t smoked, how much money you’ve saved, and how much life you’ve regained. COMMUNITY: THE EX-SMOKERS’ CHAT Having a smoke-free environment is crucial when you quit. QuitNow offers a chat full of people who, like you, have said goodbye to tobacco. Sharing your journey with other ex-smokers will make your path easier. LIVE SESSIONS WITH AN EXPERT Every month we host a live session with a smoking-cessation expert. In these sessions, the psychologist explains the best way to quit smoking and answers attendees’ questions live. These sessions are a unique opportunity to get personalized advice and resolve doubts in real time. A COMPLETE COURSE TO QUIT SMOKING Some people prefer a more structured method when they quit. That’s why QuitNow includes a step-by-step course designed to guide you throughout the entire quitting process. It works like a digital book, but integrated inside the app. MILESTONES: SMALL MOTIVATIONS TO QUIT SMOKING As with any task in life, quitting is easier when you break the challenge into smaller goals. That’s why QuitNow offers 80 milestones based on the cigarettes you’ve avoided, the days you’ve gone without smoking, and the money you’ve saved. This way, you can start celebrating your wins from day one. YOUR HEALTH AS AN EX-SMOKER In QuitNow you’ll find a list of health indicators that show how your body improves day by day. These indicators are the same ones published by the World Health Organization, and we update them as soon as the WHO does. Plus, QuitNow includes other sections designed to help you on your journey to quit smoking. QUITNOW AI Whenever questions come up during your quitting process, you can turn to QuitNow AI. It’s designed to provide clear, reliable information, based on our course and on data from the World Health Organization. BOOKS TO HELP YOU QUIT SMOKING Learning techniques and approaches to quit can make the process much easier. That’s why we’ve selected well-known books that can effectively help you on your path to a tobacco-free life. ALSO ON YOUR WATCH QuitNow’s Apple Watch app and its widgets and tiles let you track your progress, see how much you’ve saved, and check your smoke-free stats right from your wrist. Because we dedicate so much time and effort to it, we firmly believe QuitNow is the best app to quit smoking. As always, there’s room for improvement—so if you have any idea to make QuitNow even better, please write to us at ios@quitnow.app. We truly hope QuitNow supports you on your journey to a tobacco-free life. Terms of Service: https://tos.quitnow.app/eula Privacy Policy: https://tos.quitnow.app/privacypolicy

About

quitSTART

This app supports individuals aiming to quit smoking by offering personalized tips, inspiration, and challenges based on their smoking history. It helps users prepare for quitting, track progress with badges, manage cravings, and stay motivated on their journey to a healthier, smokefree life.

Highlights
  • Personalized quitting tips
  • Progress monitoring and badges
  • Craving and mood management
  • Distraction games and challenges
  • Customizable Quit Kit
  • Social media sharing
Features
Read full description

quitSTART is a free app made for people who want to quit smoking. This app takes the information you provide about your smoking history and gives you tailored tips, inspiration, and challenges to help you become smokefree and live a healthier life. quitSTART helps you: • Get ready to quit with tips and information to prepare you for becoming smokefree • Monitor your progress and earn badges for smokefree milestones and other achievements • Get back on track if you slip and smoke • Manage cravings and bad moods in healthy ways • Distract yourself from cravings with games and challenges • Store helpful tips, inspirations, and challenges in your Quit Kit • Share your progress and favorite tips through social media quitSTART is a product of Smokefree.gov, a smoking cessation resource created by the Tobacco Control Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute in collaboration with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and input from tobacco control professionals, smoking cessation experts, and ex-smokers.

Screenshots

QuitNow4 screens
quitSTART2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: quitSTART at none against QuitNow's 12. quitSTART also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (72% vs 62%). QuitNow's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (14K vs 2.4K). On price and rating there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. QuitNow sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. quitSTART asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for QuitNow against 4.6 for quitSTART. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: QuitNow has 14K ratings behind it against 2.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 62% of QuitNow's written reviews are positive against 72% of quitSTART's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

QuitNow ships an update weekly, quitSTART every 4 months. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
QuitNow versus quitSTART: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterQuitNowquitSTART
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (14K ratings) — better4.6 (2.4K ratings)
Positive reviews61.7% of reviews71.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings14K — better2.4K
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 4 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.611.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size132 MB69 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperFewlaps SLICF International

Customer experience

QuitNow

All ratings13,620 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral4.8%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews339 reviews
Positive61.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative30.1%

quitSTART

All ratings2,422 ratings
Positive91.1%
Neutral5.7%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews163 reviews
Positive71.8%
Neutral13.5%
Negative14.7%

User reviews

QuitNow

From 14K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful for quitting smoking
  • 💰 Tracks money saved
  • ⏱️ Tracks time since last cigarette
  • 🎉 Motivating achievements and milestones
  • 🙌 Supportive community

Room to improve

  • 💰 Paid features are required for full functionality
  • 🗣️ Lack of moderation in community chat
  • 🔄 Issues with resetting quit date
  • 🤔 Inaccurate health information
  • 🤯 Confusing/frustrating for some users

quitSTART

From 2.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful for quitting smoking
  • 💡 Provides motivation and inspiration
  • 🚀 Consistent support and check-ins
  • 👍 Free and easy to use

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Games and features not working properly
  • 🔧 Confusing and not user-friendly
  • 💰 Inaccurate cost savings calculations
  • 🔄 Ongoing count not from quit date

Bugs and requests

QuitNow

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes or freezes on some devices
  • Login and account issues for some users
  • Incorrect calculations for money/cigarettes saved

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to customize achievements and milestones
  • Improved community moderation
  • Option to track gradual reduction in smoking
  • Cross-device sync for user data
  • Better support for relapse and quitting again

quitSTART

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Distract me games not loading
  • Challenges not working properly
  • Inconsistent behavior across devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more mood options for check-ins
  • Allow editing of quit date and settings
  • Improve navigation and make it more intuitive
  • Provide instructions and a help section

In-app purchases

11 purchases

QuitNow

Subscriptions10
  • QuitNow PRO7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • QuitNow PRO$3.491 Month
  • QuitNow PRO7 Days trial$4.493 Months
Show 7 more
  • QuitNow PRO$4.991 Month
  • QuitNow PRO$5.493 Months
  • QuitNow PRO$9.993 Months
  • QuitNow PRO7 Days trial$9.993 Months
  • QuitNow PRO$16.991 Year
  • QuitNow PRO$19.991 Year
  • QuitNow PRO7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • QuitNow PRO$34.99
None

quitSTART

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is QuitNow free?
QuitNow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is quitSTART free?
quitSTART is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, QuitNow or quitSTART?
QuitNow is rated higher. QuitNow averages 4.7 out of 5 from 14K ratings, while quitSTART averages 4.6 from 2.4K ratings.
Do QuitNow or quitSTART have ads?
QuitNow shows ads; quitSTART does not.
Which is updated more often, QuitNow or quitSTART?
QuitNow ships an update weekly, and quitSTART every 4 months. Most recently, QuitNow was updated on October 29, 2026 and quitSTART on October 29, 2026.

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