Comparison

Altered vs Ember

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

Head to head
About

Altered

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The science of addictive sobriety. A luxury experience based on 27+ years of behavioural science that replaced alcohol with joy. Altered is a premium sober tracker for people who want alcohol-free life to feel beautiful, intelligent and genuinely worth coming back to. Altered requires a paid membership, purchased in the app, to access the features listed below. After onboarding, choose a monthly or yearly auto-renewing subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. Track sober days. Open daily cards. Build a private deck. Use calming rituals. Follow the 70-day Altered Method and start your next Chapter inside the House of Altered. WHY ALTERED IS DIFFERENT Most sobriety apps count what you gave up. Altered is built around what you are becoming: clearer, sharper, calmer, more present and more in control of the life you want. This is a quit drinking app with the atmosphere of a private members’ club: elegant design, daily rituals, tactile progress, anonymous community cards and a little mystery. Not another noisy feed. Not another lecture. Not a sterile counter with a badge stuck on it. WHAT YOU GET Sober day tracker Log each day, view your total sober days, follow your current streak and see your progress build over time. Your sober coin Your coin shows total sober days. If you drink, your streak can reset, but your total sober days remain part of your story. Daily card packs Open cards from the Altered Method. Each card gives you one clear idea, a short explanation and a small action to help you rethink alcohol, habits and identity. Private deck Save the cards that land. Return to them when you need a reminder, a sharper thought or a reason to keep going. The 70-day Altered Method Move through a structured sober-life path for rethinking alcohol, building habits and finding alcohol-free joy. Calming rituals Use Growth Rituals for positive reflection and Release Rituals for private symbolic release. Ritual entries are not saved. Calm tools Use guided breathing, a short guided walk and Coin Shine, a tactile calming tool for moments when old drinking thoughts get loud. Anonymous community cards Every Sunday, write a card for another member and receive one back. Human, anonymous and designed for belonging without social media chaos. Alfie, your members’ manager Alfie is scripted, discreet and encouraging. He appears throughout the app with calm reminders, celebration and a bit of polish. WHO ALTERED IS FOR Altered is for people who want to quit drinking, take a break from alcohol, build more sober days, or make alcohol-free life feel more rewarding. It is for the person who does not want their sober app to feel like a punishment. It is for the person who wants tracking, structure, privacy and a stronger sense of identity. It is for the person who wants to become someone else, quietly, elegantly, one day at a time. A NOTE ON SAFETY Altered is not a medical device and does not provide diagnosis, emergency support, or clinical treatment. Start your next Chapter in the House of Altered. Privacy Policy: https://www.lev-alexander.com/altered#privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://www.lev-alexander.com/altered#terms-of-use

About

Ember

This app offers a private, compassionate companion to help you stop drinking and stay sober. It provides immediate support during cravings with guided conversations and coping tools, without judgment or shame.

Highlights
  • Private craving support
  • Guided coping tools
  • Compassionate reset after drinking
  • Sober time tracking
  • Money and time saved tracker
  • Milestone achievements
Features
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Ember helps you stop drinking and stay sober — not with another day-counter, but with a warm companion who sits with you through the hard moments. When a craving hits, Ember is right there: a calm, private coach for the 2am kind of night a streak counter can't reach. KEEP YOUR FLAME LIT Your sober time is a single flame you tend. It breathes while you're lit, dims to a coal when a craving hits, and relights the moment you get through it. Your day count is simply how long it's stayed burning. A COACH FOR THE MOMENT THE URGE HITS Tap "I'm having an urge" any time, day or night. Ember sits with you through it — a short, grounded conversation plus one coping tool that fits the moment: an urge-surf timer, breathing, play-the-tape, or your own reasons for stopping. The urge passes. The flame relights. PRIVATE BY DESIGN — NO FEED, NO ACCOUNT No public community. No feed to doom-scroll. No sign-up. Your recovery is yours: everything stays on your device, and you can start in the first five seconds. Trust is the whole point. A RESET WITHOUT SHAME If you drink, Ember never shames you. The flame gently goes out, and we relight it — that's all this ever is. Your history and journal are always kept. No lost streaks, no punishment. SEE WHAT SOBRIETY GIVES BACK Watch your sober days, the money you've saved, and the time you've reclaimed add up. Reach milestones — 1 day, 1 week, 30, 60, 90 — with a warm flare, and share a flame card if you want to. BUILT FOR ALCOHOL, ON PURPOSE Ember is for stopping drinking and staying sober — not moderation, not "drink less," not a twelve-step program. One focused job, done with care. A GENTLE NOTE ON SAFETY If you drink heavily, please talk to a doctor before stopping — alcohol withdrawal can be serious. Ember is a companion, not medical treatment, and it will always point you toward real help, including 988 and SAMHSA, in a crisis. EMBER PRO Everything you need to get sober is free forever: the flame, your counter, Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, the craving coach, core coping tools, milestones, and the compassionate reset. Ember Pro unlocks unlimited coaching, personalized daily reflections tuned to your triggers, an Apple Watch flame, Face ID lock, and iCloud backup — $29.99/year with a 7-day free trial, or a one-time $79.99 for lifetime. Monthly is $7.99. Keep your flame lit. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://ember.aiappnation.com/privacy Ember Pro is an auto-renewing subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. The lifetime option is a one-time purchase, not a subscription.

Screenshots

Altered4 screens
Ember4 screens

Verdict

The call

Altered and Ember are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Altered sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Ember sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Altered versus Ember: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAlteredEmber
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size187 MB8 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperLev Alexander Limited.PLAYRIOT LLC

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Altered

Subscriptions2
  • Altered Monthly3 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Altered Yearly$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Altered Membership Lifetime$99.99
3 purchases

Ember

Subscriptions2
  • Ember Pro — Monthly$7.991 Month
  • Ember Pro — Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Ember Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is Altered free?
Altered is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ember free?
Ember is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Altered or Ember have ads?
Neither Altered nor Ember shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Altered or Ember?
Altered ships an update every 9 days, and Ember every 9 days. Most recently, Altered was updated on October 7, 2026 and Ember on September 29, 2026.

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