Comparison

When Can I Drive? vs Permille

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

Head to head
About

When Can I Drive?

Features
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This app helps you estimate when your blood alcohol level may be below your selected country's driving limit. Fully free to use β€” no subscriptions or hidden costs.* Choose your country, record drinks and follow an estimated timeline showing how alcohol may change throughout the day or night. The app focuses on timelines, transparency and cautious estimates, helping you understand how alcohol may rise and reduce over time using a safety-first approach. View your estimated alcohol timeline, record drinks quickly and see estimated key times including when you may be below your selected driving limit. IMPORTANT This app provides estimates only and should never be relied upon to determine legal fitness to drive. FEATURES Estimated BAC Timeline β€’ Visual alcohol timeline β€’ Estimated rise and reduction over time β€’ Local driving limit line β€’ Red / amber / green risk zones β€’ Key estimated times Safety-First Calculations β€’ Conservative assumptions β€’ Upper drink strength used for ranges β€’ Food slows absorption timing rather than reducing alcohol β€’ Designed to avoid false reassurance Detailed Alcohol Estimate Understand how the estimate changes over time. View: β€’ Estimated BAC β€’ Alcohol absorbed β€’ Alcohol processed β€’ Net change β€’ Drinks added in each period β€’ UK alcohol units β€’ Risk status Fast Drink Recording Quick category-based drink logging: β€’ Beer / Lager / Cider β€’ Wine & Sparkling β€’ Spirits β€’ Cocktails / Mixed Drinks β€’ Food / Meals Save favourite drinks for faster logging. Personal Profiles β€’ Optional profile setup β€’ Gender and build selection β€’ Advanced profile options β€’ Country-specific driving limits Country & Regional Driving Limits Includes support for: β€’ UK (including Scotland lower limit) β€’ Europe / EEA β€’ Switzerland β€’ Norway β€’ Canada β€’ New Zealand β€’ South Africa β€’ Japan β€’ Hong Kong DESIGNED FOR REAL LIFE β€’ Quick to use β€’ Native iOS design β€’ iPhone and iPad support β€’ Dark mode support β€’ Simple but detailed β€’ Safety-first approach IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER This app provides estimates only. It cannot determine legal or medical fitness to drive. Alcohol affects people differently. If you have been drinking, the safest option is not to drive. *This app is fully free to use with no subscriptions or hidden costs. Small adverts are shown to help support development and keep the app free.

About

Permille

Features
Read full description

Permille keeps track of what you drink β€” and how it affects you. Use it for alcohol only, for caffeine only, or for both. It follows your lead: drink coffee in the morning and you see the caffeine reading. Go out at night and you see your blood-alcohol level. Do both and you see both, side by side. ALCOHOL IN VIEW β€’ Blood-alcohol estimate using the Widmark formula β€” with a traffic-light status and estimated time back to 0.0 ‰. β€’ The value rises gradually while you drink and comes down naturally β€” across midnight, too. β€’ Water guidance: alcohol is dehydrating β€” the app shows how much water still helps and gently reminds you. β€’ When it gets heavy, you get tips for getting home safely. CAFFEINE IN VIEW β€’ How much caffeine is in you right now β€” calculated from its half-life, not just added up. β€’ The answer that matters: when you can fall asleep well again, and when it has fully worn off. β€’ A heads-up when you go past the 400 mg daily guideline. β€’ Coffee, espresso, cappuccino, latte, cold brew, matcha, tea, cola, mate and the common energy drinks in the usual sizes β€” each with and without sugar. BOTH TOGETHER β€’ Vodka Energy or an Espresso Martini? The app works out alcohol and caffeine separately from the same drink. β€’ Worth knowing: caffeine masks tiredness, not the alcohol. The app says so whenever both are in play. β€’ A coffee never counts as alcohol β€” your dry days and stamp card stay untouched. ALSO INSIDE β€’ Daily totals: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, calories and cost. β€’ Mixer: build your own drinks from an ingredient library and see every value live. β€’ History & stats: your evening's curve, weekly and monthly figures, spending and patterns. β€’ Optional breathalyzer cross-check, Apple Health sync and Home/Lock-Screen widgets. OUT TOGETHER β€’ Friends round with a six-character code: see each other's drinks, estimated blood alcohol and water. β€’ β€œLook after …”: a heads-up when someone is estimated to have drunk a lot or quickly. β€’ β€œI'm home” – your round sees a house next to your name. β€’ Several rounds at once, and after the trip a recap stays on your iPhone. MINDFUL, NOT ENCOURAGING Permille is built for harm reduction: water, breaks and nutrition transparency come first. YOUR DATA STAYS WITH YOU Your entries are stored on your iPhone. Only if you join a friends round do you share your status with it via iCloud – and only while you're in it. Members keep a recap of the round on their iPhone afterwards. No account, no ads. Anonymous usage statistics (can be turned off) help improve the app. IMPORTANT Blood-alcohol and caffeine values are rough estimates, NOT a measuring device. Use at your own risk, without warranty. Never use it as a basis for driving β€” 0.0 ‰ always applies behind the wheel. It does not replace medical advice. For adults only. Excessive alcohol consumption harms your health.

Screenshots

When Can I Drive?4 screens
Permille4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Permille at none against When Can I Drive?'s shown. Permille also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.6). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
When Can I Drive? versus Permille: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWhen Can I Drive?Permille
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesNo β€” better
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad β€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.616.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size18 MB10 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperThomas PortlockJohann Brockstedt

In-app purchases

None

When Can I Drive?

No in-app purchases

None

Permille

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is When Can I Drive? free?
When Can I Drive? is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Permille free?
Permille is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do When Can I Drive? or Permille have ads?
When Can I Drive? shows ads; Permille does not.
Which is updated more often, When Can I Drive? or Permille?
When Can I Drive? ships an update every 2 weeks, and Permille every 2 weeks. Most recently, When Can I Drive? was updated on October 14, 2026 and Permille on October 13, 2026.

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