SobrMate vs Nomo: Which Free Tracker Wins?
SobrMate and Nomo are two of the closer matches in the sobriety app space. Both are free, both skip the ads, and both let you track more than one habit at the same time. That overlap makes the differences harder to spot than with most comparisons.
This breakdown is an honest look at where each app is genuinely stronger, so you can pick the one that fits how you want to do recovery, rather than the one with the louder marketing.
SobrMate and Nomo are both free, ad-free sobriety apps that track multiple addictions at once. The difference is where each puts its energy. Nomo leans on one-to-one accountability partners and journaling. SobrMate leans on community groups by recovery stage, mood check-ins, and a savings calculator. Choose Nomo for accountability partners and reflection, SobrMate for stage-based community and progress data.
What Nomo Does Well
Nomo was built by someone in recovery, and it shows in the design. It’s completely free, runs without ads, and has earned a loyal following over the years.
The features people rely on:
- Multiple sobriety clocks, so you can track several habits at once
- One-to-one accountability partners who can see your clocks and check in
- Journaling and reflection prompts for working through what you’re feeling
- Milestone chips that mark your progress
- Encouragement tools for sending and receiving support
Nomo’s strength is accountability and reflection. The partner feature is real: handing someone visibility into your clocks creates a direct line of support that a lot of apps don’t offer. The journaling side gives you a place to process, not just count.
It’s also genuinely free, supported by donations rather than a subscription or ads, which is rare and worth crediting.
The interface feels dated in places, and the experience is built more around individual accountability and journaling than around a shared community. If you want to be part of a group at your stage rather than paired with one partner, that’s where it leaves a gap.
What SobrMate Does Differently
SobrMate covers the same free, multi-counter foundation as Nomo, then puts its weight in different places.
Both apps track multiple addictions at once, so that isn’t the dividing line here. Where SobrMate differs is community and data:
- Community groups organized by recovery stage, instead of one-to-one partners
- Daily check-ins with mood tracking, so patterns show up over weeks
- A savings calculator that adds up the money you’ve kept by not spending it
- Milestone badges for the markers that matter
- Relapse management that preserves your full history when you reset a counter
- Cross-platform sync across your devices
The core features are free, the same as Nomo, with no ads.
SobrMate doesn’t include one-to-one accountability partners or open journaling, so if those are central to how you stay accountable, Nomo covers them more directly. SobrMate’s bet is that a group of people near your stage, plus mood and savings data, does more for most people than a single partner and a journal.
SobrMate vs Nomo: Side-by-Side
SobrMate and Nomo are the rare pair where both apps are free, ad-free, and capable of tracking multiple addictions at once, so the usual deciding factors don’t apply. The real split is in their social model and their data. Nomo is built around one-to-one accountability partners and journaling, giving you a direct support line and a place to reflect, and it has a long track record as a donation-supported app made by someone in recovery. SobrMate is built around community groups organized by recovery stage, daily mood check-ins, and a savings calculator, giving you a peer group at your level plus more data on your patterns and progress. In a head-to-head, Nomo wins on accountability partners and journaling, while SobrMate wins on stage-based community, mood tracking, and savings. Both keep your history through resets and both cost nothing, so the choice is about which kind of support fits you.
Here’s the feature breakdown:
| Feature | SobrMate | Nomo |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free, no ads | Free, no ads |
| Multi-addiction tracking | Yes, simultaneous | Yes, multiple clocks |
| Accountability partner | No (group-based instead) | Yes |
| Community groups by stage | Yes | No |
| Journaling | No (mood check-ins) | Yes |
| Mood check-ins | Yes | Via journaling |
| Savings calculator | Yes | No |
| Milestone celebrations | Yes | Yes |
| Relapse handling | Resets keep full history | Keeps clock history |
| Platforms | iOS, Android | iOS, Android |
Neither app charges you, so this comes down to whether you want a partner and a journal or a stage-based group and progress data.
Which One Fits Your Recovery?
Both are solid free choices. The right one depends on how you like to stay accountable.
Nomo is the better fit if:
- A one-to-one accountability partner is central to how you stay on track
- You want space to journal and reflect, not just count days
- You value a long-running, donation-supported app built by someone in recovery
- You’re fine with an interface that prioritizes function over polish
SobrMate is the better fit if:
- You’d rather be part of a group at your recovery stage than paired with one person
- You want mood check-ins and a savings calculator alongside your counters
- You like seeing your patterns and progress in data, not only in a journal
- You want sync across devices in a more modern interface
If you’re recovering from more than one thing, our guide to polysubstance recovery explains why tracking each habit separately helps, and our best sobriety apps of 2026 roundup compares the wider field.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are both SobrMate and Nomo really free?
Yes. Both apps are free with no ads. Nomo is supported by donations, and SobrMate’s core features, including counters, check-ins, community, and the savings calculator, are free with no subscription. Cost isn’t a deciding factor between them.
Does Nomo track multiple addictions?
Yes. Nomo supports multiple sobriety clocks, so you can track several habits at the same time. SobrMate also runs simultaneous counters, so both apps handle multi-addiction tracking, unlike many single-counter apps.
What does SobrMate have that Nomo doesn’t?
SobrMate adds community groups organized by recovery stage, daily mood check-ins, and a savings calculator. Nomo focuses instead on one-to-one accountability partners and journaling. Neither is strictly better; they emphasize different kinds of support.
Does SobrMate have accountability partners like Nomo?
No. SobrMate uses community groups sorted by recovery stage rather than one-to-one partner pairing. If a direct accountability partner is the feature you want most, Nomo handles that more directly. If you’d rather have a group at your stage, SobrMate is built around that.
This is one of the closer calls in the category, and that’s a good thing for you: both are free, ad-free, and handle multiple counters. Nomo leans into accountability partners and journaling. SobrMate leans into stage-based community, mood tracking, and savings.
If a peer group at your stage and progress data sound like what keeps you going, download SobrMate and start your first counter today.
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About the author
Rachel NguyenDigital Health & App Reviewer
Rachel is a tech journalist who covers mobile health apps and digital wellness tools. She reviews apps for TechCrunch and Wirecutter, focusing on what actually helps users build better habits.
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