Honest comparison · Updated November 2026Is there a free quit vaping app without a subscription?
Yes: two of the five apps we checked describe no paid tier at all, and CraveBreaker keeps every craving tool free with Premium optional, including a one-time lifetime price instead of a subscription. The puzzle above is the free Pattern Break tool from CraveBreaker, rebuilt for the web. It exists to fill twenty seconds of a craving with something for your hands and eyes to do.
We make CraveBreaker. We've tried to describe the other four as fairly as their own App Store listings describe themselves, checked on the US App Store in November 2026. Prices change; the listing is always the final word.
Free should mean the craving help is free. Everything else is a bonus.
Five quit vaping apps, free vs paid, side by side
CraveBreaker: Quit VapingWe make this
Free, optional Premium
- Free
- Every craving tool (90-second reset, Pattern Break, craving timer, your reasons, reach out), quit plan, craving log, journal, basic patterns, savings estimate, first 7 missions
- Paid
- Premium: weekly $4.99, annual $39.99 (3-day trial for eligible new subscribers), or a one-time lifetime purchase listed at $49.99 and $79.99
- Data
- Purchase history and anonymous IDs, not linked to you; no account, no ads, no analytics
- Catch
- The full 30-mission, 66-day path is Premium.
Crush The Crave: Vape Edition
Free, no in-app purchases listed
- Free
- Custom quit plan, craving and habit logs, links to Canadian quitlines, money-saved calculator, progress charts, milestones
- Paid
- Nothing listed
- Data
- Developer reports collecting email, name, phone, health data, precise location, contacts and IDs
- Catch
- Using it means taking part in a University of Toronto quit-vaping research study.
quitSTART: Quit Smoking
Free (from Smokefree.gov, National Cancer Institute)
- Free
- Quit prep tips, progress badges, trigger tagging, help after a slip, craving games and challenges
- Paid
- None described; Smokefree.gov calls it free
- Data
- User ID, product interaction and crash data, not linked to you
- Catch
- Its listing says it's made for people who want to quit smoking; vaping isn't mentioned.
Quit Vaping (Jonathan Kopp)
Free download, paid plans
- Free
- Tracker, community and many logging tools per the listing; it doesn't spell out the exact free set
- Paid
- Quit Plan $19.99, 6 months $64.99, 1 year $99.99; Quit Coach subscription $7.99; extras $1.99 to $4.99
- Data
- Device ID and usage data for analytics and the developer's marketing
- Catch
- The nicotine-reduction Quit Plan is a paid item.
PuffOff: Quit Vaping Nicotine
Free download, subscriptions
- Free
- The listing describes a coach, craving tracker, quit plan and community, without saying which parts are free
- Paid
- Weekly $3.99, monthly $8.99, lifetime $59.99
- Data
- Usage data, name, email and payment info, not linked to you
- Catch
- Expect a paywall; the listing doesn't separate free from paid features.
Sources: each app's US App Store listing, read November 2026; quitSTART details from Smokefree.gov. Privacy labels are self-reported by developers and not verified by Apple.
Who should pick what
- You want zero purchases, ever, and you're in Canada: Crush The Crave, if you're comfortable being part of a research study.
- You want a government-made app and you also smoke: quitSTART.
- You want a community and a paid structured plan: Quit Vaping or PuffOff.
- You want free craving tools that work offline, with no account: CraveBreaker.
The cheapest app is the one whose free part covers your worst ten minutes.
How to check any quit vaping app for a paywall in 3 steps
- Scroll the listing to "In-App Purchases". If the list is long, the free tier is probably thin. If it says "No", it's free.
- Open "App Privacy". Look for "Data Linked to You" and "Data Used to Track You". A quit app rarely needs your contacts or location.
- On first launch, find the craving button. If you can't get help for a craving within two taps and without paying, delete it and try the next one.
Three minutes of checking beats three weeks of a trial you forgot to cancel.
Honest limits of CraveBreaker
- CraveBreaker hasn't been tested in a clinical trial. Its guides are based on Smokefree.gov and Health Canada guidance.
- Premium is real: all 30 missions, the 66-day path, preparation sessions and detailed insights cost money.
- It's iPhone only, and there's no community or chat inside it.
- It's a self-help tool for adults, not medical advice or treatment.
One design decision we argued about and kept: the craving screen opens before any plan, account or questionnaire. If someone is mid-craving, a sign-up form is the fastest way to lose them.
If you want people to quit with, pick an app with a community. We don't have one.
Free quit vaping app questions
Is there a completely free quit vaping app?
Yes. Crush The Crave: Vape Edition lists no in-app purchases, and quitSTART from Smokefree.gov is free. The catches: Crush The Crave is part of a University of Toronto research study, and quitSTART's listing describes it as a quit-smoking app and doesn't mention vaping.
Can I quit vaping with an app's free version?
The free tier only has to cover the moment of the craving and a basic plan. Check that the craving help opens without a paywall. In CraveBreaker, every craving tool is free; Premium adds the longer mission path and deeper insights.
Why do quit vaping apps charge a subscription?
Most are made by small developers who pay for updates and support from subscriptions. That's fair, but it should be clear before you start. Every App Store listing shows its in-app purchase prices; scroll to that section before downloading.
Do free quit vaping apps sell my data?
Read the App Privacy section of each listing. In November 2026, the labels we read ranged from collecting contact info, location and contacts (for research use) to collecting only purchase history and anonymous identifiers. Labels are self-reported by developers and not verified by Apple.
Is there free support to quit vaping besides apps?
Yes. Young people can text DITCHVAPE to 88709 (Truth Initiative), and anyone can call 1-800-QUIT-NOW for free coaching. More free tools are at smokefree.gov.
Does CraveBreaker have a subscription?
It has an optional one. Weekly and annual Premium subscriptions exist, plus one-time lifetime purchases, so you can avoid a subscription entirely. You don't need any of them for the craving tools, plan, log, journal or savings estimate.
This is general information, not medical advice. Talk to your clinician. For free quit support, visit smokefree.gov.
A Thursday, 3:40 PM
Third download this month. The first app asked for an email, then a quiz, then showed a weekly price before the craving button. The second wanted location. On the third, the first screen says You're here. Let's get through this moment. Tap Distract me. Nine tiles. Twelve taps. The craving is still there, but smaller, and it's 3:42 now.
Getting through two minutes is the whole game, repeated.
Open CraveBreaker in the App Store
Check the in-app purchases and privacy label yourself, then decide. Open CraveBreaker in the App Store.
Related
- CraveBreaker: the quit vaping app for the next cravingA quit vaping app for the moment a craving hits: a 90-second reset, a craving timer and your own reasons. Every craving tool is free on iPhone.
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- Free help to quit vaping: find your route in 30 secondsFree quitlines, text programs and chat coaches for quitting vaping in the US and Canada, sorted by how you like to get help. Sourced, no sign-up.
- How to quit vaping in college: an 8-point semester checklistAn 8-point checklist for quitting vaping in college: pick the right week, handle roommates and parties, and know your free text and quitline options.