The negative health effects of cigarette smoking are no secret. It remains the leading cause of preventable diseases, including cancer, heart disease, stroke, and avoidable deaths, yet an estimated 30 million U.S. adults currently smoke [1].
Many people who smoke cigarettes are determined to quit. Still, due to its nicotine content, smoking addiction is a serious problem, making it difficult for many to kick the bad habit for good. In fact, of the 30% to 50% of U.S. smokers who attempt to quit in any given year, only a meager 7.5% manage to succeed [2].
If you’re reading this, you probably know all too well how quitting smoking isn’t as simple as stubbing out your cigarette, but you’ve come to the right place. We’re here to help take the stress out of quitting smoking by rounding up the best quit-smoking apps for Android and iOS users.
From quit-smoking apps that offer community support and track your smoke-free days to apps that help you quit smoking with meditation and help from expert advisors, there’s something to help every smoker avoid relapse, no matter what works for them or where they are on their health journey.
Keep reading to discover the best stop-smoking apps based on quality, features, techniques, cost, and more.
It’s common to have sleep troubles when you first quit smoking as your body readjusts to nicotine withdrawal. Although sleep quality improves with time, exhaustion from consistently poor sleep can make quitting harder. If you experience symptoms of insomnia after quitting smoking, you should consider using Pzizz.
Pzizz is a sleep app developed using credible science-backed technology proven to treat insomnia and its various causes using the same techniques as those used in clinical sleep studies.
The app’s patented system plays a sleep-optimized mix of music, voiceover, and sound effects-or ‘dreamscapes’-to quickly quiet your mind, help you fall asleep fast, stay asleep through the night, and wake up feeling refreshed using clinically-validated principles.
With this unique combination of science, music, and technology, the Pzizz app has helped millions get the best night's sleep. It also comes highly recommended by many frontrunners, including world-class athletes, journalists, and authors.
Join millions of people already enjoying its extensive benefits for sleep and download Pzizz from the App Store or Google Play today for a free trial.
Not only is meditation an excellent tool for improving overall mental and physical health, but studies show that those who use meditation to quit smoking have a significantly higher chance of quitting successfully. The practice is useful in reducing stress, which is often a trigger for smoking, increasing mindfulness to make you aware of smoking habits and cravings, and improving self-control and willpower.
Mesmerize is an app offering users a unique meditation experience through engaging visuals, soothing music, and expertly crafted guided meditations to help them overcome their smoking addiction.
With over one million downloads and ten thousand five-star reviews, Mesmerize uses scientifically-proven techniques to relax the nervous system and calm the mind, making it an excellent method to relieve stress in the moments you feel triggered to smoke.
There are several modes and features to help get you through the intensity of your cessation journey. The uniquely hypnotic visuals, from serene to psychedelic, help clear your mind of cravings and triggering thoughts. At the same time, the soothing psycho-acoustic music is designed to help you enter a state of deep relaxation. There is also a visual breathing mode that helps you focus on your breath to meditate.
Meditation sessions range from one minute to 30 minutes long, consisting of short affirmations and in-depth guided narrations, providing an easy-to-follow experience for complete novices and seasoned meditators alike.
You can enjoy a free three-day trial of Mesmerize by downloading it from the App Store or Google Play.
If you’re in search of a stop-smoking app that offers a strong and supportive community, then QuitNow! is for you. The app boasts over two million people who have successfully quit smoking to offer encouragement and motivation to new beginners.
Another useful feature comprises health insights that explain your body’s progress each day you go smoke-free, based on information from the World Health Organization.
There’s also a chatbot that answers any questions you have about smoking cessation and a daily clock that tracks your milestones and achievements, as well as the money you’ve saved along the way and the number of cigarettes you’ve avoided.
Additionally, QuitNow! offers book recommendations based on their popularity and effectiveness in helping you quit smoking for good.
You can download QuitNow! for free from the App Store or Google Play Store, with in-app purchases starting from $0.99 also available.
According to its creators, more than ten people quit smoking every day using the Smoke Free app owing to its science-backed approach with over 40 evidence-based techniques to help people quit.
With the daily missions feature, users have to commit to completing new tasks each day related to stopping smoking. There are also useful graphs to monitor your progression, including a quit-smoking tracker, how much money you’ve saved, and how your health has improved.
Record any time you experience a craving and get handy tips on how to manage it and identify factors that may be contributing to such cravings. With the pro version of Smoke Free, you get access to an AI coach and an expert advisor to hold you accountable and keep you on track to remaining smoke-free, as well as a custom stop-smoking plan tailored to your needs.
You also have the option to participate in scientific research to help others successfully quit smoking.
Download Smoke Free on your Android or iOS device for free, with upgraded versions starting from $0.99.
EasyQuit has cleverly gamified the smoking cessation process to help users fight the urge to smoke. The matching-pairs game is a memory-based activity for users to engage in whenever a craving strikes and is scientifically proven to help them beat the urge to smoke.
Earn over 100 different badges as rewards as you progress through your cessation journey, or personalize your motivations and let the app routinely remind you of them to keep you on track to achieve your goals.
EasyQuit’s ‘slow mode’ is a particular stand-out feature designed for users who are finding it especially difficult to quit smoking. This mode takes the pain, stress, and pressure out of quitting by creating a customized plan that allows you to go at a manageable pace.
The dedicated health section includes a countdown timer tracking all aspects of health improvement from the moment you ditch the habit, from blood circulation and oxygen levels to your sense of taste and smell.
There is also a useful pie chart that breaks down your top triggers to help you eliminate your cravings faster.
You can download EasyQuit for free from the App Store or Google Play Store, or choose the Pro version for $5.
If the bad habit of smoking is burning a hole in your pocket, the Get Rich Or Die Smoking app is specifically designed to help you save money.
Supporting several currencies, the app shows you exactly how much money you have accumulated since quitting and what you can now afford with it. The sophisticated rewards system also includes a variety of trophies that can be earned the longer you abstain from smoking.
Share your progress with other members in the community forum and compare how you will spend your money, or share your achievements via Facebook, SMS, or email straight from the app.
The app understands that falling off track with your goals is a normal part of the cessation journey and even offers a handy ‘relapse’ button to help get you back on track.
Get Rich Or Die Smoking is free to download on your Android device, with a premium version also available for $5.
Created in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute and the Food and Drug Administration, quitSTART is the product of a collective effort from tobacco control professionals, smoking cessation experts, and ex-smokers.
With tailored tips, inspiration, and challenges, the quitSTART app is a useful resource to have in your smoking cessation toolkit. Easily monitor your progress and earn badges as you reach smoke-free milestones and other achievements, and share them with others on social media as motivation to continue.
Learn to manage your bad moods and cravings in healthy ways, distract yourself with various games and challenges, and easily get back on track whenever you slip into your old habit.
Download quitSTART for free from the Apple Store or Google Play Store.
Based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Kwit uses scientifically-validated techniques to help users overcome cravings and better understand their addiction. The app gamifies smoking cessation to make the process more fun and encouraging for quitters, allowing you to earn points and unlock health-related goals along the way.
Key features include a personal dashboard to track factors such as the number of days you’ve gone without smoking, how much money you’ve saved, and the number of cigarettes you’ve avoided. There’s also a diary to keep a close track of your journey, visualize your efforts, and document your thoughts and feelings throughout the entire experience.
And for the moments you need an extra boost in motivation, you can simply shake your phone, and Kwit will produce a different motivation card each time to help you stay in the right mind frame to quit.
Additionally, for people who aren’t quite ready to quit smoking, Kwit offers a nine-step smoking cessation program to help you prepare and slowly ease you into the process.
Kwit is free to download from the Apple Store and Google Play Store, with in-app purchases starting from $6.49.
If you’re the type of person who is motivated by facts and statistics, Quit Smoking-Stop Smoking Counter is the perfect app.
An all-in-one data tracker, information source, and support system, the app will tell you everything from the amount of time that has passed since your last cigarette and how much time and money you’ve saved, to the amount of tar and nicotine that hasn’t entered your body, and how long you’ve extended your life.
The app will set you goals for quitting, track your progress along the way, and give you proven methods for quitting invented by British author Allen Carr. You can also learn useful facts about the harms caused by smoking and the benefits of quitting, accompanied by various images and videos.
Other than that, you can hear tips and advice from former smokers and enjoy various motivational quotes, all on a user-friendly interface that allows you to quickly access the information you’re interested in.
You can download Quit Smoking-Stop Smoking Counter free from the Google Play Store.
Whether you’re contemplating quitting, progressing towards your official quit date, or ready to take the step today, My QuitBuddy can help you reach your smoke-free goal. The app is highly-customizable to suit your needs based on where you are on your quit journey, helping to keep you motivated and on track.
The cessation process is broken down into small, manageable milestones, which you can monitor day by day, and you have access to an entire support group of former smokers to share their success stories, experiences, and handy tips.
My QuitBuddy also has a live map feature that shows you how different areas of your body are healing and how much tar you’ve avoided as you progress further in your smoke-free journey. You can even distract yourself with games and activities whenever a craving strikes.
You can download My QuitBuddy from the App Store.
Quit Genius takes the pressure out of dropping your smoking habit by allowing you to set your own goals and work through them at a comfortable pace. Once you’ve started your journey, you can earn rewards based on how much money you’ve saved and the years of life you’ve claimed back.
The app uses a combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques, audio tracks, and breathing exercises to help curb your habit. With the Pro version, you gain access to a personal quit coach, which can be handy if quitting on your own has been a struggle in the past.
If you enjoy taking quizzes, you can test your knowledge about quitting smoking as a unique way to keep you motivated.
You can download Quit Genius from the App Store and Google Play Store, with additional in-app purchases also available.
Whether you want to instantly go cold turkey or would like to gradually cease smoking over a longer period of time, Butt Out can help you do just that.
There are plenty of graphic visuals, such as graphs and health improvement indicators, to help you track your cravings and smoking and see how far you’ve progressed in real-time.
Use a customizable picture and quote to remind you of why you quit in the first place and serve as motivation for you to keep going.
There is also a useful online community chat feature to engage with other app users and support each other on your respective journeys.
Butt Out is free to download for iOS users and costs $2.99 for Android users.
Despite the extensive health risks, the nicotine content in cigarettes is highly addictive and can often override a person’s desire to quit.
There are several apps available that can increase a person’s motivation and willpower to quit smoking for good and avoid any potential relapses. Such apps use various methods to overcome cravings and curb addiction, including interactive games, health statistics, milestone tracking, and community support.
Withdrawal symptoms and cravings can make it near-impossible to fall asleep at night when you first quit smoking. Pzizz is all you need to combat long, sleepless nights, featuring clinically-validated techniques to help you fall asleep fast each night and wake up ready to take on another smoke-free day.
If you’re finding the stress of quitting smoking particularly stressful, try using Mesmerize, the visual meditation app designed to lower stress and anxiety and help overcome addiction through expertly crafted guided narrations.
The first few days and weeks of quitting smoking are often the hardest as the body readjusts to nicotine withdrawal and as you change your daily habits to eliminate cigarettes from your routine. Cravings and triggers will be the strongest during this period, and you may experience several withdrawal symptoms, including insomnia, headaches, moodiness, and irritability.
Depending on the individual, cravings for nicotine can start as soon as thirty minutes to one hour after your last cigarette and can last around three to five minutes. Although they will be the strongest in the first few days, such urges may persist for four to six weeks after quitting. Cravings will become less intense and further apart after this time; however, you may still experience the occasional craving months and years after going smoke-free, especially when exposed to triggers.
If you find your cigarette cravings particularly problematic, you may consider using nicotine products to provide temporary relief from your craving without the toxic chemicals present in cigarettes. Nicotine replacements include patches, lozenges, chewing gum, or inhalers.
Additionally, replace your bad habit with other activities you enjoy to keep you distracted, such as relaxation techniques, playing games, connecting with loved ones, spending time in nature, etc.