Updated November 2026 · App Store listings checked
For adults quitting vaping on a budget: we checked which apps and programs are actually free.
Step 1 · Rule it out
We make CraveBreaker, so read this part first. An app is a pocket tool. For some people, something else should come first.
Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW. The CDC's quitting page (published May 2024) says trained quit coaches there provide confidential help at no cost.
Talk to a doctor or pharmacist. The same CDC page notes a provider may recommend medication to manage withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
CraveBreaker is rated 17+ and made for adults. Smokefree Teen has free tools and a text program built for teens.
The best free quit tool might be a phone number, not an app.
Step 2 · Compare
Yes, though few are free all the way through. In our November 2026 check, quitSTART from Smokefree.gov was free with no purchases listed, but it is written for smoking. CraveBreaker, which we make, keeps every craving tool free and sells an optional Premium. Free text programs such as SmokefreeTXT also cost nothing.
Below are five iPhone apps and three free programs, described from their own U.S. App Store listings or websites as we read them in November 2026. Prices can change and vary by region. Tap what matters to you and the matches light up.
Showing all 8 options.
Honest Little Apps · App Store
Smokefree.gov (NCI), seller ICF International · App Store
23 Ltd · App Store
Seller John Murphy · App Store
Innovative Digital Technologies · App Store
U.S. state quitlines · CDC
Smokefree.gov · details
Truth Initiative with Mayo Clinic · details
"Free to download" and "free to use" are different promises. Read the In-App Purchases list first.
Step 3 · Look inside
Tap "I have a craving" and you're into a tool within seconds: a 90-second reset with slow breathing and 5-4-3-2-1 grounding, a small Pattern Break puzzle, a craving timer, your own reasons, or a quick way to text someone or find a quitline. No account, no paywall, no questionnaire.
Free, every time
Formula shown
No accountOne design decision: we kept every craving tool outside Premium, because the moment of a craving is the worst possible time to meet a paywall. One honest limit: CraveBreaker has no live coach and doesn't measure anything about your body; its quitline info covers the U.S. and Canada only.
Step 4 · Questions
Text programs have the strongest evidence so far. Truth Initiative reports that in a trial published in JAMA Internal Medicine, young adults aged 18 to 24 using its text program had nearly 40% higher odds of quitting vaping than a control group. Evidence for individual apps, ours included, is much thinner.
Many are free to download but put most features behind a subscription. Check the In-App Purchases list on the App Store page before you start, and look for a description that says which features stay free. If a trial starts automatically, note the end date.
You can do both. An app is there in the ten seconds a craving hits; a quitline gives you a trained person. The CDC says trained quit coaches at 1-800-QUIT-NOW provide confidential help at no cost, and a doctor or pharmacist can talk you through medication.
This is general information, not medical advice. Talk to your clinician. CraveBreaker is a self-help tool for adults and does not sell or promote nicotine or vaping products. Free U.S. quit support: smokefree.gov. Competitor details come from their public App Store listings and websites as checked in November 2026; we have no ties to them.
Free craving tools in seconds, a quit plan in about two minutes, and progress a slip can't erase.