Sobrius vs Days Since: Day Counter or Recovery Companion?
Find out whether a simple day counter or a full recovery companion app is the right choice for tracking your sobriety journey.
Simple Day Counter vs Full Recovery App
At the most basic level, every sobriety app is a day counter. But recovery demands so much more than just counting days. The question of whether to use a simple, generic counter like Days Since or a dedicated recovery app like Sobrius comes down to understanding what you actually need during your sobriety journey. Days Since is a minimalist day counting app designed for tracking how long it has been since any event. People use it for everything from tracking when they last changed their car oil to monitoring how many days they have been sober. The app does one thing and does it well: it counts days. It is lightweight, straightforward, and requires virtually no setup. You enter an event name, set the date, and watch the number grow. Sobrius was built with a fundamentally different purpose. While it absolutely tracks your days of sobriety with precision down to the second, it surrounds that counter with a full ecosystem of recovery support tools. Multi-addiction tracking, crisis resources, daily journaling, milestone celebrations, and community features all work together to address the complex reality of addiction recovery. The appeal of Days Since is understandable. There is something attractive about simplicity, about having just a number on your screen without any extra complexity. Some people in long-term recovery, who have already built strong support systems and coping mechanisms, may find a simple counter sufficient. They know where to turn when cravings hit, and they just want a clean number to mark their progress. But for most people in recovery, especially those in the first months and years, a simple day counter leaves too many gaps. When a craving strikes at midnight, Days Since will show you a number. Sobrius will show you that number plus crisis hotline access, coping strategies, your journal entries about why you chose sobriety, and the full weight of every second you have fought for. That difference can be the gap between relapse and another day of strength. This comparison examines both tools honestly so you can decide which level of support matches your current needs.
Feature Comparison
See how these apps stack up side by side.
| Feature | Sobrius | Days Since |
|---|---|---|
| Designed for Addiction Recovery | ||
| Real-Time Counter (Seconds) | Days only | |
| Track Multiple Addictions | Multiple events | |
| Crisis Support Resources | ||
| Daily Journal | ||
| Community Features | ||
| Milestone Celebrations | ||
| Money Saved Calculator | ||
| Motivational Content | ||
| Offline Functionality | ||
| Privacy (No Account) | ||
| Price | Free (Premium $4.99/mo) | Free (ads) |
Upgrade from a Day Counter
Download Sobrius and get a real recovery companion. Real-time counters, crisis support, journaling, and milestones. All free on the App Store and Google Play.
Detailed Pros & Cons
Sobrius
Pros
- Complete recovery ecosystem with crisis support, journaling, milestones, and community features alongside day counting.
- Real-time counter showing days, hours, minutes, and seconds provides powerful motivation in early recovery.
- Multi-addiction tracking designed specifically for the reality of co-occurring addictions.
- Crisis support resources accessible directly within the app during vulnerable moments.
- Money saved calculator helps you visualize the financial benefits of your sobriety.
- Free core features with no advertisements disrupting your experience.
Cons
- Android-only at this time, with iOS availability coming in the future.
- More feature-rich, which means a slightly larger app footprint than a minimal counter.
- Some advanced analytics are only available with the premium subscription.
Days Since
Pros
- Extremely lightweight and simple to set up and use.
- Versatile enough to track any type of event, not limited to sobriety.
- Minimal battery and storage usage.
- No account required, with data stored locally.
- Straightforward interface with no learning curve.
Cons
- Not designed for addiction recovery and lacks every recovery-specific feature.
- No crisis support, leaving users without help during vulnerable moments.
- No journal, milestone celebrations, or motivational content.
- Day-only counter lacks the precision that helps in early recovery.
- Ad-supported free version can be distracting.
The Verdict: A Number or a Recovery Companion?
This comparison is less about two competing apps and more about two fundamentally different approaches to recovery tracking. Days Since is a fine day counter. It does exactly what it says: it counts days since an event. If all you need is a number, it delivers. Its simplicity is genuine, and for people with established support systems who just want a clean metric, it can work. But addiction recovery is not just about counting days. It is about navigating cravings, processing emotions, celebrating milestones that mark real progress, and having access to help when things get difficult. Sobrius was built specifically for this reality. Every feature, from the real-time counter to the crisis support resources to the daily journal, was designed with the unique challenges of addiction recovery in mind. Using Days Since for sobriety tracking is like using a basic calculator app to manage your finances. It technically does math, but it misses everything else that makes financial management effective. Similarly, Days Since counts your days, but it misses everything else that makes recovery tracking effective. Our strong recommendation: if you are tracking sobriety, download Sobrius. It gives you the day counter you need plus every other recovery tool you did not know you needed, and it is free. Your recovery deserves more than just a number.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about recovery and sobriety.
Upgrade from a Day Counter
Download Sobrius and get a real recovery companion. Real-time counters, crisis support, journaling, and milestones. All free on the App Store and Google Play.