What 2,324 App Store reviews say about quit-vaping apps

How we did the study

Reviews. On 2 November 2026 we pulled text reviews of 17 apps from Apple's US App Store review feed, which returns at most 250 recent text reviews per app: 2,324 reviews in all. The core sample is the three vaping apps with the most ratings (Quit Vaping, Puff Count and Escape the Vape) plus Smoke Free, the most-rated quit-smoking app in our listings: 886 reviews. Puff Count (191) and Escape the Vape (195) ran out of reviews before the cap, so those are every text review the feed had. Quit Vaping and Smoke Free hit the cap, so theirs are samples.

Coding. All 200 one and two-star reviews in the core sample were read and hand-coded by theme; one review can count in several themes. Of the 585 five-star reviews, the 147 that a keyword search flagged as claiming quitting or progress were read and hand-coded by the feature they credit, and all 45 of Puff Count's five-star reviews were hand-coded. Other five-star theme counts were keyword-coded and are approximate, so we leave them out here.

Listings and Reddit. We read 22 App Store listings for price model and age rating, and parsed 13 privacy labels. Apple's listing page shows only the first 10 in-app purchases, so maximum prices may be understated. On Reddit we collected 143 posts and comments from r/QuitVaping and r/electronic_cigarette (posts dated July 2020 to October 2026), found by searching terms about apps, tapering and relapse. Reddit counts are mentions in that search-biased sample, not how common something is.

Quotes are word for word, under 25 words, checked by script as exact text from the source review or post, and shown with the app, the star rating and the month.

What do people complain about in quit-vaping apps?

Money. Of the 200 one and two-star reviews, 150 (75%) complain about a paywall, the price, an app that was called free and wasn't, or billing. The single biggest theme is a paywall that blocks the app or the counter itself: 106 reviews.

Not shown: other reasons (12 reviews), no reason given (9 reviews) and a cigarette-only design (3 reviews).

Puff Count supplies 118 of the 150 money complaints, so it skews the total. Without it, money is still the top theme at 32 of 74 reviews (43%), followed by bugs (19 of 74 reviews) and accounts or data (12 of 74 reviews).

A sharp version of the complaint, in 24 of the 200 reviews: the app costs about what you'd save, or shows your savings and then charges you.

"I would be paying MORE money weekly than I spend on vapes."

Puff Count, 1 star, October 2025

"they show how much money you waste on vaping and then make me pay almost the same amount just to stop"

Quit Vaping, 1 star, August 2025

"I don’t need an account. I need a SIMPLE DAY COUNTER."

Smoke Free, 1 star, August 2026

What happened to Puff Count's reviews?

Puff Count counts puffs, sets a daily limit and offers a quit plan. On 2 November 2026 its listing showed an average of 4.35 from 2,663 ratings. Its 191 text reviews shift sharply over time. We rebuilt the timeline from the reviews themselves, not from the app's version history:

• 2020 to mid-2021: reviews say the free version capped counting at 30 puffs a day (a few say 15).
• October 2021: reviews say an update made puff tracking free.
• From December 2023: reviews describe a required 3-day trial and then a weekly price, which reviewers quote at $7.99 to $9.99 a week, with no free version.

Before December 2023, 24 of 79 reviews were one or two stars (30%). From December 2023 on, 102 of 112 reviews were (91%). Of the 126 negative reviews, 31 say they hit the paywall at first launch or right after set-up, before using anything (hand count). By keyword search, 30 quote a weekly price and 19 suggest a free alternative such as a tally counter, a notebook or a spreadsheet.

"You literally cannot use this app without signing up for the free 3 day trial and then paying $9.99/week."
Puff Count review, 1 star, May 2025

This is a pattern in the review feed, not a verdict on the app. People who write reviews aren't a random sample of users, and we didn't ask Puff Count's developer for comment.

What do people say helped them quit?

Of the 585 five-star reviews, a keyword search flagged 147 that say the app helped them quit or cut down. We read all 147 and coded which feature each one credits; a review can name two.

Puff Count's five-star reviews credit something else: of its 45, 10 say counting showed them how much they vaped, and 7 credit cutting down gradually.

"This app helped me quit with relative ease by slowly scaling back in a manageable way."

Puff Count, 5 stars, October 2021

These are people who chose to leave five stars, so the table shows what satisfied reviewers mention, not what works.

Do people want to count every puff?

Mixed. Counting gets praise for awareness (10 of Puff Count's 45 five-star reviews) and complaints about effort when it means opening a paid app each time (15 of its 126 negative reviews), and some Redditors say you don't need an app at all.

"you aren’t going to open an app and click a button everytime you hit you nic stick"

Puff Count, 1 star, April 2025

The fix people ask for is logging without opening the app: 11 of Puff Count's 191 reviews ask for a widget, a Shortcut, a long-press or Apple Watch. Across all 2,324 reviews, 36 mention a widget, 16 of them for Days Since, a general habit tracker. Nobody asked for Live Activities or the Dynamic Island: 0 of 2,324 reviews and 0 of 143 Reddit items. Three apps' reviews ask to add or fix a missed entry later (Puff Count, VapeFree and Stepdown).

If you want to see your own number first, the free puff counter runs in your browser with no signup.

What do quit apps cost, and what do they collect?

All 22 listings we reviewed are free to download, and most sell a subscription inside. Among 7 quit apps that list a weekly plan (from these listings and the apps behind ranking quit sites), the middle price was $6.49 a week, ranging from $3.00 to $9.99, in our review on 2 November 2026. Three listings showed no in-app purchases: Jones (free; its listing says "No paywalls or app subscriptions", and it sells nicotine replacement mints) and the government-made quitSTART and My QuitBuddy.

Of 13 privacy labels we reviewed, 7 declare "Data Used to Track You": Escape the Vape, Puff Count, QuitSure, QuitNow, NoPuff, Sum Puff and QuitVape, as shown on their listings on 2 November 2026. None of the 13 declares "Data Not Collected". Labels are declared by each developer and can change: one app outside our 13, Vape Break, showed "Data Not Collected" when we checked its listing on 3 November 2026.

Where reviewers said a payment was worth it, it was small: 10 core five-star reviews say so, and the amounts they name run from $0.99 to ten dollars.

"Ten bucks for a lifetime membership isn’t bad."

Smoke Free, 5 stars, July 2026

What Reddit adds

In our 143 Reddit items, 13 non-promotional posts ask about or discuss quit apps, and 5 of them insist on free. What they ask for is small: a days-since counter, money saved and a home-screen widget.

"I just cannot justify spending $20-$30/m or $8/week for these vape quit apps."
Reddit post, January 2026

On tapering there is no agreed speed. The 8 Reddit items that describe a taper someone actually did range from halving puffs in a week to "a couple of puffs every couple of weeks" over months. Our guide to cold turkey versus tapering covers what the trials say.

On slips, people split. In a Reddit thread asking whether one puff resets the counter, 3 of 10 comments said no, 2 said any nicotine resets it, 2 keep two numbers, 1 resets only past a few hits, and 2 didn't take a side.

How to pick a quit app

• Check whether counting is free, not just the download. The single biggest complaint in this study is a paywall on the app or the counter itself (106 of 200 reviews).
• Sort the reviews by Most Recent. In Puff Count's case, the change showed in new reviews while the listing average stayed at 4.35.
• Read the App Privacy section on the listing, and look for "Data Not Collected" or "Data Used to Track You".
• See the price before the quiz. If an app asks for an account or a long questionnaire first, check the listing's in-app purchases.
• You may not need an app at all. Some reviewers and Redditors count with a tally counter or a notebook, and free help exists: in the US, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (CDC).

Frequently asked questions

Why do quit-vaping apps get one-star reviews?

Mostly money. In our study, 150 of 200 hand-coded one and two-star reviews complained about a paywall, the price, a hidden price or billing. Bugs and forced accounts came next.

Are quit-vaping apps free?

Free to download, yes: all 22 listings we reviewed. Free to use is different. Most sell a subscription, and Jones, quitSTART and My QuitBuddy were the only listings in our review with no in-app purchases (two listings were not checked).

Which quit-vaping app has the most ratings?

Of the vaping-specific apps in our review on 2 November 2026, Quit Vaping had the most: 11,664 ratings with a 4.89 average. Ratings change daily, and a high average can hide a recent shift, as Puff Count's reviews show.

Does counting puffs help you quit?

Reviews can't answer that. Some Puff Count reviewers credit counting with showing them how much they vaped, but people who leave reviews aren't a random sample, and this study measured what they said, not whether they quit.

Is Thin Air in this study?

No. Thin Air isn't on the App Store yet and has no reviews. We make it, and this research shaped it: counting is free forever, there's no account, and the plan is free for 7 days, then $19.99 once, with no subscription.