Try Dry vs Nomo

Try Dry vs Nomo is a charity-funded units and challenge tracker versus private sobriety clocks. As of August 2026, Try Dry (TRY DRY: The Dry January app) from Alcohol Change UK / Alcohol Research UK markets planned drinking, custom goals, missions, unit and calorie and money tracking, badges, charts, and year-round cut-back or dry stretches, with no purchase required on the listing checked. Nomo markets multiple private-by-default sobriety clocks, optional accountability partners, chips, journaling, and mini distraction exercises. Pick by whether you need challenge-friendly logging or abstinence clocks.

Apps are wellness supports, not treatment. People who drink heavily or daily should involve a clinician before stopping. According to the NIAAA treatment guide, sudden stops after prolonged heavy drinking can trigger a painful or life-threatening withdrawal process, including seizures. For urgent help, use crisis resources.

What should decide Try Dry vs Nomo?

Ask one deciding question: do you want official challenge tooling for cutting back or dry months, or private multi-clock abstinence tracking with optional partners?

Score the pair on five criteria:

1. Goal framing: cut back, planned drinking, or dry challenges versus sobriety clocks
2. Tracking units: UK-style units, calories, and money charts versus day/minute clocks
3. Accountability: missions and reminders versus partner temptation notifications
4. Privacy default: challenge app account patterns versus clocks private by default
5. Cost shape: charity-funded Try Dry versus Nomo with no priced IAP rows on the page checked

US readers should still convert pours carefully. In the United States, one standard drink contains about 14 grams (0.6 fluid ounces) of pure alcohol. Try Dry's unit framing may not match US labels one-to-one, so translate intentionally.

For Try Dry-centered swaps, see Try Dry alternatives. For Nomo-centered swaps, see Nomo alternatives.

Feature matrix as of August 2026

Confirm live store copy on your device.

How does Try Dry work?

The US Try Dry listing describes the official Dry January app from Alcohol Change UK, built for cutting back or trying sober stretches, not only January. It highlights planned drinking, custom goals, special missions, unit and calorie and money tracking, charts, badges, daily reminders, a drinking risk quiz, wellbeing trackers, and charity funding with no ads and no purchase required. Seller: Alcohol Research UK. Requires iOS 14.0 or later. As of the August 2026 fetch, version 1.8.18 showed an April 15, 2026 current version date, with about 4.8 stars from roughly 2.9K ratings.

Try Dry fits if your goal is official challenge tooling and dual cut-back or dry tracking, because the charity-funded model carries no paywall on the listing checked. Its most recent App Store update shipped in April 2026.

What Nomo offers instead: private multi-clock abstinence tracking with partner alerts.

For a Try Dry pricing and fit read, see is Try Dry worth it.

How does Nomo work?

The US Nomo listing describes creating as many sobriety clocks as you need, keeping them private by default, finding accountability partners, sharing selected clocks, sending temptation notifications, earning milestone chips, journaling, viewing money saved, using mini distraction exercises, and locking the app with PIN or Face/Touch ID. Compatibility lists iOS 12.4 or later. As of August 2026, version 7.9.167 showed a May 9, 2026 current version date, including Guest Login update text for clocks without creating an account.

Nomo fits if abstinence is the frame, because private clocks and optional partner accountability are its core mechanisms. Its most recent App Store update shipped in May 2026.

What Try Dry offers instead: planned drinking, missions, and charity-funded challenge charts when cut-back is the frame.

Which deciding jobs tip the scale?

A two-week fit test

Before you renew anything, run a boring two-week test with the tool you already installed.

1. Open the app at the same two moments each day: once in the morning, once at the usual drinking-risk hour.
2. Use only the core loop (log, clock, pledge, plan, or group message). Skip premium upsells for the first week unless the core loop is blocked.
3. Write one line after each hard urge: what you opened, what helped, what you ignored.
4. On day 14, keep the app only if you can point to two concrete moments where the mechanism changed what you did.

If the app stayed closed during the hardest evenings, switch categories rather than upgrading inside the same category. Privacy counters, peer groups, coaching plans, and social networks fail in different ways. Matching the failure mode matters more than chasing a higher star rating.

People who drink heavily or daily still need a clinician in the loop before stopping, even when an app streak looks clean. Apps support habits. They do not manage withdrawal risk.

Challenge months versus ongoing clocks

Try Dry's mechanism assumes a named challenge (Dry January or another dry stretch) gives the month a story. Nomo's assumes the story is continuous private time and optional partners, with or without a public campaign. If challenge energy fades in February, decide whether you still want units tracking or a sober clock before you abandon tools entirely.

US drinkers using Try Dry should keep translating units to standard drinks so charts stay comparable with American labels. Nomo users should still pair money-saved views with realistic pour costs. In both cases, the tracker is only as honest as the inputs.

Bottom line on Try Dry vs Nomo

As of August 2026, Try Dry vs Nomo is challenge-friendly units tracking versus private sobriety clocks. Try Dry fits if official dry or cut-back missions organize your month. Nomo fits if private multi-clock abstinence tracking and optional partners are the job. Neither replaces clinician-guided care after heavy or daily drinking. Confirm store screens on your device, translate units to US standard drinks when needed, and choose the framing you will actually follow past week two.

The deciding question

Missions and clocks both work between urges; the deciding question is what you open during one. Orlyn, which we make, is a paid iOS membership built for that minute: a live sober streak, one-tap daily check-ins with streak freezes, a craving tab (guided breathing, then distraction tools, then a hand-off to a clearly labeled AI coach), and pseudonymous weekly leagues. It is a complement to professional support, not a replacement. If Try Dry missions or Nomo clocks help between urges, but the hard minute still needs a guided sequence, compare that craving tab before you assume a tracker alone is enough.

All guides · Start Day One