What Smoke Free does

Smoke Free is a London-based mobile health company that operates one of the most-downloaded smoking cessation apps globally, with 8 million+ lifetime downloads across iOS and Android and roughly 300,000 monthly active users spanning 200+ countries. The product is a freemium behaviour-change application built on the UK's National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training (NCSCT) Standard Treatment Programme and aligned with NICE guidance. Its core technology combines conventional tracking features (time smoke-free, money saved, health milestone visualisation across 15 body parts, cravings logging) with an AI-powered Quit Coach chatbot that delivers a 90-day structured programme of daily check-ins, missions, and lapse-recovery dialogue. The company monetises through a Pro subscription (weekly/monthly/quarterly/annual tiers unlocking the chatbot, advisor chatrooms, cravings analysis, 92 gamified badges, and daily missions), a higher-touch one-time purchase called Blitz Your Quit (four weekly expert advisor check-ins plus six weeks of 24/7 advisor access and lifetime Pro features), and a charitable Quit for Good donation channel that subsidises Pro access in low-income countries.

The business is run by 23 Limited, a UK private company founded and led by Dr David Crane (PhD in app-delivered behaviour change), and appears to be bootstrapped with the only recorded external support being participation in the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator in October 2018. The scientific committee includes globally recognised tobacco researchers from UCL and the University of East Anglia, and operations are supported by 12+ NCSCT-certified Stop Smoking Advisors with 8–23 years of experience each. Customer segments split between (1) individual smokers seeking self-help quitting tools and (2) UK public health bodies — including Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, Sheffield City Council, and NHS Stop Smoking Services — using the app for population-level interventions.

The competitive position is anchored by clinical evidence rather than technology novelty: three randomised controlled trials, two evaluations, and a pilot study demonstrate measurable efficacy, with published outcomes of 57% of users quit at four weeks and 47% at twelve weeks, and OR of 2.38 (chatbot) and 1.90 (missions) versus control. Distribution runs exclusively through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store with no public API or enterprise platform offering, and marketing combines organic social, app store optimisation, scientific publication, and GP/health-body referrals rather than paid acquisition. The company holds WCAG 2.2 AA partial compliance (assessed November 2024) and Cyber Essentials certification.

Name

Smoke Free

Legal name

23 Limited

Website

https://smokefreeapp.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Smoke Free is a London-based mobile health company operating one of the most-downloaded smoking cessation apps globally, serving individual quitters via a freemium app with an AI Quit Coach chatbot, plus UK public health bodies running population-level cessation programmes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Smoking Cessation Mobile App (Digital Health)

NAICS

Tobacco, Electronic Cigarette, and Other Smoking Supplies Retailers (459991)

SIC

Retail-Drug Stores And Proprietary Stores (5912)

akta.pro primary industry

Smoking Cessation & Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) (HLAIADAH)

Keywords

• Smoking cessation app
• Digital health intervention
• Behavior change platform
• Mobile health support
• Quit smoking tool

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Pro Subscription: Monthly, quarterly, or annual subscription providing access to Quit Coach chatbot, user chatroom with daily advisor-led clinics, cravings analysis, daily missions, 92 designed badges, and customisable dashboard. Advisors accessible with monthly subscription under 'support' section.
2. Blitz Your Quit One-Time Purchase: One-time purchase programme providing four weekly check-ins with expert advisors, 24/7 advisor access for six weeks, and group chatroom support. Includes all automated Pro features for life. Available for both iOS and Android.
3. Quit for Good Programme: Users can buy or donate to the app with proceeds supporting quitters in low income countries by providing Pro features, technical support, and training on their behalf.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Smoke Free is a smoking cessation mobile application (iOS and Android) that helps individual smokers quit through a freemium model: the free app provides time-smoke-free tracking, money saved, health improvement tracking across 15 body parts, and cravings logging. The Pro subscription unlocks the AI Quit Coach chatbot, daily missions, cravings analysis, 92 achievement badges, advisor chatroom access with daily clinics, and a customisable dashboard. The Blitz Your Quit one-time purchase adds four weekly expert advisor check-ins, 24/7 advisor access for six weeks, and group chatroom support, with all Pro features included for life.

Product overview

Smoke Free is a smoking cessation mobile application available on iOS and Android, consisting of a free core product supplemented by a Pro subscription tier. The free version provides basic tracking features (time smoke-free, money saved, health improvements) and craving logging tools. The Pro subscription unlocks the AI-powered Quit Coach chatbot, access to live Stop Smoking Advisors, group chatroom support with daily clinics, cravings analysis, daily missions, and 92 achievement badges. A separate one-time purchase option, Blitz Your Quit, provides four weeks of expert advisor check-ins combined with all Pro features. The app is built on NICE guidance and the NCSCT Standard Treatment Programme, with proven efficacy demonstrated in six scientific studies including large randomized controlled trials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Smoke Free App (Free Version) Free smoking cessation mobile application for iOS and Android that tracks time smoke-free, money saved, and health improvements across 15 body parts, with cravings logging, diary entries, and basic support features for individual smokers wanting to quit.
• Smoke Free Pro (Subscription) Premium subscription tier providing access to the AI Quit Coach chatbot, advisor-run chatrooms with daily clinics, cravings analysis, daily missions, 92 achievement badges, and a customisable dashboard, billed weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually to individual smokers seeking enhanced support.
• Blitz Your Quit Programme One-time purchase programme providing four weekly booster check-ins with expert Stop Smoking Advisors, 24/7 advisor access for six weeks, group chatroom support, and all Pro features included for life, targeted at individual smokers seeking intensive human-led support.
• Quit for Good Programme Charitable programme through which individual users can buy or donate to the Smoke Free app, with proceeds providing Pro features, technical support, and training to quitters in low-income countries.

Quantifiable outcome

• Users given missions are 1.90x more likely to remain smoke free (OR: 1.90, 95% CI = 1.53-2.37, p < 0.001)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training (NCSCT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe NCSCT provides certification for Smoke Free's advisors and both they and the AI chatbot follow the NCSCT's Standard Treatment Programme which is used by Stop Smoking Services throughout the UK. Dr Andy McEwen, Executive Director of NCSCT, stated 'Smoke Free is the only app to deliver behavioural support according to the NCSCT Standard Treatment Programme.'
• University College London (UCL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUCL is a scientific partner that receives anonymised usage data for research purposes. Prof Robert West and Prof Jamie Brown from UCL serve on Smoke Free's Scientific Committee, providing expertise in smoking cessation and behaviour change that shapes the app's methodology.
• Greater Manchester Health and Social Care PartnershipminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership to drive and maintain engagement with the app across Greater Manchester. Andrea Crossfield, Population Health Policy and Strategy Specialist, praised the team's professionalism, proactivity and creativity.
• Sheffield City CouncilminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWorking with Smoke Free to develop a robust communications plan to promote the app and ensure engagement with smokers at population level in Sheffield.
• New Nicotine AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLouise Ross, Smoke Free's Smoking Cessation Lead, serves as Chair of the New Nicotine Alliance, a charity that aims to encourage the use of safer forms of nicotine for smokers who cannot or do not want to stop.
• University of East AngliaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProf Felix Naughton from UEA serves on Smoke Free's Scientific Committee. His research focuses on stop smoking apps including developing 'Quit Sense' which sends tailored support when users reach locations they used to smoke.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Noom: Noom is a subscription behavior-change app using coaching, missions, and tracking to drive health outcomes (weight, stress, diabetes prevention). It operates the same consumer subscription, mission-based engagement, and human-coach hybrid model as Smoke Free but in broader wellness categories rather than smoking specifically.
• Nicorette (Haleon): Nicorette is the leading consumer NRT brand (gum, patches, lozenges) now owned by Haleon, sold through pharmacies and retailers globally. It competes for the same quit attempts through a different modality (OTC pharmaceutical NRT) rather than a digital behavior-change app, but is the dominant incumbent in smoking cessation.
• Calm: Calm is a leading consumer digital wellness app covering sleep, meditation, and mental health with a subscription model and employer distribution. It competes with Smoke Free for the same smartphone user and corporate wellness budget, but does not address smoking cessation specifically.
• Headspace: Headspace is a digital wellness subscription offering mindfulness, stress, sleep, and focus content via a mobile app. It overlaps with Smoke Free in the consumer digital-wellness category and in B2B distribution to employers and health plans, though its content modality is meditation rather than behavior change.

Direct peers

• Pelago (formerly Quit Genius): Pelago is a digital substance-use therapeutic platform offering app-based tobacco, alcohol, and opioid cessation programs to employers and health plans. It is the most direct commercial competitor to Smoke Free, sharing the digital cessation, clinical-evidence-led, and B2B2C distribution model, with broader substance-use coverage.
• Clickotine (Pivot): Clickotine was an evidence-based digital smoking cessation app whose assets and team are part of Pivot, a digital substance-use platform serving employers and health plans. It is a direct peer in combining app-delivered behavior change with clinical validation for smoking cessation.
• EX Program (Truth Initiative): EX Program is a digital smoking cessation service built by the Truth Initiative, combining a mobile app, text-message coaching, and community support. It targets the same individual-smoker and public-health-buyer segments as Smoke Free with a comparable evidence-based behavior-change approach.
• Kwit: Kwit is a gamified smoking cessation mobile app available globally on iOS and Android. It competes head-to-head in app-store rankings and consumer quit journeys, though it lacks Smoke Free's human advisor layer and published RCT evidence base.

Emerging players

• 2Morrow Health: 2Morrow Health develops evidence-based digital therapeutic programs for tobacco cessation, vaping, and weight management sold to employers, health plans, and states. It is comparable to Smoke Free in combining clinical validation with B2B distribution, but with a more US-centric go-to-market.
• CureApp: CureApp is a Japanese digital therapeutics company that has launched a regulator-approved smoking cessation app in Japan. It is a close peer on the smoking-cessation use case and DTx regulatory pathway, though it primarily operates in Asia rather than competing directly with Smoke Free in the UK/EU.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thesmokefreeapp
• Facebookfacebook.com/groups/thesmokefreeapp
• Instagraminstagram.com/thesmokefreeapp/?hl=en
• TikToktiktok.com/@thesmokefreeapp

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smoke Free