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What Try Dry does well
Try Dry is the Dry January app from the charity Alcohol Change UK, and it works all year. Each day you record whether you stayed dry, drank, or drank as planned. It tracks units, calories and money against a baseline you set, awards badges (84 were added in 2025), runs missions and keeps dry streaks. It is entirely free, with no ads, but you have to create an account. Everything is built around UK units and the 14-unit week. Price on 23 October 2026 (UK App Store listing, which shows no in-app purchases): Free. Funded by the charity Alcohol Change UK. We are not affiliated with Alcohol Change UK. Dry January and Try Dry are their marks.
Each day you mark dry, drank, or drank as planned. That third option is the reason it is not a recovery counter. The charity page lists units, calories and money saved, a units calendar, sleep, energy, mood and craving scores, notes, a drinking-risk quiz, and current plus best dry streaks. Version 1.8.19, dated 1 September 2026 on the GB App Store, added a Sober October challenge and a fix for the drank-as-planned toggle.
Official page: Try Dry on Alcohol Change UK. Listing: TRY DRY on the App Store.
Why people look for a Try Dry alternative
You need an account. Best For You said so on 3 February 2026. A Drink Less Method review dated 11 December 2025 said the same: the app will not run without one. The help centre walks through passwords, reset mail and being logged out after inactivity, because the log lives on their servers.
The other reason is the frame. Badges, missions and dry streaks are listed as features, not extras. A GB App Store review dated 2 September 2026 described the dry-streak count flipping to 0 on a dry day. That is a support issue. It is also what the product is built around.
UK units and the 14-unit week are the arithmetic. A French interface exists. The unit is still the UK unit. If you wanted a verre-standard week of 10 g, or an on-device log with no login, you downloaded the wrong charity app. That is not a slight. It is a different job.
Four alternatives
Modraly is not first. The first three are free UK tools, then a unit diary, then us.
NHS Drink Free Days
A pledge to keep some days drink-free, for England
With Drink Free Days you pledge at least three drink-free days a week and tick them off. It does not ask what you drank on the other days. There is no account and your progress stays on the phone, although the NHS privacy policy still lists device details, IP address and optional analytics, and the App Store privacy label declares identifiers used to track you. It is free and aimed at England.
Use it if all you want is more dry days, free and without an account. If you need to know what the drinking days add up to, you need a diary.
MyDrinkaware
A free tracker from a UK charity, with a WHO self-assessment
MyDrinkaware comes from Drinkaware, a UK charity. It logs units, calories, spend and drink-free days alongside sleep and energy, and it includes the Drinking Check, a self-assessment developed by the WHO. You can set goals and reminders. It is free with no paywall, needs an email address to register, and is only on the UK App Store and Google Play. Units and guidance are British.
The strongest free option in the UK, and the only app here with a validated self-assessment. Start with it if your real question is whether your drinking is a problem.
DrinkControl
A drinking diary, and the closest app to Modraly
DrinkControl converts what you drink into units, calories and money, and sets the total against moderate or low-risk guidelines. It marks dry days and keeps a streak of them. Your data stays on the phone, with no account. Widgets, longer charts, reminders, CSV export and custom drinks are in Premium, sold as a subscription or a one-off lifetime purchase. It has been on iPhone since 2011, is back on Android, and is in English only.
For a unit diary with streaks, or for anything on Android, start here. It is the most direct alternative to Modraly and has been around since 2011.
Modraly
A private drink tracker for people who still drink, set against your country's guideline
Modraly is a private drink tracker for people who still drink. It counts units, spend and calories and shows your week next to the official guideline for your country, in that country's own unit, for fourteen countries and in 22 languages. Your drinks never leave the device: there is no account, no Modraly server, no ads and no tracking, and the only entry on its App Store privacy label is purchases, not linked to you. Logging is free and unlimited; stats and the calendar show the last 7 days, older days stay on the device and are never deleted, and you get two favourites. Premium adds unlimited history, widgets, tonight's count on the Lock Screen, custom date ranges, CSV export and alternative icons, by subscription or as a one-time purchase. It is built for Apple devices: iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, with free logging from Siri, Shortcuts, Control Center, the Lock Screen, a long press on the app icon and the watch, plus an App Clip that shows an example week without installing. It has had eleven releases since it launched on 6 September 2026. Modraly has no coaching and no streaks.
Choose Modraly if you still drink, want the number next to your own country's guideline, use Apple devices and want your drinks kept off any server. Choose something else for a programme, a streak or an unlimited free history.
Try Dry vs the four
| Modraly | Try Dry | NHS Drink Free Days | MyDrinkaware | DrinkControl | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job | Units vs your country's line | Dry January, badges, planned drinking | Pledged dry days in England | Units plus a WHO check | Unit diary, with streaks |
| Account | No | Yes | No | Yes, by email | No |
| Streaks / badges | No | Yes: dry streaks, badges, missions | Milestones on pledged days | Drink-free days and goals | Yes, dry days |
| Price (23 October 2026) | Free to log. Premium £5.99/month, £34.99/year or £59.99 once (UK); 6,99 € / 44,99 € / 69,99 € (France); $7.99 / $49.99 / $79.99 (US). 7-day trial on annual only. | Free. Funded by the charity Alcohol Change UK. | Free. Not on the US or French App Store. | Free. UK App Store and Google Play only. | Free, with Premium at £3.99/month or £11.99/year. Lifetime purchases are listed at £14.99 and £24.99. US: $3.99 / $11.99. |
| Ads | No, free or Premium. | No | No | No | No |
| App Store privacy label | Not linked to you: purchases. | Linked to you: contact details. Not linked: health, location, contact details, identifiers, usage data, sensitive information, diagnostics. | Used to track you: identifiers. Not linked to you: contact details, identifiers, usage data, diagnostics, other data. | Used to track you: identifiers, sensitive information. Linked to you: contact details, identifiers, sensitive information. Not linked: usage data, diagnostics. | Not linked to you: content, identifiers, usage data, diagnostics. |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, App Clip. Siri, Shortcuts, Control Center, Lock Screen, widgets. | iPhone, iPad, Android | iPhone, Android | iPhone, Android | iPhone, Android |
Prices move. Check each listing the day you pay. None of this is medical advice. Dry January is a mark of Alcohol Change UK.
Free to download. Logging is unlimited. No streaks.
Common questions
What is the best Try Dry alternative?
Stay on Try Dry if badges, Dry January and a free UK charity app are the job. NHS Drink Free Days if you only want pledged dry days in England, with no account. MyDrinkaware if you want a WHO-developed check. DrinkControl if you want a unit diary on Android. Modraly if you want units against your country line, no streak, no account, on iPhone and iPad.
Does Try Dry require an account?
Yes. Best For You (3 February 2026) and a Drink Less Method review (11 December 2025) both say you cannot use it without creating an account. The Alcohol Change UK help centre treats login, password reset and server-side data as the normal path.
Is Try Dry free?
Yes. The UK App Store listing on 23 October 2026 says totally free, no ads, funded by Alcohol Change UK. That is the honest comparison: Modraly is free to log and shows the last 7 days on free, with 2 favourites; older days are kept and Premium opens them. Try Dry has no paywall.
Try Dry vs Modraly: which one?
Try Dry if you want Dry January, badges, missions, Android, and a free log with an account. Modraly if you want units, spend and calories next to your country guideline, with no streak and no login. They are not substitutes. Modraly is not affiliated with Alcohol Change UK or Dry January.
Is Try Dry only for January?
No. Try Dry is built around Dry January but works all year, as a drink diary with badges, missions and dry streaks measured against a baseline you set.
Does Try Dry work outside the UK?
It is also available in Welsh, French, German, Norwegian and Italian, but it counts in UK units against the 14-unit week wherever you are. Modraly uses the local unit and weekly guideline for fourteen countries.
