Reframe App Review 2024: Pros & Cons, Cost, & My Experience

Reframe is a mindful drinking app that allows users to track their drinking habits, learn healthy coping skills, attend live coaching sessions, and set goals for their alcohol consumption. I used the Reframe app for a few weeks to track my drinking habits and found that it has an excellent selection of helpful features for people looking to reduce how much alcohol they drink or create more mindful drinking habits. The Reframe app earned 4.5 out of 5 stars in my independent review. It has a great variety of useful tools, however, its confusing cost structure was a major downside.

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The Reframe app is a mindful drinking app that costs $24.99 monthly for base features, and up to $249.99 monthly if you add in individual coaching services. It includes many features ranging from daily alcohol consumption check-ins, educational and motivational tools, and community support through message boards and virtual meetings with other people looking to cut back on their drinking. Individual and group coaching are also available in the app to help users on their journey towards mindful drinking or sobriety. The daily tracking of health outcomes such as mood, appetite changes, and stress levels helps users gain insight into how alcohol – or the lack thereof – impacts daily functioning.

Mindful Drinking with Reframe

Mindful drinking is a phrase that has gained traction in the mental health field in recent years. It represents the idea that alcohol consumers can become more self-aware of how alcohol impacts daily functioning and mental health. Reframe helps app users keep track of their daily drinks, set goals to either reduce or quit alcohol consumption and have access to a vast community of support. App users can pick one of two tracks – either “cut back” where the app users’ goal is to reduce alcohol intake without stopping altogether, or  “quit” where the goal is to become completely sober from alcohol.

The sign-up process for the Reframe app was straightforward; users download the app and enter demographic information such as gender, age, relationship status, and environment (country, suburbs, or city). After this, app users will answer questions about their goals, past successes with mindful drinking, data on how many drinks per week they have, and how much money is spent weekly on purchasing alcohol. Other signup information needed included details on the type of alcohol users typically consume, reasons for drinking, and how drinking impacts users’ daily functioning and relationships.

Daily Tasks in the Reframe App

The first section of the app that users will be introduced to is the Daily Task section. In this area of the app, users can complete their daily assignments, which include reading educational articles and then following journaling prompts that align with the article topic. There are also motivational quotes each day to help app users stay motivated and positive.

The Daily Task section is where I logged my daily drinks and completed monthly challenges. My first monthly challenge was to focus on mental health and included informational readings such as how screen time can impact mental health, how food is linked to higher rates of inflammation and anxiety, and how exercise can help with alcohol cravings.

I found the daily readings to be important in my mindful drinking journey, as they addressed topics I would not have considered to play a role in my drinking. Some of my favorite topics included how alcohol impacts the neurotransmitter dopamine – which is responsible for those feelings of happiness and pleasure – and how this impacts functioning long-term. It also addressed the hedonic setpoint, or, a person’s natural happiness level.

The Reframe app gave me valuable information on how alcohol can stimulate happiness in the short-term, and how this rise in happiness is only temporary; eventually, we have a crash and an overall decrease in happiness long-term and our hedonic setpoint can decrease as well. This was all very fascinating to me, as it gave insight into the chemical processes that occur at the brain level and made me think of my relationship with alcohol in a new light.

Reframe App’s Toolkit

One of the best features of the Reframe app is the Toolkit section. This area of the app gives users some great tools and coping skills to fight off cravings and find alternatives to alcohol, such as mocktail recipes that do not include alcohol. Melody, the AI chatbot in the app, can also be found in this section.

My favorite part of the Toolkit was the cravings mode that users can access. This gives individuals the ability to play games as distractions such as Tetris, a memory card game, and a game called Flying Hippo. Intrigued by this last one, I entered craving mode and fired up the game. It was very Flappy Bird-esque for those who remember the hit mobile game of 2013. In the Flying Hippo game – as the name suggested – users tapped on the screen to make a cartoon hippo dodge obstacles. I was surprised at how much time I spent playing – and replaying once I hit an obstacle – and how this helped distract me from any cravings to drink. Cravings mode lasts 20 minutes, but users can end this sooner. You are then asked if you were able to resist the cravings or if you did end up drinking.

Features of the Reframe app Toolkit include:

• Games
• Guided meditations
• Breathing exercises
• Informational videos
• Motivational music

Reframe App Community & Support

The Reframe app seems to prioritize users building a community within the app and also offers options for group coaching sessions, which happen via Zoom meetings with a coach and fellow Reframe app users. There is also a social media aspect that allows users to post in a forum with other Reframe app users. Common topics in these posts included motivational quotes, updates on a person’s journey, and sharing of challenges and successes.

In using Reframe, I was surprised to see that the forum was very active with dozens of posts each day. One downside that I could anticipate within the Reframe app is the ability to private message any other user in the app, with seemingly no moderation in these private messages. Any other Reframe app user could message me, and vice-versa, and I was unable to find any privacy settings to change this.

Reframe Group Coaching Sessions

The Reframe app offers a lot of support for its users, including live video sessions with Reframe coaches. Coaching sessions can be attended one-on-one with a coach or in a group setting with other Reframe users. Reframe’s coaches are usually certified by a coaching association such as the International Coach Federation, but I had to select a coach before I was able to see any of their background information or credentials. Group coaching costs $49.99 monthly and sessions are structured around a variety of topics. These include building healthy relationships, setting boundaries, changing habits, and a plethora of other topics.

Signing up for Reframe group coaching sessions was relatively easy. I noted that the group sessions do get booked fairly quickly, but there are many options for different meeting topics. I was able to find same-day meetings once I paid the $49.99 monthly fee for group coaching. My coach has a Masters in Counseling Psychology and was also a certified Personal Trainer through the Chopra Centre University along with being certified in yoga from the Hawaii Yoga Institute.

When it came time for my first group coaching session, I was disappointed by the fact that the coach started the meeting late. The topic of my group was Building Healthy Relationships. The coach was 15 minutes late to the meeting and it appeared to be a technical issue on Reframe’s part. Eventually, the host joined and other users started funneling in. I also learned that the meetings were reoccurring and the same members attended each week’s meeting if able. I was happy to see that the coach did extend the session to make up for the missed time due to the technical issues.

I found the group coaching session to be informative and I appreciated that it felt like a very safe environment. The other members introduced themselves and discussed their journeys so far with Reframe, then I was able to introduce myself and talk about my goals. During the session, our coach worked with us to identify our values using self-awareness tools like the Johari Window exercise, along with other personality and strength assessments. We also focused on self-awareness in our relationships and the roles we play within those relationships, along with how alcohol impacts these areas of life. I felt that I was in a safe space and felt comfortable sharing my own story and mindful drinking journey.

Reframe Individual Coaching Sessions

Reframe also offers individual coaching sessions, which cost $249.99 monthly and include three live sessions via Zoom, along with unlimited messaging with the coach outside of the live sessions. Users can also sign up for a la carte coaching sessions for $79.99 per session. These a la carte sessions are only one 45-minute live session with a coach and do not include the unlimited messaging that the $249.99 monthly plan includes.

I attended my first one-on-one coaching session with an open mind and was unsure what to expect. I was pleased that my coach logged in on time (an issue I experienced with the group coaching session), and was very personable right out of the gate. We started the 45-minute session by talking about my overall goals for my mindful drinking experience, and my goals for the coaching sessions. My coach, Jaqueline, told me a little about herself and her journey toward sobriety, and we brainstormed on alternatives to alcohol consumption and avoidance tactics during moments of cravings. At the end of the session, Jaqueline also offered to check in with me a few times per week via messaging in the app to make sure I felt supported. Overall, I enjoyed the session and found it to be helpful to have someone to talk about triggers, sleep patterns, relationships, and goals to help keep me motivated on my mindful drinking journey.

Reframe Support Circles & Educational Courses

In addition to coaching sessions that cost money, Reframe also offers meeting options that can be “bought” by in-app credits called Reframe Credits. App users can only buy Reframe Credits by paying real-world money, but all app users do get 50 free credits at signup. These meetings are called Support Circles, are mostly around 60 minutes long, and are conducted via Zoom.

The Support Circle meeting I attended was centered around women’s health and the biases that exist in medical care and research. A coach led the discussion and presented research on women’s treatment in the medical system and opened the meeting for participants to ask questions or give their accounts of how they have been treated within the healthcare field. I thoroughly enjoyed the topic and the engagement within the meeting. I did want to test out the option to reschedule meetings, and I was happy to see that the app handled this well; I simply canceled my reservation in the meeting and the Reframe Credits used were credited back to my Reframe app.

There were also educational courses available to view in the Reframe app, which cost in-app credits and included topics such as “Improving Out Gut Bacteria” and “How To Rest After a Slip/Relapse.” I completed the “Prevention Plan” course which helped me understand how to practice mindfulness, followed by a short quiz to test my comprehension of the course. These courses are written material and cost another type of in-app credit called Recoins, which are easier to obtain by completing other tasks within the app. Some courses were free, while others such as “Improving Your Sleep Quality” cost 700 Recoins. This seemed like a very lofty goal, as each Daily Task check-in only gives app users 50 Recoins per day. Thankfully for app users, most courses cost anywhere between 25 – 500 Recoins.

Reframe App Customer Support

When exploring prices for coaching sessions, I turned to Reframe’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot named Melody to assist me. I was pleasantly surprised that the AI chatbot was able to respond to me in real time and answer questions that I had. First, I had Melody direct me toward the group coaching session section and then expressed to her that I was struggling with cravings and asked for coping skills. The bot was able to give me suggestions for things like deep breathing and distraction techniques. I also wanted to go back and re-read some of the Daily Tasks readings, and turned to Melody to help me. She directed me to the section where I could revisit articles already read (which are in the Daily Task section); overall, I appreciated the AI chatbot’s quick response times and ability to interpret my questions with a relatively high understanding.

As for customer support of the human variety, users can go to the “Me” section of the app and navigate to “Feedback” to report bugs within the app, suggest improvements, or ask questions. I tested the “Ask A Question” functionality, and was surprised to see it drafted an in-app message to be sent to customer support; it also gave me the option to add screen recordings or upload other images. Probably the neatest feature of customer support was the “shake your device” function; users can simply shake their mobile device on any page in the app and it will automatically pull up the customer support page. I was also impressed by its ability to grab a screenshot of the current page users are on when they shake their device, making uploading screenshots to support very easy. I did use this feature to change coaches, as the first one I selected to sign up with had limited availability. Support emailed me back within the day and offered me other options for coaches with more openings.

How Much Does the Reframe App Cost?

The Reframe app costs $24.99 monthly or $119.99 annually for its base subscription, with a 7-day free trial offered upon download. Users can opt out of the free trial and pay $4.99 for the first month and then $9.99 monthly thereafter. There were also two types of in-app credits – one called Reframe Credits which can be purchased and exchanged for Support Circles meetings, and one called Recoins which can be earned and exchanged for things such as educational courses within the app, company apparel, and other items.

Reframe Credits require real-world money to replenish, but users are given 50 free credits at sign-up. The cost of more Reframe Credits is $4.99 for 50 credits, $8.99 for 100 credits, or $12.99 for 150 credits. Most Support Circle meetings cost 30 Reframe credits to join. Recoins, on the other hand, are earned by completing tasks in the app such as completing all of the daily task items, checking into the app each day, completing a Reframe Challenge, or inviting friends to join the Reframe app. It was because of this complicated pricing system that the Reframe app only scored 2 out of 5 stars in the Cost & Free Trial Periods scoring section.

Reframe app costs include:

• Base membership ($24.99 monthly, or $119.99 annually) – Includes all base features such as the Toolkit, educational readings and blogs, cravings mode, daily trackers, and the community forum.
• 1:1 Coaching sessions ($249.99 monthly, or $79.99 a la carte) – The monthly coaching plan includes three 1:1 45-minute live sessions with a coach each month, plus unlimited messaging with a coach. A la carte sessions include one 45-minute live session with a coach, but
• Group Coaching sessions ($49.99 monthly) – Includes weekly 60-minute live sessions with a coach and other Reframe users.
• Messaging sessions ($99.99 monthly) – Includes unlimited messaging with coach but excludes live sessions

Who Does Reframe Serve?

The Reframe app serves adults who are struggling with alcohol intake and offers support and tools to either curb drinking or cut out alcohol completely. Reframe is available in all 50 states in the U.S. and is inclusive of all genders and orientations. Reframe does not serve individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) or those going through active detox or withdrawal symptoms. Reframe should not be used in place of alcohol abuse treatment or mental health services.

Reframe App Reviews by Users

Overall, there is a consensus on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store that the Reframe app is very useful and has some wonderful benefits and features such as access to coaches, advanced tracking options for alcohol and mood, and great in-app support. Negative reviews highlight users being charged for a subscription even when canceling before the end of the trial period. App reviewers also often felt that the app was very pricey, with many hidden costs after signup.

Who May Want an Alternative to Reframe?

Because Reframe is solely focused on quitting or cutting back on drinking, it’s not necessarily the right fit for those who may be attempting to refrain from multiple habits, such as alcohol, drugs, and nicotine, at the same time. Those struggling with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) should also seek alternative treatment and support. If you’re hoping to quit more than one unhealthy habit simultaneously, like cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol, I Am Sober may be a better option. I Am Sober’s free version allows you to register with two addictions, and members with the premium version can register up to ten. I Am Sober offers motivational tools, progress-tracking systems, and message boards to connect with others with similar addictions.

To learn more, check out our in-depth review of the I Am Sober app.

Likewise, those individuals with serious underlying medical conditions may want to seek medical advice before starting the app. The Reframe app also does not replace mental health services such as psychotherapy or psychiatry, and users seeking these services should reference medically assisted treatment options.

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