Gamban vs NoGambling.app (2026): Which App Actually Helps You Quit?
Gamban vs NoGambling.app — in short
Gamban is a strong cross-device blocker, and it is subscription-only. If access is your only problem and you already have a recovery programme, install Gamban and stop reading. NoGambling.app is our own recovery app: tracker, panic button, savings estimate, debt plan and community, plus one switch that blocks betting apps and popular gambling sites in Safari on iPhone. It's free to try, with a one-time lifetime purchase option. If you want one tool that does the daily work of recovery, not just a wall, start with NoGambling.app. Best defence of all: stack both. Gamban blocks the door. NoGambling.app helps you want to stop walking toward it.
At a glance
| Gamban | NoGambling.app | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary function | Gambling site and app blocker | Integrated recovery stack |
| Pricing model | Subscription only (£4.99/mo or £29.99/yr, recurring; checked November 2026) | Free to try, then monthly / yearly / lifetime |
| Free to try | 7-day free trial | Yes |
| One-time lifetime option | No | Yes |
| Block list | Over 190,000 websites and 5,000 apps (its own count) | Betting apps + popular gambling sites in your country (iPhone, Safari) |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, macOS, Windows | iOS only |
| Clean-day tracker | Yes (My Progress) | Real-time counter |
| Panic button | No | 6-step crisis flow |
| Savings view | Money-saved estimate | Savings estimate |
| Debt paydown tools | No | Snowball method |
| Community | Discord server | Peer feed in the app |
| Relapse flow | None found | 4 steps, then a heavy reset |
| Account required | Yes | Not to start |
What Gamban does really well
Gamban has been around since 2015. The idea is simple: install it and gambling sites and apps are blocked on your devices across iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows. Its About page lists over 190,000 blocked websites and over 5,000 blocked apps (checked November 2026), and you can't choose which categories to unblock.
Public bodies use it too: the Welsh Government pays for free access for people living in Wales. Gamban also won't remove the software before your subscription ends, a good thing for people who want their future self to have fewer exits.
Where Gamban shines
- A long block list: over 190,000 websites and 5,000 apps, by its own count.
- Cross-device: phone, tablet, laptop, desktop.
- Track record going back to 2015.
- Intentionally hard to uninstall on impulse.
- Blocks sites and apps across the device, not just in one browser.
Where Gamban falls short
- Mostly a blocker. My Progress counts days, time and estimated money saved, and there is a Discord server, but no debt plan.
- No panic button or crisis tools when urges peak.
- No relapse flow that we could find on its site.
- Subscription only: after the 7-day free trial you need a paid plan to keep blocking, and there is no one-time lifetime purchase option.
- Built around blocking: it has a progress view, but we didn't find a guided flow for the moment an urge hits. Fine if you have a recovery plan, less so if you don't.
What NoGambling.app does differently
NoGambling.app is not trying to out-block Gamban. Our block list is much shorter and we would be silly to pretend otherwise. What NoGambling.app does is the part Gamban leaves to you: the daily work of recovery. When Gamban is installed and the sites are blocked, you still have to get through the urge that lands at 11pm on a Friday. You still have to rebuild the money. You still have to figure out what to do with the hours you used to gamble. That is what we are built for.
Real-time clean counter and daily promise
A live counter of your time gambling-free, paired with a promise you make once a day. There is a home-screen widget, and with 3 or more urges logged in 30 days the app shows your top trigger and time of day.
6-step panic button
When the urge peaks, one tap walks you through a mirror moment with your streak and debt progress, three cycles of 4-4-4 breathing, a motivation card (in your own words if you wrote a "why"), naming the urge, urge-wave education (how urges rise, peak, and pass), and a drafted text you can send to someone you trust. We found nothing comparable on gamban.com. The panic button is the single feature people tell us saved them during a crisis moment a blocker alone would not have caught.
Savings estimate and debt plan
Build a debt plan with the snowball method and see an estimate of the money you haven't gambled (your monthly spend divided by 30, times your streak). Both are a plan and an estimate: the app has no bank link and doesn't track real payments.
Peer community
Moderated peer support. No profiles, no followers, no compare-and-despair. A feed where people share what is working and what is not, read each other's recovery wins, and know they are not alone. Posting needs an email, and your username is created from the part before the @, so check it before you post. Gamban has a Discord server instead.
Relapse flow
If you slip, NoGambling.app walks you through 4 steps: a welcome back, what happened and what set it off, a short explainer, and a restart. The restart is a heavy reset. Your streak and savings estimate go to zero, your promises and logged urges are deleted, and daily and behavioral milestones reset. Your journal, debts and debt milestones stay. We found no equivalent on gamban.com.
Pricing
Gamban: £4.99 per month or £29.99 per year ($6.99 or $41.99 on the US App Store), with a 7-day free trial (checked November 2026). Subscription auto-renews. Over five years on the yearly plan you pay about £150 and own nothing.
NoGambling.app: Free to try, then pick a monthly subscription, a yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. The lifetime option means you pay once and the app never lapses because a card expired or a subscription auto-cancelled. Current prices are on the App Store listing.
Why lifetime matters for recovery: a subscription-only blocker has a hidden risk. If the subscription lapses by accident (expired card, failed payment), the block is gone. A lifetime purchase can't lapse that way.
Platforms
Gamban: iOS, Android, macOS, Windows. This is a real advantage if your gambling is desktop-based.
NoGambling.app: iPhone only. There is no Android version, no desktop version, and no web app. If your gambling is exclusively desktop, NoGambling.app alone will not help you, so add Gamban or another desktop blocker.
Who should pick Gamban?
- You already have a recovery programme (therapist, GA meetings, family support) and what you need is a pure technical wall.
- Most of your gambling is on a laptop or desktop.
- You have the budget for an annual subscription.
- You want a long block list across all your devices.
- You have tried NoGambling.app alone and realised you need stronger site-level blocking on top.
Who should pick NoGambling.app?
- You want one iPhone app with basic blocking, a tracker, an urge tool and a community.
- You want to try before you commit — it's free to try.
- You prefer a one-time lifetime purchase to a subscription that renews forever.
- Most of your gambling is on your iPhone.
- You want recovery, not just a wall — you want to see progress, rebuild savings, and connect with people who get it.
- You have tried Gamban alone and realised a wall without a map was not enough.
Frequently asked questions
Is Gamban free?
For most people, no. Gamban costs £4.99 per month or £29.99 per year ($6.99 or $41.99 on the US App Store, checked November 2026), with a 7-day free trial. It is free in Wales and through a few US programs. NoGambling.app is also paid, but is free to try and includes a one-time lifetime purchase option alongside monthly and yearly subscriptions.
Can I use Gamban and NoGambling.app together?
Yes. Gamban blocks gambling sites and apps at the device level. NoGambling.app handles the daily recovery work: tracking, panic button, savings estimate, community and a relapse flow.
Does Gamban work on iPhone?
Yes. Gamban supports iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows. NoGambling.app currently supports iOS only.
What happens when my Gamban subscription ends?
When a Gamban subscription lapses, the blocking stops. That can happen by accident (expired card, account issue). If that worries you, NoGambling.app's one-time lifetime purchase cannot lapse this way.
Is Gamban enough on its own?
No blocker is perfect, and a block only covers the devices it is on. Gamban's own help pages suggest layering it with self-exclusion, counselling and bank blocks. A recovery tool can help with the urge itself.
Does NoGambling.app block gambling sites like Gamban does?
Partly. Since the October 2026 update, one switch in NoGambling.app blocks your betting apps (iOS 16 or later) and the most popular gambling sites in your country in Safari on your iPhone. It does not maintain a long, cross-device block list the way Gamban does. If you need broader blocking or blocking on a computer, use Gamban alongside NoGambling.app.
What does NoGambling.app cost?
NoGambling.app is a paid app that's free to try. Pick a monthly subscription, a yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Gamban, by comparison, is subscription-only. Current prices are on the App Store listing.
Which one should I pick in 2026?
If you want daily recovery tools with basic blocking on iPhone, pick NoGambling.app. If you want broad blocking across devices and already have a recovery plan, pick Gamban. If you want more cover, use both.
Start the recovery stack, not just the wall
NoGambling.app is free to try, then monthly / yearly / lifetime. No email needed to start. iOS only.
Download on the App Store → iOS 15.1 or later · Free to try & Anonymous · Lifetime purchase option