Sobriety Calculator

Enter the date of your last drink and this counts the exact time since, in days, hours, minutes and seconds, then shows which milestone comes next. It is free, needs no account, and the number keeps running while the page is open.

Date of your last drink

Time (optional)

Saved in this browser only. Nothing is uploaded and no account is needed.

What counts as your sobriety date?

The day of your last drink, not the day you decided to stop. Those are often different, and using the decision date inflates the number in a way you will notice and resent later.

If you drank into the early hours, use the calendar day the drinking started rather than the one it finished on. Adding an approximate time makes the hour count correct, which matters in the first week when hours are the unit that feels meaningful.

Which sobriety milestones matter?

The sequence below is the AA chip ladder, which is what most people are counting towards whether or not they attend meetings. The calculator marks each one as you pass it. One week is included because most people count it, though AA does not issue a chip for it.

Milestone	What tends to change
24 hours	The first chip. Where withdrawal occurs it begins 6 to 12 hours after the last drink and peaks between 24 and 72 hours. [MedlinePlus]
1 week	Not an AA chip. It is on this list because seven days is the first interval most people count to, while hours are still the unit that feels meaningful.
30 days	The first monthly chip. In 94 moderate to heavy drinkers who stopped for one month, insulin resistance fell 25.9% and systolic blood pressure 6.6%, against no significant change in 47 who kept drinking. [Mehta et al., BMJ Open 2018]
60 days	The second monthly chip. No specific physiological change attaches to day 60; the interval exists because the chip system counts in 30-day steps.
90 days	The interval treatment programmes most often use to mark the end of early recovery. Relapse risk is concentrated in these first months rather than later ones.
6 months	Half a year, and the point where the chip sequence stops counting in months and starts counting in quarters.
9 months	The last chip before the first annual one.
1 year	The annual chip, called a sobriety birthday in AA. From here the chips are yearly.
2 years	The second annual chip. By this point the count is usually a record rather than a daily target.

Two of these carry more weight than the rest. Ninety days is what most treatment programmes use to mark the end of early recovery, and one year is the anniversary AA calls a sobriety birthday. The intervals in between exist because the chip system counts in 30-day steps, not because anything specific happens on day 60.

Why does counting days work?

It does two things at once. It converts an open-ended commitment, which is hard to hold onto, into a short and specific target. And it creates something you own and would rather not lose, which is a different and often stronger motivation than the one that got you to stop in the first place.

That is also why the number matters more than the streak being unbroken. A count you restarted honestly is worth more than one you protected by not looking at it.

How this calculator works

It takes the timestamp of your last drink, subtracts it from the current time, and converts the difference into days, hours, minutes and seconds. Weeks are whole seven-day blocks. Months use the average calendar month of 30.44 days, so a “month” here will not always line up with the same date next month.

Your date is stored in your own browser so the counter is still there when you return. Nothing is sent anywhere and no account is involved. Clearing your browser data clears the date.

If you drink heavily or every day, talk to a doctor before you stop

Stopping abruptly after dependent drinking can cause seizures and other serious withdrawal symptoms, and needs medical supervision rather than a countdown. A calculator counts time; it does not assess risk and is not medical advice. See our guide to stopping safely or NHS alcohol support.

Frequently asked questions

How many days sober am I?

Enter the date of your last drink in the calculator above and it counts the exact time since, in days, hours, minutes and seconds. Adding the approximate time of day makes the hour count accurate; leaving it blank counts from midnight.

What date should I use if I do not remember exactly?

Use the first full day you did not drink. If you are torn between two dates, choose the later one. A date you are confident in is worth more than one you will keep second-guessing, because the point of the number is that you trust it.

What are the standard sobriety milestones?

The sequence most people count towards comes from the AA chip system: 24 hours, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 6 months and one year. Many people add one week early on, because the first seven days rarely feel like they belong in the same category as the first thirty.

Does a relapse reset the counter?

That is your decision and people handle it differently. Some restart the count, others keep the original date and note the slip separately. Neither is more correct. What matters is that the number stays honest enough to mean something to you.

Is my sobriety date stored anywhere?

It is saved in your own browser so the counter is still running when you come back, and nothing is uploaded. Clearing your browser data removes it. If you want the count to survive a new phone, that is what the app is for.

Why does counting days help?

It turns an open-ended commitment into a series of short, reachable targets, and gives you a number you do not want to lose. That is also why day counting appears across otherwise very different recovery approaches.

Sources

Keep the count when you close this page

This page counts while it is open and remembers your date in this browser. The app keeps it running on your phone, marks each milestone as you reach it, and shows what you have saved alongside it.