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Manchester dating app SoberLove drops subscription fees and becomes free to use

Founder Nicky Wake's app for sober and sober-curious singles has had about 4,000 registrations, and its parent company reached break-even in July 2026.

Nicky Wake, founder of SoberLove
Photo · Supplied by SoberLove

SoberLove, a dating app for sober and sober-curious singles founded in Manchester in 2025 by entrepreneur Nicky Wake, has removed its subscription fees and is now free to join and use worldwide. The company says pricing may be reviewed in future.

The platform has had approximately 4,000 registrations, a figure that counts total sign-ups rather than active users.

SoberLove is part of Chapter 2 Dating Ltd, which also runs Chapter2Dating.app for widows and widowers and WidowsFire.dating. Across the three platforms the business has more than 20,000 members internationally. Chapter 2 Dating has raised approximately £450,000 in investment and reached break-even in July 2026.

The company points to the NHS Health Survey for England 2024, published on 27 January 2026, which found that 24% of adults in England, about 11.2 million people, had not drunk alcohol in the previous 12 months, up from 19% in 2022.

Wake, 55, will mark two years sober on 6 November 2026, after an A&E admission and rehabilitation in November 2024. Her husband Andy died in 2020, three years after a cardiac arrest that left him with a severe brain injury.

“I wanted to create somewhere people could meet without having to explain themselves, worry about being judged or feel pressured to compromise their sobriety,” she said.

“Nobody should face another barrier when they’re trying to find someone who understands their lifestyle,” Wake added.

More on the city’s startups is in our tech section.

Sources