Both Sober Singles and Clear Minds Meet, the brand that until recently traded as Clean and Sober Love, were built for people who want to date without alcohol in the picture. Past that they have very little in common. The CASL app arrived on the App Store in 2018 with a recovery-first identity: swipe matching, video profiles, and sobriety support groups threaded through the experience. Sober Singles is a focused dating platform for the alcohol-free community, without a recovery framework attached.
Before you read on: this comparison was first written when the app traded as Clean and Sober Love. That name has now gone. Its old address redirects to Clear Minds Meet, and the new site carries no mention of the former brand. The original CASL app is still listed on the App Store but has not had an update since July 2022, there is no Android version on Google Play, and the rebuilt Clear Minds Meet app has not been released. So this compares Sober Singles against a product that is currently between versions, which is itself the most useful thing to know about it.
That in-between status is worth holding on to through everything below, because it colours most of the comparison.
At a glance
| Dimension | Sober Singles | Clear Minds Meet (formerly CASL) |
|---|---|---|
| Primary audience | Alcohol-free daters, non-drinkers, sober-curious, mindful drinkers | People in active recovery, sobriety as a shared foundation |
| UK user base | UK-primary | US-founded, limited UK presence |
| Matching style | Browse and connect | The CASL app used swipe matching; the rebuilt app's features are not published |
| Video profiles | No | In the CASL app, yes; not published for the rebuild |
| Sobriety support groups | No | Built into the CASL app; not published for the rebuild |
| App stability | Maintained centrally on the HubPeople platform | CASL app rated 3.0 out of 5 across 92 App Store ratings, last updated July 2022; rebuilt app not released |
| Pricing | Free to join, browse and match; optional VIP at £6.99 a month and VIP+ at £7.99 | Free with a premium subscription; price not published |
| Global community | Growing UK-focused base | No membership figure published; the site claims over 30,000 newsletter subscribers |
Recovery framing: the fundamental difference
The brand was built inside a recovery worldview. The CASL app integrated sobriety support groups, encouraged members to share recovery milestones, and positioned the sober life as the common ground on which connection is built. What the rebuilt app will carry over has not been published. For people in active recovery who want that shared identity front and centre, that framing is meaningful.
Sober Singles doesn't assume you're in recovery. Recovery is one of several reasons someone might want a partner who doesn't drink, others include never having started, a health decision made years ago, a quiet reordering of priorities, or a preference for sober social life that has nothing to do with struggle. The platform treats all of them as equally valid and equally uninteresting as biographical detail. What registers is that you don't drink; the reason is your own business.
Sober Singles is not trying to replicate a recovery community, so if that is where you find your kinship you will notice its absence here. For anyone who has simply settled into an alcohol-free life and come looking for a date, there is nothing to miss.
UK users: the practical consideration
Clear Minds Meet publishes no membership figure at all. The only number on its site is "over 30,000 subscribers", which appears in a block alongside an invitation to subscribe to its newsletters. It is not described as a membership figure anywhere on the site, and no membership figure is published. An earlier version of this page treated that figure as a membership total. It was not one, and the claim has been removed.
On the available evidence it is an American product. It was built in the United States, its treatment-centre directory covers US facilities, and nothing on the site suggests a UK presence. If you are dating in Britain, that matters more than any headline number.
Sober Singles runs UK-first. Smaller in global terms, but the members who are here sit inside a geography that makes actual dates possible. A pool you can actually travel to is worth more than a large but unmeasured one on another continent.
Matching philosophy
The CASL app used swipe-based matching, the fast, binary interface that works well for high-volume decisions and works less well when you have a small pool and need to assess compatibility carefully. Swipe mechanics prioritise first-impression photos above all else. What the rebuilt app will do instead has not been published.
Sober Singles uses a browse-and-connect model. That difference matters most when the pool is smaller: browsing gives you more signal before committing to an expression of interest, and browsing before you commit tells you whether there are real, maintained profiles near you.
Stability
This is worth naming plainly, and worth naming with numbers rather than impressions. The CASL app holds an average of about 3.0 out of 5 across 92 App Store ratings, and its last release was in July 2022. A four-year-old build with a middling score is not a claim about any particular bug, it is simply what the public record shows. The replacement app is not out yet, so there is nothing newer to judge it on.
Sober Singles is built on the HubPeople platform, which handles technical infrastructure for multiple dating brands. The experience is consistent and maintained centrally.
Pricing
The CASL app offers free core access with a premium subscription for full features. The price is not published on the store listing, and nothing is published for the rebuilt app.
Sober Singles is free to join, browse and match. The two paid tiers, VIP and VIP+, are optional and their prices are published up front on the pricing page rather than revealed after signup. You can see who is actually on the site before deciding whether any of it is worth paying for.
Who each is best for
You are in the UK and want to meet someone who doesn't drink, with no recovery support framework wrapped around the dating. You want a clean, focused platform on which your alcohol-free life is simply a given rather than the centrepiece.
You are in the US, recovery is central to your identity, and you want sobriety support groups, shared milestones and a peer network sitting alongside your dating life. The current app has not had a release in four years, so the rebuild is the thing worth judging, and it has not shipped.
Sources
Clear Minds Meet, clearmindsmeet.com, the site cleanandsoberlove.com now redirects to, for the rebrand, the pre-launch app status and the "over 30,000 subscribers" newsletter figure. Apple App Store listing for "Clean And Sober Love - CASL", publisher Joaquin Barreda, for the release date, the last update, the free-with-subscription pricing and the average rating. Google Play, searched for both brand names, for the absence of an Android app. All checked 16 August.
One is a working UK dating site. The other is a US brand between versions, with nothing currently shipping. If you are dating in Britain, that settles it.
If you're UK-based and ready to find someone who shares your alcohol-free life, join Sober Singles and start browsing.