Comparison

AA vs AA Steps 8/9

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

AA

Access a collection of inspirational speaker tapes from a renowned AA member. This app supports your 12-step program with a sobriety calculator, key AA literature, and essential prayers. It's designed as a pocket companion for recovering alcoholics.

Highlights
  • Collection of 26 speaker tapes
  • Sobriety calculator
  • AA Big Book (first 164 pages)
  • Dr Bob's Nightmare
  • Included prayers
  • Included readings
Features
Read full description

Sandy B brings together the talks of Sandy Beach, a much-loved speaker in Alcoholics Anonymous, in a calm, simple app made for listening. His talks are honest, funny and full of hope, and for decades they were passed hand to hand on cassette. Now they are in one place, ready when you need them. Saturday Morning Live All twelve step talks recorded at the Saturday Morning Live group in Washington, DC, one step each Saturday from January to March 1994. Listen in order and see at a glance which steps you have heard. Speaker tapes 71 more talks from 1972 to 2012: conventions, retreats, roundups and group anniversaries, grouped by decade. Filter by not heard, in progress or listened, and search across every tape and reading. Made for long talks • Every tape remembers where you stopped. Resume in one tap, or start again from the beginning • Playback speed from 0.5× to 2.5×, kept for every tape • Sleep timer for listening in bed • Skip back 15 seconds or forward 30 • Keeps playing with the screen off, with lock screen and headphone controls • Download tapes to listen offline (with a subscription) Read along • The Big Book: the first 164 pages, the forewords and Doctor Bob's Nightmare • The personal stories from the first edition (1939) and the second edition (1955) • Prayers: the Serenity Prayer, the step prayers and more • Meeting readings, including the Preamble, How It Works, the Promises and the Twelve Traditions • The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James, the book Bill W. read soon after his spiritual experience • Choose the text size, font and line spacing, and keep the screen on while you read Light or dark A soft, easy-to-read design in light or dark mode, on iPhone and iPad. Free to listen Saturday Morning Live steps 1 to 3 and a selection of speaker tapes are always free. Any other tape opens for the rest of the day after a short advert. All the reading is free. A small request Sandy B is made by an independent developer in the UK who builds apps for people in A.A. There is no big team and no investors. If Sandy's talks help you, please consider supporting the app, with a subscription or a one-off lifetime purchase. It removes every advert, opens every tape for good, turns on offline downloads, keeps the tapes online and helps fund free A.A. apps for others. Subscriptions are monthly or yearly, or you can pay once for lifetime access, with nothing to renew. A free trial may be offered on the subscriptions; the App Store shows its length and the price before you confirm. Payment is charged to your Apple ID. Subscriptions renew automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel them at any time in your Apple ID's subscription settings. Privacy policy: https://ibyteapps.com/apps/sandy-b/privacy Terms of use: https://ibyteapps.com/apps/sandy-b/terms Bought something in the original Sandy B app? It's still yours, with lifetime access: tap Restore purchase. Questions, or a Sandy B tape you would like added? Email ibyteapps@gmail.com Sandy B is an independent app by iByte Apps Limited. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. or the A.A. Grapevine. A.A. and Alcoholics Anonymous are registered trademarks of A.A. World Services, Inc.

About

AA Steps 8/9

This app helps users manage their 8th and 9th Step lists for Alcoholics Anonymous. It offers secure storage, relevant AA literature, and tools to track amends and progress.

Highlights
  • Secure Touch ID/Pass-code protection
  • Integrated AA literature resources
  • Tools for 8th Step harms and amends timing
  • 9th Step amends review and status tracking
  • Progress visualization meter
  • Exportable PDF lists
  • Shareable app link
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

This free app was created by members for members to enter, organize, and track their 8th/9th Step list and amends, while providing pertinent AA literature for guidance and instructions. Features : • Secure: Touch ID / Pass-code for privacy of your entered information. • AA Resources: Detailed AA literature resources on the 8th and 9th Step to help guide and instruct you. Passages from the Big Book, 12 & 12, As Bill Sees It, Daily Reflections, and Emotional Sobriety. • 8th Step: Prompt lists, option to list “harms done”, decide on timing of the amends, and a special “became willing” button with additional AA “willingness resources” from AA literature. • 9th Step: Allows you to review or edit “harms done”, record what the amends will be, and choose a status (ie: scheduled, completed etc..). Sort 8th Step list by name, amends timing, or amends status. Edit or delete any entry easily. • Progress Meter: Helps visualize when you are “half way through” (working towards the 9th Step Promises) • Export File: Saves your list and amends in a spreadsheet format as a PDF file that can be texted or emailed to your sponsor, or printed for review. • Tell A Friend: Gives you the option to share a link to the app to a sponsee or anyone.

Screenshots

AA4 screens
AA Steps 8/94 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: AA at Free against AA Steps 8/9's $2.99. AA also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (176 vs 9). AA Steps 8/9's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and ads (none vs shown). On device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

AA is free to download; AA Steps 8/9 costs $2.99 up front. AA sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. AA Steps 8/9 asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AA holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AA has 176 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 86% of AA's written reviews are positive against 100% of AA Steps 8/9's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AA ships an update every 17 months, AA Steps 8/9 every 4 days. Both last shipped on November 2, 2026.

Scorecard10 real differences · 1 level
AA versus AA Steps 8/9: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAAAA Steps 8/9
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating4.8 (176 ratings) — better4.3 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews85.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings176 — better9
Update frequencyEvery 17 monthsEvery 4 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#131 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB25 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperTushar Bhagat12 Step Apps LLC

Customer experience

AA

All ratings175 ratings
Positive97.1%
Neutral1.7%
Negative1.1%
Written reviews21 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral9.5%
Negative4.8%

AA Steps 8/9

All ratings9 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

5 purchases

AA

Subscriptions2
  • Premium - Monthly3 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Premium - Annual7 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time3
  • Satisfactory$2.99
  • Good$4.99
  • Excellent$7.99
None

AA Steps 8/9

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AA free?
AA is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is AA Steps 8/9 free?
AA Steps 8/9 costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, AA or AA Steps 8/9?
AA is rated higher. AA averages 4.8 out of 5 from 176 ratings, while AA Steps 8/9 averages 4.3 from 9 ratings.
Do AA or AA Steps 8/9 have ads?
AA shows ads; AA Steps 8/9 does not.
Which is updated more often, AA or AA Steps 8/9?
AA ships an update every 17 months, and AA Steps 8/9 every 4 days. Most recently, AA was updated on November 2, 2026 and AA Steps 8/9 on November 2, 2026.

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