Comparison

How It Works Group vs 12 Steps Guide

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

Head to head
About

How It Works Group

This app provides a community platform for individuals seeking recovery from alcoholism. It offers easy access to daily meditations and book studies based on the principles found in the "Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Highlights
  • Community support for addiction recovery
  • Daily meditation access
  • Book study resources
  • Based on Alcoholics Anonymous principles
  • Easy-to-use interface
Features
Read full description

The members of the How It Works Group bid you welcome. People struggling with addictions not only harm themselves- they invariably hurt their families, friends, and others. In other words, not only the alcoholic suffers from alcoholism. As members of the How It Works Group, we recognize that we have no monopoly on the treatment of alcoholism. We have, however, found a solution as provided in the book Alcoholics Anonymous, commonly referred to as “The Big Book.” It is there that one may find precise answers to the question, “What do I have to do?” in order to recover. It is there that one may find a way out upon which we can absolutely agree. Our apps purpose is to create and utilize community within our group. Within the app you will find quick and easy access to listen to the Daily Meditations and Book Studies. We invite all who suffer from alcoholism to join us.

About

12 Steps Guide

This app provides a comprehensive guide to the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, featuring audiobooks of key recovery tapes and literature. It includes prayers, readings, a sobriety calculator, and the complete Big Book text for a structured recovery journey.

Highlights
  • 12-step program guide
  • Audiobooks of recovery tapes
  • Complete Big Book text
  • Sobriety calculator
  • Included prayers and readings
  • AA literature
Features
Read full description

Work the Twelve Steps one day at a time, with a practical guide to every Step and Tradition, the Big Book and over 90 hours of recovery audio, in one calm, easy-to-read app. THE STEPS AND TRADITIONS - A guide to each of the Twelve Steps, with an introduction and a conclusion, written from personal experience in plain language - A guide to each of the Twelve Traditions - See how far you've read: a quiet percentage while you read, and a tick when you finish THE BIG BOOK - Every chapter, from the Doctor's Opinion to A Vision for You - Personal stories from the first and second editions - Printed page numbers, so you can follow along in a meeting - A clean list of chapters and stories with a tick for each one you've read, and "Continue reading" to pick up where you left off PRAYERS AND READINGS - The Serenity Prayer, the Third, Seventh and Eleventh Step prayers and more - How It Works, the Promises, the Preamble, Just for Today, On Awakening and other readings - Sobriety tips, including how to find a sponsor, and a link to the day's Daily Reflection RECOVERY AUDIO - 138 recordings in 11 albums: Big Book studies, speaker tapes and meditation bells, including Joe and Charlie, Chuck C., Sandy B., Clarence S. and Father Martin - Read along with the transcript of the Joe and Charlie and Big Book recordings - Choose your playback speed, from 0.75× to 2× - Keeps playing with the screen locked, with controls on the lock screen - Premium: download recordings and listen offline YOUR RECOVERY - Count your days from your recovery date. It stays on your phone. - Optional hourly reminders between the times you choose, each with a thought for the hour COMFORTABLE TO READ - Choose your text size; the app also follows your iPhone's text size - Light and dark themes, or follow your iPhone's setting - Designed for iPad too, with readings beside their list FREE, WITH A PREMIUM OPTION Reading and listening are free and supported by adverts. Premium removes the adverts and lets you download recordings for offline listening. Premium is an annual subscription with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when the trial ends, and the subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in your Apple Account's subscription settings. No account is needed. Your recovery date and your reading stay on your device. Terms of use: https://ibyteapps.com/apps/12-step-guide/terms Privacy policy: https://ibyteapps.com/apps/12-step-guide/privacy 12 Step Guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by Alcoholics Anonymous or A.A. World Services, Inc.

Screenshots

How It Works Group4 screens
12 Steps Guide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: How It Works Group at none against 12 Steps Guide's 4. 12 Steps Guide's advantage is ratings volume (3.3K vs 8) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). On price, review sentiment, ads and 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

Both are free to download. 12 Steps Guide sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per year. How It Works Group asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

12 Steps Guide holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 12 Steps Guide has 3.3K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of How It Works Group's written reviews are positive against 92% of 12 Steps Guide's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

How It Works Group ships an update every 13 months, 12 Steps Guide every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
How It Works Group versus 12 Steps Guide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHow It Works Group12 Steps Guide
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (8 ratings)4.8 (3.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better92.0% of reviews
Number of ratings83.3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 13 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB35 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperApplified Marketing Group, LLCTushar Bhagat

Customer experience

How It Works Group

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

12 Steps Guide

All ratings3,293 ratings
Positive96.4%
Neutral2.0%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews251 reviews
Positive92.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative4.0%

Bugs and requests

How It Works Group

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

12 Steps Guide

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Daily reflections page not working
  • App crashes on older devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add sobriety tracker
  • Include 12 & 12 book content
  • Improve bookmarking and page saving

In-app purchases

None

How It Works Group

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

12 Steps Guide

Subscriptions1
  • Annual Subscription7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time3
  • Donate$2.99
  • Donate$4.99
  • Donate$9.99

Questions

Is How It Works Group free?
How It Works Group is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is 12 Steps Guide free?
12 Steps Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, How It Works Group or 12 Steps Guide?
12 Steps Guide is rated higher. How It Works Group averages 4.5 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while 12 Steps Guide averages 4.8 from 3.3K ratings.
Do How It Works Group or 12 Steps Guide have ads?
Neither How It Works Group nor 12 Steps Guide shows ads.
Which is updated more often, How It Works Group or 12 Steps Guide?
How It Works Group ships an update every 13 months, and 12 Steps Guide every 3 months. Most recently, How It Works Group was updated on October 24, 2026 and 12 Steps Guide on October 24, 2026.

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