Avista vs First Step Help
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Avista
Manage your energy account conveniently from your mobile device. View account summaries, pay bills, and get real-time outage information. Sign in securely with your online account credentials.
- Easy sign-in with myavista.com credentials
- View real-time account balance and bill history
- Securely pay bills
- Interactive outage map with restoration information
- Report power outages
- Manage billing and outage alerts
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Access your energy account anywhere, anytime with Avista’s free mobile app. Whether at home or on the go, Avista customers can enjoy these convenient features: EASY SIGN IN • Sign in to the app using your myavista.com account credentials • If you do not have a myavista.com online account, create one to use with the mobile app and myavista.com • You can even use Touch ID or Face ID to sign in on supported devices • Choose "Remember me" to skip entering your email every time you sign in ACCOUNT SUMMARY • View your real-time account balance, payment due date, and balance details • Access your bill and payment history • Download your bill as a PDF • Easily switch between multiple accounts PAY YOUR BILL • Securely make immediate or scheduled payments • Add or remove payment methods from your wallet OUTAGE INFORMATION • View the interactive outage map, complete with area weather, regional outage information, and restoration information • Check outage status and track restoration progress • Report a power outage • See status of specific outages, including estimated restoration times • Search the outage map by address • Know when a crew is on site working to repair the outage CONVENIENT ALERTS • Sign up for and manage in-app push notifications for billing reminders or outage events You must be an Avista customer to use the app and report outages Data rates may apply.
First Step Help
This utility app performs various network tests and diagnostics to help troubleshoot internet issues. It allows users to share test results with support agents for faster problem resolution. Additional features include live view sessions and router settings checks.
- Network tests and diagnostics
- Share test results with support
- Live View sessions
- Router settings check
- Location data for network analysis
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First Step Help runs a variety of network tests and diagnostics and allows you to share them with the support representative who's working hard to solve your problem. This information will help them to solve your issue quickly so you can go back to enjoying your Internet package to the fullest! After running your scan a First Step Internet support agent needs to look at the information collected so please contact after you have run a scan With First Step Help, we'll also be able to get a better view of your setup with a Live View session, or make necessary changes to your router settings with Router Check. Note: The location permission gives us access to additional network data
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: First Step Help at 100% against Avista's 47%. Avista's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 3.0) and ratings volume (3.5K vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Avista holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Avista has 3.5K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 47% of Avista's written reviews are positive against 100% of First Step Help's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Avista ships an update every 3 months, First Step Help every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Avista | First Step Help |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (3.5K ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 46.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3.5K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 43 MB | 55 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Avista Corporation | First Step Internet, L.L.C. |
Customer experience
Avista
First Step Help
Bugs and requests
Avista
Reported bugs
3 issues- Sign-in issues and inability to remember passwords
- Inconsistent app behavior across devices
- Errors when trying to view or export invoices
Requested features
4 requests- Energy usage tracking and analysis
- Customizable notifications and alerts
- Improved UI and user experience
- Seamless integration with online account
First Step Help
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Avista
No in-app purchases
First Step Help
No in-app purchases
