# 12 Steps Guide vs Pacific Shores

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pacific Shores at none against 12 Steps Guide's 4. Pacific Shores also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). 12 Steps Guide's advantage is ratings volume (3.3K vs 2). On price, rating, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

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

Pacific Shores holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 12 Steps Guide has 3.3K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

12 Steps Guide ships an update every 3 months, Pacific Shores monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | 12 Steps Guide | Pacific Shores |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (3.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/12-steps-guide/id1238097883/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pacific-shores/id1628232797/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3.3K** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 92.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free** |
| Size | 35 MB | 73 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Tushar Bhagat](https://appshunter.io/developer/901932809) | [Mark Manderson](https://appshunter.io/developer/1506816773) |

## What reviewers say

### 12 Steps Guide

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/12-steps-guide/id1238097883)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Annual Subscription | $19.99 | per year |
| Donate | $2.99 | one-time |
| Donate | $4.99 | one-time |
| Donate | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great recovery resource
- 🚀 Convenient and easy to use
- 💡 Comprehensive AA literature in one place
- 🙏 Helpful prayers and daily reflections

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Ads still present after paid upgrade
- 🤔 Lack of dark mode option
- 💤 Difficulty retaining information from reading

**Reported bugs**

- Daily reflections page not working
- App crashes on older devices

**Requested features**

- Add sobriety tracker
- Include 12 & 12 book content
- Improve bookmarking and page saving


### Pacific Shores

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pacific-shores/id1628232797)

This program offers a 90-day online treatment to help individuals overcome addiction by retraining their brain. It uses proven techniques and an experiential approach with daily lessons and actionable steps for staying sober.

**Highlights:** 90-day online treatment, Brain retraining techniques, Experiential approach, Daily lessons, Actionable sobriety steps

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Wallet

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is 12 Steps Guide free?

12 Steps Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Pacific Shores free?

Pacific Shores is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, 12 Steps Guide or Pacific Shores?

Pacific Shores is rated higher. 12 Steps Guide averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3.3K ratings, while Pacific Shores averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do 12 Steps Guide or Pacific Shores have ads?

Neither 12 Steps Guide nor Pacific Shores shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, 12 Steps Guide or Pacific Shores?

12 Steps Guide ships an update every 3 months, and Pacific Shores monthly. Most recently, 12 Steps Guide was updated on November 2, 2026 and Pacific Shores on November 3, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*