Comparison

12 Steps Guide vs Mood Journal

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

Head to head
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.

About

Mood Journal

This app provides a daily space for setting intentions, tracking emotions, and practicing gratitude. It helps users cultivate mindfulness, gain emotional clarity, and build resilience through simple daily reflections. The experience is designed to be private, secure, and free from ads.

Highlights
  • Daily intention setting
  • Three-step mood check-in
  • Gratitude journaling tool
  • End-of-day reflection
  • Mood trend insights
  • Thoughtful daily notifications
Features
Read full description

Some thoughts won't stop. Some worries circle until you can't sleep. Just for Today is a gentle, science-backed journal that helps you put them down — one day at a time. 100% private. No account. No cloud. Your journal stays on your device, where it belongs. The phrase comes from a passage Frank Crane published in 1921, which Dale Carnegie later made famous in "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" — what he called living in day-tight compartments. Recovery fellowships have used it as a daily reading ever since. This app keeps the same small promise: not forever, not fixed — just today. NEW IN V2 - Pause the Worry A guided 5-step flow rooted in Carnegie's method and decades of CBT research. Name the worry. Picture the worst case. Find what's realistic. Accept what is. Take one small action. Pooled trials find that scheduled worry time reduces how long and how often people worry (Dippel et al., 2024). - Thought Release Write a thought that's weighing on you, then symbolically release it. We never show you the words again — only your release count. Thoughts lose their grip when observed rather than fused with (Hayes et al., 2006). EVERY DAY, IN A FEW MINUTES - Daily Intention Set a small, kind commitment for the day. "Today, I will be patient with myself." If-then plans markedly raise follow-through (Gollwitzer, 1999). - Mood Check-In Name what you feel in three gentle steps. Naming an emotion quiets the brain's threat response (Lieberman et al., 2007). - Gratitude Log Note three small things. Counting blessings improved wellbeing, outlook, sleep and exercise, compared with listing burdens (Emmons & McCullough, 2003). - Evening Reflection End the day with a soft look back. What stayed close to your intention? What can you let go of? Reflecting on yourself by name lowers reactivity and improves insight (Kross et al., 2014). - Insights Watch patterns emerge over time. The people you mention. The themes that recur. The days you feel best. The more you write, the more you discover about yourself. WHY PEOPLE STAY - Your entries never leave your device. No account, no cloud, no ads, and nothing sold — ever. Anonymous crash and usage counts help fix bugs; your words are never part of them. - Designed to be calm — soft sounds, gentle prompts, no streaks that punish you for missing a day. - Every exercise is built on peer-reviewed research. All 18 sources are listed at justfortoday.app/science. - Available in English, Português, Español, Français, and Deutsch. HOW IT WORKS 1. Open the app. Set today's intention in ten seconds. 2. Check in when you need to — write a worry, release a thought, name a feeling, log a gratitude. 3. At day's end, reflect. Tomorrow is another day. THE PROMISE We will never sell your data. We will never show ads. We will never ask you to do more than today asks of you. Download Just for Today and begin — just for today. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

12 Steps Guide4 screens
Mood Journal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Mood Journal at free with in-app purchases against 12 Steps Guide's subscription. Mood Journal also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months). 12 Steps Guide's advantage is ratings volume (3.3K vs 17) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating, 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

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 and Mood Journal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for 12 Steps Guide against 4.8 for Mood Journal. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 12 Steps Guide has 3.3K ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

12 Steps Guide ships an update every 3 months, Mood Journal every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
12 Steps Guide versus Mood Journal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter12 Steps GuideMood Journal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (3.3K ratings)4.8 (17 ratings) — better
Positive reviews92.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3.3K — better17
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB100 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperTushar BhagatRai Adriano

Customer experience

12 Steps Guide

All ratings3,299 ratings
Positive96.4%
Neutral2.0%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews251 reviews
Positive92.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative4.0%

Mood Journal

All ratings17 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral5.9%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and 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

Mood Journal

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
2 purchases

Mood Journal

Subscriptions2
  • Weekly Support$1.997 Days
  • Yearly Support$19.991 Year

Questions

Is 12 Steps Guide free?
12 Steps Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Mood Journal free?
Mood Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, 12 Steps Guide or Mood Journal?
Mood Journal is rated higher. 12 Steps Guide averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3.3K ratings, while Mood Journal averages 4.8 from 17 ratings.
Do 12 Steps Guide or Mood Journal have ads?
Neither 12 Steps Guide nor Mood Journal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, 12 Steps Guide or Mood Journal?
12 Steps Guide ships an update every 3 months, and Mood Journal every 3 weeks. Most recently, 12 Steps Guide was updated on November 6, 2026 and Mood Journal on November 5, 2026.

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