Comparison

12 Steps Guide vs Sober Sunrise

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

Sober Sunrise

This app helps users maintain sobriety by tracking sober time, celebrating milestones, and offering a supportive companion for questions and reflections. It provides tools for journaling, finding meetings, and connecting with a recovery support network.

Highlights
  • Sobriety counter with milestone tracking
  • Recovery coins and premium designs
  • Sober Companion for AA questions
  • Hundreds of recovery talks
  • Daily pledge and journaling tools
  • Meeting schedules and directions
  • Home Screen widgets
Features
Read full description

Sober Sunrise is a calm, personal sobriety tracker and recovery companion designed to help you celebrate progress, stay connected, and keep coming back one day at a time. Track your sober time, collect milestone coins, listen to AA speaker tapes, write reflections, make a daily pledge, find meetings, and keep the people who support your recovery close. SOBER COMPANION When you want some perspective, Sober Companion is here. Ask questions about AA or sobriety, explore a Step, talk something through, or find a speaker tape that fits the moment. Choose a warm, steady Companion style or a more direct, action-focused Sponsor style. Recommended talks play seamlessly inside the app—either near a relevant passage or from the beginning. Saved chat history stays on your device, and you can try 10 replies before subscribing. FEATURES • Sobriety counter with days, months, years, and milestone tracking • Recovery coins and premium yearly coin designs • Sober Companion for AA questions, perspective, and speaker recommendations • Hundreds of recovery speaker talks and audio inspiration • Daily pledge, reflections, gratitude, notes, and journaling tools • My Circle for important contacts, meetings, and recovery support • Meeting schedules, reminders, directions, and map • Home Screen widgets that keep your progress close • Sunrise, daytime, sunset, and nighttime themes • A calm, approachable design made for everyday recovery MORE THAN A DAY COUNTER Sober Sunrise is a place to pause, reflect, listen, and remember that every sober day matters. Whether you are just beginning, returning after a setback, or celebrating years of sobriety, Sober Sunrise helps you honor the life you are building. One day at a time. One sunrise at a time. SUBSCRIPTIONS Sober Sunrise offers optional monthly and yearly auto-renewable subscriptions. Premium subscriptions unlock premium recovery coins, themes, and widgets. Sober Companion subscriptions unlock Companion chat and include all existing Premium benefits. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription through your Apple ID subscription settings. Sober Sunrise and Sober Companion are independent resources and are not affiliated with or endorsed by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. Sober Companion does not replace a human sponsor, healthcare professional, or emergency service. Apple Standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Use: https://sober-sunrise.com/app/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://sober-sunrise.com/app/privacy/

Screenshots

12 Steps Guide4 screens
Sober Sunrise4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Sober Sunrise at freemium against 12 Steps Guide's subscription. Sober Sunrise also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 3 months). 12 Steps Guide's advantage is review sentiment (92% vs 67%) and ratings volume (3.3K vs 50). 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 Sober Sunrise sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. 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 4.9 for Sober Sunrise. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 12 Steps Guide has 3.3K ratings behind it against 50, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 92% of 12 Steps Guide's written reviews are positive against 67% of Sober Sunrise's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

12 Steps Guide ships an update every 3 months, Sober Sunrise every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
12 Steps Guide versus Sober Sunrise: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter12 Steps GuideSober Sunrise
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (3.3K ratings)4.9 (50 ratings) — better
Positive reviews92.0% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings3.3K — better50
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB127 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperTushar BhagatSalt Flats Analytics, LLC

Customer experience

12 Steps Guide

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

Sober Sunrise

All ratings50 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral2.0%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
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

Sober Sunrise

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
4 purchases

Sober Sunrise

Subscriptions4
  • Premium - Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Sober Companion Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Premium - Yearly$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Sober Companion Yearly$79.991 Year

Questions

Is 12 Steps Guide free?
12 Steps Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sober Sunrise free?
Sober Sunrise is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, 12 Steps Guide or Sober Sunrise?
Sober Sunrise is rated higher. 12 Steps Guide averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3.3K ratings, while Sober Sunrise averages 4.9 from 50 ratings.
Do 12 Steps Guide or Sober Sunrise have ads?
Neither 12 Steps Guide nor Sober Sunrise shows ads.
Which is updated more often, 12 Steps Guide or Sober Sunrise?
12 Steps Guide ships an update every 3 months, and Sober Sunrise every 2 months. Most recently, 12 Steps Guide was updated on October 24, 2026 and Sober Sunrise on October 25, 2026.

Other comparisons