Comparison

12 Steps Guide vs Work the 12 Steps

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

Work the 12 Steps

This app facilitates peer support for individuals working through the Twelve Steps of recovery. It helps sponsors and sponsees track progress, milestones, and connections within their recovery community. Designed for privacy, it keeps essential recovery relationships close without intrusive features.

Highlights
  • Step progress tracking
  • Sobriety milestones
  • Anniversary tracking
  • Meeting management
  • Recovery lineage
  • Private by design
Features
Read full description

Recovery is passed person to person. Work the 12 Steps helps sponsors and sponsees work the Twelve Steps together, track progress, celebrate milestones, and stay connected. It doesn't replace sponsorship. It helps support it. Sponsorship has always happened through phone calls, coffee, meetings, and one person helping another. Work the 12 Steps gives that relationship one private place to stay organized. FOR SPONSORS See your sponsees and their Step progress in one place. Suggested readings and actions for every Step, ready to make your own. Add assignments, follow meeting activity, and never miss a sobriety anniversary. FOR SPONSEES Work the Steps with your sponsor. Keep track of your progress, meetings, and milestones with your sponsor one tap away. MILESTONES Celebrate months and years of sobriety on the day that matters, for everyone in your circle. Add them straight to your calendar. LEGACY See the recovery relationships that connect sponsor to sponsee, and one generation of recovery to the next. RECOVERY FRIENDS Walk beside the people in your recovery. See their milestones, celebrate their anniversaries, and reach them in a tap. PRIVATE BY DESIGN First name and last initial. No public feed. No followers. No streaks. No advertising built around your recovery. Your recovery stays private. ALWAYS ABOUT PEOPLE The app doesn't do the Steps for you. It doesn't replace a sponsor. It helps two people stay connected while doing the work together. No ads. No tracking. Not a social network. The app disappears into the relationship.

Screenshots

12 Steps Guide4 screens
Work the 12 Steps4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Work the 12 Steps at none against 12 Steps Guide's 4. Work the 12 Steps also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 months). 12 Steps Guide's advantage is ratings volume (3.3K vs 3). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Work the 12 Steps asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Work the 12 Steps 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 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of 12 Steps Guide's written reviews are positive against 100% of Work the 12 Steps's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

12 Steps Guide ships an update every 3 months, Work the 12 Steps every 5 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
12 Steps Guide versus Work the 12 Steps: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter12 Steps GuideWork the 12 Steps
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (3.3K ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews92.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3.3K — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB4 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperTushar BhagatPhilip Mount

Customer experience

12 Steps Guide

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

Work the 12 Steps

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
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

Work the 12 Steps

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
None

Work the 12 Steps

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is 12 Steps Guide free?
12 Steps Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Work the 12 Steps free?
Work the 12 Steps is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, 12 Steps Guide or Work the 12 Steps?
Work the 12 Steps is rated higher. 12 Steps Guide averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3.3K ratings, while Work the 12 Steps averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do 12 Steps Guide or Work the 12 Steps have ads?
Neither 12 Steps Guide nor Work the 12 Steps shows ads.
Which is updated more often, 12 Steps Guide or Work the 12 Steps?
12 Steps Guide ships an update every 3 months, and Work the 12 Steps every 5 days. Most recently, 12 Steps Guide was updated on October 24, 2026 and Work the 12 Steps on October 24, 2026.

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