Comparison

AA Steps 8/9 vs General Service

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

Head to head
About

AA Steps 8/9

This app helps users manage their 8th and 9th Step lists for Alcoholics Anonymous. It offers secure storage, relevant AA literature, and tools to track amends and progress.

Highlights
  • Secure Touch ID/Pass-code protection
  • Integrated AA literature resources
  • Tools for 8th Step harms and amends timing
  • 9th Step amends review and status tracking
  • Progress visualization meter
  • Exportable PDF lists
  • Shareable app link
Features
Read full description

This free app was created by members for members to enter, organize, and track their 8th/9th Step list and amends, while providing pertinent AA literature for guidance and instructions. Features : • Secure: Touch ID / Pass-code for privacy of your entered information. • AA Resources: Detailed AA literature resources on the 8th and 9th Step to help guide and instruct you. Passages from the Big Book, 12 & 12, As Bill Sees It, Daily Reflections, and Emotional Sobriety. • 8th Step: Prompt lists, option to list “harms done”, decide on timing of the amends, and a special “became willing” button with additional AA “willingness resources” from AA literature. • 9th Step: Allows you to review or edit “harms done”, record what the amends will be, and choose a status (ie: scheduled, completed etc..). Sort 8th Step list by name, amends timing, or amends status. Edit or delete any entry easily. • Progress Meter: Helps visualize when you are “half way through” (working towards the 9th Step Promises) • Export File: Saves your list and amends in a spreadsheet format as a PDF file that can be texted or emailed to your sponsor, or printed for review. • Tell A Friend: Gives you the option to share a link to the app to a sponsee or anyone.

About

General Service

Features
Read full description

Alcoholics Anonymous is a worldwide group that started in 1935 with the sole purpose of alcoholics helping other alcoholics get and maintain sobriety. This General Service App provides a single platform for both A.A. officers and A.A. members to upload and consume information respectively, about the service aspects of A.A. as a whole. Currently, A.A. members must navigate to thousands of independently operated websites, newsletters, emails, and/or attend multiple business meetings throughout the U.S. and Canada, where A.A. officers upload or communicate information about A.A. service. This reality is a time-consuming and confusing way to understand “what is happening in A.A.”. If widely adopted, this app has the potential to provide A.A. service information in a single, easy to understand location, rather than disparate websites, newsletters, emails and business meetings. Each District and Area Chair can either: A. Post their news, events and resources to the generalservice.app website, similar to a social media interface, with three posting options: a. News for Announcements & Events; b. Business for proposals and discussion topics; and c. Resource for where to find more information. B. Work with the app developer to either generate an automated feed of posts that populates their page from an external website. Additional functionality includes: • Screen shots include user posts with “call to action” buttons, where users can click to find more information, or “Add to Calendar” for events. • Each post has start and end dates, which automatically disappear when the date expires. Stories can be re-ordered within each section to accommodate District and Area Chair’s priorities. • Users opt-in their phone’s location services to auto-populate their correct District and Area’s hexagonal location stored in an Excel sheet, maintained by the developer. • Color is used throughout to differentiate District vs. Area vs. General Service Office (all U.S. & Canada) service levels. Active beta testing is ongoing in the San Francisco Bay Area Districts and California Northern Coastal Area, with more regions to be added post go-live in the Apple App Store.

Screenshots

AA Steps 8/94 screens
General Service1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: General Service at Free against AA Steps 8/9's $2.99. AA Steps 8/9's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 6 weeks) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.1). On ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

General Service is free to download; AA Steps 8/9 costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AA Steps 8/9 ships an update every 4 days, General Service every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
AA Steps 8/9 versus General Service: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAA Steps 8/9General Service
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (9 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings9 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS10.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer12 Step Apps LLCDANIEL REDONDO BEAMAN

In-app purchases

None

AA Steps 8/9

No in-app purchases

None

General Service

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AA Steps 8/9 free?
AA Steps 8/9 costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is General Service free?
General Service is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do AA Steps 8/9 or General Service have ads?
Neither AA Steps 8/9 nor General Service shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AA Steps 8/9 or General Service?
AA Steps 8/9 ships an update every 4 days, and General Service every 6 weeks. Most recently, AA Steps 8/9 was updated on October 15, 2026 and General Service on October 14, 2026.

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