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.
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.
- 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
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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.
General Service
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
| Parameter | AA Steps 8/9 | General Service |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (9 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 9 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 35 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 12 Step Apps LLC | DANIEL REDONDO BEAMAN |
In-app purchases
AA Steps 8/9
No in-app purchases
General Service
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is AA Steps 8/9 free?
Is General Service free?
Do AA Steps 8/9 or General Service have ads?
Which is updated more often, AA Steps 8/9 or General Service?
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