SMART Recovery vs Work the 12 Steps
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SMART Recovery
This app connects individuals with mutual-support groups to overcome addiction to substances or activities. It guides participants in developing self-empowerment for balanced living through a science-based program.
- Mutual-support groups
- Addiction recovery
- Science-based 4-Point Program
- Develop self-empowerment
- Balanced living guidance
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SMART Recovery is a global community of mutual-support groups. At meetings, participants help one another resolve problems with any addiction (to drugs or alcohol or to activities such as gambling or over-eating). Participants find and develop the power within themselves to change and lead fulfilling and balanced lives guided by our science-based and sensible 4-Point Program®.
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.
- Step progress tracking
- Sobriety milestones
- Anniversary tracking
- Meeting management
- Recovery lineage
- Private by design
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Work the 12 Steps at 5.0 against SMART Recovery's 4.1. Work the 12 Steps also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs monthly) and review sentiment (100% vs 75%). SMART Recovery's advantage is ratings volume (28 vs 3) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Work the 12 Steps holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SMART Recovery has 28 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of SMART Recovery's written reviews are positive against 100% of Work the 12 Steps's.
SMART Recovery ships an update monthly, Work the 12 Steps every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SMART Recovery | Work the 12 Steps |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (28 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 28 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | SMART Recovery USA, Inc. | Philip Mount |
Customer experience
SMART Recovery
Work the 12 Steps
In-app purchases
SMART Recovery
No in-app purchases
Work the 12 Steps
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is SMART Recovery free?
Is Work the 12 Steps free?
Which has better reviews, SMART Recovery or Work the 12 Steps?
Do SMART Recovery or Work the 12 Steps have ads?
Which is updated more often, SMART Recovery or Work the 12 Steps?
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