Comparison

One Day At A Time vs AA 4th Step

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

Head to head
About

One Day At A Time

This app provides easy access to recovery resources, including the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, daily meditations, and contact management for recovery friends. It helps users stay on track with their sobriety journey by offering quick access to prayers, promises, and important recovery literature.

Highlights
  • Full Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous
  • Search and highlight passages
  • Daily meditations
  • Track recovery friends and sobriety dates
  • Access to prayers and promises
  • Detailed step information
Features
Read full description

From 2009-2013 One Day At A Time was the top recovery app on iOS. We apologize for the expiration of the old version, it was unavoidable. We are back! I have retired and am spending time working on my own apps again. One Day At a Time is free for all. We will be adding some features around AI which will really change your recovery experience. The only Big Book app with Passage Highlighting! (Coming Soon) Imagine waking up in the morning, hitting your knees, asking God to guide you for the day. Then open your phone and One Day At A Time, and instantly get to your daily prayers and readings. This is how I start my day, it allows me to get in the right frame of mind before I can start messing it up. An application to help people in recovery have access to the Big Book, Search the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, and have quick access to prayers and promises in the Big Book. It is a must have application for anyone taking their recovery seriously and wanting access to these resources in your pocket. Applicable for folks in Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A., AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Cocaine Anonymous (CA), Al-Anon, Overeaters Anonymous (OA), Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA). ----------------------------------------- Features: * Big Book - Full 164 Pages of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. - Highlight Your Favorite Passages in the Big Book. - Jump to Any Page - Search and Highlight Words/Phrases - Remembers Last Position in A Chapter - 44 Stories from 1st & 2nd Edition(v2.6) * Daily Meditations from various resources (None from AAWS, or Hazelden). * Friends of Bill - Keep Track of All Your AA Friends - Keeps Sobriety Date For You And Your Friends - Quick Access To Friends Phone Numbers, Quick Dial - Categorize By Sponsor, Favorites, and Yourself - Keep Track Of Home Groups - Shows Days Sober - Shows Sobriety Length in Years, Months, Days - Access Information From Your Address Book, Keeps AA Information Separate. * Search for Words and Get Paragraphs in AA Literature * Detail of Promises In The Big Book - 3rd Step - 4th Step - 5th Step - 9th Step - 10th Step - 11th Step - 12th Step * Detail of Prayers in The Big Book & Bible - Serenity Prayer - Lord's Prayer - Serenity Prayer (Long) - 1st Step - 2nd Step - 3rd Step - 4th Step (4 Prayers) - 5th Step - 6th Step - 7th Step - 8th Step - 9th Step - 10th Step - 11th Step & St. Francis * Principles - Lists the guiding principles behind the steps. * Phone Rotation - Phone In Any Orientation Support - Larger Font in Landscape Big Book (copyright) - All the content in this application is from the 1st or 2nd Edition. All other information in this application is pulled from public sources on the net. Search and Meditations require internet connection. Please always support AA by purchasing a printed copy of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. Keywords: Addiction, Sober, A.A., Alcoholic, Addict, Narcotics, Cocaine, Recovery, Addict, Relapse, Rehab, Dr. Drew, Meditations, Daily Readings, Alcoholics Anonymous, CA, NA

About

AA 4th Step

Securely record your 4th Step Inventory on your iPhone. This app offers a convenient way to complete your inventory, with options to type or speak answers, and securely email or print your results. It's designed for members to manage their inventory privately and efficiently.

Highlights
  • 100% Vault Secure storage
  • Type or speak answers
  • Resentment, Fear, and Sexual Conduct Inventories
  • Prompt lists for memory jogging
  • Secure PDF email/print options
  • Daily reminder notifications
  • Auto-lock and secure data deletion
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The free “Vault” app was created by members for members as a means to enter their 4th Step Inventory information in a secure and convenient way. When complete, you can print out your inventory for use with your 5th Step. Features - 100% Vault Secure - Complete your inventory by column or row - Has Resentment, Fear, and Sexual Conduct Inventories to complete - Type or speak your answers - Easy check-box answers for “Parts of Self Affected” - Prompt lists for jogging your memory for People, Principals, and Institutions. - Prompt lists and check boxes for common Principals,Institutions and Fears - 4th Step term’s definitions in Help section - “Set Daily Reminder” option using your iphones push notifications - Email inventories to yourself or sponsor securely in PDF format - Print them out in horizontal spreadsheet style for easy reading and organization - Hand write in any inventory information you want to in empty rows. - “Delete All” safety feature securely wipes the info from your phone when completed - App "auto-locks" Vault whenever app is closed or whenever iphone is left idle. - All data is secured on the iphone itself. Nothing is stored in "the cloud" where it could be hacked. The Vault 4th Step Inventory App allows you to enter your inventory information in a logical step by step way, then saves the information in an inventory spreadsheet that is laid out much like many of the 4th Step guides that you can find on the internet (like Joe and Charlie’s). The difference is that the Vault app lets you work on your 4th step anywhere, anytime that you are free and in a safe place, NOT just when you are free at your home with your notebook. It is Vault Code protected at all times, so whether it is on your nightstand or at the coffee shop, NO ONE can access your inventory but you. We decided (through much discussion) to minimize all instructions on HOW to do a 4th Step. As alcoholics, we had no shortage of opinions on what each of us believed were the best instructions. We decided to use the original text from the Big Book for the actual questions for you to answer, instead of rewording them as we saw some of the 4th Step "guides" do. Your sponsor may want you to write out (with pen and paper) your 4th step. If that is the case, you may still utilize the app to collect your inventory information, then after printing it out, copy it over by hand. This app is not AA reviewed or approved. AA does not endorse or approve anything or anyone. All quotes are from the 1st edition of the Big Book. This app was created by members for members. Thanks to their generous support this app is FREE to anyone world-wide. Remember: Our primary purpose is to stay sober, and help another alcoholic. Thanks, Twelve Step Apps www.12StepApps.org

Screenshots

One Day At A Time4 screens
AA 4th Step4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: One Day At A Time at Free against AA 4th Step's $2.99. One Day At A Time also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly). AA 4th Step's advantage is review sentiment (79% vs 46%) and ratings volume (103 vs 6). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

One Day At A Time is free to download; AA 4th Step costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AA 4th Step holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AA 4th Step has 103 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of One Day At A Time's written reviews are positive against 79% of AA 4th Step's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

One Day At A Time ships an update every 2 weeks, AA 4th Step monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
One Day At A Time versus AA 4th Step: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOne Day At A TimeAA 4th Step
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating4.3 (6 ratings)4.5 (103 ratings) — better
Positive reviews46.4% of reviews79.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6103 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank—#101 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.68.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB27 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperCalidad Systems12 Step Apps LLC

Customer experience

One Day At A Time

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews69 reviews
Positive46.4%
Neutral5.8%
Negative47.8%

AA 4th Step

All ratings103 ratings
Positive88.3%
Neutral4.9%
Negative6.8%
Written reviews34 reviews
Positive79.4%
Neutral8.8%
Negative11.8%

User reviews

One Day At A Time

From 6 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great app for recovery
  • 📖 Lots of content
  • 📱 Portable support system
  • 🙏 Life saver for users
  • 🌟 Worth the purchase

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes frequently
  • 🚫 Not compatible with iOS 11
  • ⏳ App not updated for years
  • unresponsive developer
  • 💰 Users want refunds

AA 4th Step

From 103 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great for 4th Step
  • 💡 Helps with thought process
  • ✅ Simple and effective tool
  • 🚀 Concise and efficient
  • 🌟 Priceless recovery booster

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and erases text
  • 🐛 Text deleted unexpectedly
  • 🐛 Crashes on print
  • 📱 Portrait mode only
  • 📱 Not landscape friendly

Bugs and requests

One Day At A Time

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • App not opening on iOS 11
  • App not opening on new OS updates
  • App crashes on Meditations
  • Quote on splash screen doesn't change
  • Page numbers missing in word search
Show 9 more
  • App won't load
  • Update broke quotes
  • Does not format to the screen properly after update
  • Won't work after update on iPhone
  • Won't open on iPad
  • Worthless after update
  • Won't open after update
  • Recent update won't install
  • Friend tab kicks user out

Requested features

5 requests
  • Update app for iOS 11
  • Update app for new iOS versions
  • Add 3rd or 4th edition stories
  • Add search and bookmark capabilities
  • Add new features

AA 4th Step

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Crashes and erases text
  • Text is instantly deleted
  • App crashes every time when printing
  • Only works in portrait mode
  • Text disappears after entering
Show 3 more
  • Leaves an unopenable app button on home screen
  • PDF translation issue with fourth column checklist
  • Cannot get app into landscape mode

Requested features

4 requests
  • App for CR 4th Step columns
  • Rotate for iPad
  • Dark mode
  • 8th Step list app

In-app purchases

None

One Day At A Time

No in-app purchases

None

AA 4th Step

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is One Day At A Time free?
One Day At A Time is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is AA 4th Step free?
AA 4th Step costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, One Day At A Time or AA 4th Step?
AA 4th Step is rated higher. One Day At A Time averages 4.3 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while AA 4th Step averages 4.5 from 103 ratings.
Do One Day At A Time or AA 4th Step have ads?
Neither One Day At A Time nor AA 4th Step shows ads.
Which is updated more often, One Day At A Time or AA 4th Step?
One Day At A Time ships an update every 2 weeks, and AA 4th Step monthly. Most recently, One Day At A Time was updated on November 1, 2026 and AA 4th Step on November 11, 2026.

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