Comparison

Recovery Transparency vs Work the Steps

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

Head to head
About

Recovery Transparency

This app supports individuals in 12-step recovery programs by offering tools for tracking progress, journaling with AI insights, and connecting with sponsors. It provides features like daily check-ins, assessments, and messaging to foster accountability and self-awareness.

Highlights
  • Daily check-ins
  • AI journal analysis
  • Fourth step worksheets
  • Sponsor-sponsee messaging
  • Service work search
  • Weekly assessments
Features
Read full description

Recovery Transparency is a modern companion to the 12-step recovery you already work — built to deepen your program, not replace it. Track your progress, work your steps, and see how far you've come, one honest day at a time. Recovery is a daily practice, and staying accountable to it is the work of a lifetime. Recovery Transparency gives you the tools to do exactly that: honest daily check-ins, guided Fourth Step inventories, and a private record of your growth that only you control. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Recovery Garden — Watch your progress take root. Earn milestone badges as you check in, journal, work your steps, and attend meetings. • Daily Check-Ins — Track your character defects and principles and see honest patterns emerge over time. • AI-Guided Fourth Step — Private, compassionate analysis of your resentment, fear, and relationship inventories, built on the RTI™ framework. • Weekly Assessment — Measure your recovery across key areas and follow your growth week to week. • Journaling & Gratitude — Reflect each day, with optional AI insights. • Smart Reminders — Gentle nudges for your check-in, gratitude list, and journal, plus a notification the moment you earn a new badge. • Connection — Sponsor and sponsee messaging, group support chats, and shareable profile cards. BUILT ON A PROVEN FOUNDATION Recovery Transparency honors the 12-step tradition and strengthens it with structure, accountability, and insight. It is not affiliated with any specific fellowship or organization. YOUR PRIVACY MATTERS Your inventories and reflections belong to you. Sensitive step work stays private and under your control. START WITH A FREE WEEK Try everything free for 7 days. After your trial: • Gold — $6.99/week or $24.99/month • Platinum — $8.99/week or $34.99/month Subscriptions are auto-renewable. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Terms of Use (EULA): [paste your Terms URL] Privacy Policy: [paste your Privacy Policy URL]

About

Work the Steps

This AI-guided companion offers private support for working through recovery steps. It helps you identify personal patterns through daily check-ins and reflections, serving as a tool for the time between in-person support.

Highlights
  • AI-guided step work
  • Private daily check-ins
  • Pattern reflection over time
  • Structured inventories for steps 4, 6, 8, 9
  • Gratitude list tracking
  • Crisis lifeline integration
Features
Read full description

Work the Steps is a private, AI-guided companion for the hours in between — the late night when no one's awake, the resentment you can't shake, the inventory you keep meaning to start. Check in each day, keep a reflection, and the patterns underneath surface on their own, your own words returned to you over time. The Steps are best worked with people: a sponsor, a home group, the rooms. This one is for the space between, at your own pace and in your own words. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Talk things through with a steady guide, any hour of the day • Work all twelve steps with your guide, one honest entry at a time — with structured inventories and lists for the 4th, 6th, 8th, and 9th • Check in each morning and night • Keep a gratitude list, and let your guide reflect back what's sustaining you • Look back at reflections that surface your own patterns over time • Keep everything private on your device, and share a reflection or export your writing whenever you choose A SUPPLEMENT, NEVER A SUBSTITUTE This app is not a sponsor, a meeting, a therapist, or a crisis line — and it will never pretend to be. It's a tool for the space between those things, and it will always point you back to real people: a meeting, a sponsor, a phone call. If a moment feels like a crisis, it surfaces the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline right away. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your recovery is yours. Reflections stay with you, and conversations aren't stored on our servers. The Steps are paraphrased in our own words. Whether it's day one and you don't have a sponsor yet, or you're years in and still showing up, Work the Steps meets you where you are — and walks you back toward the people who do this with you. — Work the Steps is an independent app. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. The Twelve Steps are paraphrased, not reproduced. If you or someone you love is in crisis, call or text 988 (US & CANADA). FREE AND SUBSCRIPTION Your first session is free, with no account required. After that, Work the Steps Premium unlocks the app's features: AI-guided check-ins, guided step work for all twelve steps, morning intention and nightly review, and pattern tracking across your reflections. Crisis resources and meeting pointers are always free. Work the Steps Premium is an auto-renewable subscription: $5.99/month after a 1-week free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase; the subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://workthesteps.app/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://workthesteps.app/terms

Screenshots

Recovery Transparency4 screens
Work the Steps4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Work the Steps at every 9 days against Recovery Transparency's every 3 weeks. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Recovery Transparency sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days and Work the Steps sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Recovery Transparency against 5.0 for Work the Steps. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 6 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Recovery Transparency ships an update every 3 weeks, Work the Steps every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Recovery Transparency versus Work the Steps: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRecovery TransparencyWork the Steps
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings36 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB36 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperJeremy HeydonJohn Khabushani

Customer experience

Recovery Transparency

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Work the Steps

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Recovery Transparency

Subscriptions4
  • Gold Weekly7 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • Platinum Weekly7 Days trial$8.997 Days
  • Gold Monthly7 Days trial$24.991 Month
Show 1 more
  • Platinum Monthly7 Days trial$34.991 Month
2 purchases

Work the Steps

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Work the Steps Premium7 Days trial$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Recovery Transparency free?
Recovery Transparency is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Work the Steps free?
Work the Steps is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Recovery Transparency or Work the Steps?
Recovery Transparency and Work the Steps are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 6 ratings respectively.
Do Recovery Transparency or Work the Steps have ads?
Neither Recovery Transparency nor Work the Steps shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Recovery Transparency or Work the Steps?
Recovery Transparency ships an update every 3 weeks, and Work the Steps every 9 days. Most recently, Recovery Transparency was updated on November 9, 2026 and Work the Steps on November 5, 2026.

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