MyMeetings vs AA Meeting Guide App: Which Is Better for Your Recovery?

The AA Meeting Guide app is reliable, widely used, and does exactly what it says: it helps you find a meeting. For millions of people in recovery, that's been enough. But "good enough" and "built for your recovery" aren't the same thing.

If you've been using the Meeting Guide app and quietly wishing it could do more — track your attendance, help you reflect after a meeting, remind you how far you've come — you're not alone. That gap is exactly why MyMeetings exists.

This comparison breaks down both apps honestly: what each does well, where each falls short, and which one fits better depending on where you are in your recovery.

What Is the AA Meeting Guide App?

The Meeting Guide app is the official AA-endorsed meeting finder, maintained by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. It pulls from a centralized database of AA meetings across the United States and internationally, showing in-person and online meetings by location, day, time, and meeting type.

It's free, straightforward, and trusted. The data is accurate and regularly updated by local AA intergroups. For someone who needs to find a meeting fast — especially when traveling or in an unfamiliar city — it works.

What it does:

• Search AA meetings by location or zip code
• Filter by meeting type (open, closed, speaker, step study, etc.)
• View online meeting options
• Get directions to in-person meetings

That's essentially the full feature set. The app is intentionally minimal — built as a directory, not a recovery tool.

What Is MyMeetings?

MyMeetings is a modern AA meeting app built for people who want more than a finder. It draws from the same underlying meeting data as the official Meeting Guide app — so the listings are equally accurate and current — but layers a full set of recovery tools on top.

The result is an app that helps you find meetings and supports your recovery between them.

What it does:

• Find AA meetings using the same data as the official app
• Check in to meetings and track your attendance history
• Log personal recovery notes and reflections after meetings
• Track sobriety milestones and progress over time
• Access opt-in AI coaching and guided reflections
• Connect with a community of others in recovery
• Use a web portal in addition to the mobile app

The meeting finder is the foundation. The recovery tools are what make it different.

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

On meeting data, it's a tie — both apps pull from the same source. Everything beyond finding a meeting is where MyMeetings pulls ahead.

Where the Meeting Guide App Falls Short

To be fair, the Meeting Guide app isn't trying to be a recovery platform. It's a directory. But for people actively working a program, that limitation becomes noticeable quickly.

No way to track your meetings

You found the meeting. You went. Now what? The app has no memory of that. There's no attendance log, no check-in feature, no way to look back and see how consistent you've been over the past month. For anyone who knows that showing up regularly is one of the most important factors in sustained sobriety, that's a real gap.

Nothing to support reflection

A lot of recovery work happens in the hours after a meeting — processing what you heard, writing down what came up, connecting the conversation to your step work. The Meeting Guide app ends when you close the directions screen. There's no place to capture any of it.

No progress tracking

Sobriety milestones matter. Days, weeks, months, years — these markers are meaningful. The Meeting Guide app doesn't track any of them. You'd need a separate app for that, which means your recovery data ends up scattered across tools that don't connect.

Mobile only, no web access

If you prefer working on a laptop or desktop — especially for journaling or reviewing your history — there's no option. The app is mobile-only, full stop.

None of this is a criticism of AA or the Meeting Guide team. The app does what it was designed to do. But if you're looking for something that supports your full recovery — not just your commute to the next meeting — the limitations are real.

Where MyMeetings Goes Further

Attendance tracking that actually means something

MyMeetings lets you check in to meetings and builds a running log over time. You can see patterns — which weeks you showed up consistently, which periods you pulled back, how your attendance has shifted across months. That kind of visibility is genuinely useful when you're working a program.

It also creates a record you can share with a sponsor or reference in your step work. Accountability is easier when it's built into the tool you're already using.

Recovery notes tied to your meetings

After checking in, you can log notes directly in the app. What came up for you? What did you hear that landed? What do you want to bring to your sponsor? These notes are private, timestamped, and connected to the specific meeting you attended.

Over time, that note history becomes a personal record of your recovery — something to look back on when you need perspective or when you're preparing for a step.

Sobriety milestone tracking

MyMeetings tracks your sobriety journey and marks your milestones. It's not just a counter — it's a way to stay connected to your progress and recognize how far you've come. For anyone who's been in recovery long enough to know how much those early days can mean, having that record in one place matters.

Opt-in AI coaching

This one is worth explaining clearly: it's opt-in, not pushed on you. For users who want it, MyMeetings offers AI-assisted coaching and reflections — prompts that help you process what you're experiencing, think through challenges, or prepare for conversations with your sponsor. It's not a replacement for human connection or the program. It's a supplemental tool for the moments between meetings.

Some people find it genuinely useful. Others won't touch it. The opt-in design respects that.

Web portal access

Not everyone wants to do their recovery journaling on a phone. MyMeetings includes a web portal so you can access your notes, attendance history, and progress tracking from a browser. A small thing that makes a real difference for people who prefer a larger screen for reflective work.

Who Should Use Which App

Stick with the Meeting Guide app if:

• You only need a meeting finder and nothing else
• You're comfortable using separate apps for different recovery needs
• You prefer the simplest possible tool

Switch to MyMeetings if:

• You want your meeting finder and recovery tools in one place
• You're actively tracking your sobriety and want to see your progress
• You journal or take notes as part of your program
• You want accountability features that go beyond finding meetings
• You've felt like the Meeting Guide app just isn't quite enough

The two apps aren't really in conflict — MyMeetings uses the same meeting data, so you're not giving anything up on the finder side. You're only adding.

A Note on the Meeting Data

One concern that comes up when people consider switching from the official app: will the meetings still be accurate?

MyMeetings uses the same data source as the AA Meeting Guide app. Listings, times, locations, and formats are all pulled from the same centralized database maintained by AA intergroups. You're not trading accuracy for features. The foundation is identical.

The Honest Bottom Line

The AA Meeting Guide app is a solid, reliable meeting finder. If all you need is to locate a meeting near you, it does that well. But recovery is more than showing up — it's the work you do before, during, and after each meeting. It's the consistency you build over months and years. It's the reflection that happens when you sit with what you heard.

MyMeetings was built for that fuller picture. Same meeting data, significantly more support for the actual work of recovery.

If you've been using the Meeting Guide app and quietly wishing it did more, it's worth trying something designed with that in mind.

See What MyMeetings Can Do

MyMeetings is free and available on iOS and the web. Find meetings, track your attendance, log your reflections, and follow your sobriety progress — all in one place.

Learn more at mymeetings.co.