Comparison

Code Blue vs AHA PALS

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

Head to head
About

Code Blue

This specialized stopwatch helps medical professionals meticulously record events during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Designed for first responders and healthcare staff, it aids in managing cardiac arrest scenarios by tracking key actions.

Highlights
  • CPR event recording
  • Cardiac arrest management
  • Time key events
  • For medical professionals
  • Used by first responders
Features
Read full description

Code Blue is a specialized clinical support tool designed to help healthcare professionals manage and document cardiac arrest events in real time. Built for first responders, nurses, physicians, and emergency personnel in health systems around the world, Code Blue keeps your team focused on the patient while automatically tracking key events, medications, and interventions. Features include: - CPR, shock, and epinephrine timers with counters - 3-minute epinephrine due alert (AHA 2025) - CPR pause visual indicator - AHA-aligned metronome (100–120 BPM) - Events, medications, and rhythm logging - Expanded post-code details form - PDF and CSV export - Log viewer with full event history - Dark mode support Developed by Dojo Medical — Precision Medical Apps. * Code Blue is a clinical support tool and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any medical condition. It is not a substitute for clinical judgment, institutional protocols, or established resuscitation guidelines. Use by licensed healthcare professionals and authorized emergency responders only.

About

AHA PALS

This app provides pediatric advanced life support (PALS) protocols and tools for healthcare professionals at the point-of-care. Developed by physicians and vetted by the American Heart Association, it offers intuitive access to algorithms, drug information, and timers for critical care situations.

Highlights
  • PALS pathways and algorithms
  • Drug therapy and dosing
  • CPR and intervention timers
  • Metronome for compression accuracy
  • Critical care references
  • Vetted by AHA and physicians
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

We continue to iterate based on real-time clinician feedback so that you will have the best experience providing life-saving care at the bedside. The AHA PALS app was developed by Harvard-trained physicians, in collaboration with the American Heart Association (AHA), to help fellow physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and emergency medical technicians (EMT) deliver the highest level of pediatric advanced life support (PALS) at the point-of-care. This project was inspired by the tremendous success of our AHA ACLS app, which has thousands of clinician users in over 180 countries. Importantly, real-time feedback from our clinician users continuously drives improvements in app design, features, and function. AHA PALS is the only app to have all content vetted by both the American Heart Association (AHA) science team (with license to use PALS content) and practicing Harvard-affiliated physicians. We owe it to our patients to use the best digital health tools to give them the highest chance of surviving acute life-threatening illnesses. To this end, we have developed an intuitive and rigorously vetted mobile app to assist healthcare clinicians—at any stage of training—navigate PALS at the bedside. You can purchase a yearly subscription which begins with a 3-day free trial. After completing the free trial, you will be charged for an annual subscription automatically. Features: - Intuitive design to rapidly access PALS pathways (i.e. cardiac arrest , tachycardia with pulse, bradycardia with pulse, post cardiac arrest care, and critical care references) - Includes all PALS content including drug therapy and dosing, reversible causes, etc. - Easy-to-read timers and ability to log rounds of CPR, epinephrine, and defibrillations. There are additional functionalities to log PALS Cardiac Arrest interventions beyond EPI, CPR , and shocks such as lidocaine and more. - We also added a new metronome feature to improve compression accuracy as well as a ROSC button. - Button within cardiac arrest algorithm that allows for rapid transition to post cardiac arrest care checklist once patient achieves ROSC - Relevant critical care references: (1) drugs used in PALS (i.e., medication names, indications, and doses); (2) vital signs in children; (3) pediatric color-coded length-based resuscitation tape (adapted from Breslow tape) ; (4) pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale - All content rigorously vetted by AHA science team and practicing Harvard-affiliated physicians - Regularly updated with the most up-to-date PALS content

Screenshots

Code Blue4 screens
AHA PALS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: AHA PALS at Free against Code Blue's $9.99. AHA PALS also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 9 months) and chart position (#165 vs unranked). Code Blue's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On review sentiment, ads 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

AHA PALS is free to download; Code Blue costs $9.99 up front. AHA PALS sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per year. Code Blue asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Code Blue ships an update every 9 months, AHA PALS every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Code Blue versus AHA PALS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCode BlueAHA PALS
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating—4.5 (54 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews54.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—54 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid — betterSubscription
Best chart rank—#165 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB48 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperErik SantanaMassachusetts General Hospital

Customer experience

Code Blue

Written reviews14 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral7.1%
Negative42.9%

AHA PALS

All ratings53 ratings
Positive88.7%
Neutral1.9%
Negative9.4%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive54.5%
Neutral9.1%
Negative36.4%

In-app purchases

None

Code Blue

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

AHA PALS

Subscriptions1
  • PALS3 Days trial$3.991 Year

Questions

Is Code Blue free?
Code Blue costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is AHA PALS free?
AHA PALS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Code Blue or AHA PALS have ads?
Neither Code Blue nor AHA PALS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Code Blue or AHA PALS?
Code Blue ships an update every 9 months, and AHA PALS every 2 months. Most recently, Code Blue was updated on October 22, 2026 and AHA PALS on October 30, 2026.

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