Comparison

NHS Now vs CritiCalc

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

Head to head
About

NHS Now

Find local NHS services like GP practices, pharmacies, and urgent care centers, with real-time opening hours and directions. Access self-care advice and emergency contact information directly within the app.

Highlights
  • Real-time local NHS service finder
  • Opening hours and directions
  • GP, pharmacy, and dentist information
  • Urgent care and A&E locations
  • Self-care advice access
  • Map and list view options
Features
Read full description

NHS Now allows users across East Leicestershire and Rutland to get self-care advice or find their nearest, most appropriate and most convenient local health service currently open to them at any time of the day or night. The App is time and location aware. This means that users get real-world, real-time details, opening times and directions to a range of their local NHS services. For each type of service, users can ask to see either all locations or those that are open for service at the specific time of using the App. The range of services include: β€’ GP Practices β€’ Pharmacies β€’ Dentists β€’ Urgent Care β€’ A&E Users can choose to see all or only emergency pharmacies. For dentists, users can choose between all or emergency dentists and/or to see only those currently accepting new NHS patients. NHS Now provides information either in a List View ranked by proximity or on a Map. Driving and walking directions can be launched in the device’s native Maps app. For each service, NHS Now provides details of: β€’ Address β€’ Phone Number β€’ Website β€’ Opening Times NHS Now also provides access to self-care advice from the official NHS Choose Better site without leaving the App itself. From the home screen, Users can call 999 or speak to the NHS 111 service for β€œwhen you need medical help fast, but it’s not an emergency”.

About

CritiCalc

Features
Read full description

Simple tool for calculating a variety of transport medicine problems. This is not a tool for self-diagnosis and is meant to aid medical professionals that have been trained in these tools. Please seek medical help from a doctor as these tools in isolation are insufficient to provide medical advice. If you are a medical provider, please cross reference local policies, protocols, and training. No guarantee is provided to the accuracy of these tools.

Screenshots

NHS Now4 screens
CritiCalc3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: CritiCalc at 4 against NHS Now's 2. NHS Now's advantage is iOS requirement (7.1 vs 15.6). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 6 level
NHS Now versus CritiCalc: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNHS NowCritiCalc
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews0.0% of reviewsβ€”
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeβ€”
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac β€” better
Requires iOS7.1 β€” better15.6
Further details β€” not scored
Size13 MB53 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperVidatec LtdJason Richmond

In-app purchases

None

NHS Now

No in-app purchases

None

CritiCalc

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NHS Now free?
NHS Now is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CritiCalc free?
CritiCalc is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do NHS Now or CritiCalc have ads?
Neither NHS Now nor CritiCalc shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NHS Now or CritiCalc?
NHS Now ships an update every 2 weeks, and CritiCalc every 2 weeks. Most recently, NHS Now was updated on October 2, 2026 and CritiCalc on October 17, 2026.

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