Comparison

BMJ Best Practice vs 5CN

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

Head to head
About

BMJ Best Practice

Access up-to-date, evidence-based clinical guidance for healthcare professionals. This app offers offline access to diagnostic, treatment, and prevention information, along with patient leaflets, calculators, and procedure videos. It also tracks CME/CPD activities.

Highlights
  • Evidence-based clinical guidance
  • Offline access
  • Patient leaflets
  • Medical calculators
  • Guidance videos
  • CME/CPD tracking
Features
Read full description

Instant access to the latest evidence-based guidance for healthcare professionals. Updated daily, BMJ Best Practice provides healthcare professionals with the latest evidence-based clinical decision support information. It's available offline, which means clinical decision support can be accessed anytime, anywhere. This app can be downloaded by those who have access to the BMJ Best Practice website, and have already set-up a username and password. Don’t have a subscription? Download the app and access a free 7 day trial. The app provides: - Fast access to the latest guidance on diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and prevention - 500+ patient leaflets - 250+ medical calculators - Guidance videos on common clinical procedures - Automatic CME/CPD activity tracking Your feedback helps to inform future developments. At BMJ, we have a user-centered product development process, which means that we enhance the product based on what our customers, and our users tell us they need and want. As a result, we have introduced features such as ‘night mode’ and patient leaflets to the app. If you have a question or want to provide feedback, please contact us at support@bmj.com. Thank you!

About

5CN

Manage your healthcare conveniently from your mobile device. Book appointments, connect with your care team, and access your treatment plan all within a secure platform.

Highlights
  • Book appointments
  • Telemedicine sessions
  • Appointment tracking
  • Care plan management
  • Connect with care team
Features
Read full description

5CN helps you manage your healthcare with ease - anytime, anywhere. Book appointments, connect with your care team, and stay on top of your treatment plan from one secure app. Key Features 1) Book Appointments Quickly schedule in-person or virtual visits with your providers. 2) Telemedicine Sessions Join secure video consultations directly through the app. 3) Appointment Tracking View upcoming visits, receive reminders, and keep your schedule organized. 4) Care Plan Management Access your personalized care plan and follow your provider’s recommendations. To ensure transparency, please do review our terms & conditions, which can be found here: https://5cn.site/pages/terms-and-conditions/54337

Screenshots

BMJ Best Practice4 screens
5CN4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: 5CN at free against BMJ Best Practice's freemium. 5CN also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and update cadence (weekly vs monthly). BMJ Best Practice's advantage is ratings volume (207 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

5CN holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BMJ Best Practice has 207 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BMJ Best Practice ships an update monthly, 5CN weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
BMJ Best Practice versus 5CN: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBMJ Best Practice5CN
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (207 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews86.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings207 — better1
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.0.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size102 MB178 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperBMJ Groupgeneral network medical care COMPANY

Customer experience

BMJ Best Practice

All ratings207 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral1.4%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews141 reviews
Positive86.5%
Neutral5.7%
Negative7.8%

5CN

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

BMJ Best Practice

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App getting stuck on download screen
  • Inability to open the app on certain devices
  • Automatic logout issues

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to save favorites and bookmarks
  • Improved support for landscape mode and split-screen
  • Author/reference details for content
  • Institutional login option

5CN

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

BMJ Best Practice

No in-app purchases

None

5CN

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BMJ Best Practice free?
BMJ Best Practice is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is 5CN free?
5CN is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, BMJ Best Practice or 5CN?
5CN is rated higher. BMJ Best Practice averages 4.7 out of 5 from 207 ratings, while 5CN averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do BMJ Best Practice or 5CN have ads?
Neither BMJ Best Practice nor 5CN shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BMJ Best Practice or 5CN?
BMJ Best Practice ships an update monthly, and 5CN weekly. Most recently, BMJ Best Practice was updated on September 23, 2026 and 5CN on September 17, 2026.

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