Spear Online vs FFD Dental Notes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Spear Online
Access dental continuing education courses and earn CE credits on your mobile device. This app offers over 2,300 video lessons and coursework covering a wide range of dental topics for the entire practice team.
- Mobile dental continuing education
- Earn CE credits on the go
- Over 2,300 video lessons
- CE-eligible coursework
- Practice team development
- Restorative and clinical pathways
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With the Spear Online app, you have added versatility with your dental continuing education and the ability to complete CE credits from your mobile device at home or on the go. Dentistry’s Most Innovative Online Learning Resource Sharpen your skills with more than 2,300 video lessons and CE-eligible coursework that includes prescribed curricula and pathways on everything from common restorative challenges to advanced clinical issues, in addition to other multimedia to support the development of the entire practice team. Visit speareducation.com for more about Spear Online - your “Gateway to Great Dentistry.”
FFD Dental Notes
Generate accurate dental clinical notes instantly with AI transcription. This HIPAA-compliant tool allows for quick review, signing, and saving to your practice management system, significantly reducing documentation time.
- AI-powered transcription
- SOAP note generation
- HIPAA compliance
- Practice management system integration
- Digital signature
- Time-saving documentation
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Get unlimited AI-generated clinical notes with a 1-minute setup. Record your next patient, let AI draft your note, then review, edit, and save it. No PMS installation required. HIPAA-compliant. No trial. No credit card. Just free.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Spear Online at none against FFD Dental Notes's shown. Spear Online also leads on ratings volume (819 vs 9) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18). FFD Dental Notes's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Spear Online against 5.0 for FFD Dental Notes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Spear Online has 819 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Spear Online ships an update every 2 months, FFD Dental Notes every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Spear Online | FFD Dental Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (819 ratings) | 5.0 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 63.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 819 — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 18 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 70 MB | 359 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Spear Education, LLC | Friction Free Dental, Inc. |
Customer experience
Spear Online
FFD Dental Notes
Bugs and requests
Spear Online
Reported bugs
2 issues- New version broken for iPhone users
- Courses not showing up
Requested features
3 requests- Casting capabilities
- Access to Master Program and Study Club info
- Add Study Club icon
FFD Dental Notes
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Spear Online
No in-app purchases
FFD Dental Notes
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Spear Online free?
Is FFD Dental Notes free?
Which has better reviews, Spear Online or FFD Dental Notes?
Do Spear Online or FFD Dental Notes have ads?
Which is updated more often, Spear Online or FFD Dental Notes?
Other comparisons
