# Premed Planner vs NextStep

The clearest difference is ads: Premed Planner at none against NextStep's shown. Premed Planner also leads on monetization model (free vs ad-supported) and ratings volume (23 vs 4). NextStep's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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 Premed Planner against 5.0 for NextStep. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Premed Planner has 23 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

Premed Planner ships an update every 2 months, NextStep fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Premed Planner | NextStep |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.9 (23 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/premed-planner/id1483440290/reviews) | **[5.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nextstep-premed-tracker/id6747686105/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **23** | 4 |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Ad-supported |
| Size | 47 MB | 73 MB |
| Requires iOS | **10.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Health Professional Student Association](https://appshunter.io/developer/493878398) | [Josh Hoffman](https://appshunter.io/developer/1822360954) |

## What reviewers say

### Premed Planner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/premed-planner/id1483440290)

This app helps aspiring medical students plan their path to admission. It allows users to track crucial experiences like volunteering and shadowing, manage courses and GPA, and follow a personalized premedical timeline. All data is stored privately on the user's device.

**Highlights:** Premedical timeline guidance, Track volunteering and shadowing, Track clinical experience, Manage courses and GPA, Private data storage on device

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### NextStep

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nextstep-premed-tracker/id6747686105)

This app helps pre-med students organize their academic and extracurricular activities. It allows users to log hours, track progress towards goals, and manage application milestones efficiently. Designed by former students, it aims to reduce stress in the med school application process.

**Highlights:** Experience logging for various activities, Hour tracking and statistical visualization, Customizable goals and reminders, Offline functionality, AI-powered insights (coming soon), Built by pre-med students

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Premed Planner free?

Premed Planner is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is NextStep free?

NextStep is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Premed Planner or NextStep?

NextStep is rated higher. Premed Planner averages 4.9 out of 5 from 23 ratings, while NextStep averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.

### Do Premed Planner or NextStep have ads?

NextStep shows ads; Premed Planner does not.

### Which is updated more often, Premed Planner or NextStep?

Premed Planner ships an update every 2 months, and NextStep fortnightly. Most recently, Premed Planner was updated on October 1, 2026 and NextStep on September 18, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*