Comparison

RealMeds vs Paper Analytical Device Reader

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

Head to head
About

RealMeds

Features
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RealMeds lets you validate a medicine and check how it has reached you. It's connected with the RealMeds cloud platform that offers Most comprehensive Track & Trace and Anti-counterfeiting platform for drugs. So, next time when you are buying a drug, check it with RealMeds. Medicines that are being tracked on the RealMeds platform goes through a series of anti-counterfeit and validation checks to protect you. Once a medicine is validated, you can see: - Medicine detail - you can see medicine image, expiry date, bacth detail and composition. This shall help you cross check the medicine that you have in your hands. - Provenance - you can see on Google Map the complete journey of the medicine - from its manufacturing source to you. We are working hard to bring more and more medicines on the RealMeds network and your action of scanning the medicines is a very critical step in that. Help RealMeds protect you.

About

Paper Analytical Device Reader

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This is the automatic image analysis tool for PADs, or Paper Analytical Devices. PADs are a screening tool to identify pharmaceutical tablets or capsules that might be falsified. Because this is a research project aimed at drug quality in low resource settings, there is a limited suite of drugs that can be analyzed--mostly anti-infective drugs used in Africa and "street drugs" in the US. 1) Please contact Dr. Lieberman (lieberman.1"at sign"nd.edu) before you start using this app to make sure it will be suitable for your intended purpose. 2) You need both the PADreader (this app) and the test cards, which you can buy here: https://paperanalytics.org/ 3) Confirmatory testing, eg, HPLC, is necessary before any follow-up actions on suspect products.

Screenshots

RealMeds4 screens
Paper Analytical Device Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: RealMeds at every 4 months against Paper Analytical Device Reader's every 8 months. RealMeds also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

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

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RealMeds ships an update every 4 months, Paper Analytical Device Reader every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
RealMeds versus Paper Analytical Device Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRealMedsPaper Analytical Device Reader
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 months โ€” betterEvery 8 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 โ€” better16.4
Further details โ€” not scored
Size48 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRealMeds Solutions Private LimitedPaper Analytics LLC

In-app purchases

None

RealMeds

No in-app purchases

None

Paper Analytical Device Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RealMeds free?
RealMeds is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Paper Analytical Device Reader free?
Paper Analytical Device Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do RealMeds or Paper Analytical Device Reader have ads?
Neither RealMeds nor Paper Analytical Device Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RealMeds or Paper Analytical Device Reader?
RealMeds ships an update every 4 months, and Paper Analytical Device Reader every 8 months. Most recently, RealMeds was updated on October 5, 2026 and Paper Analytical Device Reader on September 30, 2026.

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