Comparison

General Surgery Instruments vs CSTSetup

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

Head to head
About

General Surgery Instruments

A visual reference for surgical tools, organized by function. Features over 300 high-quality images with descriptions and an interactive quiz mode to test knowledge. Designed for easy navigation and learning.

Highlights
  • 300+ high-quality images
  • Concise descriptions
  • Intuitive interface
  • Interactive 'Check Yourself' mode
  • Organized by practical use
Features
Read full description

General Surgery Instruments is a comprehensive visual guide to surgical tools, structured by their practical use. Key features: 1) Explore 300+ high-quality images with clear, concise descriptions 2) Enjoy a clean and intuitive interface for effortless navigation 3) Reinforce your knowledge with the interactive “Check Yourself” mode

About

CSTSetup

This medical app provides surgical technologists, students, and nurses with detailed surgical setups, an instrument library, a medical dictionary, and exam preparation tools. It allows users to build custom setups and log clinical cases for their programs.

Highlights
  • 280+ surgical setups
  • 3,100+ surgical instruments with 3D models
  • 3,700+ medical terms explained
  • Certification exam practice (CST, TS-C, CRCST, etc.)
  • Custom setup creation
  • Clinical case logging for programs
  • Built-in medical dictionary
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Know the case before you scrub in. CSTSetup is the clinical companion built for surgical technologists, students, OR nurses and educators: your setups, your instrument library, a built-in medical dictionary, your exam prep and your case log, all in one place. SURGICAL SETUPS 280+ setups across General, Cardiac, ENT, Neuro, OB/GYN, Ophthalmology, Orthopedic, Plastics, Urology and Vascular. Each one shows the tray grouped by what every instrument does, the room (equipment, prep and drape, suture and medicines), a 30-second summary and the case step by step, with the circulator's side for Pro. General Surgery is free; Pro unlocks every specialty. THE FULL INSTRUMENT LIBRARY 3,100+ surgical instruments with real photographs, every name techs use and handling notes, sorted by class, standard tray and maker. Study them as flashcards. Pro members can turn, zoom and open real 3D models of hundreds of them. A BUILT-IN MEDICAL DICTIONARY 3,700+ terms explained in plain words. Tap an underlined word in any setup, instrument or exam question to see what it means, how it's said and the word parts that build it. STUDY FOR YOUR CERTIFICATION EXAM Practice for the CST (NBSTSA), TS-C (NCCT), CRCST (HSPA), CSPDT (CBSPD) and CSFA (NBSTSA) exams: practice by area with the why behind every answer, timed exams matched to the real pass mark, and a daily five questions to keep your streak going. Your progress shows your practice score, your weakest area, your streak and your whole year of study. BUILD YOUR OWN SETUPS Save your surgeon's way as a setup of your own, right on your phone. No account needed to start; sign in and it syncs to the web. BUILT FOR SURGICAL TECH PROGRAMS Log every case for your program: choose AST, NCCT or CC4SA, check off what you did in the room, and get an instant First Scrub, Second Scrub or Observation answer before it goes to your instructor. Clock your clinical hours from the clinical site. CAN'T FIND A SETUP? Ask for it right in the app, and we'll notify you when it's built. ONE SUBSCRIPTION CSTSetup Pro unlocks every specialty, the full library, 3D models and every certification exam in this app, in Instruments, in every CSTSetup exam app and on cstsetup.com. Download CSTSetup and put the whole back table in your pocket.

Screenshots

General Surgery Instruments4 screens
CSTSetup4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: General Surgery Instruments at 100% against CSTSetup's 50%. General Surgery Instruments also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and rating (4.9 vs 4.6). CSTSetup's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs every 27 months). On price, ratings volume, monetization model 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. CSTSetup sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. General Surgery Instruments asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

General Surgery Instruments holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 9 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of General Surgery Instruments's written reviews are positive against 50% of CSTSetup's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

General Surgery Instruments ships an update every 27 months, CSTSetup weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
General Surgery Instruments versus CSTSetup: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGeneral Surgery InstrumentsCSTSetup
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (9 ratings) — better4.6 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings99
Update frequencyEvery 27 monthsWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank—#177 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB61 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperRoman MoiseevCSTSetup

Customer experience

General Surgery Instruments

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

CSTSetup

All ratings9 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

General Surgery Instruments

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

CSTSetup

Subscriptions2
  • CSTSetup Monthly Pro$12.991 Month
  • CSTSetup Yearly Pro$155.991 Year

Questions

Is General Surgery Instruments free?
General Surgery Instruments is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CSTSetup free?
CSTSetup is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, General Surgery Instruments or CSTSetup?
General Surgery Instruments is rated higher. General Surgery Instruments averages 4.9 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while CSTSetup averages 4.6 from 9 ratings.
Do General Surgery Instruments or CSTSetup have ads?
General Surgery Instruments shows ads; CSTSetup does not.
Which is updated more often, General Surgery Instruments or CSTSetup?
General Surgery Instruments ships an update every 27 months, and CSTSetup weekly. Most recently, General Surgery Instruments was updated on November 3, 2026 and CSTSetup on October 31, 2026.

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