Comparison

Core Anesthesia vs PreOpApp Kids

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

Head to head
About

Core Anesthesia

This app offers a curriculum of audio episodes for CRNAs and students to earn CEUs, pass tests, and review for boards. Designed for busy schedules, episodes can be listened to anywhere and include printed outlines and sources.

Highlights
  • Continuing education episodes
  • Board review content
  • Podcast format for on-the-go learning
  • Printed outlines and sources included
  • Designed for CRNAs and students
Features
Read full description

Core Anesthesia is continuing education and board review built for nurse anesthetists, made by CRNAs who remember how little time there is. Learn by listening. The curriculum is delivered as podcast episodes you can take anywhere: the commute, the gym, the drive between clinical sites. Every episode comes with learning objectives, a printed outline, cited sources, and a read-along transcript. EARN AANA CE CREDIT • Class A credits logged as you listen • Certificates ready to download when you need them • No paperwork and no separate reporting STUDY WITH PURPOSE • 1800+ practice questions with rationales that explain the answer • Custom quizzes across 19 anesthesia categories • See which topics are strong and which need work • High-yield cheat sheets and procedure videos • Search that finds the episode, sheet, or clip you meant TAKE IT OFFLINE Download episodes and cheat sheets for flights, commutes, and dead zones. Anything you save stays available with no signal. For SRNAs preparing for boards and CRNAs maintaining certification. End user license agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

PreOpApp Kids

This app uses interactive games and friendly characters to help children and their families feel less anxious about upcoming surgery. It provides visual preparation, smart guidance, and resources for parents, aiming to build confidence and reduce stress.

Highlights
  • Interactive games for hospital familiarization
  • Friendly characters for reassurance
  • Kid-friendly visual preparation stories
  • Smart reminders for surgical preparation
  • Parent resources and guidance
  • Physiology-responsive calming experiences
  • Motivational challenges for anesthesia induction
Features
Read full description

PreOpApp™ Kids is a patent-pending pediatric surgery preparation app with innovative technology designed to make preparing for surgery easier and less stressful for children and families. Created by a pediatric anesthesiologist, PreOpApp™ Kids helps parents and caregivers prepare their child for surgery and anesthesia with child-friendly education, calming tools, fasting reminders, stories, and interactive activities. Key Features: Interactive Games: Engaging, age-appropriate activities that help children become familiar with the hospital and operating room environment while encouraging calm breathing, focus, and emotional regulation. Practice blowing into the anesthesia mask with Little Hottie™! Also practice making a calming, centering Mandala that will sync with your child’s heart rate on the day of surgery with Mandala Sync™! Friendly Characters: A spark of courage flame (Little Hottie™), a cheerful goldfish, a cuddly sheep, a curious kitten, and other companions guide children through their surgical journey with warmth and reassurance. Kid-Friendly Hospital Preparation: Visual storytelling helps children understand what happens before surgery, reducing fear of the unknown and helping them feel more prepared. Download the Dream Fetcher interactive book today, available in the Kid Zone of PreOpApp™ Kids. Smart Guidance: Gentle, timely reminders that support surgical preparation, reduce last-minute stress, ease the burden on busy families, and help everyone stay on track. Enter your child’s arrival time for their surgery and this app will tell you what to do next to prepare your child. No stress. Future versions of PreOpApp™ Kids are designed to support secure integration with hospital systems to further improve communication between families and their surgical and anesthesia teams. Parent Resources: Practical guidance and tips for caregivers to help prepare their child for surgery with confidence. Beyond Preparation: Utility on the Day of Surgery Clinical Support: PreOpApp™ Kids can be used by anesthesiologists, CRNAs, CAAs, child life specialists, and other anesthesia team members to help support calmer transitions during induction of anesthesia. It can also support children in the preoperative holding area and provide comfort during transport to the operating room. Physiology-Responsive Experiences: A key innovation of PreOpApp™ Kids is that its games gently synchronize with a child’s natural breathing rhythm and heart rate. Visual and audio elements flow in real time with the child, creating a calming, immersive experience that supports connection and comfort during anesthesia induction. Motivational Challenges: Interactive games that invite children to remember playful details as they drift off to sleep — a modern, engaging alternative to familiar counting challenges like “How high can I count?” during anesthesia induction or counting sheep to fall asleep. Buy Mandala Sync™ today in the Kid Zone of PreOpApp™ Kids. Why PreOpApp™ Kids? Surgery can be overwhelming for children and families. By blending evidence-based approaches with engaging games and interactive technology, PreOpApp™ Kids makes preparation feel less scary and more empowering.  Children learn what to expect, families feel supported, and the hospital experience becomes calmer for everyone involved. Created by a pediatric anesthesiologist, PreOpApp™ Kids is designed to complement the care children receive in hospitals while giving parents peace of mind that their child feels safe, supported, and ready. PreOpApp™ Kids: Turning surgery prep into a journey of learning, confidence, and calm — from at home to the operating room. Educational guidance is based on published anesthesia guidelines and supporting literature: sources available inside the app.

Screenshots

Core Anesthesia4 screens
PreOpApp Kids4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: PreOpApp Kids at free against Core Anesthesia's free with in-app purchases. PreOpApp Kids also leads on update cadence (every 11 days vs every 3 weeks) and review sentiment (100% vs 90%). Core Anesthesia's advantage is ratings volume (537 vs 17) and chart position (#196 vs unranked). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Core Anesthesia sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and PreOpApp Kids sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Core Anesthesia against 4.9 for PreOpApp Kids. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Core Anesthesia has 537 ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 90% of Core Anesthesia's written reviews are positive against 100% of PreOpApp Kids's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Core Anesthesia ships an update every 3 weeks, PreOpApp Kids every 11 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Core Anesthesia versus PreOpApp Kids: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCore AnesthesiaPreOpApp Kids
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (537 ratings)4.9 (17 ratings) — better
Positive reviews90.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings537 — better17
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 11 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#196 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB1.0 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStudent Nurse Anesthesia LLCLN Welsh MD Anesthesiologist, LLC

Customer experience

Core Anesthesia

All ratings535 ratings
Positive97.9%
Neutral0.7%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews41 reviews
Positive90.2%
Neutral7.3%
Negative2.4%

PreOpApp Kids

All ratings17 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Core Anesthesia

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Episodes won't play offline or without Wi-Fi despite having data
  • Premium subscription doesn't always unlock premium-labeled episodes
  • Home screen categories don't display all available episodes
  • Inconsistent episode visibility between app and podcast platforms
  • Playback buffering and connectivity issues in the car

Requested features

6 requests
  • Chronological episode listing (1 to most recent)
  • Better filtering and sorting options
  • Episode download capability for offline listening
  • Improved search functionality for specific topics
  • Clearer distinction between free and premium content
Show 1 more
  • Enhanced navigation to reduce confusion about available episodes

PreOpApp Kids

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

14 purchases

Core Anesthesia

Subscriptions5
  • Student Premium Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • CRNA Premium Monthly3 Days trial$64.991 Month
  • Student Premium Yearly7 Days trial$99.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • CRNA Premium Quarterly$179.003 Months
  • CRNA Premium Yearly3 Days trial$599.001 Year
One-time9
  • Airway Core Module$49.99
  • Equipment Core Module$49.99
  • Pharmacology Core Module$49.99
Show 6 more
  • Anatomy Core Module$149.99
  • core_crna_10$199.00
  • core_crna_30$299.00
  • CRNA USAP 25%$449.99
  • CRNA Promotion$539.00
  • core_crna_60$599.00
3 purchases

PreOpApp Kids

One-time3
  • Little Hottie$2.99
  • Mandalasync Game$2.99
  • Dream Fetcher Book$9.99

Questions

Is Core Anesthesia free?
Core Anesthesia is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PreOpApp Kids free?
PreOpApp Kids is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Core Anesthesia or PreOpApp Kids?
PreOpApp Kids is rated higher. Core Anesthesia averages 4.9 out of 5 from 537 ratings, while PreOpApp Kids averages 4.9 from 17 ratings.
Do Core Anesthesia or PreOpApp Kids have ads?
Neither Core Anesthesia nor PreOpApp Kids shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Core Anesthesia or PreOpApp Kids?
Core Anesthesia ships an update every 3 weeks, and PreOpApp Kids every 11 days. Most recently, Core Anesthesia was updated on October 24, 2026 and PreOpApp Kids on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons