Comparison

Medscape vs OpenEvidence

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

Head to head
About

Medscape

This app provides healthcare professionals with immediate clinical answers, medical news, and CME/CE activities. It features AI-driven tools for patient visit transcription and summarization, patient calling, and instant expert answers to medical questions. Access a comprehensive drug database, calculators, and procedural videos to enhance clinical practice.

Highlights
  • AI-driven Scribe for transcription and summarization
  • AI Search for instant medical answers
  • Drug Interaction Checker
  • Pill Identifier
  • 450+ medical calculators
  • Free CME/CE credits
  • Medical news and expert commentary
Features
Read full description

Your Go-To Medical Resource for Immediate Clinical Answers With Medscape, you get free access to the latest medical news, expert commentary, clinical tools, drug and disease information, CME/CE activities, and more—all in one place. AI-Driven Solutions to Transform Your Practice Scribe: Real-time transcription and summarization of patient visits. Dialer: Call patients using your office number from anywhere. AI Search: Get instant, expert answers to complex medical questions. Essential Clinical Tools 450+ medical calculators organized by specialty. Drug Interaction Checker, Pill Identifier, and step-by-step procedural videos. Up-to-date prescribing and safety info on 9,200+ drugs, herbals, and supplements. Stay Informed & Connected The latest FDA approvals, conference news, and clinical trial data. Expert insights across 30+ specialties. Medscape Original Podcasts, including This Week in Cardiology. Free CME/CE credits & ABIM MOC points with an Activity Tracker. Network with peers via Medscape Consult and MedscapeLIVE! events. Medscape is the Leading Online Destination for Healthcare Professionals. The information provided in the app is for informational and clinical reference purposes only and is not intended to replace independent clinical judgment, support self-diagnosis, or guide individual patient care. For additional information, please review our Terms of Use: https://www.medscape.com/public/termsofuse & our Medscape AI disclaimer https://reference.medscape.com/public/ai_search-disclaimer Have feedback? Email us at medscapemobile@webmd.net.

About

OpenEvidence

This app provides healthcare professionals with evidence-based clinical decision support and medical information. It acts as a search engine, sourcing answers from peer-reviewed literature and leading medical organizations to aid in high-stakes medical decisions at the point of care.

Highlights
  • Clinical decision support
  • Medical search engine
  • Sourced from peer-reviewed literature
  • FDA and CDC data integration
  • Partnerships with leading medical journals
  • Verified healthcare professional access
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Clinical Decision Support & Medical Search Engine for Healthcare Professionals (NPI Required) OpenEvidence is the most widely used clinical decision support platform and medical search engine among U.S. clinicians. According to independent studies, more American physicians use OpenEvidence than all other AI platforms combined. OpenEvidence is trusted by millions of verified healthcare professionals to make high-stakes clinical decisions at the point of care with answers that are sourced, cited, and grounded in peer-reviewed medical literature. Founded with the mission to organize and expand the world's collective medical knowledge, OpenEvidence is actively used daily by the majority of physicians in the United States. OpenEvidence is free for all verified U.S. clinicians. AN OFFICIAL AI PARTNER OF: The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and its 11 specialty journals National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Nature Cochrane Library Wiley WHAT YOU GET: • Specific answers to clinical questions, with every claim cited to its source • 35 million+ peer-reviewed papers, 300+ medical journals, plus FDA and CDC sources • Licensed full text from NEJM, JAMA, Nature, Cochrane, and others • EvidenceGrade™: see the strength of the evidence behind every answer • CME and MOC credits, earned by asking questions • Visits for ambient documentation, Dialer for secure patient calls, and Voice Mode for hands-free answers CONTENT AGREEMENTS AND COLLABORATIONS: American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) American College of Cardiology (ACC) American Diabetes Association (ADA) American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) ASCO Guidelines American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) American Urological Association (AUA) Plus AAO-HNS, GINA, SNO, SSO, and more. IN USE ACROSS: 10,000+ hospitals and medical centers nationwide, including Mayo Clinic, Mount Sinai, Cedars-Sinai, MSKCC, and Sutter Health. WHY CLINICIANS TRUST US: • HIPAA compliant across the platform • NEJM, JAMA, Nature, and NCCN—official content partners 
 • Tens of millions of clinical consultations per month WHAT CLINICIANS SAY: “OpenEvidence is currently the best AI tool for medical information.” — Dr. Paul Sax, Infectious Disease, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Review in The New England Journal of Medicine Journal Watch (now NEJM Clinician) “In a morning report, a resident had a question that I didn’t know the answer to, but we were able to open OpenEvidence and get an answer on the spot.” — Dr. Kyle P. Lehenbauer, Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center “I use OpenEvidence multiple times during the day and every day. I am a better doc because of this. I expand my differential diagnoses and verify the science behind choices of treatments.” — Dr. Sharon E. Martin, Southern Huntingdon Medical Center Important note: OpenEvidence is available only to healthcare professionals. Users must verify their healthcare professional status before using OpenEvidence.

Screenshots

Medscape4 screens
OpenEvidence4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: OpenEvidence at 4.9 against Medscape's 3.6. OpenEvidence also leads on ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

OpenEvidence holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: OpenEvidence has 12K ratings behind it against 1.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Medscape's written reviews are positive against 81% of OpenEvidence's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Medscape ships an update every 2 weeks, OpenEvidence weekly. Both last shipped on October 16, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Medscape versus OpenEvidence: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMedscapeOpenEvidence
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (1.4K ratings)4.9 (12K ratings) — better
Positive reviews63.7% of reviews80.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.4K12K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank—#35 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size276 MB95 MB
Age rating17++17
DeveloperWebMDOpenEvidence Inc.

Customer experience

Medscape

All ratings1,418 ratings
Positive63.0%
Neutral10.3%
Negative26.7%
Written reviews477 reviews
Positive63.7%
Neutral9.2%
Negative27.0%

OpenEvidence

All ratings11,960 ratings
Positive98.7%
Neutral0.4%
Negative0.8%
Written reviews288 reviews
Positive80.6%
Neutral2.8%
Negative16.7%

User reviews

Medscape

From 1.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Quick and easy to use
  • 📚 Comprehensive medical information
  • 💻 Offline access to content
  • 🆓 Free app with no ads
  • 🏥 Useful for healthcare professionals

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes and freezes
  • 📱 Not optimized for iPad/larger screens
  • 🛒 Issues with Amazon gift card rewards
  • ⏱️ Slow response speed and lagging
  • 🔍 Difficult to navigate and find information

OpenEvidence

From 12K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Accurate and concise answers
  • 💡 Provides references and sources
  • 👍 Helpful for clinical practice
  • 🚀 Efficient search and retrieval
  • 👍 Invaluable quick reference tool

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App not working in latest update
  • ⚠️ Requires specific prompts for complete information

Bugs and requests

Medscape

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes on opening after recent update
  • Unable to access articles or content
  • Broken links and issues with CME activities
  • Logging in and account management problems
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow users to manually enter city during registration
  • Add more languages (e.g., Spanish)
  • Improve CME/education features and tracking
  • Introduce an ad-free paid version
  • Enhance search functionality and organization

OpenEvidence

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • App not working in latest update

Requested features

2 requests
  • Availability on MacBook
  • Integration with clinical workflows and EMRs

In-app purchases

None

Medscape

No in-app purchases

None

OpenEvidence

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Medscape free?
Medscape is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is OpenEvidence free?
OpenEvidence is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Medscape or OpenEvidence?
OpenEvidence is rated higher. Medscape averages 3.6 out of 5 from 1.4K ratings, while OpenEvidence averages 4.9 from 12K ratings.
Do Medscape or OpenEvidence have ads?
Medscape shows ads; OpenEvidence does not.
Which is updated more often, Medscape or OpenEvidence?
Medscape ships an update every 2 weeks, and OpenEvidence weekly. Most recently, Medscape was updated on October 16, 2026 and OpenEvidence on October 16, 2026.

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