# UpToDate vs ClinicalKey

The clearest difference is review sentiment: UpToDate at 28% against ClinicalKey's 9%. UpToDate also leads on chart position (#197 vs unranked). ClinicalKey's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, ads 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.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | UpToDate | ClinicalKey |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.6 (579 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/uptodate/id334265345/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **579** | — |
| Positive reviews | **28.3% of reviews** | 8.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 5 weeks |
| Monetization | Subscription | Subscription |
| Best chart rank | **#197** | — |
| Size | 56 MB | 55 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [UpToDate, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/334265348) | [Elsevier Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/367031326) |

## What reviewers say

### UpToDate

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/uptodate/id334265345)

**Currently charting:** #197 Top Free · Medical (US App Store)

This clinical decision support tool provides healthcare professionals with evidence-based guidance to improve patient care. It features AI-powered conversational answers, continuously updated medical content, and tools for drug reference, calculations, and patient education.

**Highlights:** Expert AI conversational guidance, Gold standard clinical content, Practice-changing updates, Patient education materials, Drug reference and interactions, Clinical calculators, Kidney dosing guidance

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 💎 Invaluable medical resource
- 🚀 Quick and easy to use
- 🔍 Comprehensive and up-to-date content

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezing issues
- 🔌 Unreliable offline functionality
- 💰 Expensive subscription cost

**Reported bugs**

- Inability to download offline content
- Constant need to re-authenticate
- Incompatibility with recent iOS updates

**Requested features**

- Highlight and annotate content
- Improved institutional login support
- Dark mode and font size options


### ClinicalKey

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/clinicalkey/id1041998175)

This app provides medical professionals with instant access to a vast library of clinical knowledge, including synoptic content and in-depth reference materials. It helps users stay updated on medical advancements, confirm diagnoses, and advance their research skills, all while offering CME/MOC/CE credits.

**Highlights:** Access to 30+ medical specialties, Synoptic content for quick answers, Full-text reference books and journals, Mobile-optimized medical calculators, Earn CME/MOC/CE credits, Intuitive search functionality

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 📚 High-quality, evidence-based clinical content
- 🎯 Intuitive interface and quick reference format
- 🔍 Similar functionality to website version
- 👍 Browse feature restoration appreciated by users

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔓 Constant forced logout issues
- 🔐 Institutional login authentication failures
- ⏳ App freezes and perpetual loading screens
- 🚫 Missing textbook access in app vs website
- 📵 Frequent crashes and force closures

**Reported bugs**

- App stuck on loading screen after initial login
- Forced logout when closing or minimizing app
- Institutional login not working despite web access
- App crashes during search queries
- OpenAthens authentication failures

**Requested features**

- PDF download capability within the app
- Favorite/bookmark textbooks and articles
- Landscape mode support for iPad
- Find-on-page text search function
- Automatic session persistence and page memory


## Frequently asked questions

### Is UpToDate free?

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

### Is ClinicalKey free?

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

### Do UpToDate or ClinicalKey have ads?

Neither UpToDate nor ClinicalKey shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, UpToDate or ClinicalKey?

UpToDate ships an update every 5 weeks, and ClinicalKey every 5 weeks. Most recently, UpToDate was updated on September 25, 2026 and ClinicalKey on September 25, 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.*