# UpToDate vs Visualmed

The clearest difference is rating: Visualmed at 4.5 against UpToDate's 3.6. Visualmed also leads on review sentiment (63% vs 28%) and chart position (#190 vs unranked). UpToDate's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Visualmed sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. UpToDate asks for nothing beyond the download.

Visualmed holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 586 and 201 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of UpToDate's written reviews are positive against 63% of Visualmed's.

UpToDate ships an update every 5 weeks, Visualmed every 3 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | UpToDate | Visualmed |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.6 (586 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/uptodate/id334265345/reviews) | **[4.5 (201 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/visualmed-clinical-trials/id1423485924/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **586** | 201 |
| Positive reviews | 28.2% of reviews | **62.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 weeks** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | — | **#190** |
| Size | 56 MB | 23 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [UpToDate, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/334265348) | [Usama Nasir](https://appshunter.io/developer/1089083580) |

## What reviewers say

### UpToDate

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

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


### Visualmed

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/visualmed-clinical-trials/id1423485924)

**Currently charting:** #190 Top Grossing · Medical (US App Store)

This app transforms complex clinical trials into easy-to-understand visual abstracts. It's designed for busy healthcare professionals and students to quickly grasp key research findings across various medical specialties.

**Highlights:** Visual abstracts of clinical trials, 2,000+ clinical trials across specialties, Search by trial, disease, or treatment, Discover landmark and new research, Concise study summaries, Designed for busy clinicians

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Pro Yearly | $29.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- ✨ Concise summaries of trials
- 🚀 Efficient information access
- 👍 Easy to use interface
- 💡 Visual abstracts and infographics
- 📚 Vast database of studies

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💸 Shift to subscription model
- 😠 Feeling of being ripped off
- 📉 Decreased graphic quality (recent)
- ❌ Content paywalled for old users
- 👎 Unreasonable subscription fees

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on opening
- Visual summaries not loading
- Only cardiology content showing up
- App keeps shutting down
- Cannot pass the logo screen

**Requested features**

- Consider grandfathering in users who paid previously
- Refund for users who paid and now can't access content
- Improve app structure and layout
- Department-specific approach (medicine, critical care, etc.) instead of disease-specific
- Developer response to user comments about issues


## Frequently asked questions

### Is UpToDate free?

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

### Is Visualmed free?

Visualmed is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, UpToDate or Visualmed?

Visualmed is rated higher. UpToDate averages 3.6 out of 5 from 586 ratings, while Visualmed averages 4.5 from 201 ratings.

### Do UpToDate or Visualmed have ads?

Neither UpToDate nor Visualmed shows ads.

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

UpToDate ships an update every 5 weeks, and Visualmed every 3 months. Most recently, UpToDate was updated on November 6, 2026 and Visualmed on November 6, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*