# UpToDate vs Access

The clearest difference is rating: Access at 4.2 against UpToDate's 3.6. Access also leads on monetization model (free vs subscription). UpToDate's advantage is review sentiment (28% vs 8%) and chart position (#207 vs unranked). 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.

Access holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 583 and 134 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 28% of UpToDate's written reviews are positive against 8% of Access's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpToDate ships an update every 5 weeks, Access monthly. Both last shipped on October 27, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | UpToDate | Access |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.6 (583 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/uptodate/id334265345/reviews) | **[4.2 (134 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/access-by-mcgraw-hill/id1628840396/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **583** | 134 |
| Positive reviews | **28.2% of reviews** | 8.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#207** | — |
| Size | 56 MB | 59 MB |
| Requires iOS | **18.0** | 26 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [UpToDate, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/334265348) | [McGraw-Hill](https://appshunter.io/developer/325792150) |

## What reviewers say

### UpToDate

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

**Currently charting:** #207 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


### Access

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/access-by-mcgraw-hill/id1628840396)

Access medical learning resources like videos, podcasts, and textbooks on the go. Search for specific topics, save content to collections, and personalize your dashboard. Offline viewing and specialty-specific content are available for subscribed institutional users.

**Highlights:** Search diverse medical resources, Save and organize content, Refine by content type, Offline viewing, Personalized dashboard, Specialty-specific content

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Useful for quick reads
- 👍 Good for reading on the go
- 👍 Allows downloading chapters
- 👍 Can favorite books/chapters/figures
- 👍 Great idea for an app

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Infinite login loop
- 🐛 App broken or glitched
- 🐛 Unable to access content
- 🐛 Chapters missing (appendix, intro)
- 🐛 Cannot search all chapters

**Reported bugs**

- Infinite login loop
- App won't log in
- App broken or glitched
- Unable to access content
- Appendix and introduction absent

**Requested features**

- Option to search all chapters at once
- Improve text-to-speech functionality
- Allow text-to-speech to continue when app is in background
- Remember last read position
- Sync favorites across devices


## Frequently asked questions

### Is UpToDate free?

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

### Is Access free?

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

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

Access is rated higher. UpToDate averages 3.6 out of 5 from 583 ratings, while Access averages 4.2 from 134 ratings.

### Do UpToDate or Access have ads?

Neither UpToDate nor Access shows ads.

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

UpToDate ships an update every 5 weeks, and Access monthly. Most recently, UpToDate was updated on October 27, 2026 and Access on October 27, 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.*