# Anesthesia Central vs Master Anesthesia

The clearest difference is monetization model: Anesthesia Central at free with in-app purchases against Master Anesthesia's subscription. Master Anesthesia's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 9 months) and rating (4.9 vs 4.6). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Anesthesia Central sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $99.99 per year and Master Anesthesia sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $69.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Master Anesthesia holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Master Anesthesia has 2K ratings behind it against 104, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Anesthesia Central's written reviews are positive against 78% of Master Anesthesia's.

Anesthesia Central ships an update every 9 months, Master Anesthesia weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Anesthesia Central | Master Anesthesia |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (104 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/anesthesia-central/id347656772/reviews) | **[4.9 (2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/master-anesthesia/id1550793078/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 104 | **2K** |
| Positive reviews | 74.4% of reviews | **78.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Subscription |
| Best chart rank | — | **#197** |
| Size | 9 MB | 69 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Unbound Medicine, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/300420400) | [Matthew Willis](https://appshunter.io/developer/1550793080) |

## What reviewers say

### Anesthesia Central

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/anesthesia-central/id347656772)

This app provides anesthesiologists and critical care specialists with essential information for patient care before, during, and after surgery. It includes disease, drug, test, and procedure details, along with access to the PubMed database for journal articles.

**Highlights:** Disease, drug, test, and procedure information, Access to PubMed database, MGH Clinical Anesthesia Procedures, Davis's Drug Guide, Pocket ICU Management, Pocket Guide to Diagnostic Tests, Integrated calculators

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Anesthesia Central Renewal | $99.99 | per year |
| Anesthesia Central | $169.99 | one-time |


### Master Anesthesia

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/master-anesthesia/id1550793078)

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

This app provides anesthesia professionals with quick answers to common questions. It highlights anesthetic implications of diseases, surgical cases, and drugs, and includes a searchable acronym list and a comprehensive calculator for dosages, blood loss, and fluid management.

**Highlights:** Disease anesthetic implications, Surgical case anesthetic implications, Drug anesthetic implications, Searchable acronym list, Local anesthetic dosage calculator, Blood volume and loss calculator, Fluid and equipment calculations

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

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Master Anesthesia Contributor | $69.99 | per year |
| Full Access CE | $449.00 | per year |
| Module Unlock | $24.99 | one-time |
| Course Unlock | $99.00 | one-time |
| Master Anesthesia One Time | $99.99 | one-time |
| One-Time | $149.99 | one-time |
| Course Unlock | $449.00 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 🚀 Efficient and fast calculators
- 📚 Comprehensive information and resources
- 💡 Helpful for clinical practice and preparation
- 🔍 Useful reference for anesthesia providers

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes in the calculations section
- 🔒 Issues with purchase verification and login
- 💰 Concerns about the transition to a paid subscription model
- 🔋 High battery consumption and performance issues on older devices

**Reported bugs**

- Incorrect terminology and credentials on the starting screen
- Inconsistent behavior when accessing content after subscription changes

**Requested features**

- Offline access to content
- Apple Watch integration for the calculator
- More detailed and up-to-date information on procedures and conditions


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Anesthesia Central free?

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

### Is Master Anesthesia free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Anesthesia Central or Master Anesthesia?

Master Anesthesia is rated higher. Anesthesia Central averages 4.6 out of 5 from 104 ratings, while Master Anesthesia averages 4.9 from 2K ratings.

### Do Anesthesia Central or Master Anesthesia have ads?

Neither Anesthesia Central nor Master Anesthesia shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Anesthesia Central or Master Anesthesia?

Anesthesia Central ships an update every 9 months, and Master Anesthesia weekly. Most recently, Anesthesia Central was updated on October 11, 2026 and Master Anesthesia on October 13, 2026.

---

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