# Anesthesia Central vs Ether

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ether at none against Anesthesia Central's 2. Ether also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 9 months). Anesthesia Central's advantage is review sentiment (74% vs 40%). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Anesthesia Central sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $99.99 per year. Ether asks for nothing beyond the download.

Anesthesia Central ships an update every 9 months, Ether every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Anesthesia Central | Ether |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (105 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/anesthesia-central/id347656772/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **105** | — |
| Positive reviews | **74.4% of reviews** | 40.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | **Every 6 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 9 MB | 4 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Unbound Medicine, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/300420400) | [Stanford Anesthesia Informatics And Media Lab](https://appshunter.io/developer/360941478) |

## 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 |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Excellent anesthesia resource
- 👍 Great for clinicals
- 👍 Well-written and organized
- 👍 Concise and practical
- 👍 Quick reference for students

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Expensive, high price tag
- 💰 Requires annual renewal/subscription
- 💰 Not a one-time purchase
- 💰 Overpriced for content
- 💰 Updates are costly

**Reported bugs**

- App no longer works after changing devices
- Requires re-purchase after device change
- Not working after iOS update
- Often updates when opened, limiting usefulness
- Does not function

**Requested features**

- Allow notes to be added
- Add pictures for procedures
- More comprehensive procedures list
- Improve interface, similar to Epocrates
- Allow Medline to search topics


### Ether

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ether/id360941475)

This medical app provides anesthesiologists with easy access to essential practice information. It offers features like telephone directories and physician contact information, with some content restricted to authenticated Stanford affiliates.

**Highlights:** Anesthesiology practice information, Stanford clinical facility directories, Physician contact information, Built-in text paging, Access for Stanford affiliates

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Anesthesia Central free?

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

### Is Ether free?

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

### Do Anesthesia Central or Ether have ads?

Neither Anesthesia Central nor Ether shows ads.

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

Anesthesia Central ships an update every 9 months, and Ether every 6 weeks. Most recently, Anesthesia Central was updated on November 1, 2026 and Ether 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.*