MBS Search vs APLS Australia
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MBS Search
Access the Australian Medicare Benefits Schedule on your iPhone to quickly find item numbers and calculate bills. It offers fee descriptions with Gap Cover rates and allows for easy bill emailing and creation of favorite item lists.
- Find Medicare item numbers quickly
- Calculate bills for multiple item numbers
- View Gap Cover rates
- Automatic Assistant fee calculations
- Email bills and item numbers
- Create favorite item lists
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Get the latest Australian Medicare Benefits Schedule free on your iPhone: Find items numbers super fast. Automatically calculate bills for cases with multiple item numbers. Fee descriptions include Gap Cover rates for 60 different fee schedules. Automatic Assistant fee calculations. Email bills and item numbers to your rooms: simple out of pocket expense calculations. Create your own favourites for commonly used items or groups of items.
APLS Australia
Provides paediatric emergency algorithms for medical professionals in acute care. Features flowcharts for various emergencies, updated for current guidelines. Also offers information on courses and conferences.
- Paediatric emergency algorithms
- Easy reference flowcharts
- Cardiac arrest management
- Anaphylaxis management
- Newborn life support
- Course information
- Conference details
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This app contains paediatric emergency algorithms produced by Advanced Paediatric Life Support, Australia, for medical professionals working in acute care in Australia. Flowcharts are in easy reference format for a wide range of paediatric emergencies, including: • Paediatric Basic Life Support • Advanced Life Support • Cardiac Arrest Management • The Choking Child • Anaphylaxis Management • Bradycardia Management • SVT (Supra-Ventricular Tachycardia) Management • VT (Ventricular Tachycardia) Management • Management of Coma • Status Epilepticus Management • Spinal Imaging, Referral and Clearance • Intubation Checklist • Failed Intubation Checklist • Hyperkalaemia Management • Blood and Fluid Therapy in Trauma • Structured Approach to Emergency Paediatrics • Newborn Life Support - Australian / New Zealand Resuscitation Council These algorithms form part of the three day APLS course, regarded as the international gold standard in paediatric emergency training. They are intended for use by trained medical professionals who have completed a full APLS course in Australia or New Zealand only. Fully updated for 2026 for consistency with current APLS course content, the 7th edition of 'Advanced Paediatric Life Support: A Practical Approach to Emergencies (Australia & New Zealand)' and the latest international consensus guidelines. Elsewhere in the app, discover more about the APLS course and APLS Australia, watch sessions from past Paediatric Acute Care Conferences and find upcoming courses near you.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: MBS Search at 5.0 against APLS Australia's 3.0. MBS Search also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 11 months) and review sentiment (49% vs 20%). APLS Australia's advantage is iOS requirement (15.5 vs 17.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
MBS Search holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 49% of MBS Search's written reviews are positive against 20% of APLS Australia's.
MBS Search ships an update every 6 weeks, APLS Australia every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MBS Search | APLS Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 49.3% of reviews — better | 20.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 11 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.5 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 28 MB | 72 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Umbrella Network Pty Limited | Advanced Paediatric Life Support, Australia |
Customer experience
MBS Search
APLS Australia
Bugs and requests
MBS Search
Reported bugs
20 issues- Crashes after latest update
- Item numbers difficult to find for GP
- Medicare rebate calculation incorrect
- Crashing frequently
- No ability to change insurance details
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- Items only show Medicare rates
- Item numbers not updated
- Lost favorites after updates
- Favorites reset randomly
- Crashes with iPhone X
- Crashes when changing anesthesia billing times
- Crashing with iOS update
- Excision section broken
- Favorites wiped on upgrade
- Calculation for 51303 not accurate
- Cannot scan patient label
- Not working with iPhone 5
- Crashes on start up
- Hangs and crashes on skin procedures menu
- No listing of fees for visits
Requested features
7 requests- Update insurance covers
- Update with July release codes
- Add landscape orientation for iPad
- Improve sorting of categories
- Easier favorite adding
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Ability to mail log book
- Differentiate GP vs Specialist procedures
APLS Australia
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
MBS Search
No in-app purchases
APLS Australia
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is MBS Search free?
Is APLS Australia free?
Which has better reviews, MBS Search or APLS Australia?
Do MBS Search or APLS Australia have ads?
Which is updated more often, MBS Search or APLS Australia?
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