AO Surgery Reference vs AMBOSS Medical Knowledge
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
AO Surgery Reference
Access a comprehensive online repository of surgical knowledge for fracture management. It provides detailed guidance on diagnosis, treatment, and aftercare for numerous fracture types, supported by extensive illustrations and expert review.
- 353 fracture types covered
- 172 surgical approaches
- 1222 surgical procedures
- Over 30,000 illustrations
- Feline, canine, and equine fracture care
- Powerful search function
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QUICK ONLINE REFERENCE IN CLINICAL LIFE Gain easy access to the award-winning AO Surgery Reference. AO Surgery Reference is an online repository for surgical knowledge. It describes the complete surgical management process from diagnosis to aftercare for all fractures of a given anatomical region, and also assembles relevant material that the AO has published before. It gives access to: • aid in surgical decision making for 353 fracture types • 172 approaches • 1222 surgical procedures • all richly illustrated with more than 30'000 Illustrations and much more. To ensure the quality of the content, it is authored, edited, and peer reviewed by experienced AO Faculty from all over the world, some of which are also well-known textbook authors/editors. This is a relaunch of the AO Surgery Reference app utilizing the same responsive user interface that was released February 2020. The highlights are: • Consistent navigational logic and user experience on all screen sizes • Inclusion of feline, canine, and equine fracture care • Combination of Preparation – Approach – Reduction and Fixation – Aftercare into one step called treatment. • Introduction of a powerful search function, allowing simplifications of the user interface as it replaces previous shortcuts.
AMBOSS Medical Knowledge
This app provides quick, reliable answers for medical professionals and students. It offers offline access to clinical information, diagnostic image interpretation, and patient care tools. Prepare for exams with high-yield content and integrate with flashcards for enhanced learning.
- Offline clinical knowledge access
- Diagnostic image interpretation
- Patient care tools (flowcharts, checklists, calculators)
- USMLE and Shelf exam preparation
- Anki flashcard integration
- Evidence-based medical content
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Your study and clinical companion. Get fast, reliable answers to clinical questions while studying, preparing for exams, or managing patients. IMPRESS YOUR ATTENDING & PROVIDE EXCELLENT PATIENT CARE WITH AMBOSS - Find the answers you need with the AMBOSS Knowledge app. It works offline so you can use it in the hospital and on the go. - Interpret key clinical findings on diagnostic images with image overlays. - Stay on top of every patient with evidence-based patient-care tools, such as diagnostic flowcharts, acute management checklists, drug dosing, clinical calculators, warning signs, and more. - Make quick decisions confidently, so you can spend more time with your patients. ACE YOUR MEDICAL SCHOOL EXAMS - Be prepared for every exam (in-house, USMLE® Step, or NBME® Shelf exams) with expertly-created high-yield content that covers the entire USMLE® content outline. - Connect your Anki flashcards to the AMBOSS library and remember everything you learn. You’ll get pop-up explanations of medical terms and images right there in your Anki decks. Now available on mobile. - The library content is designed for quick and easy access so you can find the relevant info you need in seconds. And if you want to dive deeper for a more thorough understanding of the topic at hand, all you need to do is click. - Succeed on Shelf exams and honor clinical rotations with the Clerkship Survival Guides and clinical content. - The AMBOSS Qbank app is the ideal way to apply your knowledge and become a top-tier test-taker with its learning features. It is available as a separate app. Once downloaded, both AMBOSS apps integrate seamlessly with each other for a complete studying experience. *AMBOSS users score higher on exams and perform better in the hospital. Learn more here. GETTING STARTED - Create your account at amboss.com/us - Download the AMBOSS Medical Knowledge Library app. - Once that’s done, you’ll have 5 days to explore the platform for FREE. - When your 5-day free trial is up, choose the membership that’s right for you and become part of the AMBOSS medical community. IN CASE YOU NEED HELP If you have any questions, check out our Help Center or get in touch and we’ll be happy to assist. support.amboss.com/hc/en-us Terms and Conditions: https://www.amboss.com/us/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.amboss.com/us/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: AO Surgery Reference at none against AMBOSS Medical Knowledge's 1. AO Surgery Reference also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). AMBOSS Medical Knowledge's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.4) and update cadence (monthly vs every 6 months). On price, review sentiment and device support 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. AMBOSS Medical Knowledge sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $19.99 per month. AO Surgery Reference asks for nothing beyond the download.
AMBOSS Medical Knowledge holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AMBOSS Medical Knowledge has 14K ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 86% and 87% positive.
AO Surgery Reference ships an update every 6 months, AMBOSS Medical Knowledge monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | AO Surgery Reference | AMBOSS Medical Knowledge |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (14 ratings) | 4.9 (14K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.8% of reviews | 86.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 14 | 14K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #36 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 70 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | AO Foundation | AMBOSS |
Customer experience
AO Surgery Reference
AMBOSS Medical Knowledge
Bugs and requests
AO Surgery Reference
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
AMBOSS Medical Knowledge
Reported bugs
3 issues- Forced interaction with Safari from the app
- Inability to access articles and diagrams
- Tiny font size that cannot be adjusted
Requested features
8 requests- Add article options in clinician mode
- Bring back old highlight color
- Add dark mode
- Increase text size
- Add AI assistant to search content and provide answers
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- Add specialty tracks and question bank on the app
- Allow highlighting and note-taking in the app
- Add a digital notebook feature
In-app purchases
AO Surgery Reference
No in-app purchases
AMBOSS Medical Knowledge
- AMBOSS Membership1 Month trial$19.991 Month
Questions
Is AO Surgery Reference free?
Is AMBOSS Medical Knowledge free?
Which has better reviews, AO Surgery Reference or AMBOSS Medical Knowledge?
Do AO Surgery Reference or AMBOSS Medical Knowledge have ads?
Which is updated more often, AO Surgery Reference or AMBOSS Medical Knowledge?
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