Comparison

AO Surgery Reference vs MedOne

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 353 fracture types covered
  • 172 surgical approaches
  • 1222 surgical procedures
  • Over 30,000 illustrations
  • Feline, canine, and equine fracture care
  • Powerful search function
Features
Read full description

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.

About

MedOne

Access comprehensive medical content from Thieme, including neurosurgery, radiology, and plastic surgery. View e-books and e-journals online or offline on your mobile device.

Highlights
  • Access Thieme's award-winning content
  • Multiple medical specialties
  • Offline and online access
  • View e-books and e-journals
  • Mobile viewing on iPhone/iPad
Features
Read full description

Combining expert information with stunning visuals and video, MedOne provides access to Thieme’s award-winning content across multiple specialties including neurosurgery, radiology, plastic surgery and medical education. The companion MedOne app allows access to your MedOne content, which can be viewed in offline or online access mode. Easily load your e-books and e-journals on your iPhone or iPad and read when and where you want. The MedOne app is free to download, however a MedOne profile associated with an institutional subscription or individual purchase is required to login and access the content.

Screenshots

AO Surgery Reference4 screens
MedOne3 screens

Verdict

The call

AO Surgery Reference and MedOne both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 86% of AO Surgery Reference's written reviews are positive against 22% of MedOne's. AO Surgery Reference also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). MedOne's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (135 vs 14). On price, rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for AO Surgery Reference against 4.5 for MedOne. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MedOne has 135 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 86% of AO Surgery Reference's written reviews are positive against 22% of MedOne's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AO Surgery Reference ships an update every 6 months, MedOne every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and July 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
AO Surgery Reference versus MedOne: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAO Surgery ReferenceMedOne
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (14 ratings)4.5 (135 ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.8% of reviews — better22.2% of reviews
Number of ratings14135 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB8 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperAO FoundationThieme Publishers

Customer experience

AO Surgery Reference

All ratings14 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews113 reviews
Positive85.8%
Neutral3.5%
Negative10.6%

MedOne

All ratings135 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral1.5%
Negative9.6%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive22.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative77.8%

In-app purchases

None

AO Surgery Reference

No in-app purchases

None

MedOne

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AO Surgery Reference free?
AO Surgery Reference is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MedOne free?
MedOne is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, AO Surgery Reference or MedOne?
MedOne is rated higher. AO Surgery Reference averages 4.4 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while MedOne averages 4.5 from 135 ratings.
Do AO Surgery Reference or MedOne have ads?
Neither AO Surgery Reference nor MedOne shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AO Surgery Reference or MedOne?
AO Surgery Reference ships an update every 6 months, and MedOne every 2 months. Most recently, AO Surgery Reference was updated on September 24, 2026 and MedOne on July 30, 2026.

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