AO Surgery Reference vs Bel
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.
Bel
This app guides patients through pre- and post-operative care. It helps you understand the necessary steps for a successful surgery and recovery.
- Pre-operative guidance
- Post-operative instructions
- Surgery success tips
- Recovery process understanding
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The Bel-Red OMS app is here to improve your patient experience. By understanding the steps you should take before and after your surgery, you can help ensure the success of a smooth procedure and recovery.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Bel at 5.0 against AO Surgery Reference's 4.4. Bel also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 6 months). 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.
Bel holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 6 respectively.
AO Surgery Reference ships an update every 6 months, Bel every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | AO Surgery Reference | Bel |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (14 ratings) | 5.0 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 14 — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | AO Foundation | UAppme LLC |
Customer experience
AO Surgery Reference
Bel
In-app purchases
AO Surgery Reference
No in-app purchases
Bel
No in-app purchases
