Comparison

AO Surgery Reference vs Mimics Flow

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

Mimics Flow

Access and manage medical cases, view detailed reports, and utilize a 3D viewer. Users can add comments, receive important updates via push notifications, and stay informed about all case information.

Highlights
  • Case overview and details
  • Open PDF reports
  • 3D Viewer access
  • Add and view comments
  • Push notifications for updates
Read full description

Try out the Mimics Flow app: * Get an overview of all cases and find all case details * Open PDF reports and the 3D Viewer from the app * View and Add comments to your case * Receive push notifications on important updates

Screenshots

AO Surgery Reference4 screens
Mimics Flow4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: AO Surgery Reference at 4.4 against Mimics Flow's 3.0. AO Surgery Reference also leads on ratings volume (14 vs 4) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, update cadence, 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

AO Surgery Reference holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 4 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AO Surgery Reference ships an update every 6 months, Mimics Flow every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
AO Surgery Reference versus Mimics Flow: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAO Surgery ReferenceMimics Flow
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (14 ratings) — better3.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews85.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings14 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 6 months — betterEvery 7 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB32 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperAO FoundationMaterialise n.v.

Customer experience

AO Surgery Reference

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

Mimics Flow

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

AO Surgery Reference

No in-app purchases

None

Mimics Flow

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AO Surgery Reference free?
AO Surgery Reference is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mimics Flow free?
Mimics Flow is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, AO Surgery Reference or Mimics Flow?
AO Surgery Reference is rated higher. AO Surgery Reference averages 4.4 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while Mimics Flow averages 3.0 from 4 ratings.
Do AO Surgery Reference or Mimics Flow have ads?
Neither AO Surgery Reference nor Mimics Flow shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AO Surgery Reference or Mimics Flow?
AO Surgery Reference ships an update every 6 months, and Mimics Flow every 7 months. Most recently, AO Surgery Reference was updated on October 7, 2026 and Mimics Flow on October 13, 2026.

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