Comparison

AO Surgery Reference vs NeuroCortex

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

NeuroCortex

Features
Read full description

Cortex helps you calculate the clinical scores most commonly used in neurosurgery and neurocritical care — quickly and fully offline. • Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) • Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) • Hunt-Hess Grade • WFNS SAH Grade • Modified Fisher Scale • ICH Score • Spetzler-Martin AVM Grade Features: - Fully offline; collects no data, requires no internet. - Instant calculation, color-coded severity, and literature interpretation. - A source reference for every score. - Dark theme, Turkish/English. IMPORTANT: Cortex is for educational purposes only. It does not provide treatment or dosing recommendations and does not replace clinical judgement. Always verify against the original source and your local protocols.

Screenshots

AO Surgery Reference4 screens
NeuroCortex4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: AO Surgery Reference at none against NeuroCortex's 1. AO Surgery Reference also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). NeuroCortex's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months). On price and ads 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. NeuroCortex sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. AO Surgery Reference asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AO Surgery Reference ships an update every 6 months, NeuroCortex every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
AO Surgery Reference versus NeuroCortex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAO Surgery ReferenceNeuroCortex
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (14 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews85.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings14 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB37 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperAO FoundationBilge SIPAHIOGLU

In-app purchases

None

AO Surgery Reference

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

NeuroCortex

One-time1
  • Pro Unlock$2.99

Questions

Is AO Surgery Reference free?
AO Surgery Reference is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NeuroCortex free?
NeuroCortex is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do AO Surgery Reference or NeuroCortex have ads?
Neither AO Surgery Reference nor NeuroCortex shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AO Surgery Reference or NeuroCortex?
AO Surgery Reference ships an update every 6 months, and NeuroCortex every 3 weeks. Most recently, AO Surgery Reference was updated on November 1, 2026 and NeuroCortex on October 25, 2026.

Other comparisons