Comparison

AO Surgery Reference vs The Arthrex Surgeon App

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

The Arthrex Surgeon App

Access a comprehensive digital library of orthopedic knowledge and surgical resources on your mobile device. Stream HD technique videos and browse extensive content offline, organized logically for quick discovery.

Highlights
  • HD surgical technique videos
  • Extensive digital orthopedic knowledge library
  • Offline content access
  • Optimized for iPad and iPhone
  • Intuitive filtering and organization
  • Cloud video streaming
Read full description

The Arthrex Surgeon App provides 24/7 mobile access to our extensive digital orthopedic knowledge and resource library. The app allows you to consume content online as well as offline. Key Features: HD surgical technique videos by leading surgeons Extensive digital orthopedic knowledge library Optimized for iPad and iPhone Video streaming from the cloud for improved performance and speed Logical content organization and labeling for easy browsing from broad to specific topics Intuitive filtering for faster information discovery Developed in close collaboration with leading orthopedic surgeons About Arthrex: Arthrex Inc. is a global leader in multi-specialty, minimally invasive surgical technology, medical research, manufacturing and medical education. Arthrex develops and releases more than 1,000 new products and procedures every year to advance minimally invasive orthopedics, trauma, spine and arthroplasty innovation worldwide, and specializes in the latest 4K multi-specialty surgical visualization and OR integration technology solutions.

Screenshots

AO Surgery Reference4 screens
The Arthrex Surgeon App3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: The Arthrex Surgeon App at 4.8 against AO Surgery Reference's 4.4. The Arthrex Surgeon App also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 6 months). AO Surgery Reference's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Arthrex Surgeon App holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 28 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 86% and 86% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AO Surgery Reference ships an update every 6 months, The Arthrex Surgeon App monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and July 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
AO Surgery Reference versus The Arthrex Surgeon App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAO Surgery ReferenceThe Arthrex Surgeon App
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (14 ratings)4.8 (28 ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.8% of reviews — better85.7% of reviews
Number of ratings1428 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB32 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperAO FoundationArthrex, Inc.

Customer experience

AO Surgery Reference

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

The Arthrex Surgeon App

All ratings28 ratings
Positive96.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%

In-app purchases

None

AO Surgery Reference

No in-app purchases

None

The Arthrex Surgeon App

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AO Surgery Reference free?
AO Surgery Reference is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Arthrex Surgeon App free?
The Arthrex Surgeon App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, AO Surgery Reference or The Arthrex Surgeon App?
The Arthrex Surgeon App is rated higher. AO Surgery Reference averages 4.4 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while The Arthrex Surgeon App averages 4.8 from 28 ratings.
Do AO Surgery Reference or The Arthrex Surgeon App have ads?
Neither AO Surgery Reference nor The Arthrex Surgeon App shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AO Surgery Reference or The Arthrex Surgeon App?
AO Surgery Reference ships an update every 6 months, and The Arthrex Surgeon App monthly. Most recently, AO Surgery Reference was updated on September 24, 2026 and The Arthrex Surgeon App on July 18, 2026.

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