Comparison

AO Surgery Reference vs DynaMed

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

DynaMed

This tool provides clinicians with efficient, evidence-based patient care guidance. It offers timely analysis and synthesis of medical literature, updated daily by medical professionals. Mobile access ensures continuous work with syncing between desktop and mobile devices.

Highlights
  • Evidence-based patient care guidance
  • Daily medical literature review
  • Objective analysis and synthesis
  • Physician-authored content
  • Mobile access with syncing
  • On-the-go clinical support
Features
Read full description

DynaMed is a trusted, evidence-based clinical decision support tool designed by clinicians, for clinicians, to help make faster, more informed decisions at the point of care. Rigorous daily review of medical literature by our editorial team of expert physicians and methodologists ensures timely and objective analysis, synthesis, and guidance are always at your fingertips. Now available with Dyna AI* for faster, trusted answers to your clinical queries. Dyna AI synthesizes DynaMed content into actionable, concise responses with full transparency into source references. What You Can Do with DynaMed • Access clinically relevant answers at the point of care. • Review evidence and expert interpretation with clear transparency. • Stay current with daily updates based on ongoing literature surveillance. • Access content seamlessly across mobile and desktop experiences. • Use content online or offline. Who Can Use This App: This app is designed for physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, pharmacists, trainees, and other healthcare professionals with access to DynaMed through their institution. Why Clinicians Choose DynaMed: DynaMed helps clinicians make informed decisions with confidence by delivering trusted evidence, expert analysis, and practical guidance wherever care happens. *Dyna AI availability is dependent on your subscription and access level.

Screenshots

AO Surgery Reference4 screens
DynaMed4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: DynaMed at 4.9 against AO Surgery Reference's 4.4. DynaMed also leads on ratings volume (3.5K vs 14) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 6 months). AO Surgery Reference's advantage is review sentiment (86% vs 56%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

DynaMed holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DynaMed has 3.5K ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 86% of AO Surgery Reference's written reviews are positive against 56% of DynaMed's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AO Surgery Reference ships an update every 6 months, DynaMed every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
AO Surgery Reference versus DynaMed: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAO Surgery ReferenceDynaMed
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (14 ratings)4.9 (3.5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.8% of reviews — better55.6% of reviews
Number of ratings143.5K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.4
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB37 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperAO FoundationEBSCO Publishing

Customer experience

AO Surgery Reference

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

DynaMed

All ratings3,522 ratings
Positive98.1%
Neutral0.9%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews133 reviews
Positive55.6%
Neutral6.8%
Negative37.6%

Bugs and requests

AO Surgery Reference

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

DynaMed

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes on iOS 14 update
  • Downloading content gets stuck in loop
  • Search function not working properly
  • Frequent login issues
  • App not opening on some devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Improved search functionality
  • Better organization of content
  • More patient education resources
  • Smoother offline access and content management

In-app purchases

None

AO Surgery Reference

No in-app purchases

None

DynaMed

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AO Surgery Reference free?
AO Surgery Reference is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is DynaMed free?
DynaMed is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, AO Surgery Reference or DynaMed?
DynaMed is rated higher. AO Surgery Reference averages 4.4 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while DynaMed averages 4.9 from 3.5K ratings.
Do AO Surgery Reference or DynaMed have ads?
Neither AO Surgery Reference nor DynaMed shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AO Surgery Reference or DynaMed?
AO Surgery Reference ships an update every 6 months, and DynaMed every 5 weeks. Most recently, AO Surgery Reference was updated on September 24, 2026 and DynaMed on September 25, 2026.

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