Comparison

ACLS Review vs AHA PALS

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

ACLS Review

Prepare for your ACLS certification or renewal with realistic practice exams and study cards. This app offers scenario-based questions, detailed rationales, and integrated ECG strips based on the latest American Heart Association guidelines. Track your progress and share scores with others.

Highlights
  • Realistic practice exams
  • Scenario-based questions
  • Detailed rationale answers
  • Integrated ECG strips
  • Unlimited exam retakes
  • Study cards for key topics
  • Score history tracking
Features
Read full description

Whether a first-time student or back for renewal, our ACLS app provides high-quality, realistic practice examinations based on the most recent American Heart Association guidelines. ACLS Review Includes: • Four 25-question practice exams matching AHA style and content areas • Scenario-based questions like you will see on the exam • Detailed rationale answers for each question to help you master course content. • Integrated ECG strips for interpretation practice. Strips may be expanded to full screen for easy viewing. • Take the exams as many times as you wish—and they never expire. • Over 200 study cards in the topics BLS, Pharmacology, ALS, and Algorithm review. • Score history tracks your progress as you complete exams. • Share scores with fellow students, colleagues or instructors. Realistic practice for understanding and treating life-threatening cardiac emergencies and arrhythmias. The questions and scenarios in ACLS Review are based on the current American Heart Association guidelines and are always kept up-to-date. Learn how to more easily recognize life-threatening cardiac emergencies and arrhythmias.

About

AHA PALS

This app provides pediatric advanced life support (PALS) protocols and tools for healthcare professionals at the point-of-care. Developed by physicians and vetted by the American Heart Association, it offers intuitive access to algorithms, drug information, and timers for critical care situations.

Highlights
  • PALS pathways and algorithms
  • Drug therapy and dosing
  • CPR and intervention timers
  • Metronome for compression accuracy
  • Critical care references
  • Vetted by AHA and physicians
Features
Read full description

We continue to iterate based on real-time clinician feedback so that you will have the best experience providing life-saving care at the bedside. The AHA PALS app was developed by Harvard-trained physicians, in collaboration with the American Heart Association (AHA), to help fellow physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and emergency medical technicians (EMT) deliver the highest level of pediatric advanced life support (PALS) at the point-of-care. This project was inspired by the tremendous success of our AHA ACLS app, which has thousands of clinician users in over 180 countries. Importantly, real-time feedback from our clinician users continuously drives improvements in app design, features, and function. AHA PALS is the only app to have all content vetted by both the American Heart Association (AHA) science team (with license to use PALS content) and practicing Harvard-affiliated physicians. We owe it to our patients to use the best digital health tools to give them the highest chance of surviving acute life-threatening illnesses. To this end, we have developed an intuitive and rigorously vetted mobile app to assist healthcare clinicians—at any stage of training—navigate PALS at the bedside. You can purchase a yearly subscription which begins with a 3-day free trial. After completing the free trial, you will be charged for an annual subscription automatically. Features: - Intuitive design to rapidly access PALS pathways (i.e. cardiac arrest , tachycardia with pulse, bradycardia with pulse, post cardiac arrest care, and critical care references) - Includes all PALS content including drug therapy and dosing, reversible causes, etc. - Easy-to-read timers and ability to log rounds of CPR, epinephrine, and defibrillations. There are additional functionalities to log PALS Cardiac Arrest interventions beyond EPI, CPR , and shocks such as lidocaine and more. - We also added a new metronome feature to improve compression accuracy as well as a ROSC button. - Button within cardiac arrest algorithm that allows for rapid transition to post cardiac arrest care checklist once patient achieves ROSC - Relevant critical care references: (1) drugs used in PALS (i.e., medication names, indications, and doses); (2) vital signs in children; (3) pediatric color-coded length-based resuscitation tape (adapted from Breslow tape) ; (4) pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale - All content rigorously vetted by AHA science team and practicing Harvard-affiliated physicians - Regularly updated with the most up-to-date PALS content

Screenshots

ACLS Review4 screens
AHA PALS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: AHA PALS at Free against ACLS Review's $5.99. AHA PALS also leads on rating (4.5 vs 2.6) and review sentiment (55% vs 25%). ACLS Review's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads and device support 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

AHA PALS is free to download; ACLS Review costs $5.99 up front. AHA PALS sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per year. ACLS Review asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AHA PALS holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AHA PALS has 54 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of ACLS Review's written reviews are positive against 55% of AHA PALS's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ACLS Review ships an update every 8 months, AHA PALS every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
ACLS Review versus AHA PALS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterACLS ReviewAHA PALS
Price$5.99Free — better
Rating2.6 (5 ratings)4.5 (54 ratings) — better
Positive reviews25.0% of reviews54.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings554 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB48 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperLimmer CreativeMassachusetts General Hospital

Customer experience

ACLS Review

All ratings5 ratings
Positive20.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative60.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative50.0%

AHA PALS

All ratings53 ratings
Positive88.7%
Neutral1.9%
Negative9.4%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive54.5%
Neutral9.1%
Negative36.4%

In-app purchases

None

ACLS Review

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

AHA PALS

Subscriptions1
  • PALS3 Days trial$3.991 Year

Questions

Is ACLS Review free?
ACLS Review costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is AHA PALS free?
AHA PALS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ACLS Review or AHA PALS?
AHA PALS is rated higher. ACLS Review averages 2.6 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while AHA PALS averages 4.5 from 54 ratings.
Do ACLS Review or AHA PALS have ads?
Neither ACLS Review nor AHA PALS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ACLS Review or AHA PALS?
ACLS Review ships an update every 8 months, and AHA PALS every 2 months. Most recently, ACLS Review was updated on November 2, 2026 and AHA PALS on November 3, 2026.

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