# ARF RHD Guidelines vs ESC Pocket Guidelines

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ARF RHD Guidelines at 100% against ESC Pocket Guidelines's 51%. ARF RHD Guidelines also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). ESC Pocket Guidelines's advantage is ratings volume (841 vs 1) and update cadence (every 4 months vs every 16 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ARF RHD Guidelines holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ESC Pocket Guidelines has 841 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of ARF RHD Guidelines's written reviews are positive against 51% of ESC Pocket Guidelines's.

ARF RHD Guidelines ships an update every 16 months, ESC Pocket Guidelines every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ARF RHD Guidelines | ESC Pocket Guidelines |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arf-rhd-guidelines/id542098888/reviews)** | [4.8 (841 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/esc-pocket-guidelines/id683079599/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | **841** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 50.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 16 months | **Every 4 months** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 9 MB | 44 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Menzies School of Health Research](https://appshunter.io/developer/542098911) | [ESC - European Society of Cardiology](https://appshunter.io/developer/440684535) |

## What reviewers say

### ARF RHD Guidelines

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arf-rhd-guidelines/id542098888)

This app provides clinicians with up-to-date evidence and guidance for diagnosing and managing acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. It includes a diagnostic calculator based on global criteria to simplify complex algorithms.

**Highlights:** Diagnosis and management of ARF/RHD, Up-to-date evidence-based information, ARF Diagnosis Calculator, Global diagnostic criteria compliance, Published by RHDAustralia

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### ESC Pocket Guidelines

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/esc-pocket-guidelines/id683079599)

Access a comprehensive library of the latest cardiovascular disease guidelines and consensus statements from the European Society of Cardiology. Features include interactive algorithms, full-text search, bookmarking, note-taking, and content sharing capabilities for quick reference and study.

**Highlights:** Latest ESC Guidelines (2023-2025), Interactive algorithms, Full-text search, Bookmarking and notes, Content sharing, Printable pages

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Practical and handy for clinical use
- 📚 Valuable medical information and guidelines
- ⭐ Excellent content quality
- 🎯 Easy to use interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and stability issues
- 🔐 Sign-in system problematic and unnecessary
- 📖 Small font size and poor design readability
- ❌ Missing content topics after updates
- ⚪ Blank white page display issues

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on iPad and iPhone devices
- Login authentication failures
- White blank page display
- App crashes when opening pathways
- Guidelines not appearing in downloaded folder

**Requested features**

- Update to support iPad Mini 6 resolution
- Include 2023 ESC Congress updates
- Remove or make sign-in optional
- Improve font size and design for better readability
- Add new guidelines (e.g., 2013 stable angina guidelines)


## Frequently asked questions

### Is ARF RHD Guidelines free?

ARF RHD Guidelines is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is ESC Pocket Guidelines free?

ESC Pocket Guidelines is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, ARF RHD Guidelines or ESC Pocket Guidelines?

ARF RHD Guidelines is rated higher. ARF RHD Guidelines averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while ESC Pocket Guidelines averages 4.8 from 841 ratings.

### Do ARF RHD Guidelines or ESC Pocket Guidelines have ads?

Neither ARF RHD Guidelines nor ESC Pocket Guidelines shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, ARF RHD Guidelines or ESC Pocket Guidelines?

ARF RHD Guidelines ships an update every 16 months, and ESC Pocket Guidelines every 4 months. Most recently, ARF RHD Guidelines was updated on September 16, 2026 and ESC Pocket Guidelines on September 21, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*