Comparison

Read by QxMD vs ABX Dosage

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

Head to head
About

Read by QxMD

Access and organize the latest medical research and topic reviews in a personalized digital journal. Stay updated with new scientific findings and easily retrieve full-text PDFs from PubMed and other sources.

Highlights
  • Personalized digital medical journal
  • Access latest medical research
  • Read topic reviews
  • Search PubMed
  • Full-text PDF access
  • Organize article collection
Features
Read full description

'Read by QxMD' provides a single place to keep up with new medical & scientific research, read outstanding topic reviews and search PubMed. This iPhone & iPad app provides a simple interface that drives discovery and seamless access to the medical literature by reformatting it into a personalized digital journal. Praise for Read: 5 stars: "Stellar. The future of medical literature review... This could be the best application to stay up-to-date in medicine since, well, UpToDate." - User Review 4¾ stars: "The Flipboard for medical journals has arrived" and among "...the most innovative medical apps" - iMedicalApps.com On Apple's 'What's Hot' list in >60 countries, as well as Medical Essentials & Apps for Healthcare Professionals. Featured in Apple iBook: "iOS in Healthcare: Revolutionizing Healthcare Productivity"   Features: - Get full text PDFs with one tap - Keep up with the latest new research that will impact your practice - Browse through 1000s of outstanding topic reviews - Search millions of articles from PubMed and our database of outstanding topic reviews - Read your favorite journals or browse article collections. - Access full text through your university/institutional subscription or via open access publishers - Share articles with colleagues over email, Twitter and Facebook - Organize and review your personal collection of articles Why did we build 'Read by QxMD'? Health care professionals need to stay up to date on the latest medical research and topic reviews to provide optimal care. Unfortunately, the process of content discovery is broken with research artificially compartmentalized by publishers and hidden behind countless institutional pay walls. At QxMD, we believe that knowledge translation– the process by which new knowledge is incorporated into clinical practice – is an important and unsolved challenge for our health care system. We hope that ‘Read by QxMD’ will be a part of the solution. Seamless 1-tap access available at thousands of institutions. Sources: From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Founded by medical professionals, QxMD is dedicated to creating high quality point-of-care tools for practicing health care professionals.

About

ABX Dosage

This medical reference guide provides antimicrobial dosage adjustments for patients with renal failure. It offers recommendations for over 180 antimicrobials, with a calculator to estimate creatinine clearance and extensive bibliographies.

Highlights
  • 180+ antimicrobials with dosage recommendations
  • Cockcroft-Gault creatinine clearance calculator
  • Extensive bibliographies per antimicrobial
  • Regularly updated data
  • Spotlight Search support
  • Apple Watch support
Features
Read full description

ABX Dosage is the reference guide for antimicrobial dosage adjustments in renal failure. Choose any antimicrobial and watch how dosage recommendations change as you slide through different creatinine clearance values. • More than 180 antimicrobials with dosage recommendations thoroughly reviewed by experts in the field • Cockcroft-Gault based calculator to easily estimate creatinine clearance • Extensive bibliography for each antimicrobial • Regularly updated data • Spotlight Search support: check antimicrobial dosages without opening the app • Apple Watch support: wear the information for all dosages on your wrist (works even without an iPhone connection)

Screenshots

Read by QxMD4 screens
ABX Dosage4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Read by QxMD at Free against ABX Dosage's $1.99. Read by QxMD also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). ABX Dosage's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (100% vs 89%). On in-app purchases 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

Read by QxMD is free to download; ABX Dosage costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Read by QxMD ships an update monthly, ABX Dosage every 3 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Read by QxMD versus ABX Dosage: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRead by QxMDABX Dosage
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.8 (6K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews89.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6K — better—
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.69.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size205 MB30 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperWebMDGARMENMED, SCP

Customer experience

Read by QxMD

All ratings6,040 ratings
Positive96.4%
Neutral1.9%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews889 reviews
Positive89.0%
Neutral3.0%
Negative8.0%

ABX Dosage

Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Read by QxMD

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Login and authentication problems
  • Inconsistent app performance after updates
  • Inability to access full-text articles
  • Syncing issues between devices
  • Unreliable article refresh functionality

Requested features

6 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to annotate and highlight PDFs
  • Improved article organization and collections
  • Integration with reference managers (e.g. Zotero, Mendeley)
  • Enhanced search and filtering capabilities
Show 1 more
  • Offline access to saved articles

ABX Dosage

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Read by QxMD

No in-app purchases

None

ABX Dosage

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Read by QxMD free?
Read by QxMD is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ABX Dosage free?
ABX Dosage costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Read by QxMD or ABX Dosage have ads?
Read by QxMD shows ads; ABX Dosage does not.
Which is updated more often, Read by QxMD or ABX Dosage?
Read by QxMD ships an update monthly, and ABX Dosage every 3 months. Most recently, Read by QxMD was updated on November 6, 2026 and ABX Dosage on November 6, 2026.

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