Read by QxMD vs ABX Dosage
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Personalized digital medical journal
- Access latest medical research
- Read topic reviews
- Search PubMed
- Full-text PDF access
- Organize article collection
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'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.
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.
- 180+ antimicrobials with dosage recommendations
- Cockcroft-Gault creatinine clearance calculator
- Extensive bibliographies per antimicrobial
- Regularly updated data
- Spotlight Search support
- Apple Watch support
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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
Verdict
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
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.
Read by QxMD ships an update monthly, ABX Dosage every 3 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.
| Parameter | Read by QxMD | ABX Dosage |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (6K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 89.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 205 MB | 30 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | WebMD | GARMENMED, SCP |
Customer experience
Read by QxMD
ABX Dosage
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
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- Offline access to saved articles
ABX Dosage
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Read by QxMD
No in-app purchases
ABX Dosage
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Read by QxMD free?
Is ABX Dosage free?
Do Read by QxMD or ABX Dosage have ads?
Which is updated more often, Read by QxMD or ABX Dosage?
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