Comparison

Read by QxMD vs DynaMed

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

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

Read by QxMD4 screens
DynaMed4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: DynaMed at none against Read by QxMD's shown. DynaMed also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Read by QxMD's advantage is review sentiment (89% vs 55%). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Read by QxMD against 4.9 for DynaMed. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6K and 3.5K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of Read by QxMD's written reviews are positive against 55% of DynaMed's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Read by QxMD ships an update monthly, DynaMed every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Read by QxMD versus DynaMed: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRead by QxMDDynaMed
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (6K ratings)4.9 (3.5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews89.0% of reviews — better55.2% of reviews
Number of ratings6K — better3.5K
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.4
Further details — not scored
Size205 MB38 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperWebMDEBSCO Publishing

Customer experience

Read by QxMD

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

DynaMed

All ratings3,535 ratings
Positive98.1%
Neutral0.9%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews134 reviews
Positive55.2%
Neutral6.7%
Negative38.1%

User reviews

Read by QxMD

From 6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Efficient access to latest research
  • 👍 Customizable journal and keyword tracking
  • 🔒 Institutional access integration
  • 💡 Convenient PDF downloads
  • 👍 Helpful for staying up-to-date

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔒 Institutional access issues
  • 💻 Lack of desktop/web version
  • 🔍 Limited search and filtering options
  • 📤 Difficulty sharing articles

DynaMed

From 3.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Concise and organized information
  • 🚀 More up-to-date than UpToDate
  • 🚀 Comprehensive and evidence-based
  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 👍 Valuable point-of-care tool

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs after updates
  • 🐛 Frequent login issues
  • 🐛 Downloading and storage issues
  • 🐛 Clunky UI, not optimized for larger screens
  • 🐛 Search function glitches

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

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

Read by QxMD

No in-app purchases

None

DynaMed

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Read by QxMD free?
Read by QxMD 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, Read by QxMD or DynaMed?
DynaMed is rated higher. Read by QxMD averages 4.8 out of 5 from 6K ratings, while DynaMed averages 4.9 from 3.5K ratings.
Do Read by QxMD or DynaMed have ads?
Read by QxMD shows ads; DynaMed does not.
Which is updated more often, Read by QxMD or DynaMed?
Read by QxMD ships an update monthly, and DynaMed every 5 weeks. Most recently, Read by QxMD was updated on October 21, 2026 and DynaMed on October 22, 2026.

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