MediCode vs AHA PALS
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MediCode
Access essential emergency medical algorithms and practice tests on your mobile device. This app provides quick access to ILCOR algorithms for ACLS, PALS, BLS, CPR, and more, helping healthcare professionals make critical decisions in emergency situations.
- Access ILCOR algorithms
- ACLS, PALS, BLS, CPR, NR skills
- ECG rhythms and interpretations
- Multiple-choice practice tests
- Downloadable ebooks
- Easy navigation
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Tired of carrying a set of expandable CPR cards all the time for algorithms? Flipping through the cards to find the right one wastes valuable time in emergency health care situations such as cardiac arrest and pediatric urgent care. MediCode gives you easy access to all of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) algorithms from the palm of your hand and includes multiple-choice practice tests for you to test your skills. This Algorithms, Practice Tests, Megacodes, and ebooks app makes it easy for physicians, paramedics, and nurses to care and save lives. Download this health care professional’s app for free. As health care professionals - critical care physicians, nurses, medical students, paramedics, and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT), you save lives every day. In times of emergency, others turn to you and trust that you will take the right steps to save them or their loved ones. But no emergency situation is the same. Having a set of tools in your pocket can make all the difference. The MediCode app is a simple, easy-to-use resource for all of your ACLS (including core ECG rhythms), BLS, PALS and NR skills needs, including CPR and first aid. As our gift to you, we are making this health care app, along with downloadable ebooks, available to you for free! At Save a Life by Advanced Medical Certification (AMC), the premier provider for online certification and recertification courses, we believe that improvements can be made through providing exceptional education and resources. Save a Life by Advanced Medical Certification has compiled a list of the vital Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Neonatal Resuscitation (NR) and CPR and first aid algorithms, all of which can be viewed and navigated with the touch of your finger. Test your ACLS, BLS, CPR, PALS, first aid and ECG knowledge and skills with our free practice tests. Each skills test consists of 10 multiple-choice questions that are derived from our provider ebooks and adhere to the latest guidelines. Download MediCode and our lifesaving ebooks now and start saving lives! Review our newest ECG rhythms and interpretations resource in our ACLS ebook. Also, check out our CertAlert+ app to conveniently access all your licenses and certifications in one place anytime, anywhere. The individual algorithms included in MediCode are: • BLS - Adult BLS Algorithm - Pediatric BLS Algorithm • ACLS - Cardiac Arrest Algorithm - Details for Cardiac Arrest - Immediate Post Cardiac-Arrest Care Algorithm - Bradycardia with Pulse Algorithm - Tachycardia with Pulse Algorithm • PALS - Pediatric Cardiac Arrest Algorithm - Details for Pediatric Cardiac Arrest - Immediate Post for Cardiac Arrest - Pediatric Bradycardia with Pulse/Poor Perfusion Algorithm - Pediatric Tachycardia Algorithm • NR - Neonatal Resuscitation Algorithm • CPR and First Aid - Adult BLS Algorithm - Simple Adult BLS Algorithm MediCode is a well-organized, polished, and easy-to-use health care professional’s app that walks you through the many algorithms and practice tests - ACLS, BLS, PALS, NR, and CPR and First Aid. MediCode also provides ebooks, including our newest ECG rhythms and interpretations section of our ACLS handbook, to enhance your skills in emergencies.
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.
- PALS pathways and algorithms
- Drug therapy and dosing
- CPR and intervention timers
- Metronome for compression accuracy
- Critical care references
- Vetted by AHA and physicians
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MediCode at none against AHA PALS's 1. MediCode also leads on ratings volume (4.3K vs 54) and review sentiment (75% vs 55%). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. AHA PALS sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per year. MediCode asks for nothing beyond the download.
MediCode holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MediCode has 4.3K ratings behind it against 54, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of MediCode's written reviews are positive against 55% of AHA PALS's.
MediCode ships an update every 3 weeks, AHA PALS every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MediCode | AHA PALS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (4.3K ratings) — better | 4.5 (54 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 75.4% of reviews — better | 54.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4.3K — better | 54 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Advanced Medical Certification Ltd | Massachusetts General Hospital |
Customer experience
MediCode
AHA PALS
Bugs and requests
MediCode
Reported bugs
3 issues- Inability to progress through Mega Codes
- Crashes and freezes on newer devices
- Incorrect information in the algorithms
Requested features
4 requests- Update to 2020 AHA guidelines
- Add drug dosage information
- Improve stability and reduce crashes
- Provide more practice tests and scenarios
AHA PALS
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
MediCode
No in-app purchases
AHA PALS
- PALS3 Days trial$3.991 Year







