EBMRef vs Synapse for Safari
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
EBMRef
Access summaries of landmark medical research across specialties. Quickly find key trial details like interventions, outcomes, and clinical relevance for bedside reference. Intended for educational use, it's a supplement to, not a replacement for, professional medical advice.
- Landmark research summaries
- Organized by medical specialty
- Key trial details (name, year, interventions, outcomes)
- Clinical relevance distilled
- Quick bedside access
- Educational and informational
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EBMRef provides summaries of landmark research across various medical specialties. Built for quick access at the bedside, it organizes pivotal trials by specialty and distills key details, including trial name, year, interventions, outcomes, and clinical relevance. As with all scientific literature, users should review the complete study to appreciate its methodology, potential biases, and limitations. This app is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the guidance of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, and never disregard or delay seeking professional advice because of information provided by this app. About Rishi Kumar, MD, FACC ("RK.MD") I'm an adult cardiothoracic anesthesiologist and cardiovascular ICU intensivist practicing in academic medicine. I'm passionate about teaching with free, open-access medical education. Learn more on my site: https://rk.md
Synapse for Safari
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Synapse for Safari brings your research workflow directly into Safari. Automatically detect papers on PubMed, arXiv, bioRxiv, Nature, NEJM, JAMA, The Lancet, and 8 more publisher sites. Features: - Save papers to your Synapse library with one click - Chat with AI about any paper — ask about methodology, findings, limitations - Generate citations in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver, or IEEE format - Keyboard shortcuts for power users (⌘⇧S to save, ⌘⇧C to chat) - Works on Mac, iPhone, and iPad Requires a free Synapse account at synapsesocial.com.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Synapse for Safari at every 2 days against EBMRef's every 3 weeks. Synapse for Safari also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads and 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
EBMRef ships an update every 3 weeks, Synapse for Safari every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | EBMRef | Synapse for Safari |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (21 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 21 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Rishi Kumar | Synapse Social LLC |
In-app purchases
EBMRef
No in-app purchases
Synapse for Safari
No in-app purchases








