Comparison

PubMed Summaries vs CatchUpSurg

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

Head to head
About

PubMed Summaries

Features
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PaperRounds uses AI to turn PubMed papers into structured summaries for medical students, residents, clinicians and researchers — and every line points to the sentence in the paper it comes from. WHAT'S INSIDE • Every paper in five minutes Population, intervention, outcome, findings and harms — each backed by a sentence from the abstract. Deep summaries read the open full text. • Ask the literature Ask a question: PubMed is searched, up to 30 abstracts read, every sentence with its source. Or request a report from up to 80. • See what the numbers support Evidence Check shows design, sample, follow-up and what to watch for — on your phone, free. Flashcards help you remember each paper. • Journal club, ready Slides with speaker notes and a one-page handout from any summary. Line up 2–4 papers side by side. • Never miss what changed Every Monday, new trials, meta-analyses and guidelines from your journals. For each paper: which guidelines cited it, and whether it was retracted. • Get past the paywall, legally Finds legal free copies of a paper — PMC, Europe PMC, repositories — and can summarize the open full text. • In your language Every summary, answer and report written in your language — drug names, numbers and PMIDs kept exact. 30 languages. • Connect Zotero Papers you summarize go to your Zotero library with the summary attached. Connect in Settings. • On iPhone, iPad and iPhone Duo Connect with Apple and your library and topics stay in step across your iPhone and iPad. On iPhone Duo, the unfolded screen gets the wide iPad layout. PAPERROUNDS PRO • 50 summaries a day, 10 from the full text Deep summaries read the open full text; every field cites the paper. • Ask the literature Ask a question: 30 PubMed abstracts read, every sentence cited. 30 a day. • Deep literature report From 80 abstracts: a study table, disagreements and gaps, as a PDF. 3 a day. • Side by side, and journal club Compare 2–4 papers in a table. Slides, speaker notes and a one-page handout. • After publication The full lists of guidelines, meta-analyses and RCTs that cited a paper. • In your language Summaries, answers and reports in 30 languages — drug names, numbers and PMIDs kept exact. Without Pro: Evidence Check, the weekly digest, finding legal free full texts, and one summary to try. RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ONLY PaperRounds helps summarize published medical literature for learning and research. It is not a medical device and does not provide diagnosis or treatment recommendations. Always verify summaries against the original article and your clinical judgment. ——————— Support: https://www.notion.so/Support-PaperRounds-3660cc7ee73680b5b00cf8327cc176bb?source=copy_link Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.notion.so/Privacy-Policy-PaperRounds-3660cc7ee736801a87dcc66cdf6e1c19?source=copy_link

About

CatchUpSurg

Features
Read full description

CatchUpSurg helps surgeons, surgical trainees, and other healthcare professionals stay current with recent surgical literature. The app searches PubMed and Europe PMC every day across a carefully selected collection of leading surgical journals. Choose the topics, study designs, and journals relevant to you, and receive a personal overview of new articles. With CatchUpSurg, you can: • Review new surgical publications quickly • Filter across surgical oncology, gastrointestinal surgery, trauma, vascular surgery, thoracic surgery, pediatric surgery, transplantation, endocrine surgery, and more • Select study designs including RCTs, cohort studies, systematic reviews, and guidelines • Open articles with a clear overview of objective, methods, results, clinical relevance, and limitations • Read in Dutch, English, or Spanish • Search by title, author, abstract, topic, study design, and journal • Save relevant articles or remove them from your overview • Receive notifications when new articles match your preferences Summaries are based on the information available in the article and do not alter reported figures or outcomes. CatchUpSurg supports literature tracking. It does not replace reading the original publication or clinical decision-making.

Screenshots

PubMed Summaries4 screens
CatchUpSurg4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: CatchUpSurg at every 3 days against PubMed Summaries's every 5 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. PubMed Summaries sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and CatchUpSurg sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PubMed Summaries ships an update every 5 months, CatchUpSurg every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 5 level
PubMed Summaries versus CatchUpSurg: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPubMed SummariesCatchUpSurg
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size121 MB5 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperMUHAMMET USLUSven van Egmond

In-app purchases

4 purchases

PubMed Summaries

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Pro3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Yearly Student$49.991 Year
  • Yearly Pro$99.991 Year
One-time1
  • Disposable Production$0.99
2 purchases

CatchUpSurg

One-time2
  • Small coffee for the developer$1.99
  • Large coffee for the developer$6.99

Questions

Is PubMed Summaries free?
PubMed Summaries is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CatchUpSurg free?
CatchUpSurg is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PubMed Summaries or CatchUpSurg have ads?
Neither PubMed Summaries nor CatchUpSurg shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PubMed Summaries or CatchUpSurg?
PubMed Summaries ships an update every 5 months, and CatchUpSurg every 3 days. Most recently, PubMed Summaries was updated on October 31, 2026 and CatchUpSurg on October 31, 2026.

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