# ESC Pocket Guidelines vs MSD Manual Professional

ESC Pocket Guidelines and MSD Manual Professional both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 87% of MSD Manual Professional's written reviews are positive against 53% of ESC Pocket Guidelines's. MSD Manual Professional also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). ESC Pocket Guidelines's advantage is ratings volume (841 vs 174). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for ESC Pocket Guidelines against 4.9 for MSD Manual Professional. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 841 and 174 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 53% of ESC Pocket Guidelines's written reviews are positive against 87% of MSD Manual Professional's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ESC Pocket Guidelines | MSD Manual Professional |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (841 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/esc-pocket-guidelines/id683079599/reviews) | **[4.9 (174 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/msd-manual-professional/id1123678257/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **841** | 174 |
| Positive reviews | 52.9% of reviews | **87.4% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 44 MB | 193 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | +17 | 17+ |
| Developer | [ESC - European Society of Cardiology](https://appshunter.io/developer/440684535) | [Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/718617686) |

## What reviewers say

### ESC Pocket Guidelines

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/esc-pocket-guidelines/id683079599)

Access a comprehensive library of the latest cardiovascular disease guidelines and consensus statements from the European Society of Cardiology. Features include interactive algorithms, full-text search, bookmarking, note-taking, and content sharing capabilities for quick reference and study.

**Highlights:** Latest ESC Guidelines (2023-2025), Interactive algorithms, Full-text search, Bookmarking and notes, Content sharing, Printable pages

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Practical and handy for clinical use
- 📚 Valuable medical information and guidelines
- ⭐ Excellent content quality
- 🎯 Easy to use interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and stability issues
- 🔐 Sign-in system problematic and unnecessary
- 📖 Small font size and poor design readability
- ❌ Missing content topics after updates
- ⚪ Blank white page display issues

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on iPad and iPhone devices
- Login authentication failures
- White blank page display
- App crashes when opening pathways
- Guidelines not appearing in downloaded folder

**Requested features**

- Update to support iPad Mini 6 resolution
- Include 2023 ESC Congress updates
- Remove or make sign-in optional
- Improve font size and design for better readability
- Add new guidelines (e.g., 2013 stable angina guidelines)


### MSD Manual Professional

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/msd-manual-professional/id1123678257)

Access comprehensive medical information for healthcare professionals and students. This app provides detailed explanations of thousands of conditions, diagnostic options, and treatment strategies, updated regularly by medical experts. It includes photos, illustrations, and instructional videos for procedures and examinations.

**Highlights:** Thousands of medical topics, Photos and illustrations, Instructional videos, Quizzes for knowledge check, Medical news and commentary, Editorials by experts

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 📚 Comprehensive medical reference with extensive coverage
- 🆓 Completely free access to professional medical knowledge
- 📱 Offline functionality for use without internet
- 🎯 Concise and well-organized content for quick reference
- ⚡ Fast and efficient search capabilities

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Images and figures not displaying properly
- 🐛 App crashes or closes unexpectedly
- 🐛 Dark mode rendering issues with black screens
- 🐛 Navigation problems when returning from tables/links
- 🐛 Slow performance on some devices

**Reported bugs**

- Images and figures not showing in app
- App crashes on launch or during use
- Dark mode causes black screen display
- Navigation back button returns to search results instead of article
- Download interruption prevents app functionality

**Requested features**

- Russian language support (most requested)
- Italian language version
- French language translation
- Spanish language option
- German language support


## Frequently asked questions

### Is ESC Pocket Guidelines free?

ESC Pocket Guidelines is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is MSD Manual Professional free?

MSD Manual Professional is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, ESC Pocket Guidelines or MSD Manual Professional?

MSD Manual Professional is rated higher. ESC Pocket Guidelines averages 4.8 out of 5 from 841 ratings, while MSD Manual Professional averages 4.9 from 174 ratings.

### Do ESC Pocket Guidelines or MSD Manual Professional have ads?

Neither ESC Pocket Guidelines nor MSD Manual Professional shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, ESC Pocket Guidelines or MSD Manual Professional?

ESC Pocket Guidelines ships an update every 4 months, and MSD Manual Professional every 4 months. Most recently, ESC Pocket Guidelines was updated on October 23, 2026 and MSD Manual Professional on October 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*