# ESC Pocket Guidelines vs CathPal

The clearest difference is price: ESC Pocket Guidelines at Free against CathPal's $4.99. ESC Pocket Guidelines also leads on ratings volume (841 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). CathPal's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 4 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

ESC Pocket Guidelines is free to download; CathPal costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

CathPal holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ESC Pocket Guidelines has 841 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

ESC Pocket Guidelines ships an update every 4 months, CathPal daily. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ESC Pocket Guidelines | CathPal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $4.99 |
| Rating | [4.8 (841 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/esc-pocket-guidelines/id683079599/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cathpal/id6761793182/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **841** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 50.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Daily** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Paid |
| Size | 44 MB | 3 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.1** | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [ESC - European Society of Cardiology](https://appshunter.io/developer/440684535) | [Analysta LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1845791741) |

## 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)


### CathPal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cathpal/id6761793182)

This medical calculator assists healthcare professionals with complex hemodynamic calculations for cardiac catheterization. It provides instant results for cardiac output, vascular resistance, valve areas, and shunt quantification, with an EMR-ready report. Formulas are based on peer-reviewed literature and professional guidelines.

**Highlights:** Hemodynamic calculations, Valve area computation, Shunt quantification, EMR-ready evaluation report, Offline functionality, Quality checks for data entry, Dark mode support

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is ESC Pocket Guidelines free?

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

### Is CathPal free?

CathPal costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, ESC Pocket Guidelines or CathPal?

CathPal is rated higher. ESC Pocket Guidelines averages 4.8 out of 5 from 841 ratings, while CathPal averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do ESC Pocket Guidelines or CathPal have ads?

Neither ESC Pocket Guidelines nor CathPal shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, ESC Pocket Guidelines or CathPal?

ESC Pocket Guidelines ships an update every 4 months, and CathPal daily. Most recently, ESC Pocket Guidelines was updated on September 21, 2026 and CathPal on September 18, 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.*