Comparison

PeriopSim vs CSTSetup

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

Head to head
About

PeriopSim

This tool allows operating room educators to train nurses and surgical technologists on surgical procedures. It offers safe practice, instrument recognition, and step-by-step preparation for unfamiliar surgeries through interactive video and timed challenges.

Highlights
  • Safe surgical skills practice
  • Instrument recognition training
  • Interactive real surgery videos
  • Step-by-step procedure preparation
  • Timed skill challenges
  • Leaderboard scoring
Features
Read full description

PeriopSim is a simulation learning tool for Operating Room Educators to incorporate into their curriculums for new and continuing education of nurses and surgical technologists. Confidence is the top educator and learner value of using PeriopSim. With PeriopSim you can: - Practice surgical skills safely, before surgery - Anticipate the surgeon for many procedures - Learn to recognize and select surgical instruments - Interact with video of real surgeries - Prepare for unfamiliar surgical procedures step-by-step - Reduce stress by rehearsing surgeries - Test and hone your skills with scoring and timed challenges - Check your score on the leaderboard PeriopSim takes a 1 hour long surgical procedure and delivers a 10-minute simulation. Get 6 experiences in 1 hour.

About

CSTSetup

This medical app provides surgical technologists, students, and nurses with detailed surgical setups, an instrument library, a medical dictionary, and exam preparation tools. It allows users to build custom setups and log clinical cases for their programs.

Highlights
  • 280+ surgical setups
  • 3,100+ surgical instruments with 3D models
  • 3,700+ medical terms explained
  • Certification exam practice (CST, TS-C, CRCST, etc.)
  • Custom setup creation
  • Clinical case logging for programs
  • Built-in medical dictionary
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Know the case before you scrub in. CSTSetup is the clinical companion built for surgical technologists, students, OR nurses and educators: your setups, your instrument library, a built-in medical dictionary, your exam prep and your case log, all in one place. SURGICAL SETUPS 280+ setups across General, Cardiac, ENT, Neuro, OB/GYN, Ophthalmology, Orthopedic, Plastics, Urology and Vascular. Each one shows the tray grouped by what every instrument does, the room (equipment, prep and drape, suture and medicines), a 30-second summary and the case step by step, with the circulator's side for Pro. General Surgery is free; Pro unlocks every specialty. THE FULL INSTRUMENT LIBRARY 3,100+ surgical instruments with real photographs, every name techs use and handling notes, sorted by class, standard tray and maker. Study them as flashcards. Pro members can turn, zoom and open real 3D models of hundreds of them. A BUILT-IN MEDICAL DICTIONARY 3,700+ terms explained in plain words. Tap an underlined word in any setup, instrument or exam question to see what it means, how it's said and the word parts that build it. STUDY FOR YOUR CERTIFICATION EXAM Practice for the CST (NBSTSA), TS-C (NCCT), CRCST (HSPA), CSPDT (CBSPD) and CSFA (NBSTSA) exams: practice by area with the why behind every answer, timed exams matched to the real pass mark, and a daily five questions to keep your streak going. Your progress shows your practice score, your weakest area, your streak and your whole year of study. BUILD YOUR OWN SETUPS Save your surgeon's way as a setup of your own, right on your phone. No account needed to start; sign in and it syncs to the web. BUILT FOR SURGICAL TECH PROGRAMS Log every case for your program: choose AST, NCCT or CC4SA, check off what you did in the room, and get an instant First Scrub, Second Scrub or Observation answer before it goes to your instructor. Clock your clinical hours from the clinical site. CAN'T FIND A SETUP? Ask for it right in the app, and we'll notify you when it's built. ONE SUBSCRIPTION CSTSetup Pro unlocks every specialty, the full library, 3D models and every certification exam in this app, in Instruments, in every CSTSetup exam app and on cstsetup.com. Download CSTSetup and put the whole back table in your pocket.

Screenshots

CSTSetup4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: CSTSetup at 50% against PeriopSim's 0%. CSTSetup also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.3) and update cadence (weekly vs every 5 months). PeriopSim's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. CSTSetup sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. PeriopSim asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

CSTSetup holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 9 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of PeriopSim's written reviews are positive against 50% of CSTSetup's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PeriopSim ships an update every 5 months, CSTSetup weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
PeriopSim versus CSTSetup: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPeriopSimCSTSetup
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (4 ratings)4.6 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings49 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
Best chart rank—#162 — better
DevicesiPad, MaciPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size130 MB61 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperConquer Experience IncCSTSetup

Customer experience

PeriopSim

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

CSTSetup

All ratings9 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

PeriopSim

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

CSTSetup

Subscriptions2
  • CSTSetup Monthly Pro$12.991 Month
  • CSTSetup Yearly Pro$155.991 Year

Questions

Is PeriopSim free?
PeriopSim is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CSTSetup free?
CSTSetup is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PeriopSim or CSTSetup?
CSTSetup is rated higher. PeriopSim averages 3.3 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while CSTSetup averages 4.6 from 9 ratings.
Do PeriopSim or CSTSetup have ads?
Neither PeriopSim nor CSTSetup shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PeriopSim or CSTSetup?
PeriopSim ships an update every 5 months, and CSTSetup weekly. Most recently, PeriopSim was updated on November 1, 2026 and CSTSetup on October 31, 2026.

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