PeriopSim vs CSTSetup
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Safe surgical skills practice
- Instrument recognition training
- Interactive real surgery videos
- Step-by-step procedure preparation
- Timed skill challenges
- Leaderboard scoring
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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.
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
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
Both are free to download. CSTSetup sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. PeriopSim asks for nothing beyond the download.
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.
PeriopSim ships an update every 5 months, CSTSetup weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PeriopSim | CSTSetup |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (4 ratings) | 4.6 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 9 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | — | #162 — better |
| Devices | iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 130 MB | 61 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Conquer Experience Inc | CSTSetup |
Customer experience
PeriopSim
CSTSetup
In-app purchases
PeriopSim
No in-app purchases
CSTSetup
- CSTSetup Monthly Pro$12.991 Month
- CSTSetup Yearly Pro$155.991 Year
Questions
Is PeriopSim free?
Is CSTSetup free?
Which has better reviews, PeriopSim or CSTSetup?
Do PeriopSim or CSTSetup have ads?
Which is updated more often, PeriopSim or CSTSetup?
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