Comparison

boostEM vs Pocket ICU

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

Head to head
About

boostEM

A medical calculator for emergency physicians, offering over 60 clinical decision rules and rapid medication doses. Includes tools like a pupillometer and visual acuity chart, functioning offline without ads.

Highlights
  • 60+ clinical decision rule calculators
  • Rapid medication doses
  • Pupillometer
  • Estimated gestational age calculator
  • Visual acuity chart
  • Offline functionality
Read full description

boostEM is a medical calculator designed from the ground-up for emergency physicians. The app is designed to be the fastest tool in your pocket for clinical decision rules in the emergency room. • Score calculators for over 60 clinical decision rules • Rapid medication doses • Tools including pupillometer, estimated gestational age, visual acuity (Snellen chart), and optokinetic drum • No internet connection required • No ads Examples of clinical decision rules included: • Critical Care: CURB-65, PESI, PORT, Ranson's, Well's, ABG calculator • Cardiology: HEART, CHADS2Vasc, Brugada, Sgarbossa, TIMI • Trauma: Canadian rules, NEXUS, PECARN, Parkland, GCS • Pediatrics: bilirubin tool for neonatal jaundice, Centor, respiratory score • Neurology: NIH stroke scale, ABCD2, MMSE • Toxicology: osmolal gap, modified Rumack-Matthews If you like this app, please give it a good review and spread the word! Please email us with suggestions. Note: This application is designed for medical professionals only. It is not for use by the lay public or non-specialists. In addition, dosing of medications is designed as a guide and should be verified prior to administration. This medication guide is not designed for patients with organ failure, immunocompromised states, other significant comorbidities, or extremes of age. Information provided in this app does not supercede appropriate clinical judgement.

About

Pocket ICU

This app offers concise critical care guidance written by attending physicians. It covers diagnosis, treatment, and management across various subspecialties, including detailed images and decision algorithms. Quickly find information, bookmark entries, and take notes for efficient ICU rounds and consultations.

Highlights
  • Concise guidance by attending physicians
  • Diagnosis, treatment, and management details
  • Subspecialty coverage
  • Detailed images and algorithms
  • Statistics and EBM overview
  • Pharmacological data and formulas
  • Full text search and bookmarking
Features
Read full description

New topics address bioweapons, disaster preparedness and critical care challenges of an air-transmissible, pandemic-causing pathogens like COVID-19. POCKET ICU FEATURES • Concise guidance written by attending physicians for everyone in critical care • Entries with diagnosis, treatment, and management details • Coverage of subspecialty areas including pediatric, neuro, cardiac, transplant, burn, and more • Detailed images, figures, and decision support algorithms • Overview of Statistics and Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) • Helpful appendices provide pharmacological data, respiratory formulas, and cardiopulmonary relationships • Advanced Full Text Search helps find topics quickly • “Favorites” for bookmarking important entries • Highlighting and note-taking MORE ABOUT POCKET ICU With content from the highly regarded Pocket Notebook series, Pocket ICU provides users with an essential tool for quickly locating information from every subspecialty area of critical care. Entries have been written by attending physicians and are presented in brief but broad format so anyone in an ICU setting can quickly find answers and save time. This powerful resource can be downloaded to your smartphone and tablet and is great for preparing for rounds or consulting expert recommendations while on the ICU floor. Editors: Gyorgy Frendl, MD, PhD; Avery Tung, MD Publisher: Wolters Kluwer Powered by: Unbound Medicine

Screenshots

boostEM4 screens
Pocket ICU4 screens

Verdict

The call

boostEM and Pocket ICU both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of boostEM's written reviews are positive against 64% of Pocket ICU's. boostEM also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 9 months). Pocket ICU's advantage is ratings volume (316 vs 9). On price, rating, 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. Pocket ICU sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. boostEM asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for boostEM against 4.6 for Pocket ICU. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pocket ICU has 316 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of boostEM's written reviews are positive against 64% of Pocket ICU's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

boostEM ships an update every 3 weeks, Pocket ICU every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on June 6, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
boostEM versus Pocket ICU: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterboostEMPocket ICU
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (9 ratings)4.6 (316 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better64.3% of reviews
Number of ratings9316 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS7.1 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB9 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperDirkes Medical, PLLCUnbound Medicine, Inc.

Customer experience

boostEM

All ratings9 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Pocket ICU

All ratings316 ratings
Positive90.2%
Neutral2.5%
Negative7.3%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive64.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative35.7%

In-app purchases

None

boostEM

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Pocket ICU

One-time2
  • Pocket ICU2 variants$69.99
  • Pocket ICU 2023$69.99

Questions

Is boostEM free?
boostEM is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pocket ICU free?
Pocket ICU is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, boostEM or Pocket ICU?
boostEM and Pocket ICU are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 9 and 316 ratings respectively.
Do boostEM or Pocket ICU have ads?
Neither boostEM nor Pocket ICU shows ads.
Which is updated more often, boostEM or Pocket ICU?
boostEM ships an update every 3 weeks, and Pocket ICU every 9 months. Most recently, boostEM was updated on June 6, 2026 and Pocket ICU on September 27, 2026.

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