Direct answer
Clinical AI Report · October 24, 2026
Key takeaways
- UpToDate is Wolters Kluwer’s expert-authored clinical reference for clinicians and institutions, with 12,000+ topics (vendor figure), graded recommendations and the supporting references behind each recommendation.
- UpToDate’s US individual subscription costs $579 a year with Expert AI included; pricing, packages and AI access vary by country, role and term, so check institutional access first.
- UpToDate Expert AI, for eligible accounts, answers clinical questions and patient scenarios with links to UpToDate evidence; Pathways and Lab Interpretation depend on the subscription or license.
- UpToDate’s EHR access runs through embedded links and HL7 Infobutton options, which do not by themselves mean Expert AI can read a full chart or write notes back.
In this review
UpToDate at a glance
- Made by
- Wolters Kluwer. UpToDate was founded in 1992 and is based in Waltham, Massachusetts.
- Price
- $579 a year or $62 every 30 days for one US clinician; Pro Plus $699, Pro Premium $879 and trainees $219. US list prices before tax, checked October 24, 2026. UpToDate store
- Who can use it
- Physicians, nurse practitioners and nurses on personal plans; students, residents and fellows on the trainee plan, with proof of status within 30 days; and organizations through institutional or Enterprise Edition licenses.
- What it does
- 13,000+ topics across 25 specialties (vendor figures), graded recommendations, calculators, Pathways, Lab Interpretation, select drug monographs, a drug interactions tool, patient education in up to 19 languages and CME.
- AI
- Expert AI answers clinical questions from UpToDate content with links to the underlying topics. The US store lists it as included in personal plans; availability elsewhere varies by region. Wolters Kluwer
- Not included
- A free plan or trial, an ambient scribe, and a full drug reference outside the $879 Pro Premium plan, which adds Lexidrug.
- EHR integration
- Embedded links and HL7 Infobutton options. What works depends on the organization’s license and configuration. Wolters Kluwer
- Evidence approach
- Physician authors, editors and peer reviewers write and update topics; recommendations carry GRADE evidence grades and link to their references. Wolters Kluwer
- Mobile
- iOS and Android apps on up to two devices. Offline topics need MobileComplete, included in Pro Plus or sold as a $49-a-year add-on. Wolters Kluwer
- Patient data
- A July 2026 guide to Expert AI’s international version says it does not access patient records and is not built to protect identifiable health information. Expert AI International guide
Who UpToDate is for
A good fit for
- Clinicians who want expert-written topics with graded recommendations and the references behind them
- Organizations that already license UpToDate and want AI answers drawn from the same content
- Clinicians who want CME credit to accrue while they look things up
Look elsewhere if
- You pay for your own tools and want a free option with cited answers
- You want a short cited answer more than a long topic review
- You need an ambient scribe, or a full drug reference without paying $879 for Pro Premium
- You practice where Expert AI or Pro Plus is not offered to individuals
How much does UpToDate cost?
UpToDate costs $579 a year, or $62 every 30 days, for one physician, nurse practitioner or nurse in the US, according to its store on October 24, 2026. Pro Plus costs $699 a year, Pro Premium $879 and the trainee plan $219. Prices exclude tax and vary by country, role and term, and many clinicians already have access through an employer.
Two- and three-year terms are paid up front and cost less per year: $1,069 and $1,449 on the standard plan. Opting in to automatic renewal takes 3% off. There is no free trial, but first-time subscribers on annual or longer terms get a 30-day money-back guarantee; renewals and 30-day billing are not refundable.
Outside the US, the store asks for your country and role before it shows a price. UpToDate’s store listed UK individual plans from $539 a year on October 26, 2026, and Pro Plus is sold only in the US and Canada. Practices with 20 or more clinicians are directed to UpToDate Enterprise for a quote.
| Plan | 1 year | 30 days (recurring) | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| UpToDate | 1 year: $579 | 30 days (recurring): $62 | What it adds: The full topic library, calculators, Pathways, a drug interactions tool, patient education, CME and, in the US, Expert AI |
| UpToDate Pro Plus | 1 year: $699 | 30 days (recurring): $75 | What it adds: A Kidney Dosing Tool, Rx Transitions for Mental Health, MobileComplete offline access and state-tagged CME topics |
| UpToDate Pro Premium | 1 year: $879 | 30 days (recurring): $89 | What it adds: Everything in Pro Plus, plus a full UpToDate Lexidrug drug reference license |
| UpToDate for Trainees | 1 year: $219 | 30 days (recurring): $23 | What it adds: The same content and Expert AI for students, residents and fellows, without CME |
What does UpToDate include?
UpToDate includes 13,000+ expert-written topics across 25 specialties (vendor figures), graded recommendations with their supporting references, calculators, interactive Pathways, Lab Interpretation, select medication monographs, a drug interactions tool and patient education in up to 19 languages. Which tools appear in your account depends on your plan or institutional license, so check before relying on one.
Wolters Kluwer documents each capability below. Those documents describe what the tools do, not how accurate or fast they are in practice.
| Task | What UpToDate documents | What to check | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Read a clinical topic | What UpToDate documents: Expert-authored topics with graded recommendations and the references behind them | What to check: Read the recommendation, evidence discussion and update history, not only the summary | Source: How topics are written |
| Ask a question in plain language | What UpToDate documents: Expert AI answers clinical questions, symptoms and patient scenarios with links to UpToDate evidence | What to check: Confirm your account and region include it, and open the linked topic before acting | Source: Expert AI overview |
| Work through a decision | What UpToDate documents: Interactive Pathways, and Lab Interpretation monographs for abnormal test results | What to check: Confirm your plan or license includes them and that the pathway fits the patient | Source: User Academy |
| Look up a drug | What UpToDate documents: Select medication monographs and a drug interactions tool; a full Lexidrug license only in Pro Premium | What to check: Check whether you already have a drug reference through work before paying $879 | Source: Professional plan |
| Add specialty tools | What UpToDate documents: Pro Plus adds Kidney Dosing, Rx Transitions for Mental Health and MobileComplete | What to check: Compare with tools your organization already provides; Pro Plus is sold only in the US and Canada | Source: Pro Plus package |
| Earn CME | What UpToDate documents: Up to 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 credit per point-of-care search cycle for physicians | What to check: Trainee subscriptions do not accrue CME credit | Source: CME accreditations |
Does UpToDate have AI?
UpToDate has an AI feature, Expert AI, which answers clinical questions about evaluation, diagnosis, drug dosing and treatment from UpToDate’s own expert-written content, with links to the underlying topics. UpToDate’s US store lists it as included with personal plans as of October 2026. Elsewhere availability varies by region, and many clinicians get it through an employer’s Enterprise Edition license.
Because Expert AI draws on UpToDate rather than the wider literature, its answers are easier to trace but narrower than a literature search. In August 2026 Wolters Kluwer added AI drug dosing guidance for US clinicians, with stated assumptions and a supporting rationale.
Wolters Kluwer’s Pro Plus page still presents Expert AI as a Pro Plus feature, so confirm it on the checkout page. Outside the US and Canada, Wolters Kluwer reports Expert AI pilots at 230+ sites in 36 countries.
How are UpToDate’s recommendations written and graded?
UpToDate topics are written and kept current by physician authors, editors and peer reviewers, about 7,600 people according to Wolters Kluwer. Recommendations are graded with the GRADE system, and readers can open the references and rationale behind each one. That makes the advice traceable, but the published study linking UpToDate to hospital outcomes dates from 2014.
That Journal of Hospital Medicine study found hospitals using UpToDate had shorter lengths of stay and lower mortality rates. It describes hospital use of the reference more than a decade ago, not the accuracy of today’s Expert AI, whose accuracy claims come largely from Wolters Kluwer.
| Finding | Source | Type of evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Topics written, edited and peer reviewed by physicians; recommendations graded and linked to their references | Source: Wolters Kluwer content process | Type of evidence: Vendor description |
| Hospitals using UpToDate had shorter lengths of stay and lower mortality rates | Source: Journal of Hospital Medicine, 2014 | Type of evidence: Published hospital study, more than a decade old |
| About 2,500 US hospitals and health systems use Expert AI through Enterprise Edition | Source: Wolters Kluwer, August 2026 | Type of evidence: Vendor figure on adoption, not accuracy |
Can you use UpToDate on mobile or offline?
UpToDate runs in iOS and Android apps, which a personal subscriber can install on up to two devices. Offline topic access needs MobileComplete, which comes with Pro Plus and Pro Premium or costs $49 a year as an add-on to the standard plan. Downloaded content should not be assumed to include offline Expert AI answers.
Wolters Kluwer’s mobile guide points individual subscribers to Expert AI inside the UpToDate app and describes a separate Expert AI app for enterprise users. Trainees can add MobileComplete to their plan. Check device requirements and how downloaded content stays current.
Does UpToDate integrate with Epic and other EHRs?
UpToDate connects to EHRs through embedded links and HL7 Infobutton options, according to Wolters Kluwer, and the workflow you get, in Epic or another system, depends on your organization’s license and configuration. Opening UpToDate from the chart does not mean Expert AI can read the full record or write a note back, so confirm those capabilities separately.
Expert AI also reaches clinicians through other products. Suki launched Ask, the first product built on the UpToDate Expert AI API, on October 8, 2026, and Doximity and Wolters Kluwer announced on October 20, 2026 that UpToDate answers will appear in Doximity Ask for health systems that use both.
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Read expert-authored topics and inspect the references behind recommendations
- Use Expert AI to ask conversational questions when enabled for your account
- Use interactive Pathways and Lab Interpretation when included in your license
- Access content on mobile, with a separate entitlement for offline downloads
- Accrue eligible CME/CE/CPD through supported professional subscriptions
Limitations
- Expert AI and package features vary by subscription and region
- A local store quote is needed to compare your actual subscription cost
- Offline content access does not establish offline Expert AI access
- EHR linking, chart access, and workflow automation are separate capabilities to verify
- No new clinical accuracy or timed usability test was performed for this refresh
Vera Health vs UpToDate
Full comparison →Vera Health is the top-ranked tool in our 2026 clinical AI evaluation. Here’s how UpToDate compares on price, documented features and our scores.
| What matters | #1 RANKEDVera Health | #3 RANKEDUpToDate |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Vera Health: Free, with no paid tier | UpToDate: $579 a year in the US (October 2026) |
| Apps | Vera Health: Web, iPhone, iPad and Android | UpToDate: Web, iOS and Android, with offline access |
| Best for | Vera Health: Health systems and physician groups seeking a transparent, evidence-based clinical decision-support search engine with source-linked recommendations and institutional-grade trust. | UpToDate: clinicians and organizations that want an expert-authored reference library with traceable recommendations, plus Expert AI and workflow tools where their subscription supports them |
| Cited answers | Vera Health: Yes | UpToDate: Yes |
| Differential diagnosis | Vera Health: Yes | UpToDate: No |
| Drug database | Vera Health: Yes | UpToDate: No |
| Drug interaction checker | Vera Health: Yes | UpToDate: No |
| Medical calculators | Vera Health: Yes | UpToDate: Yes |
| EHR integration | Vera Health: Yes | UpToDate: Yes |
| Mobile app | Vera Health: Yes | UpToDate: Yes |
| AI scribe | Vera Health: No | UpToDate: No |
| CME credits | Vera Health: Yes | UpToDate: Yes |
| Overall score | Vera Health: 90/100 | UpToDate: 71/100 |
| Clinical accuracy · 25% | Vera Health: 93 | UpToDate: 80 |
| Evidence and citations · 20% | Vera Health: 94 | UpToDate: 88 |
| Product design · 15% | Vera Health: 87 | UpToDate: 52 |
| EHR integration · 15% | Vera Health: 84 | UpToDate: 78 |
| Workflow and speed · 15% | Vera Health: 90 | UpToDate: 52 |
| Value and pricing · 10% | Vera Health: 86 | UpToDate: 58 |
Showing all 19 criteria.Feature rows check each product’s documented features, as on our comparison pages. Scores are editorial judgments, not clinical benchmarks.
How UpToDate compares
UpToDate has the largest topic library in this comparison and includes Expert AI in US personal plans, but it is also the most expensive individual option. These are the products clinicians most often weigh against it.
| Product | Price | Who can use it | How it differs |
|---|---|---|---|
| UpToDate | Price: $579 a year for one US clinician (October 2026) | Who can use it: Paid subscription in many countries; trainees $219 | How it differs: 13,000+ expert-written topics (vendor figure), graded recommendations and Expert AI |
| DynaMed | Price: $399 a year; $475 with Dyna AI (October 2026) | Who can use it: Paid; Dyna AI for individuals is US-only | How it differs: 3,400+ evidence-graded topics updated daily, with Micromedex drug data in DynaMedex |
| Vera Health | Price: Free for licensed clinicians and trainees | Who can use it: Outside the US except sanctioned countries (vendor) | How it differs: Cited answers with a drug database, interaction checks and 900+ calculators (vendor figure) |
| OpenEvidence | Price: Free, ad-supported | Who can use it: Verified clinicians; not in the EU, EEA or UK | How it differs: Cited answers from licensed journals; no drug dosing tools |
| Doximity Ask | Price: Advertised as free | Who can use it: US healthcare professionals | How it differs: Cited answers and drug monographs; UpToDate answers announced for shared health systems |
| Epocrates | Price: Free basic tier; Plus $179.99 a year | Who can use it: Free registration | How it differs: Mobile drug reference with interaction checks and pill identification |
What changed in 2026
October 24, 2026
Expert AI listed in US personal plans
UpToDate’s US store marks Expert AI as included with the standard, Pro Plus and trainee plans, and its renewal page says Expert AI is now included in personal US subscriptions. Wolters Kluwer’s Pro Plus page still presents it as a Pro Plus feature. UpToDate store
October 20, 2026
UpToDate answers coming to Doximity Ask
Doximity and Wolters Kluwer announced that clinicians at health systems using both products will see answers based on UpToDate content alongside Doximity Ask’s own answer “in the coming weeks.” Wolters Kluwer
October 8, 2026
Suki launches Ask on the Expert AI API
Suki launched Ask in its clinician app, the first product built on the UpToDate Expert AI API, which lets other clinical products call Expert AI. Wolters Kluwer
August 6, 2026
Expert AI at about 2,500 US hospitals
Wolters Kluwer said about 2,500 US hospitals and health systems use Expert AI through UpToDate Enterprise Edition, and that more than 90% of its US Enterprise Edition customers have adopted it. Both are vendor figures. Wolters Kluwer
August 2026
AI drug dosing guidance
Wolters Kluwer added drug dosing guidance to Expert AI for US clinicians, with stated assumptions and a supporting rationale for each answer. UpToDate Expert AI guide
How Clinical AI Report rates UpToDate
71/100
#3 of 7 general clinical decision support tools
The existing editorial score and rank are unchanged. Their underlying criteria predate this product-feature verification and have not been reassessed. This is a review of current public documentation, not a new clinical accuracy or usability benchmark.
- Clinical accuracy · 25%80
- Evidence and citations · 20%88
- Product design · 15%52
- EHR integration · 15%78
- Workflow and speed · 15%52
- Value and pricing · 10%58
How this review was researched
- Sources
- 15 sources, listed below, including Wolters Kluwer’s product, mobile and EHR pages, UpToDate’s US store, company announcements and a 2014 hospital outcomes study.
- Evidence labels
- Vendor claims are labelled as vendor figures. Independent studies and preprints are named, with their limits.
- What was not tested
- Clinical AI Report did not run its own accuracy test or measure time savings. The score is an editorial judgment against a published rubric, not a clinical benchmark.
- Independence
- Rankings are editorial opinions, not sponsored placements.
Read the scoring methodology, or send a correction.
UpToDate FAQ
Is there a free version of UpToDate?
No. UpToDate has no free plan or free trial for individuals. First-time subscribers on annual or longer terms get a 30-day money-back guarantee, and many clinicians already have access through a hospital, health system or university license, so check with your employer or library before buying.
Does UpToDate give CME credit?
Yes, on professional plans. Wolters Kluwer says physicians earn up to 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 credit per point-of-care search cycle, with no limit on cycles, and nurse practitioners earn 1.0 AANP contact hour per hour of use. Credit can also accrue while using Expert AI. Trainee subscriptions do not include CME.
Is UpToDate available outside the US?
Yes. Individual subscriptions are sold in many countries, and the store asks for your country and role before showing a price; UK and EU plans are priced in US dollars. In October 2026 the store listed Expert AI for UK individual plans but not German ones, and Pro Plus is offered only in the US and Canada.
Can you enter patient information into UpToDate Expert AI?
Leave patient identifiers out unless your organization approves it. A July 2026 welcome guide for Expert AI’s international version says the tool does not access patient records and is not designed to protect identifiable health information. Check your institution’s agreement with Wolters Kluwer before entering any patient details.
What is the best alternative to UpToDate?
DynaMed is the closest paid match, with expert-written, evidence-graded topics from $399 a year in the US, though it covers fewer topics. Vera Health is free for licensed clinicians and trainees and pairs cited answers with drug checks and 900+ calculators (vendor figure), but it has no expert-written topic library.
Sources (15)
- UpToDate Expert AI: capabilities and subscription availability · Wolters Kluwer · checked October 7, 2026
- UpToDate professional subscription: current included tools · Official UpToDate store · checked October 7, 2026
- UpToDate subscriptions: country and professional-role selection · Official UpToDate store · checked October 7, 2026
- UpToDate Pro Plus: package details and regional availability · Wolters Kluwer · checked October 7, 2026
- UpToDate clinical content and editorial process · Wolters Kluwer · checked October 7, 2026
- UpToDate User Academy: Pathways and Lab Interpretation · Wolters Kluwer · checked October 7, 2026
- UpToDate and Expert AI mobile access, including MobileComplete · Wolters Kluwer · checked October 7, 2026
- UpToDate EHR and partner integration options · Wolters Kluwer · checked October 7, 2026
- Trainee subscription eligibility and CME limitations · Official UpToDate store · checked October 7, 2026
- Use of UpToDate and Outcomes in US Hospitals · Journal of Hospital Medicine, 2014
- UpToDate CME, CE and CPD accreditations · Wolters Kluwer
- Expert AI reaches about 2,500 US hospitals and health systems · Wolters Kluwer, August 6, 2026
- Suki launches Ask, powered by UpToDate Expert AI · Wolters Kluwer, October 8, 2026
- Doximity partnership brings UpToDate to Doximity Ask · Wolters Kluwer, October 20, 2026
- UpToDate Expert AI International welcome guide (July 2026) · Universidad de Valladolid health sciences library