Comparison

Picmonic Nursing School Study vs vSim for Nursing

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

Head to head
About

Picmonic Nursing School Study

Master nursing school and board exams with engaging mnemonic videos and practice questions. This app uses research-proven techniques to boost memory retention, helping you learn more effectively and retain information longer. Prepare for NCLEX, NP exams, and various nursing courses with a comprehensive study tool.

Highlights
  • Mnemonic videos
  • Spaced repetition quizzing
  • Thousands of quiz questions
  • NCLEX RN/PN prep
  • Nurse Practitioner exam prep
  • Textbook mappings
  • Daily review quizzes
Features
Read full description

Prepare for nursing school and pass your nursing exams with Picmonic! For FREE you can access our most popular Videos, Multiple Choice Quiz Questions, and Daily Quiz with Spaced Repetition for 5 days. Get full unlimited access with an affordable subscription. Ridiculously efficient & effective. Make Studying Fun & Remember More in Less Time with Picmonic, the world’s best mnemonic video & spaced repetition quizzing study tool and app that’s research-proven to increase memory retention 331%! 14,000+ RN quiz & practice questions & 1,200+ entertaining mnemonic videos covering all major topics & subjects. Ditch boring textbook memorization, recall information faster & retain it longer to improve your grades to ace your nursing courses, clinicals & board certification exam with less study time using unforgettable images and stories. • Program Options: Nursing RN, Nursing LPN, Nurse Practitioner **MEDICAL/PA/PT/OT/RX & College students, click “Picmonic Developer” under this description for the Picmonic for Medicine App OR Picmonic for College (Paramedic, Medical Terms, MCAT, Biology, A&P, Psych). • Nursing Topics & Courses: Fundamentals of Nursing, Physiology, Pharmacology, Pathophysiology, Med-Surg, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Anatomy, Critical Care, Peds & more • Body System course organization & prep with the NCLEX Study Guide • Textbook mappings: Elsevier & Lippincott books like Saunders NCLEX, Lewis, Pottery & Perry, Lilley, Lehne, Jarvis, Adams, Taylor, Brunner & Suddarth, Ignatavicius, Wong, Lowdermilk & Ricci! **Nurse Practitioner Students 1,800 NP videos & 21,000 quiz questions for your FNP, ANP, GNP, or A-GNP courses & the AANP or ANCC board exam, you can even follow along with the Fitzgerald or Leik review books! “I am so excited and HAPPY that I passed the ANCC Board examination for FNP!! I definitely feel that using Picmonic was SO HELPFUL to remember many of the facts that I needed to know!” Mary B. @ Chamberlain Nursing **Nursing Students Start memorizing Lab Values. Stop confusing acids & bases. Pass the NCLEX® in 75 questions then go be a great nurse! All the critical info you need to know as a nursing student is turned into 1,000 videos & 10,000 quiz questions preparing you for nursing school, HESI ATI Kaplan exams, and the NCLEX RN or NCLEX PN. “I struggled in my Fundamentals class, then found Picmonic & made a 95 on my fluid and electrolytes exam! My first A ever in nursing school!” Rene S. @ Bevill State Nursing “Pure memorization can be hard, but Picmonic has helped me ACE my pharmacology class in nursing school. 1000x thanks!” Michael B. @ Valencia Nursing Use the tool starting day one to learn nursing smarter. Assigned reading, follow along by textbook chapter watching these cartoon mnemonics to show up to class prepared, then use the Daily Review Quiz that’s better than Quizlet or any pharm flashcards or Mosby flashcards to prep for that HESI or ATI Nursing exam. You’ll remember all the details and stop referencing Nursing Drug Handbooks / Scrub Cheats. Get an NCLEX Qbank quiz question wrong in NCLEX RN Mastery, UWORLD NCLEX, NRSNG, Osmosis or Kaplan NCLEX Qbank? Hop back to Picmonic so it sticks! Our characters become your very own ATI Mentor and bond together to act as your Saunders NCLEX RN review book choir, singing you the sweet answers. Premium Access: Upgrade for all features & content in your area of study. Monthly, semesterly & annual subscriptions are available, prices vary by product & location. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase & any unused portion of a free trial period will then be forfeited. Subscriptions automatically renew & your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, at the original subscription price, unless auto-renew is turned off thru iTunes Account Settings prior to being charged. https://picmonic.com/pages/terms-of-use

About

vSim for Nursing

Enhance your clinical judgment and confidence with realistic virtual patient scenarios. This app provides an interactive simulation learning experience with integrated curriculum resources and personalized feedback, preparing you for real-world nursing practice.

Highlights
  • Virtual patient scenarios
  • Interactive simulation
  • Personalized feedback
  • Integrated curriculum resources
  • Point-of-care content
  • Realistic communication practice
Read full description

Develop clinical judgment skills, competence, and confidence in nursing through vSim® for Nursing, co-developed by Wolters Kluwer and Laerdal Medical. Designed to simulate real nursing scenarios, vSim allows you to interact with patients in a safe realistic environment. Adaptive, interactive virtual simulations with integrated curriculum resources and personalized feedback provide a full simulation learning experience. vSim for Nursing offers: • Point-of-care content used in hospitals nationwide • An interactive, personalized simulation experience • Realistic communication, SBAR Hand-off • Improved clinical judgment skills • Real-world, evidence-based scenarios • Unique, personalized learning • Measurable success • Training support END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT VSIM MOBILE APPLICATION PLEASE READ THESE LICENSE TERMS CAREFULLY THIS APP IS TO BE USED ONLY IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE VSIM® FOR NURSING SIMULATION TRAINING PRODUCT MADE AVAILABLE BY WOLTERS KLUWER HEALTH, INC. (“WKH”) TO ITS CUSTOMERS AND END USERS THROUGH WKH’S PLATFORM KNOWN AS THEPOINT®. THIS APP IS ONLY INTENDED FOR USE BY USERS REGISTERED ON THEPOINT. AS A COMPONENT OF THE VSIM TRAINING PRODUCTS AND IS NOT INTENDED FOR ANY OTHER USE OR FOR ANY STANDALONE USE. DO NOT DOWNLOAD OR USE THIS APP IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY REGISTERED AS A USER OF THE VSIM PRODUCT ON THEPOINT (HTTPS://THEPOINT.LWW.COM). BY DOWNLOADING AND USING THE APP YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS AND THE ADDITIONAL TERMS STATED IN THE WKH END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT AVAILABLE HERE HTTPS://SSO.WKHPE.COM/TERMSANDCONDITIONS AND THE WKH WEBSITE PRIVACY & COOKIE NOTICE AVAILABLE HERE: HTTPS://THEPOINT.LWW.COM/PRIVACY, COLLECTIVELY KNOWN AS THE “TERMS”. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS DO NOT DOWNLOAD OR USE THE APP.

Screenshots

Picmonic Nursing School Study4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Picmonic Nursing School Study at 77% against vSim for Nursing's 11%. Picmonic Nursing School Study also leads on rating (4.9 vs 2.0) and ratings volume (21K vs 10). vSim for Nursing's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.6). On price, update cadence, 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. Picmonic Nursing School Study sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. vSim for Nursing asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Picmonic Nursing School Study holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Picmonic Nursing School Study has 21K ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of Picmonic Nursing School Study's written reviews are positive against 11% of vSim for Nursing's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Picmonic Nursing School Study versus vSim for Nursing: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPicmonic Nursing School StudyvSim for Nursing
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (21K ratings) — better2.0 (10 ratings)
Positive reviews77.4% of reviews — better11.1% of reviews
Number of ratings21K — better10
Update frequencyMonthlyMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPad
Requires iOS16.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size120 MB136 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperPicmonic - The Visual Learning CommunityLaerdal Medical AS

Customer experience

Picmonic Nursing School Study

All ratings21,199 ratings
Positive97.7%
Neutral1.4%
Negative0.9%
Written reviews137 reviews
Positive77.4%
Neutral6.6%
Negative16.1%

vSim for Nursing

All ratings7 ratings
Positive28.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative71.4%
Written reviews27 reviews
Positive11.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative88.9%

Bugs and requests

Picmonic Nursing School Study

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Difficulty starting free trial due to app crashes
  • Incomplete quiz questions or missing content

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more content for veterinary nursing/technician programs
  • Improve quiz question quality and accuracy
  • Offer a one-time purchase option instead of subscription
  • Provide more detailed content coverage for USMLE Step 1 preparation

vSim for Nursing

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Picmonic Nursing School Study

Subscriptions8
  • Monthly7 Days trial2 variants$14.991 Month
  • Premium7 Days trial2 variants$15.991 Month
  • Monthly7 Days trial$28.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Monthly7 Days trial$29.991 Month
  • Premium7 Days trial$29.991 Month
  • Semesterly7 Days trial$49.996 Months
  • Yearly7 Days trial$79.991 Year
  • Premium7 Days trial$79.991 Year
None

vSim for Nursing

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Picmonic Nursing School Study free?
Picmonic Nursing School Study is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is vSim for Nursing free?
vSim for Nursing is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Picmonic Nursing School Study or vSim for Nursing?
Picmonic Nursing School Study is rated higher. Picmonic Nursing School Study averages 4.9 out of 5 from 21K ratings, while vSim for Nursing averages 2.0 from 10 ratings.
Do Picmonic Nursing School Study or vSim for Nursing have ads?
Neither Picmonic Nursing School Study nor vSim for Nursing shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Picmonic Nursing School Study or vSim for Nursing?
Picmonic Nursing School Study ships an update monthly, and vSim for Nursing monthly. Most recently, Picmonic Nursing School Study was updated on November 1, 2026 and vSim for Nursing on October 22, 2026.

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