Pass CCRN vs ICU Basics
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pass CCRN
Prepare for your CCRN certification exams with a comprehensive mobile study tool. It offers practice questions, personalized study plans, and detailed performance tracking to help you pass your Adult, Neonatal, or Pediatric critical care nursing exams.
- Personalized study plan
- 1800+ practice questions
- Topic-based learning
- Strength and weakness tracking
- Detailed test statistics
- Community score comparison
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Updated for the 2026 CCRN exam cycle — new question sets, refreshed rationales, and up-to-date exam tips keep your study plan current. Pass your CCRN Adult, Neonatal, and Pediatric exams with flying colors! Boost your confidence in passing the first time with our mobile app and a personal study plan based on your current skill and requirements. CCRN is a specialty certification for nurses who provide direct care to acutely/critically ill patients regardless of their physical location. Nurses interested in this certification may work in areas such as intensive care units, cardiac care units, combined ICU/CCUs, medical/surgical ICUs, trauma units, or critical care transport/flight. CCRN Key features: - Choose from different topics required to become a certified nurse - Practice with 1800+ questions - Track your strengths and weaknesses within Stats section of the app - Study detailed statistics of every test you take - Compare your score to the community average for almost any type of exam - - - - CCRN Purchases, subscriptions and terms You need to buy a lifetime access or subscribe to get access to all features, courses and questions. The cost of the purchase is charged to your iTunes account. Subscriptions are auto-renewable and are billed at the rate and period selected depending on the subscription plan. Users’ accounts are charged for auto-renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. Subscriptions can be managed and auto-renewal can be turned off in Account Settings in iTunes after the purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. Terms of use: https://mastrapi.com/terms Privacy policy: https://mastrapi.com/policy
ICU Basics
Prepare for critical care and respiratory therapy certifications with exam-level questions and detailed rationales. Features mock exams, rhythm strips, and smart study modes for effective learning.
- Exam-level questions
- Detailed rationales
- Full-length mock exams
- Rhythm strips and waveforms
- Smart study modes
- Clinical calculators
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ICU Basics is the ultimate pocket companion and study guide for critical care nurses, respiratory therapists, nursing students, and healthcare professionals. Whether you're preparing for the CCRN, PCCN, CMC, CSC, or ACLS, the 2027 NBRC Respiratory Therapy Examination, or just want to sharpen your clinical knowledge on the floor, ICU Basics gives you exam-level questions and detailed rationales. NEW: RESPIRATORY THERAPY EXAM PREP Built to the NBRC content outline effective January 2027, the single exam that replaces the TMC and CSE for the CRT and RRT. More than 400 questions on patient data, devices and patient safety, interventions, and scenario-based clinical judgment for adult, pediatric and neonatal patients, with 160-question, 4-hour mock exams. FULL-LENGTH MOCK EXAMS Mock exams built to each exam's official test plan. • The real number of questions and time limit: 150 questions in 3 hours for the CCRN and PCCN, 90 in 2 hours for the CMC and CSC • Topic mix matched to the published percentages, with new questions every time • See answers after each question, or only at the end like test day • Skip, go back, flag questions, and review before you submit • Leave anytime and pick up where you left off; the timer pauses COMPREHENSIVE EXAM PREP • CCRN (Adult): Cardiovascular, Pulmonary, Endocrine, Neuro, Professional Caring, and more • PCCN: Cardiovascular, Respiratory, Endocrine/GI/Renal, Multisystem, and Professional Caring • CMC: Heart failure, ACS, electrophysiology, and patient management • CSC: Post-op hemodynamics, bypass complications, and recovery • ACLS: Megacode scenarios, rhythm recognition, and AHA algorithms • ICU Basics: 31 core topics, including ABGs, shock and vasopressors, sepsis, ventilators and ARDS, sedation, ECMO, IABP, Impella, and LVADs Questions that apply to more than one certification appear in every exam they fit. RHYTHM STRIPS AND WAVEFORMS Read the strip, not just the stem. Questions include rhythm strips and bedside waveforms drawn right in the app: sinus rhythms, atrial fibrillation and flutter, SVT, VT, torsades, heart blocks, paced rhythms, plus arterial line, CVP, PA catheter, IABP timing, capnography, and ventilator tracings. SMART STUDY MODES • Daily Review: Spaced repetition brings questions back right before you'd forget them • Second tries and follow-ups: a miss returns at the end, after a new question on the same idea • Trouble Questions: everything you've missed three or more times, in one drill • Question of the Day: A fresh, challenging question every day • Custom Quizzes: Choose your topics and question count • Timed Quizzes: Study against the clock • Missed Questions and Weakest Subject sessions built from your own answers • Daily Reminders: A nudge at the time you choose DETAILED RATIONALES We don't just tell you the right answer, we explain why. Every question includes a full rationale, plus an explanation of why each wrong answer is wrong. 60 CLINICAL CALCULATORS Hemodynamics, respiratory, renal and electrolytes, acid-base, drug calculations, and more, each with the formula and management notes. Save favorites for quick bedside access. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS • Daily streak, overall accuracy, and how much of the bank you've covered • Accuracy and coverage for every topic • Mock exam scores over time, and the reviews due each day this week • Your own notes on any question, and search across the whole bank • Backup to iCloud Drive or Files, and restore on a new device • A daily countdown to your exam date Start mastering critical care today with ICU Basics! ICU Basics is an independent study aid and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by AACN, the AACN Certification Corporation, the American Heart Association, or the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC). CCRN, PCCN, CMC, and CSC are exams of the AACN Certification Corporation; CRT and RRT are credentials of the NBRC. Content is for education and exam preparation only and is not medical advice.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ICU Basics at none against Pass CCRN's 2. ICU Basics also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). Pass CCRN's advantage is ratings volume (607 vs 3) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). On price, 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. Pass CCRN sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per month. ICU Basics asks for nothing beyond the download.
ICU Basics holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pass CCRN has 607 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Pass CCRN ships an update every 3 weeks, ICU Basics weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pass CCRN | ICU Basics |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (607 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 20.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 607 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | MastrAPI | ALEXANDER STEPHEN GATELEY |
Customer experience
Pass CCRN
ICU Basics
Bugs and requests
Pass CCRN
Reported bugs
11 issues- App freezes or won't open
- Only loads 4 questions despite paid access
- Same questions repeat in quiz sets
- App won't open without WiFi
- Extremely slow loading times (over an hour)
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- Crashes or becomes unresponsive
- Statistics not updating in real time
- Wrong answer marked as correct in questions
- Missing information in questions (e.g., incomplete ABG values)
- Inconsistency between question prompt and answer choices
- No iPad support
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to filter questions by topic/module (e.g., cardiac questions)
- Custom exam creation based on selected subjects
- Pediatric CCRN section
- Question reporting/review system
- Better organization of content by difficulty level
ICU Basics
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Pass CCRN
- Monthly access by subscription7 Days trial$24.991 Month
- Lifetime access$99.99
ICU Basics
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Pass CCRN free?
Is ICU Basics free?
Which has better reviews, Pass CCRN or ICU Basics?
Do Pass CCRN or ICU Basics have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pass CCRN or ICU Basics?
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