Comparison

Nursing Central vs mobilePDR

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

Head to head
About

Nursing Central

This comprehensive nursing app integrates multiple best-selling resources to provide quick access to vital clinical information. It offers detailed data on diseases, drugs, tests, and procedures, along with a medical dictionary and access to the PubMed database. Features include study tools, custom notes, and multimedia content to enhance learning and efficiency for healthcare professionals and students.

Highlights
  • Drug information with updates
  • Medical dictionary with 75,000+ entries
  • Laboratory and diagnostic test details
  • Disease and disorder information
  • PubMed database access
  • Exclusive study system (Grasp™)
  • Custom notes and highlights
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Five best-selling nursing apps combine to form the premier, integrated clinical nursing solution. Use valuable tools to find and apply the information you need. Purchase includes iOS app, macOS app, and web access. PLEASE NOTE: Current customers and institutional subscribers can use this app to download content to their iOS devices. ABOUT NURSING CENTRAL Nursing Central helps nurses and students be more efficient by providing detailed information on diseases, tests, drugs, and procedures where and when it is needed. The moment a question arises you can consult the updating database of 5,000 drugs, find a definition in the dictionary with 75,000+ entries, interpret hundreds of laboratory and diagnostic tests, and consult the latest disease information. You can also search the entire PubMed database or study unfamiliar topics using the exclusive study system - Grasp™, all from your mobile device Five best-selling nursing applications combine to form Nursing Central. DAVIS’S DRUG GUIDE FOR NURSES Refer to regularly updated information on dosing, contraindications, drug interactions, and patient education for more than 5,000 medications. TABER’S MEDICAL DICTIONARY Define over 75,000 medical terms and enhance learning with images, videos, and audio pronunciations. DAVIS’S LABORATORY AND DIAGNOSTIC TESTS Access rationale and results for tests as well as pretest requirements, intratest procedures, and post-test patient care. DISEASES AND DISORDERS Review complete coverage of more than 250 medical conditions. Prime PubMed Connect to the full PubMed journal citations and abstracts database on your mobile device. Stay up to date with your favorite nursing and medical journals with Prime Journals, perform powerful searches, receive suggestions on relevant articles with Prime ForYou, link directly to the publisher’s full text, and share articles via email or social media. Visually explore the literature using Grapherence®, a unique way to find related and relevant articles. FEATURES • Receive 1-year of drug updates • Create custom notes and highlights within entries • Consult trusted disease and test information • Jump quickly between resources using Cross Links • View thousands of colorful images, figures, and videos • Learn on the go with our exclusive study system - Grasp™ • Access the full PubMed database • Use the Full Text Search to help find topics across all resources • Bookmark important entries with “Favorites” • Get access to Nursing Central website for one year • Personalize your app by re-ordering resources to match your unique needs and preferences. DRUG AND CONTENT UPDATE RENEWAL • After initial Nursing Central purchase you will receive updates for one year • After one year, you can purchase updates for an additional year, at the discounted rate of $99.99. If you do not choose to purchase, you can continue to use the product but will not receive updates. • If you purchase updates, they will automatically renew annually at the renewal rate ($99.99) and charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase, unless auto-renew is turned off 24 hours prior to the conclusion of the one-year subscription period. • Account will be charged ($99.99) for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the yearly subscription term. • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. Unbound Privacy Policy: www.unboundmedicine.com/privacy Unbound Terms of Use: https://www.unboundmedicine.com/end_user_license_agreement

About

mobilePDR

Access up-to-date drug prescribing information for healthcare professionals. Quickly search thousands of drug summaries, compare medications, and check for interactions. Identify pills with color photos and imprint codes.

Highlights
  • Concise drug summaries
  • Drug comparison tool
  • Drug interaction checker
  • Pill identification with photos
  • Search by brand, generic, or class
  • Continuous updates
Features
Read full description

mobilePDR® is the OFFICIAL drug information app from PDR®, publisher of Physicians’ Desk Reference® – the most trusted resource for drug prescribing information since 1946. mobilePDR allows healthcare professionals FREE access to the most current drug prescribing information available from PDR. Fast and easy to use, mobilePDR employs a simple, but powerful search tool with access to thousands of concise drug summaries. Users can search by generic, brand or pharmacologic class names. A drug comparison feature helps healthcare providers choose the right medication for their patients based on key drug properties such as indications and side effects, dosing, and more. Know at a glance when there may be a drug interaction. Identify a pill based on its physical characteristics and visually confirm with full-color photos. All therapeutic areas and medical specialties are covered within the PDR drug app, including diabetes drugs, pain drugs, asthma and allergy drugs, cardiovascular drugs, obesity drugs, cholesterol drugs, psychiatric and mental health drugs, pediatric drugs, oncology drugs, vaccines and biologics, and more. Features: - Free to all U.S. healthcare professionals - Simple, powerful search provides fast access to drug information with auto-completion - Personalize your experience by saving drugs that you look up often for quick access - Search by brand, generic or pharmacologic class names - Access concise drug summaries and dosing information to answer important prescribing questions - Drug information is updated continuously with the latest information - Covers thousands of drugs in active use - Swipe left-right to compare key drug characteristics such as dosing, indications, and side effects - Save drug comparisons to refer to them again later - Check for drug interactions and learn what drug combinations to avoid - Identify pills by tablet imprint codes, shape or drug color, complete with color pill images Requirements: - Registration is free, and required the first time you use the mobilePDR app - mobilePDR is intended for use by U.S. healthcare professionals

Screenshots

Nursing Central4 screens
mobilePDR4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Nursing Central at 74% against mobilePDR's 32%. Nursing Central also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.2) and ratings volume (10K vs 101). mobilePDR's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 13) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). 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. Nursing Central sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $49.99 per year. mobilePDR asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Nursing Central holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nursing Central has 10K ratings behind it against 101, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Nursing Central's written reviews are positive against 32% of mobilePDR's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nursing Central ships an update every 6 weeks, mobilePDR every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and July 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Nursing Central versus mobilePDR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNursing CentralmobilePDR
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (10K ratings) — better3.2 (101 ratings)
Positive reviews74.2% of reviews — better31.7% of reviews
Number of ratings10K — better101
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#84 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB112 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperUnbound Medicine, Inc.PDR Equity, LLC

Customer experience

Nursing Central

All ratings10,393 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews155 reviews
Positive74.2%
Neutral4.5%
Negative21.3%

mobilePDR

All ratings101 ratings
Positive51.5%
Neutral11.9%
Negative36.6%
Written reviews60 reviews
Positive31.7%
Neutral13.3%
Negative55.0%

Bugs and requests

Nursing Central

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login and account issues
  • Syncing problems across devices
  • Outdated content and lack of updates
  • Compatibility problems with newer devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Offline access to content
  • More detailed disease and medication information
  • Integration with electronic medical records
  • Video tutorials and demonstrations
  • Improved search and filtering capabilities

mobilePDR

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Nursing Central

Subscriptions3
  • Intravenous Medications$49.991 Year
  • Drugs and Tools Renewal$49.991 Year
  • Nursing Central$99.991 Year
One-time9
  • NCLEX-RN Quest$19.99
  • RNotes 5th Edition$29.99
  • RNotes$29.99
Show 6 more
  • Disaster Nursing$39.99
  • Taylor's Clinical$42.99
  • Nurse's Pocket Guide$49.99
  • Nurse's Pocket Guide 16e$49.99
  • Nurses' Health Assessment2 variants$59.99
  • Nursing Central$199.99
None

mobilePDR

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Nursing Central free?
Nursing Central is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is mobilePDR free?
mobilePDR is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Nursing Central or mobilePDR?
Nursing Central is rated higher. Nursing Central averages 4.9 out of 5 from 10K ratings, while mobilePDR averages 3.2 from 101 ratings.
Do Nursing Central or mobilePDR have ads?
Neither Nursing Central nor mobilePDR shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nursing Central or mobilePDR?
Nursing Central ships an update every 6 weeks, and mobilePDR every 2 months. Most recently, Nursing Central was updated on September 29, 2026 and mobilePDR on July 3, 2026.

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