Comparison

Davis's Drug Guide vs PEPID®

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

Head to head
About

Davis's Drug Guide

This comprehensive drug reference provides essential information for safe medication administration across all age groups. It includes detailed drug monographs, audio pronunciations, pill images, regular updates, and safety alerts. Access to an exclusive online portal offers additional features like dosing calculators and drug of the week notifications.

Highlights
  • 1,700+ drug monographs
  • Audio pronunciations
  • Pill images
  • Regular updates
  • Dosing calculators
  • Safety alerts
  • Canadian-specific content
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Davis’s Drug Guide for Nurses delivers everything you need to administer medications safely across the lifespan. Includes EXCLUSIVE DrugGuide.com access, regular updates, dosing calculators, Drug of the Week, and more! DAVIS DRUG GUIDE FEATURES: • 1,700+ monographs — covering 5,000+ trade name and generic medications • Audio pronunciations — to learn new drug names • Pill images — to visually confirm drug forms • Regular updates — featuring new FDA approvals and prescribing changes • Critical safety alerts and warnings • Highlighted Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) • Pharmacology, Natural & Herbal, Canadian, and Combination Rx indexes • Canadian-specific content, including Canadian trade names and drugs specifically approved for use in Canada • Ideal for courses in nursing programs covering medications, drug administration and preparation for NCLEX-RN & NCLEX-PN exam. • Trusted companion for practicing nurses, physicians & pharmacists. • Now includes Routine Pediatric and Adult Immunizations appendix which incorporates the most recent recommendations. • Adverse side effects are now listed in order of most frequent, life threatening and frequent, life threatening, and other side effects. • A streamlined presentation of the nursing implementation and family teaching sections in the monographs. EXCLUSIVE UNBOUND MEDICINE FEATURES • Free access to the DrugGuide.com website (after purchase) • IV calculators for drips and dosing — fully integrated • Highlighting and note-taking within entries • “Favorites” for bookmarking important entries • 'Drug of the Week' Alerts • Enhanced Search to find Rx medications quickly Authors: April Hazard Vallerand, PhD, RN, FAAN; Cynthia A. Sanoski, BS, PharmD, FCCP, BCPS Publisher: F.A. Davis Powered by: Unbound Medicine TRIAL / SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS • New users can access the complete Davis Drug Guide app free for 14 days. • After 14 days, your iTunes account will be charged $39.99 for a one-year subscription unless you have turned off auto-renew in Account Settings at least 24 hours before the free trial ends. • At the end of the one-year period, your subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off in Account Settings 24 hours prior to the renewal date. • If you choose not to renew, you will still be able to use the app but will not receive medication updates. Unbound Medicine Privacy Policy: https://www.unboundmedicine.com/privacy Unbound Medicine Terms of Use: https://www.unboundmedicine.com/end_user_license_agreement

About

PEPID®

Provides healthcare professionals with essential tools for patient care, including a vast drug database, medical calculators, and visual aids. Content is regularly updated and clinically independent, offering reliable information for various medical roles.

Highlights
  • Largest drug database
  • Medical calculators
  • High-res pill photos
  • Clinical illustrations
  • Regularly updated information
  • Independent clinical content
Features
Read full description

PEPID gives healthcare professionals all the tools they need to treat patients at the scene, en route and/or by the bedside. With just a few taps, access the largest drug database on the market, medical calculators, high-res pill photos, illustrations, and much more! -- Updated regularly, so you can be sure you have the most current information available -- Independent clinical content from 12 leading healthcare associations, including the American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians and the Family Physicians Inquiries Network -- Suites available for physicians, nurses, students, residents, pharmacists, EMTs and paramedics, and more Have questions, issues or feedback? Contact us at support@pepid.com.

Screenshots

Davis's Drug Guide4 screens
PEPID®3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PEPID® at none against Davis's Drug Guide's 3. Davis's Drug Guide's advantage is review sentiment (72% vs 45%) and rating (4.9 vs 4.7). On price, update cadence, ads and iOS requirement 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. Davis's Drug Guide sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $34.99 per year. PEPID® asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Davis's Drug Guide holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9.2K and 2.9K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Davis's Drug Guide's written reviews are positive against 45% of PEPID®'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Davis's Drug Guide ships an update every 6 weeks, PEPID® every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and August 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Davis's Drug Guide versus PEPID®: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDavis's Drug GuidePEPID®
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (9.2K ratings) — better4.7 (2.9K ratings)
Positive reviews72.1% of reviews — better45.1% of reviews
Number of ratings9.2K — better2.9K
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
Best chart rank#10 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB39 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperUnbound Medicine, Inc.PEPID, LLC

Customer experience

Davis's Drug Guide

All ratings9,163 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral1.1%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews129 reviews
Positive72.1%
Neutral3.9%
Negative24.0%

PEPID®

All ratings2,900 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral1.8%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews71 reviews
Positive45.1%
Neutral2.8%
Negative52.1%

User reviews

Davis's Drug Guide

From 9.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Convenient mobile access
  • 🚀 Helpful for nursing students and professionals
  • 🚀 Reliable and trusted resource
  • 👍 Comprehensive drug information

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches
  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 🔍 Missing information on some drugs
  • 🔒 Difficult to cancel subscription
  • 🔍 Not up-to-date with new drugs

PEPID®

From 2.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Quick information
  • 🔒 Trustworthy content
  • 👍 Useful for daily work
  • 👍 Comprehensive database
  • 👍 User-friendly

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes/won't open
  • 🐛 Outdated/missing content
  • 🐛 Poor optimization for newer devices
  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 👎 Difficult to navigate

Bugs and requests

Davis's Drug Guide

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes or freezes
  • Login/access issues
  • Compatibility problems with new devices/OS
  • Incorrect or incomplete drug information

Requested features

5 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to add custom drugs
  • More calculators and tools
  • Improved search functionality
  • Better integration with other systems

PEPID®

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes on login or launch
  • Content fails to download
  • Incompatible with newer iOS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved search functionality
  • More calculators and tools
  • Automatic content updates
  • Ability to use on multiple devices with single subscription

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Davis's Drug Guide

Subscriptions3
  • Drug Interactions$34.991 Year
  • Davis’s Drug Guide for Nurses14 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Davis's Drug Guide Subsription1 Year trial$39.991 Year
None

PEPID®

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Davis's Drug Guide free?
Davis's Drug Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PEPID® free?
PEPID® is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Davis's Drug Guide or PEPID®?
Davis's Drug Guide is rated higher. Davis's Drug Guide averages 4.9 out of 5 from 9.2K ratings, while PEPID® averages 4.7 from 2.9K ratings.
Do Davis's Drug Guide or PEPID® have ads?
Neither Davis's Drug Guide nor PEPID® shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Davis's Drug Guide or PEPID®?
Davis's Drug Guide ships an update every 6 weeks, and PEPID® every 5 weeks. Most recently, Davis's Drug Guide was updated on September 24, 2026 and PEPID® on August 30, 2026.

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