Comparison

Davis Drug Guide For Nurses vs Mosby's Drug Reference

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

Head to head
About

Davis Drug Guide For Nurses

This comprehensive drug guide provides nurses with essential medical information for safe medication administration. It features thousands of drug monographs, interaction details, and safety alerts, all organized for quick access and enhanced by personalized notes and search functionality.

Highlights
  • Thousands of drug monographs
  • Drug-drug and drug-food interactions
  • Safety alerts and cautions
  • Personalized notes and color-coding
  • Fast search functionality
  • Bookmarking for quick access
  • Audio pronunciations
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The medical information that nurses need - when, where, and how they need it! Davis's Drug Guide for Nurses, Twentieth Edition, always puts safety first, emphasizing the medical information nurses need to know to administer medications competently and safely. Today's most comprehensive nursing drug guide contains well-organized monographs for thousands of generic and trade name drugs reflecting the latest FDA approvals and changes. The TWENTIETH EDITION - Life-saving guidance, at a glance : • Over 5,000 drug monographs covering trade names and generics. • Organized by generic drug names, with an index that includes generic and trade names, classifications, combination drugs, and herbals. • Drug-drug, drug-food, drug-natural product interactions. • Cross-referencing of drugs. • Herbal content. • Pedi, Geri, OB, and Lactation cautions. • IV administration sections. • REMS (Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies). • Pharmacogenomic content. • Canadian-specific content. • Audio pronunciations for drug names. • Appendices and much more! APP FEATURES : • Take personalized notes throughout the app's drug monographs, color code them; even include images. • Search gets you the content you need in a flash. • Bookmarks return you to your most used content with ease. Try before you buy with a 14-day FREE trial. After that it's only $38.99/year for access and continuous content updates. Privacy Policy - https://www.fadavis.com/privacypolicy Terms of Service - https://www.fadavis.com/Termsofuse

About

Mosby's Drug Reference

This app provides healthcare professionals with comprehensive drug information, including actions, usage, dosage, interactions, and side effects. It emphasizes patient safety with Black Box Warnings, Safety Alerts, and information on life-threatening side effects. Features include custom notes, highlights, and quick search functionality.

Highlights
  • Over 5,000 drug listings
  • Black Box Warnings and Safety Alerts
  • Drug action, usage, dosage, interactions, side effects
  • Custom notes and highlights
  • Full text search
  • Appendix of recent FDA-approvals
Features
Read full description

14-Day Free Trial ** Trusted by Health Care Professionals for Over 30 Years ** ABOUT MOSBY’S DRUG REFERENCE Based on the latest edition, Mosby's Drug Reference provides health care professionals with the tools they need to eliminate errors and improve accuracy. Drug monographs feature concise, easy-to-understand information and make finding answers easy with sections on each drug's action, usage, dosage, interactions, side effects, and more. With an emphasis on patient safety, this best-selling app includes Black Box Warnings for dangerous adverse reactions, Safety Alerts for situations requiring special attention, and a focus on life-threatening side effects of 50 common drug classes. FEATURES • More than 5,000 generic and trade-name drugs are profiled • Appendix of recent FDA-approvals • Icons for High Alert and Rarely Used medications • Highlighted Black Box Warnings, safety alerts, and life-threatening side effects • Helpful IV therapy updates • Create custom notes and highlights within entries • 150+ abbreviations listed for practical understanding • Unlabeled uses and help with easily confused drug names • Full Text Search helps find medications quickly • “Favorites” for bookmarking important entries FREE 14-DAY TRIAL: WHAT TO EXPECT • First-time users can access Unbound's complete Mosby's Drug Reference mobile app free for 14 days • After 14 days, your iTunes account will be charged $45.99 for a one-year subscription unless you have turned off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the free trial ends. • To manage your subscriptions, open Apple's “Settings” app and tap on the “iTunes & App Store" entry. Tap your Apple ID at the top of the screen and login. Tap subscriptions, then tap the subscription you wish to manage. •NOTE: If you choose not to purchase a subscription, content will no longer be viewable after the free trial period. iTunes automatic renewal: Your subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off 24 hours prior to the conclusion of your current period. Auto Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. Your iTunes account will automatically be charged the current renewal rate ($45.99) within 24 hours prior to the end of the subscription period. If you choose not to renew, you will be able to use the app, however will not receive updates. Authors: Linda Skidmore-Roth, RN, MSN, NP Publisher: Elsevier Powered by: Unbound Medicine Unbound Privacy Policy: www.unboundmedicine.com/privacy Unbound Terms of Use: https://www.unboundmedicine.com/end_user_license_agreement

Screenshots

Davis Drug Guide For Nurses4 screens
Mosby's Drug Reference4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Mosby's Drug Reference at free with in-app purchases against Davis Drug Guide For Nurses's subscription. Davis Drug Guide For Nurses's advantage is review sentiment (52% vs 32%) and ratings volume (8.8K vs 235). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Davis Drug Guide For Nurses sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $38.99 per year and Mosby's Drug Reference sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $45.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Davis Drug Guide For Nurses holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Davis Drug Guide For Nurses has 8.8K ratings behind it against 235, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Davis Drug Guide For Nurses's written reviews are positive against 32% of Mosby's Drug Reference's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Davis Drug Guide For Nurses ships an update every 2 months, Mosby's Drug Reference every 9 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Davis Drug Guide For Nurses versus Mosby's Drug Reference: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDavis Drug Guide For NursesMosby's Drug Reference
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (8.8K ratings) — better4.6 (235 ratings)
Positive reviews51.5% of reviews — better31.8% of reviews
Number of ratings8.8K — better235
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#24 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size72 MB10 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperAtmosphere Apps, Inc.Unbound Medicine, Inc.

Customer experience

Davis Drug Guide For Nurses

All ratings8,736 ratings
Positive95.5%
Neutral1.5%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews97 reviews
Positive51.5%
Neutral12.4%
Negative36.1%

Mosby's Drug Reference

All ratings235 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral3.4%
Negative7.7%
Written reviews22 reviews
Positive31.8%
Neutral9.1%
Negative59.1%

User reviews

Davis Drug Guide For Nurses

From 8.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Accurate and detailed information
  • 👍 Helpful for nursing students and nurses
  • 💡 Convenient and easy to use
  • 🚀 Quick medication lookup
  • 👍 Comprehensive drug guide

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and glitches
  • 🔒 Difficult to cancel subscription
  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
  • 🔒 Unable to access purchased content
  • 🔒 Incompatible with other devices

Mosby's Drug Reference

From 235 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great reference for nursing students
  • 👍 Reliable resource for medication information
  • 👍 Invaluable for looking up drugs quickly
  • 👍 Helpful for answering patient questions
  • 👍 Easy and best to use mobile drug reference

Room to improve

  • 😞 Routinely does not have drugs
  • 😞 Not for Canadian market
  • 😞 Not categorized and searchable
  • 😞 Cannot customize info display
  • 😞 Most patients' meds weren't there

Bugs and requests

Davis Drug Guide For Nurses

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes on launch
  • Restore purchase feature not working
  • Incorrect drug information and classifications
  • Compatibility issues with newer devices
  • Inability to log in to existing accounts

Requested features

5 requests
  • Offline access to purchased content
  • Ability to sort and organize bookmarked medications
  • Integration with other medical resources
  • Monthly subscription option
  • Lifetime purchase option

Mosby's Drug Reference

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • Every time I search norco or hydrocodone hydrochlorothiazide comes up

Requested features

3 requests
  • Version for people in the dental field
  • Create an app version for dental drug reference
  • Separate favorites list for users and spouses

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Davis Drug Guide For Nurses

Subscriptions2
  • Annual Subscription$38.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription14 Days trial$38.991 Year
One-time1
  • 1 year subscription extension$38.99
1 purchases

Mosby's Drug Reference

Subscriptions1
  • Mosby's Drug Reference14 Days trial$45.991 Year

Questions

Is Davis Drug Guide For Nurses free?
Davis Drug Guide For Nurses is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Mosby's Drug Reference free?
Mosby's Drug Reference is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Davis Drug Guide For Nurses or Mosby's Drug Reference?
Davis Drug Guide For Nurses is rated higher. Davis Drug Guide For Nurses averages 4.8 out of 5 from 8.8K ratings, while Mosby's Drug Reference averages 4.6 from 235 ratings.
Do Davis Drug Guide For Nurses or Mosby's Drug Reference have ads?
Neither Davis Drug Guide For Nurses nor Mosby's Drug Reference shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Davis Drug Guide For Nurses or Mosby's Drug Reference?
Davis Drug Guide For Nurses ships an update every 2 months, and Mosby's Drug Reference every 9 months. Most recently, Davis Drug Guide For Nurses was updated on November 1, 2026 and Mosby's Drug Reference on November 1, 2026.

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