Comparison

About Herbs vs FP Notebook

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

Head to head
About

About Herbs

Access objective, scientifically referenced information on herbs, botanicals, and supplements. Explore purported benefits, side effects, and drug interactions. Save favorites for offline use and discuss with your physician for safe integration into your health plan.

Highlights
  • 290+ entries on herbs, botanicals, supplements
  • Purported benefits, side effects, drug interactions
  • Scientifically referenced information
  • Formatted for professionals and consumers
  • Search by herb or supplement
  • Save favorites for offline access
  • Weekly updates
Features
Read full description

About Herbs is presented by the Integrative Medicine Service of Memorial Sloan Kettering. Key features: • 290 Entries on herbs, botanicals, and supplements with purported benefits, side effects, drug interactions & more • Objective information backed by scientific references • Formatted for both healthcare professionals and consumers • Search by herb or supplement • Save favorites for offline availability or to discuss them with your physician for safe use • Explore featured products and services • Updated weekly • Original art renderings Memorial Sloan Kettering is one of the world’s premier cancer centers, committed to exceptional patient care, leading-edge research, and outstanding educational programs. In this app, our Integrative Medicine Service, under the leadership of a pharmacist and botanicals expert, provides comprehensive, objective information about herbs, botanicals, and supplements, as well as links that educate on the evidence for integrative therapies and programs offered by our Integrative Medicine Service. Medical Disclosure This content is provided as general health information only. It is not to be used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment of any health condition or problem. Any questions regarding your own health should be addressed to your own physician or other health care provider. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center makes no warranties or express or implied representations whatsoever regarding the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, comparative or controversial nature, or usefulness of any information contained or referenced in this app. Memorial Sloan Kettering does not assume any risk whatsoever for your use of the information contained herein. Health-related information changes frequently and therefore information contained above may be outdated, incomplete, or incorrect. Statements made about products have not been evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration. You are hereby advised to consult with a physician or other professional health care provider prior to making any decisions, or undertaking any actions or not undertaking any actions related to any health care problem or issue you might have at any time, now or in the future. In using this information, you agree that neither Memorial Sloan Kettering nor any other party is or will be liable or otherwise responsible for any decision made or any action taken or any action not taken due to your use of any information provided herein.

About

FP Notebook

A comprehensive medical reference for primary care and emergency clinicians, offering rapid access to over 6100 interlinked topic pages. Content is updated monthly through literature reviews and conferences, providing up-to-date information for medical professionals.

Highlights
  • Rapid access medical reference
  • Over 6100 interlinked topic pages
  • Content updated monthly
  • 31 specialty books
  • 700+ chapters
  • Point-of-care tool
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Family Practice Notebook is a rapid access, point-of-care medical reference for primary care and emergency clinicians. Started in 1995, this collection now contains over 6100 interlinked topic pages divided into a tree of 31 specialty books and over 700 chapters. FP Notebook’s content is updated monthly with systematic literature reviews and conferences. Please purchase an auto-renewing subscription to receive the latest content. The text content for this mobile application is identical to its online counterparts: fpnotebook.com and fpnotebook.com/mobile. Although access to this application is not restricted, the information found here is intended for use by medical providers. Non-clinical users may find the material challenging to understand, and should address specific medical concerns with their medical providers. Try before you buy with a 14-day FREE trial. After that it's only $24.99/year for access, including continuous content updates. Privacy Policy/Terms & Conditions - http://www.fpnotebook.com/disclaimer.htm

Screenshots

About Herbs4 screens
FP Notebook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: FP Notebook at 4.8 against About Herbs's 4.0. FP Notebook also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 14 months) and ratings volume (3.3K vs 83). About Herbs's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (67% vs 58%). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. FP Notebook sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. About Herbs asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

FP Notebook holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FP Notebook has 3.3K ratings behind it against 83, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of About Herbs's written reviews are positive against 58% of FP Notebook's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

About Herbs ships an update every 14 months, FP Notebook every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on August 11, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
About Herbs versus FP Notebook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAbout HerbsFP Notebook
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (83 ratings)4.8 (3.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews — better58.2% of reviews
Number of ratings833.3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 14 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
Best chart rank—#59 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better14.3
Further details — not scored
Size59 MB134 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterAtmosphere Apps, Inc.

Customer experience

About Herbs

All ratings83 ratings
Positive73.5%
Neutral6.0%
Negative20.5%
Written reviews87 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral9.2%
Negative24.1%

FP Notebook

All ratings3,297 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral1.2%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews67 reviews
Positive58.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative41.8%

User reviews

About Herbs

From 83 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📚 Extensive information on herbs
  • 🧑‍⚕️ Useful for healthcare professionals
  • 💡 Comprehensive and detailed content
  • ✅ Evidence-based information
  • 🆓 Free to use

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Search function not working
  • 🐛 Alphabetical index not jumping
  • 🐛 App crashes on startup
  • 🐛 App not opening on iPad
  • 🐛 Bookmarking crashes app

FP Notebook

From 3.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Excellent, comprehensive medical reference
  • ⚡️ Efficient, concise, and easy to use
  • 🧠 Invaluable for medical students, residents, and practitioners
  • 🤝 Highly recommended by users
  • 🕰️ Frequently used and relied upon for years

Room to improve

  • 💰 Subscription model frustrates some users who previously had free access
  • 🐞 Occasional app freezing or crashing issues reported
  • 🔍 Built-in search function could be improved

Bugs and requests

About Herbs

Reported bugs

21 issues
  • Search tab not functioning
  • Selecting letters on right sidebar does not jump
  • Search doesn't work
  • When clicking alphabetized index letters, no results are returned
  • App not functioning, gives an error
Show 16 more
  • App not opening on iPad 7
  • Bookmarking crashes app
  • Add bookmark crashes app
  • Bookmark function doesn't work on iOS 14
  • App crashes on startup
  • Latest update crashes
  • Update is crap, won't open
  • After update the app crashes at opening
  • Crashes on startup after latest upgrade
  • Updated. Won't open. Deleted.
  • Keeps crashing after update
  • Crashes upon opening
  • Won't open after update
  • Slight glitch in navigating back to main menu
  • App would crash and close as soon as opened (after iOS update)
  • Once I hit 'Agree' it shuts off

Requested features

15 requests
  • Continue updating the program
  • Update the app
  • Bring back offline mode
  • Fix for landscape mode
  • Search by symptoms
Show 10 more
  • Add more content
  • Search by illness
  • Add font size options
  • Allow searching within entries for drugs
  • Add sage & white tea
  • Add vitamins and minerals
  • Make available in landscape mode for iPad
  • Search by symptom, not just herb names
  • Add poisonous plants with dosage info
  • Search by use instead of name

FP Notebook

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App freezing or crashing on certain devices
  • Subscription issues or unexpected charges

Requested features

2 requests
  • Ability to earn continuing education credits through the app
  • Improved search functionality

In-app purchases

None

About Herbs

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

FP Notebook

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
  • Annual Subscription$19.991 Year
  • Annual Sub14 Days trial$24.991 Year

Questions

Is About Herbs free?
About Herbs is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is FP Notebook free?
FP Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, About Herbs or FP Notebook?
FP Notebook is rated higher. About Herbs averages 4.0 out of 5 from 83 ratings, while FP Notebook averages 4.8 from 3.3K ratings.
Do About Herbs or FP Notebook have ads?
Neither About Herbs nor FP Notebook shows ads.
Which is updated more often, About Herbs or FP Notebook?
About Herbs ships an update every 14 months, and FP Notebook every 2 months. Most recently, About Herbs was updated on August 11, 2026 and FP Notebook on September 23, 2026.

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