Comparison

FP Notebook vs APEA

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

Head to head
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

About

APEA

Access free media content, video and audio courses, and continuing education lectures. Features a mobile reference for primary care with concise diagnosis and treatment information for over 370 conditions.

Highlights
  • Free media content and guidance
  • Video and audio CE courses
  • Downloadable CE certificates
  • Mobile primary care reference
  • Diagnosis and treatment information
  • View recent activity
  • Direct contact with APEA
Features
Read full description

New! The new APEA app, launched in 2020, delivers fast, reliable access to your APEA resources. Highlights of the new APEA app include: • Access free media content to receive prescribing pearls and other valuable guidance for study and practice. • Watch video courses and CE lectures in the CE Center. Access the Course Manual, complete the evaluation, and download your contact hour certificate—all within the app! • Download and listen to audio courses and CE lectures. Access the Course Manual, complete the evaluation and download your contact hour certificate—all within the app! • Access your CareOnPoint account wherever you have an internet connection. CareOnPoint is a mobile reference for primary care that provides concise diagnosis and treatment information on more than 370 diagnoses. It features anatomical illustrations, prescribing charts and other images to enhance patient care decisions—all accessible within the app! • View your recent activity from the main menu. • Contact APEA directly from within the app. Since 1997, Advanced Practice Education Associates (APEA) has been preparing NP students for success on their certification exams and meeting their continuing education needs throughout their careers. APEA review courses are known for their clarity and effective teaching methods. Students absorb and learn the material because the instructors present the information in ways that build knowledge and retention. Here are just a few comments from our thousands of satisfied customers: • “The knowledge that I gained was invaluable and I felt like it pulled together 2 years of classes that were patchwork. I took boards and much of the material Dr. Hollier reviewed was on the exam. I highly recommend this review course and plan to attend more courses for contact hours.” • “I found the APEA live review course extremely helpful. Everything I have learned the past two years came full circle. I never once lost focus as Dr. Hollier kept things lively.” • “The factor that sets APEA leaps and bounds above the other is their delivery. … the speakers are energetic and really drive home the concepts necessary to be successful to pass board exams. I felt the presenters were genuinely vested in my success. I did not feel the same with other review programs that are available for purchase, and that I had purchased. I encourage other students to utilize APEA to prepare for their future as an advanced practice provider.” In addition to presenting live and on demand review courses and clinical updates, APEA develops clinical resources, question banks and test banks and publishes evidence-based reference books and mobile reference tools used in practice every day.

Screenshots

FP Notebook4 screens
APEA4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: FP Notebook at 4.8 against APEA's 2.3. FP Notebook also leads on review sentiment (58% vs 20%) and ratings volume (3.3K vs 51). APEA's advantage is monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). 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. FP Notebook sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and APEA sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

FP Notebook holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FP Notebook has 3.3K ratings behind it against 51, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of FP Notebook's written reviews are positive against 20% of APEA's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FP Notebook ships an update every 2 months, APEA every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
FP Notebook versus APEA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFP NotebookAPEA
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (3.3K ratings) — better2.3 (51 ratings)
Positive reviews58.2% of reviews — better19.7% of reviews
Number of ratings3.3K — better51
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#63 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.313 — better
Further details — not scored
Size134 MB11 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperAtmosphere Apps, Inc.Advanced Practice Education Associates, LLC.

Customer experience

FP Notebook

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

APEA

All ratings51 ratings
Positive29.4%
Neutral3.9%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews61 reviews
Positive19.7%
Neutral8.2%
Negative72.1%

User reviews

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

APEA

From 51 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great content and material
  • 👍 Useful for continuing education
  • 👍 Helpful for NP students
  • 👍 Good for on-the-go studying
  • 👍 Access to audio lectures

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App frequently doesn't work
  • 🐛 Videos freeze or don't load
  • 🐛 Content not registering as watched
  • 🐛 Rewind/fast forward limited
  • 🐛 Pausing resets lectures

Bugs and requests

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

APEA

Reported bugs

66 issues
  • App never works
  • Videos freeze
  • Videos don't register as watched
  • Pausing lectures resets them
  • Fast forward/rewind only in 10-second intervals
Show 61 more
  • Women's health loaded in men's health
  • Lectures reset to 0 when paused
  • Black screen with timer running
  • Questions are glitchy and freeze
  • Need to log out and back in frequently
  • App opens website in external browser
  • Videos never load
  • App kicks users out
  • Constantly reloading screens
  • Switching back and forth from devices
  • Three bars on top right do not work
  • App OpenSSL and shows recent activity
  • App just flat out doesn't work
  • Blank page when opening app
  • Menu button does nothing
  • Deleting and re-downloading app doesn't fix issues
  • Audio won't play with a locked screen
  • "X" button to exit recording not tappable in portrait mode
  • App doesn't allow rewinding
  • Forces watching videos in order
  • Lectures automatically stop
  • Lecture times are inaccurate
  • App registers completed activities incorrectly
  • Only one login at a time
  • App stopped working, cannot access files or question bank
  • App freezes around 30th question
  • Quizzes freeze
  • Cannot choose certain types of quizzes
  • Cannot log in
  • Wheel of death appears when moving to next question
  • Qbanks freeze
  • App crashes
  • Terrible update
  • Takes forever to load
  • Cannot do more than five questions at a time
  • Audio course loads slowly
  • App doesn't load, says "downloading content"
  • Kicks out when reviewing for certificate
  • Shows unviewed segments despite completion
  • App doesn't log on
  • Continually kicks out when trying to log in
  • Cannot order reviews due to app issues
  • Lectures failed to load
  • Unable to rewind without restarting lecture
  • Constantly having to re-sign in
  • Cannot resume saved exams from the app
  • Cannot stay logged into the app
  • Need to log back in to pick another test
  • App doesn't work with latest Apple update
  • Cannot even login
  • App says sync in progress, try again later
  • App is down often
  • App automatically closes when clicking CE Center
  • Login failed, incorrect format
  • Cannot log in to practice on the go
  • Invalid login message
  • Has to log in every time after recent update
  • Syncing Qbank takes a long time
  • Delay in rationale for an answer
  • App never leaves the sign-in screen
  • App says it's downloading content but never leaves sign-in screen

Requested features

12 requests
  • Allow resuming saved exams from the app
  • Allow staying logged into the app
  • Add more question sets
  • Improve UI formatting for iPhones
  • Fix UI elements that are not tappable
Show 7 more
  • Allow users to choose which videos to watch
  • Provide a script for lectures for better quality control
  • Fix horizontal video playback issues
  • Fix the "quit" button functionality
  • Allow users to select quiz settings once
  • Allow multiple logins on different devices simultaneously
  • Fix the issue where users have to log in every time

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
3 purchases

APEA

One-time3
  • MyQBank 20 Questions$0.99
  • Clinical Brief$7.99
  • CareOnPoint$14.99

Questions

Is FP Notebook free?
FP Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is APEA free?
APEA is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, FP Notebook or APEA?
FP Notebook is rated higher. FP Notebook averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3.3K ratings, while APEA averages 2.3 from 51 ratings.
Do FP Notebook or APEA have ads?
Neither FP Notebook nor APEA shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FP Notebook or APEA?
FP Notebook ships an update every 2 months, and APEA every 3 weeks. Most recently, FP Notebook was updated on October 2, 2026 and APEA on September 30, 2026.

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