Comparison

FP Notebook vs mobilePDR

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

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

FP Notebook4 screens
mobilePDR4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: FP Notebook at 4.9 against mobilePDR's 3.2. FP Notebook also leads on review sentiment (61% vs 32%) and ratings volume (3.3K vs 101). mobilePDR's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) 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. FP Notebook sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. mobilePDR asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

FP Notebook holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FP Notebook has 3.3K ratings behind it against 101, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of FP Notebook's written reviews are positive against 32% of mobilePDR's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
FP Notebook versus mobilePDR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFP NotebookmobilePDR
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (3.3K ratings) — better3.2 (101 ratings)
Positive reviews61.1% of reviews — better31.7% of reviews
Number of ratings3.3K — better101
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
Best chart rank#54 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size141 MB112 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperAtmosphere Apps, Inc.PDR Equity, LLC

Customer experience

FP Notebook

All ratings3,337 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral1.2%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews72 reviews
Positive61.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative38.9%

mobilePDR

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

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

mobilePDR

From 101 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great information resource
  • 👍 Useful for medical professionals
  • 👍 Detailed drug information
  • 👍 No subscriptions needed
  • 👍 Quick and accurate descriptions

Room to improve

  • ⚫ Unreadable in dark mode
  • ⚫ Dark text on black background
  • ⚫ Poor contrast issues
  • 🐛 Buggy at times
  • 🐛 App crashes frequently

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

mobilePDR

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Text unreadable in dark mode
  • Black text on black background
  • App crashes during comparison
  • App crashes on launch
  • Login errors
Show 4 more
  • Drug identification incorrect
  • Cannot read description after upgrade
  • App not communicating with password manager
  • Random black background behind text

Requested features

9 requests
  • Add dark mode option
  • Improve readability in dark mode
  • Allow landscape orientation
  • Fix drug identification errors
  • Add DEA/drug scheduling tab
Show 4 more
  • Add related drugs tab
  • Improve drug comparison tool
  • Add favorite drugs tab
  • Add flashcard feature

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
None

mobilePDR

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is FP Notebook free?
FP Notebook 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, FP Notebook or mobilePDR?
FP Notebook is rated higher. FP Notebook averages 4.9 out of 5 from 3.3K ratings, while mobilePDR averages 3.2 from 101 ratings.
Do FP Notebook or mobilePDR have ads?
Neither FP Notebook nor mobilePDR shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FP Notebook or mobilePDR?
FP Notebook ships an update every 2 months, and mobilePDR every 2 months. Most recently, FP Notebook was updated on October 13, 2026 and mobilePDR on October 2, 2026.

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