FP Notebook vs mobilePDR
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Rapid access medical reference
- Over 6100 interlinked topic pages
- Content updated monthly
- 31 specialty books
- 700+ chapters
- Point-of-care tool
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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
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.
- Concise drug summaries
- Drug comparison tool
- Drug interaction checker
- Pill identification with photos
- Search by brand, generic, or class
- Continuous updates
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | FP Notebook | mobilePDR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (3.3K ratings) — better | 3.2 (101 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 61.1% of reviews — better | 31.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3.3K — better | 101 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #54 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 141 MB | 112 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Atmosphere Apps, Inc. | PDR Equity, LLC |
Customer experience
FP Notebook
mobilePDR
User reviews
FP Notebook
From 3.3K App Store ratingsWhat 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 ratingsWhat 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 moreShow fewer
- 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 moreShow fewer
- Add related drugs tab
- Improve drug comparison tool
- Add favorite drugs tab
- Add flashcard feature
In-app purchases
FP Notebook
- Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
- Annual Subscription$19.991 Year
- Annual Sub14 Days trial$24.991 Year
mobilePDR
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is FP Notebook free?
Is mobilePDR free?
Which has better reviews, FP Notebook or mobilePDR?
Do FP Notebook or mobilePDR have ads?
Which is updated more often, FP Notebook or mobilePDR?
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