Comparison

RNotes® vs Nursing Dictionary by Farlex

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

Head to head
About

RNotes®

This clinical reference app provides nurses and students with quick access to essential medical information, including guidelines, procedures, and exam preparation tools. It features full-color images, charts, and customizable notes to enhance patient care and learning.

Highlights
  • Quick-reference clinical nursing information
  • Updated AHA guidelines
  • Full-color images and charts
  • NCLEX exam topic indicators
  • Step-by-step procedures and assessment guidance
  • Customizable notes and highlights
  • Nursing alerts for critical safety information
Features
Read full description

** The essential clinical companion for nurses and students ** ABOUT RNOTES® RNotes is a quick-reference application that puts the latest clinically-focused nursing information at your fingertips, helping you improve patient care. Find answers fast by browsing or searching, then review clinical findings, collaborative management, and quick-read information along with full-color images and charts. The latest edition also helps students prepare for the NCLEX examinations by noting topics that are covered on the exam. FEATURES • Answers to the questions faced in clinical rotations • Updated AHA guidelines • Full-color images and figures • NCLEX icons indicating topics found on licensure exam • Step-by-step procedures and enhanced physical assessment guidance • Details for interpreting ECG, lab values, priority interventions, and more • Convenient tables and charts for finding information quickly • Ability to make custom notes and highlights within entries • Nursing alerts highlighting critical safety information • “Favorites” for bookmarking important topics Author: Ehren Myers Publisher: F.A. Davis Powered by: Unbound Medicine Unbound Privacy Policy: www.unboundmedicine.com/privacy Unbound Terms of Use: https://www.unboundmedicine.com/end_user_license_agreement

About

Nursing Dictionary by Farlex

Access over 56,000 medical terms and 4,000 medication entries with clear, in-depth definitions from authoritative sources. This app provides comprehensive information on diseases, treatments, anatomy, and more, with features like voice search and audio pronunciations.

Highlights
  • 56,000+ medical terms and definitions
  • 4,000+ medication entries
  • Thousands of medical abbreviations
  • Unlimited bookmarks
  • Native voice search
  • Audio pronunciations
Features
Read full description

Nursing Dictionary by Farlex is a medical dictionary app specifically for nurses. Get free, instant access to more than 56,000 medical terms, 4,000 entries on medications, and 9,000 images, all from authoritative sources, including McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin, Gale, Elsevier, and more. Whether you're a nurse, nursing student, or looking to learn more about healthcare and treatment, this free nursing dictionary app can help you find clear, in-depth definitions of medical terminology right on your iPhone or iPad. Search across multiple disciplines in more than a dozen medical dictionary and encyclopedia sources, including entries on: Drug facts and interactions Patient monitoring Anatomy Diseases Treatments Tests and procedures The five-step nursing process Nursing intervention Nursing specializations Medical research topics + much more… FEATURES: * Search 56,000+ medical terms and definitions from multiple authoritative sources you won't find anywhere else—all in one app. * Get in-depth info on more than 4,000 prescription medications and over-the-counter medicines in the comprehensive drug guide. * Browse thousands of medical abbreviations and acronyms. * Save unlimited bookmarks and quickly view the terms you need to access fast. * Use native voice search to look up a word just by saying it. (With supported devices) * See search suggestions as you type and always find what you're looking for. * View your recent searches. * Perform advanced searches, including "Starts with," "Ends with," "Contains," and "Wildcard." * Listen to 27,000+ audio pronunciations for both American and British speakers. * Share definitions via social networks, email, and text. (With supported devices) User-friendly, comprehensive, and authoritative: Nursing Dictionary by Farlex is the perfect free nursing app for nurses, nursing students, and anyone curious about the medical field. This is NOT a preview or a trial version, and there is no "locked" content. Open the app on your iPhone or iPad and immediately access all content — no subscriptions required! How do we do it? TheFreeDictionary.com - Farlex apps have been downloaded tens of millions times across multiple platforms, with top ratings after hundreds of thousands of reviews. We work with the best publishers to bring together trusted content in the most comprehensive, authoritative dictionary apps on the market. Our flagship app is The Free Dictionary (TFD), powered by TheFreeDictionary.com. Find our other apps by searching "Dictionary by Farlex" in the App Store.

Screenshots

RNotes®4 screens
Nursing Dictionary by Farlex4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Nursing Dictionary by Farlex at 92% against RNotes®'s 0%. Nursing Dictionary by Farlex also leads on ratings volume (847 vs 41) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). RNotes®'s advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 7 months vs every 15 months). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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. RNotes® sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Nursing Dictionary by Farlex sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Nursing Dictionary by Farlex holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nursing Dictionary by Farlex has 847 ratings behind it against 41, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of RNotes®'s written reviews are positive against 92% of Nursing Dictionary by Farlex's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RNotes® ships an update every 7 months, Nursing Dictionary by Farlex every 15 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
RNotes® versus Nursing Dictionary by Farlex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRNotes®Nursing Dictionary by Farlex
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (41 ratings)4.7 (847 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews92.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings41847 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 months — betterEvery 15 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB15 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperUnbound Medicine, Inc.Farlex, Inc.

Customer experience

RNotes®

All ratings41 ratings
Positive85.4%
Neutral4.9%
Negative9.8%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Nursing Dictionary by Farlex

All ratings839 ratings
Positive95.4%
Neutral1.8%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews89 reviews
Positive92.1%
Neutral1.1%
Negative6.7%

Bugs and requests

RNotes®

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Nursing Dictionary by Farlex

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Paid version still shows ads
  • Some words not found in the dictionary

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add search function for bookmarked items
  • Include more images and visuals
  • Improve search functionality and accuracy
  • Add audio pronunciation guides for medical terms

In-app purchases

3 purchases

RNotes®

One-time3
  • RNotes® 4th Edition$29.99
  • RNotes® 5th Edition$29.99
  • RNotes$29.99
1 purchases

Nursing Dictionary by Farlex

One-time1
  • Ad-free upgrade$4.99

Questions

Is RNotes® free?
RNotes® is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Nursing Dictionary by Farlex free?
Nursing Dictionary by Farlex is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, RNotes® or Nursing Dictionary by Farlex?
Nursing Dictionary by Farlex is rated higher. RNotes® averages 4.5 out of 5 from 41 ratings, while Nursing Dictionary by Farlex averages 4.7 from 847 ratings.
Do RNotes® or Nursing Dictionary by Farlex have ads?
Nursing Dictionary by Farlex shows ads; RNotes® does not.
Which is updated more often, RNotes® or Nursing Dictionary by Farlex?
RNotes® ships an update every 7 months, and Nursing Dictionary by Farlex every 15 months. Most recently, RNotes® was updated on October 24, 2026 and Nursing Dictionary by Farlex on October 27, 2026.

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