Comparison

PEPID® vs Nurse's Drug Handbook

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

Head to head
About

PEPID®

Provides healthcare professionals with essential tools for patient care, including a vast drug database, medical calculators, and visual aids. Content is regularly updated and clinically independent, offering reliable information for various medical roles.

Highlights
  • Largest drug database
  • Medical calculators
  • High-res pill photos
  • Clinical illustrations
  • Regularly updated information
  • Independent clinical content
Features
Read full description

PEPID gives healthcare professionals all the tools they need to treat patients at the scene, en route and/or by the bedside. With just a few taps, access the largest drug database on the market, medical calculators, high-res pill photos, illustrations, and much more! -- Updated regularly, so you can be sure you have the most current information available -- Independent clinical content from 12 leading healthcare associations, including the American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians and the Family Physicians Inquiries Network -- Suites available for physicians, nurses, students, residents, pharmacists, EMTs and paramedics, and more Have questions, issues or feedback? Contact us at support@pepid.com.

About

Nurse's Drug Handbook

Access comprehensive drug information for healthcare professionals. This app provides accurate, timely facts on hundreds of medications, organized alphabetically with detailed entries covering indications, dosages, interactions, and nursing considerations. Stay updated with the latest edition through an annual subscription.

Highlights
  • Hundreds of drug facts
  • Alphabetical drug entries
  • Indications and dosages
  • Drug interactions
  • Nursing considerations
  • Personalized notes
Features
Read full description

Now the Jones & Bartlett Learning Nurse’s Drug Handbook goes wherever you do with an affordably priced app. It provides: • Accurate, timely facts on hundreds of drugs from abaloparatide to Zyvox • Concise, consistently formatted drug entries organized alphabetically • No-nonsense writing style that speaks your language in terms you use everyday • Index of all generic, trade, and alternate drug names • Chemical and therapeutic classes, FDA pregnancy risk category, and controlled substance schedule • Indications and dosages, as well as route, onset, peak, and duration information • Incompatibilities and contraindications • Interactions with drugs, food, and activities • Adverse reactions • Nursing considerations, including key teaching points for patients • Mechanism-of-action illustrations • Warnings and precautions • Personalized note taking feature Purchase an auto-renewing subscription to always have the latest edition. Subscribers automatically receive the latest edition of the print book's drug information and content, as soon as it's available. Subscriptions are $24.99 for one year. Your subscription will auto-renew annually at the end of each year-long term, unless cancelled. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged $24.99 for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to your Account Settings after purchase. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication. Please see the links to our privacy policy and terms of service below. Privacy Policy - http://www.jblearning.com/privacy/ Terms of Use - http://www.jblearning.com/use/ Print Book - https://www.jblearning.com/catalog/productdetails/9781284195361

Screenshots

PEPID®3 screens
Nurse's Drug Handbook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PEPID® at none against Nurse's Drug Handbook's 4. PEPID® also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 5 months). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Nurse's Drug Handbook sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. PEPID® asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PEPID® holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.9K and 1.4K respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 45% and 46% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PEPID® ships an update every 5 weeks, Nurse's Drug Handbook every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
PEPID® versus Nurse's Drug Handbook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPEPID®Nurse's Drug Handbook
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.9K ratings) — better4.6 (1.4K ratings)
Positive reviews45.1% of reviews45.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.9K — better1.4K
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.615.6
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB112 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperPEPID, LLCAtmosphere Apps, Inc.

Customer experience

PEPID®

All ratings2,900 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral1.8%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews71 reviews
Positive45.1%
Neutral2.8%
Negative52.1%

Nurse's Drug Handbook

All ratings1,414 ratings
Positive89.0%
Neutral2.9%
Negative8.1%
Written reviews48 reviews
Positive45.8%
Neutral8.3%
Negative45.8%

User reviews

PEPID®

From 2.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Quick information
  • 🔒 Trustworthy content
  • 👍 Useful for daily work
  • 👍 Comprehensive database
  • 👍 User-friendly

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes/won't open
  • 🐛 Outdated/missing content
  • 🐛 Poor optimization for newer devices
  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 👎 Difficult to navigate

Nurse's Drug Handbook

From 1.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to navigate
  • 👍 Convenient for quick reference
  • 🙌 Helpful for nursing students and professionals

Room to improve

  • 🚨 Missing many common medications
  • ❌ Incomplete drug information
  • 💰 Not worth the subscription cost
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs

Bugs and requests

PEPID®

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes on login or launch
  • Content fails to download
  • Incompatible with newer iOS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved search functionality
  • More calculators and tools
  • Automatic content updates
  • Ability to use on multiple devices with single subscription

Nurse's Drug Handbook

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on launch
  • Search function not working properly
  • Subscription issues and inability to cancel

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more medications, especially newer and common ones
  • Improve drug information details and formatting
  • Provide more frequent app updates
  • Allow subscription management and cancellation

In-app purchases

None

PEPID®

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Nurse's Drug Handbook

Subscriptions4
  • Annual Subscription$9.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription - Student1 Month trial$19.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription$24.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Annual Subscription7 Days trial$24.991 Year

Questions

Is PEPID® free?
PEPID® is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Nurse's Drug Handbook free?
Nurse's Drug Handbook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PEPID® or Nurse's Drug Handbook?
PEPID® is rated higher. PEPID® averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.9K ratings, while Nurse's Drug Handbook averages 4.6 from 1.4K ratings.
Do PEPID® or Nurse's Drug Handbook have ads?
Neither PEPID® nor Nurse's Drug Handbook shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PEPID® or Nurse's Drug Handbook?
PEPID® ships an update every 5 weeks, and Nurse's Drug Handbook every 5 months. Most recently, PEPID® was updated on October 22, 2026 and Nurse's Drug Handbook on November 1, 2026.

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