Comparison

Mosby's Drug Reference vs PharmaFrog

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

Head to head
About

Mosby's Drug Reference

This app provides healthcare professionals with comprehensive drug information, including actions, usage, dosage, interactions, and side effects. It emphasizes patient safety with Black Box Warnings, Safety Alerts, and information on life-threatening side effects. Features include custom notes, highlights, and quick search functionality.

Highlights
  • Over 5,000 drug listings
  • Black Box Warnings and Safety Alerts
  • Drug action, usage, dosage, interactions, side effects
  • Custom notes and highlights
  • Full text search
  • Appendix of recent FDA-approvals
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

14-Day Free Trial ** Trusted by Health Care Professionals for Over 30 Years ** ABOUT MOSBY’S DRUG REFERENCE Based on the latest edition, Mosby's Drug Reference provides health care professionals with the tools they need to eliminate errors and improve accuracy. Drug monographs feature concise, easy-to-understand information and make finding answers easy with sections on each drug's action, usage, dosage, interactions, side effects, and more. With an emphasis on patient safety, this best-selling app includes Black Box Warnings for dangerous adverse reactions, Safety Alerts for situations requiring special attention, and a focus on life-threatening side effects of 50 common drug classes. FEATURES • More than 5,000 generic and trade-name drugs are profiled • Appendix of recent FDA-approvals • Icons for High Alert and Rarely Used medications • Highlighted Black Box Warnings, safety alerts, and life-threatening side effects • Helpful IV therapy updates • Create custom notes and highlights within entries • 150+ abbreviations listed for practical understanding • Unlabeled uses and help with easily confused drug names • Full Text Search helps find medications quickly • “Favorites” for bookmarking important entries FREE 14-DAY TRIAL: WHAT TO EXPECT • First-time users can access Unbound's complete Mosby's Drug Reference mobile app free for 14 days • After 14 days, your iTunes account will be charged $45.99 for a one-year subscription unless you have turned off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the free trial ends. • To manage your subscriptions, open Apple's “Settings” app and tap on the “iTunes & App Store" entry. Tap your Apple ID at the top of the screen and login. Tap subscriptions, then tap the subscription you wish to manage. •NOTE: If you choose not to purchase a subscription, content will no longer be viewable after the free trial period. iTunes automatic renewal: Your subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off 24 hours prior to the conclusion of your current period. Auto Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. Your iTunes account will automatically be charged the current renewal rate ($45.99) within 24 hours prior to the end of the subscription period. If you choose not to renew, you will be able to use the app, however will not receive updates. Authors: Linda Skidmore-Roth, RN, MSN, NP Publisher: Elsevier Powered by: Unbound Medicine Unbound Privacy Policy: www.unboundmedicine.com/privacy Unbound Terms of Use: https://www.unboundmedicine.com/end_user_license_agreement

About

PharmaFrog

This educational tool explains complex pharmacology and pharmacotherapy concepts through mechanisms, not just memorization. It generates practice questions and identifies knowledge gaps to help users master drug treatments and clinical guidelines. Available offline, it's designed for healthcare professionals, students, and interested individuals.

Highlights
  • Drug and disease-specific question generation
  • Learning units, quizzes, and refreshers
  • Identifies knowledge gaps
  • Explains pharmacotherapies via mechanisms
  • Guideline-based clinical situation deployment
  • Offline access
Features
Read full description

What is new? 1. Automatically generates drug- and disease-specific Single-Choice Questions and deploys them within Learning Units, Quizzes and daily Refreshers. 2. Helps you remain proficient in pharmacotherapies of your choice by identifying your knowledge gaps. PharmaFrog is an innovative learning and reference tool for pharmacology and pharmacotherapy. We believe that these disciplines should be understood rather than memorized. PharmaFrog explains pharmacotherapies using mechanisms - from physiology of drug targets through pharmacology to guideline-based clinical situations in which drugs are deployed. PharmaFrog addresses healthcare professionals and students, as well as interested laypersons. It is to be used only for educational purposes. If you have asked yourself: > What is the target of a given drug and what physiological processes does it affect? > Which drugs do I use to treat a given disease and why? > How do I deploy drugs in specific, common clinical situations in accordance with the latest guidelines? - PharmaFrog has an answer. Fully offline. At your fingertips.

Screenshots

Mosby's Drug Reference4 screens
PharmaFrog4 screens

Verdict

The call

Mosby's Drug Reference and PharmaFrog both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of PharmaFrog's written reviews are positive against 32% of Mosby's Drug Reference's. PharmaFrog also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 9 months). Mosby's Drug Reference's advantage is chart position (#132 vs unranked) and ratings volume (235 vs 28). On price, rating and ads 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. Mosby's Drug Reference sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $45.99 per year. PharmaFrog asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Mosby's Drug Reference against 4.7 for PharmaFrog. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mosby's Drug Reference has 235 ratings behind it against 28, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 32% of Mosby's Drug Reference's written reviews are positive against 100% of PharmaFrog's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mosby's Drug Reference ships an update every 9 months, PharmaFrog every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Mosby's Drug Reference versus PharmaFrog: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMosby's Drug ReferencePharmaFrog
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (235 ratings)4.7 (28 ratings) — better
Positive reviews31.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings235 — better28
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#132 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB28 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperUnbound Medicine, Inc.University Medical Center Mainz

Customer experience

Mosby's Drug Reference

All ratings235 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral3.4%
Negative7.7%
Written reviews22 reviews
Positive31.8%
Neutral9.1%
Negative59.1%

PharmaFrog

All ratings28 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Mosby's Drug Reference

Subscriptions1
  • Mosby's Drug Reference14 Days trial$45.991 Year
None

PharmaFrog

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mosby's Drug Reference free?
Mosby's Drug Reference is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PharmaFrog free?
PharmaFrog is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mosby's Drug Reference or PharmaFrog?
PharmaFrog is rated higher. Mosby's Drug Reference averages 4.6 out of 5 from 235 ratings, while PharmaFrog averages 4.7 from 28 ratings.
Do Mosby's Drug Reference or PharmaFrog have ads?
Neither Mosby's Drug Reference nor PharmaFrog shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mosby's Drug Reference or PharmaFrog?
Mosby's Drug Reference ships an update every 9 months, and PharmaFrog every 3 weeks. Most recently, Mosby's Drug Reference was updated on October 15, 2026 and PharmaFrog on October 1, 2026.

Other comparisons