Comparison

Mosby's Drug Reference vs PTCB

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

PTCB

Prepare for your Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam with a personalized study plan. Practice with over 500 questions covering key knowledge domains and track your progress with detailed statistics. Boost your confidence to pass the exam on your first attempt.

Highlights
  • Personalized study plan
  • 500+ practice questions
  • Track strengths and weaknesses
  • Detailed test statistics
  • Compare scores to community average
  • Covers key pharmacy knowledge domains
Read full description

Pass your Pharmacy Technician exam with flying colors! Boost your confidence in passing the first time with our mobile app and a personal study plan based on your current skill and requirements. The pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE) is used by The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) as one of the four requirements for certification as a Pharmacy Technician. The test was designed as a result of a job analysis study conducted by the PTCB that determined the knowledge and skills needed to work as a pharmacy technician. It consists of multiple-choice questions with four answer choices. Our app trains you in the required “knowledge domains” in the area of pharmacy: – Medications (40%) – Federal Requirements (12.5%) – Patient Safety and Quality Assurance (26.25%) – Order Entry and Processing (21.25%) Key features: - Choose from different topics required to become a certified pharmacist - Practice with 500+ questions - Track your strengths and weaknesses within Stats section of the app - Study detailed statistics of every test you take - Compare your score to the community average for almost any type of exam PTCB Certified Pharmacy Technician™, PTCB™, PTCE™, Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam™ and CPhT™ are registered trademarks of the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board™ (PTCB®) and are administered exclusively by the PTCB®. This material is not endorsed or approved by the PTCB®. - - - - Purchases, subscriptions and terms You need to buy a lifetime access or subscribe to get access to all features, courses and questions. The cost of the purchase is charged to your iTunes account. Subscriptions are auto-renewable and are billed at the rate and period selected depending on the subscription plan. Users’ accounts are charged for auto-renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. Subscriptions can be managed and auto-renewal can be turned off in Account Settings in iTunes after the purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. Terms of use: https://mastrapi.com/terms Privacy policy: https://mastrapi.com/policy

Screenshots

Mosby's Drug Reference4 screens
PTCB4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: PTCB at every 2 weeks against Mosby's Drug Reference's every 9 months. PTCB also leads on review sentiment (45% vs 32%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). Mosby's Drug Reference's advantage is chart position (#182 vs unranked) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, rating, ratings volume 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 and PTCB sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

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 PTCB. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 235 and 557 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 32% of Mosby's Drug Reference's written reviews are positive against 45% of PTCB's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mosby's Drug Reference ships an update every 9 months, PTCB every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Mosby's Drug Reference versus PTCB: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMosby's Drug ReferencePTCB
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (235 ratings)4.7 (557 ratings) — better
Positive reviews31.8% of reviews45.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings235557 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#182 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB36 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperUnbound Medicine, Inc.MastrAPI

Customer experience

Mosby's Drug Reference

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

PTCB

All ratings557 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral2.9%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive45.5%
Neutral9.1%
Negative45.5%

Bugs and requests

Mosby's Drug Reference

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

PTCB

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App does not update questions
  • App does not work after purchase
  • Charged for free trial

Requested features

2 requests
  • Update app questions regularly
  • Improve formatting of math explanations

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Mosby's Drug Reference

Subscriptions1
  • Mosby's Drug Reference14 Days trial$45.991 Year
2 purchases

PTCB

Subscriptions1
  • PTCB Pharmacy Technician7 Days trial$24.991 Month
One-time1
  • Lifetime$99.99

Questions

Is Mosby's Drug Reference free?
Mosby's Drug Reference is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PTCB free?
PTCB is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Mosby's Drug Reference or PTCB?
PTCB is rated higher. Mosby's Drug Reference averages 4.6 out of 5 from 235 ratings, while PTCB averages 4.7 from 557 ratings.
Do Mosby's Drug Reference or PTCB have ads?
Neither Mosby's Drug Reference nor PTCB shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mosby's Drug Reference or PTCB?
Mosby's Drug Reference ships an update every 9 months, and PTCB every 2 weeks. Most recently, Mosby's Drug Reference was updated on October 15, 2026 and PTCB on October 12, 2026.

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