Comparison

Mosby's Drug Reference vs COSA

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
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

COSA

Access essential drug information and advanced patient resources. This app provides a portion of licensed drug data from a leading healthcare information provider, based on industry-standard databases.

Highlights
  • Essential drug information
  • Advanced patient resources
  • Licensed drug data
  • Industry-standard databases
  • Physician-focused resources
Features
Read full description

Find essential drug information & advanced patient resources. Physicians Office Resource licenses drug information data from First DataBank and provides a portion of it as a free service to its physician-users. First DataBank is the leading provider of electronic drug information to the healthcare industry. Based on the widely accepted industry standard — the National Drug Data File® — NDDF Plus databases are backed by the most clinically verifiable evidence gathered to date.

Screenshots

Mosby's Drug Reference4 screens
COSA4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Mosby's Drug Reference at 4.6 against COSA's 3.7. Mosby's Drug Reference also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (235 vs 3). COSA's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 9 months). On price 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. COSA asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mosby's Drug Reference holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mosby's Drug Reference has 235 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mosby's Drug Reference ships an update every 9 months, COSA every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Mosby's Drug Reference versus COSA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMosby's Drug ReferenceCOSA
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (235 ratings) — better3.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews31.8% of reviews
Number of ratings235 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB28 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperUnbound Medicine, Inc.MEDICAL EDUCATION RESOURCES, LLC

Customer experience

Mosby's Drug Reference

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

COSA

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Mosby's Drug Reference

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

COSA

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 COSA free?
COSA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mosby's Drug Reference or COSA?
Mosby's Drug Reference is rated higher. Mosby's Drug Reference averages 4.6 out of 5 from 235 ratings, while COSA averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Mosby's Drug Reference or COSA have ads?
COSA shows ads; Mosby's Drug Reference does not.
Which is updated more often, Mosby's Drug Reference or COSA?
Mosby's Drug Reference ships an update every 9 months, and COSA every 3 months. Most recently, Mosby's Drug Reference was updated on September 24, 2026 and COSA on September 10, 2026.

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