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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Davis Drug Guide For Nurses vs Picmonic Nursing School Study

Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 4.8★ · Free + IAP 75
Winner Tie
Picmonic Nursing School Study 4.9★ · Free + IAP 78

Davis Drug Guide is better for quick, accurate drug information in a clinical setting, while Picmonic is superior for visual learners needing to memorize complex concepts for nursing school and exams.

Full reviews: Davis Drug Guide For Nurses · Picmonic Nursing School Study

Davis Drug Guide excels as a quick, accurate drug reference for nurses and students, despite some technical and subscription issues. Picmonic is a highly effective visual learning tool for nursing concepts and pharmacology, though some users find its content overwhelming or not suitable for advanced practice.

Head to head

Features and Content tieR2R5R7R8
Davis Drug Guide For Nurses Users praise Davis Drug Guide for its thorough, accurate, and detailed drug information, including IV incompatibilities, making it a comprehensive digital drug book R2R8. It's seen as better than other resources like Micromedex or Lippincott's R5. However, some users report missing drug classifications or specific drugs, and slow updates for newer medications R7R12R15. There's also a lack of features like Y-site compatibility charts, APA citation tools, and the ability to copy/paste text R7.
Picmonic Nursing School Study Picmonic is highly valued for its visual learning approach, using 'mini stories' and 'fun cartoon ways' to help users retain complex medical terms, drug mechanisms of action, and disease concepts R62. It offers quizzes and study materials aligned with nursing school textbooks R65. Some users, especially those in NP programs, find the content overwhelming, disjointed, or not suitable for their advanced studies R95R109. There are also complaints about quiz questions being inaccurately worded or not working properly .
Ease of Use tieR2R3R8R9
Davis Drug Guide For Nurses Davis Drug Guide is generally described as 'quick, easy, accurate' and 'simple to use' for looking up medications R2R8R11. Users appreciate its organized layout R3. However, many users report significant technical issues, including slow loading times, the app crashing or shutting down, inability to open, and problems with restoring purchases or logging in R3R9. Some also find the interface outdated and hard to navigate .
Picmonic Nursing School Study Picmonic is praised for making studying fun and engaging with its visual format . However, some users find the pictures 'too overwhelming' or 'too much going on' and the stories 'long and honestly pretty stupid' or not making sense . Technical issues like the app not working, not loading infographics/videos, signing users out, or not recognizing subscriptions are common . Some users also report difficulty finding applicable content or using the search function R95.
Reliability tieR2R11R12R15
Davis Drug Guide For Nurses Davis Drug Guide is praised for its accuracy and being up-to-date by many long-term users R2R11. However, other users report 'too many errors and wrong information' and missing drug classifications or new medications R12R15. Frequent complaints about the app crashing, not opening, or failing to restore purchases indicate significant reliability issues R19R27.
Picmonic Nursing School Study Picmonic's content is generally seen as helpful for retention, with users passing classes because of it . However, some question the accuracy of quiz questions or the relevance of information to NCLEX . The app suffers from widespread reliability problems, including not working for months, logging users out, not loading content, and subscription recognition failures .
Price/Value tieR4R8R9R13
Davis Drug Guide For Nurses Davis Drug Guide is considered 'worth the price' by some who find it affordable and extremely useful for nursing school and practice R8. However, many users express strong dissatisfaction with the annual subscription model, especially when they expect lifetime access or struggle to cancel R4R9R13R36. The inability to restore purchases or transfer subscriptions to new devices also leads to feeling exploited and wasting money R9R19.
Picmonic Nursing School Study Picmonic is seen as a valuable investment for visual learners, with some finding it 'much cheaper than other programs' . However, a significant number of users complain about the high cost, deceptive pricing (e.g., monthly vs. upfront annual charge), and limited access even with a paid subscription . There are also numerous complaints about the inability to cancel subscriptions or get refunds, leading to feelings of fraud and wasted money R74R76R81R83.
Support tieR19R27R50R61
Davis Drug Guide For Nurses Users report poor or no help from Davis Drug Guide's customer support when encountering issues like app access problems, subscription cancellation, or technical glitches R19R27R50.
Picmonic Nursing School Study Picmonic users frequently report negative experiences with customer service, including unresponsiveness, inability to resolve login/access issues, and refusal to issue refunds for unwanted subscriptions R61R76R81.
Pick Davis Drug Guide For Nurses if

You need a quick, reliable, and thorough drug reference for clinical practice or nursing school assignments, and you prioritize detailed medication information over visual learning tools R2R8R11.

Pick Picmonic Nursing School Study if

You are a visual learner struggling to retain complex nursing concepts and pharmacology, and you need an engaging study tool with stories, pictures, and quizzes to help information stick for exams R62.

Evidence note: Both apps have a significant number of negative reviews related to technical issues, subscription management, and customer support, which somewhat skews recent ratings. The free-to-paid model for both apps also contributes to negativity from users encountering paywalls or unexpected charges.

Frequently asked

Can I use Davis Drug Guide for free?
While Davis Drug Guide is listed as 'Free + IAP,' many users report difficulty accessing any content without immediately being asked to pay for a subscription, with some unable to find a free trial R10R42.
Is Picmonic good for Nurse Practitioner (NP) school?
Some users find Picmonic helpful for NP school, especially for advanced pharmacology R62R65. However, other NP students found it not helpful, too overwhelming, or not suitable for advanced patho and other NP-level content R95R109.
How much does Davis Drug Guide cost and is it a one-time purchase?
Davis Drug Guide is primarily an annual subscription, with reports of prices around $38.99 to $50 per year, despite some users initially believing it was a lifetime access purchase R4R36R39R52.
Can I cancel my Picmonic subscription easily?
Many users report significant difficulty canceling their Picmonic subscriptions, with some stating there is 'no where to cancel' or that customer service will not issue refunds even with proof of cancellation R74R76R81R83.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R2] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 5/5 · US My go too: I’ve been using Davis Drug Guide for nurses since I was in nursing school in 2016. It’s carried me through all my years as a nurse and now going into my years as a nurse practitioner. It’s very helpful easy to use. I recommend it to anybody wherever they are in their career.
  2. [R5] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 5/5 · US Useful: Better than the provided micromedix
  3. [R7] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 1/5 · US Y site comparability: Where is the y site comparability chart?
  4. [R8] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 5/5 · US The Guide You Need: Almost every medication you might run into is right here at your fingertips. When you don’t have time to rummage through the book or a newer medication isn’t in there, it’s here! The app is simple to use and you can save the medications you run into the most. I use this app every day and I love it! It’s worth the price, I promise!
  5. [R3] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 3/5 · US Helpful if you have time: This app is incredibly helpful for its accuracy, layout and and information however can be difficult to use in a clinical setting because of how long it takes to load each page
  6. [R9] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 3/5 · US Can add to new phone: Love the app itself, do not like the fact that when you add the app to new phone you can not restore. They want you to pay for another subscription. Maybe it’s me but this has happened on two different phones.
  7. [R11] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 5/5 · US New nurse: Quick , easy, accurate !!! All the things a new nurse needs. I can access information very quickly , it’s easy to use the app and it’s very accurate .
  8. [R12] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 3/5 · US They need and update: It’s quick and convenient but they need an update. Too many errors and wrong information. For example I go check for Furrous Sulfate and the class is Antiemtic ???it’s suppose to be Blood former/Coagulator
  9. [R15] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 3/5 · US Short comings are becoming evident: 1. The product can only be used on my apple account; therefore, I am unable to access the product on my laptop through an internet portal. Such as that offered at Davis’s drugguide.com - Note, subscription to this app, does not provide membership to other Davis’s drug guide resources. 2. Product is missing drug classifications. Ex. Antacids
  10. [R4] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 1/5 · US Nobody should have to pay an annual subscription to retain access one book: It’s an example of how we exploit each other even as we lament being exploited by larger corporate interests.
  11. [R13] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 1/5 · US Can’t cancel subscription: I used this app for several years while in nursing school and it was great. I no longer need it with a new job, but am unable to cancel the renewal.
  12. [R19] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 1/5 · US Unable to access: I have had this app for several months and only been able to access twice. I am a hospital nurse and was looking forward to having more info than our hospital site gives. The 2 times I got on it was great. I have contacted the app a couple of times to try to resolve the issue with no good help. Super bummed I wasted $40.
  13. [R27] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 3/5 · US Issues: I love the app when it works. I need to delete it weekly and reopen it because it blocks me. I’ve reached out to the app provider and they couldn’t help. If it worked I’d love it. But sadly it’s been a wast of money. Works great on my iPad; doesn’t work at all on my iPhone.
  14. [R50] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 1/5 · US Index not working: Good app if it works properly. I have not been able to look up a medication using the comprehensive index which I need to have that functional for this app to be of any use to me. I’ve submitted 2 feedbacks to the app developer with no response. I had to spend more money and get the actual book so I can get through my class. Very frustrating and I feel I wasted my money on this
  15. [R61] Picmonic Nursing School Study 1/5 · US Customer service: Bad experience with customer service
  16. [R10] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 1/5 · US Free trail?: Where is this free trail? I downloaded the app and any I click on ask me to pay for a subscription. Haven’t been able to preview anything.
  17. [R42] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 3/5 · US Great but hope there's a free one: I'm a student and cannot afford the app. Its just sad this has limited use. I hope it can be free for core drugs without update, those who wanted update can then choose to purchase. But besides that, it works well, esp. if one is in clinicals because its hard to bring and look through the book all the time.
  18. [R62] Picmonic Nursing School Study 5/5 · US So helpful!: Great for visual learners, helped so much during both nursing and NP school!
  19. [R65] Picmonic Nursing School Study 5/5 · US Excellent thought processes!: Awesome questions on advanced pharmacology, risk factors, pathophysiology, side effects, contraindications, etc. really poses questions. Such as that you will see on an exam!
  20. [R95] Picmonic Nursing School Study 2/5 · US Wish I had gone with a shorter period: This app is not easy to find applicable series of videos to my course of study (Nurse Practitioner) even though it was billed as such. So many different disjointed videos with too many extra names to the cartoons that it actually gets more confusing. I’m better off finding YouTube videos about the subject I’m having trouble with. The search function in this a
  21. [R109] Picmonic Nursing School Study 1/5 · US Not for NP school: This is probably great for nursing school but was not helpful for my first Advanced Patho test.
  22. [R36] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 3/5 · US Confused.: In the app when I downloaded it, it said lifetime access for $38.99. But the app listing says annually. If I knew it was annually I would have reconsidered the app. Also, I would like the drug classes to be included. That’s very important.
  23. [R39] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 3/5 · US Amazing but costly: This is the perfect pocket guide to drugs BUT it's $39 a year and I have yet to find a way to use the access code I got with my textbook to get the subscription.
  24. [R52] Davis Drug Guide For Nurses 1/5 · US The past is better than the future.: This app used to be better a few years ago, but now they want $50 subscription?! I think not.
  25. [R74] Picmonic Nursing School Study 4/5 · US Help!: I tried this app, and it seems great for those who have this learning style, but it doesn’t work with my learning style but I can’t find where to unsubscribe! I don’t want to be paying for something I don’t use! Could you please unsubscribe me?
  26. [R76] Picmonic Nursing School Study 1/5 · US Not worth it: I have purchased this subscription a year ago. I also have cancelled this subscription but for some reason, I am still being charged and they are not willing to give me a refund even will the provided evidence that I a record of cancellation.
  27. [R81] Picmonic Nursing School Study 2/5 · US Bad Business No Refunds: FYI: Picmonic WILL NOT give refunds! so you better stay on top of Your auto renewal date after you are done with the app!! I would seriously like to know how many people remember their auto renewal dates. I receive so Many emails, that i honestly didnt see the emails were sent. I called the same day that the funds were suppose to be pulled from my account, still pending, a
  28. [R83] Picmonic Nursing School Study 1/5 · US Don’t waste your money or time: I did the free trial and i doesn’t work for me and I asked them to refund me and they said no that Apple would have to. Then I asked Apple they said no so I’m stuck with a $60 app that doesn’t work for my style learning and I don’t know who’s style it would work for and there’s no help whatsoever from anyone on the issue.

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store