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

Drugs.com Medication Guide vs Davis's Drug Guide

Drugs.com Medication Guide 4.8★ · Free to download 75
Winner Drugs.com Medication Guide
Davis's Drug Guide 4.9★ · Free + IAP 65

Drugs.com Medication Guide is better for general users seeking a free or affordable option for medication tracking and information, while Davis's Drug Guide is a strong, albeit expensive, choice for medical professionals and students who need a reliable, offline resource.

Full reviews: Drugs.com Medication Guide · Davis's Drug Guide

Drugs.com Medication Guide offers comprehensive drug information and medication tracking, but recent changes to its pricing model and subscription management have caused user frustration. Davis's Drug Guide is highly valued by medical professionals for its detailed, offline information, but its high annual subscription cost and occasional issues with drug database completeness are significant drawbacks.

Head to head

Features and Information Depth tieR6R9R23R29
Drugs.com Medication Guide Drugs.com Medication Guide is praised for its comprehensive database, including Rx medications and supplements, and its ability to check drug interactions and organize medication lists for medical professionals R29. Users appreciate its detailed information on doses, side effects, and uses R23. However, some users note missing drug classes R6 and difficulties identifying older pills R9.
Davis's Drug Guide Davis's Drug Guide is highly valued by nurses and students for its detailed pharmacological information, including reconstitution and dilution instructions, and IV compatibility . It also offers a pronunciation guide and a calculator . However, some users report that it occasionally misses new or common medications and lacks depth on pharmacology for some professionals .
Ease of Use and Reliability tieR14R15R18R22
Drugs.com Medication Guide Users generally find Drugs.com easy to use for tracking medications, adding/removing drugs, and organizing lists for family members R14. However, recent updates have made adding drugs more difficult R18, and many users report frequent log-out issues R15R22, login failures R28, and app crashes . The pill identification feature has also been criticized for changes and lack of functionality .
Davis's Drug Guide Davis's Drug Guide is described as fast, easy to use, and navigable, with an offline mode that is highly beneficial for medical professionals R85. However, many users report significant issues with the app not working after payment or renewal , getting stuck on loading screens , or being glitchy .
Price and Value edge: Drugs.com Medication GuideR1R4R12R13
Drugs.com Medication Guide Drugs.com Medication Guide is free to download, but many users are frustrated by recent changes to its subscription model, which now charges $8.99 a month to remove ads, a significant increase from a previous $5 annual fee R4R16. There are also complaints about unexpected charges R1, difficulty cancelling subscriptions R13R19, and limitations on free profiles R12.
Davis's Drug Guide Davis's Drug Guide is free to download but requires an in-app purchase, often costing around $40-$50 per year R66R102. Users feel it's too expensive, especially for students R66, and many are upset about being forced to pay for an app that is advertised as free . There are also complaints about automatic renewals without consent R75 and needing to purchase it multiple times for different devices .
Support and Account Management tieR10R13R19R28
Drugs.com Medication Guide Users of Drugs.com Medication Guide frequently report issues with contacting support, receiving error messages, or being unable to cancel subscriptions through provided links R10R13R19. Problems with login, including Apple ID integration and CAPTCHA failures, are also common R28.
Davis's Drug Guide Davis's Drug Guide users also face significant challenges with support, particularly regarding subscription cancellations R64 and issues with app access after paying for renewals . Some users mention poor support for older versions and limited availability of support during night hours .
Pick Drugs.com Medication Guide if

you need a free or more affordable option for general medication information, drug interaction checks, and personal medication tracking, and are willing to tolerate ads or pay a monthly fee for an ad-free experience, and are comfortable with potential login and support challenges R29.

Pick Davis's Drug Guide if

you are a medical professional or student who requires a comprehensive, offline drug guide with features like pronunciation, IV compatibility, and a calculator, and are prepared to pay a significant annual subscription fee for a reliable professional resource R85.

Evidence note: The evidence for both apps is strong, with numerous reviews supporting claims across all dimensions. For Drugs.com, the recent negative reviews heavily skew towards subscription issues and app functionality problems, contrasting with older positive reviews about its utility. For Davis's Drug Guide, the high price point and subscription issues are recurring themes, even among users who praise its content.

Frequently asked

What are the main pricing models for Drugs.com Medication Guide and Davis's Drug Guide?
Drugs.com Medication Guide is free to download but has recently shifted to an $8.99 per month subscription to remove ads, a significant increase from its previous $5 annual ad-removal fee R4R16. Davis's Drug Guide is free to download but requires an in-app purchase, typically costing around $40-$50 per year for a subscription R66R102.
Are there issues with cancelling subscriptions for either app?
Yes, both apps have users reporting significant difficulties with cancelling subscriptions. Drugs.com users mention being unable to cancel through provided links or contact support R13R19, while Davis's Drug Guide users complain about no clear way to cancel and automatic renewals R64R75.
Do these apps work offline?
Davis's Drug Guide is explicitly praised for its offline functionality, allowing users to access information without internet or Wi-Fi R85. Reviews for Drugs.com Medication Guide do not specifically mention offline capabilities, but frequent login issues suggest it may require an internet connection for full functionality R15R22R28.

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. [R6] Drugs.com Medication Guide 3/5 · US Missing drug class!: The medication guide is fine, but it does not give me what class of drug the pharmaceutical is Designated, why??!
  2. [R9] Drugs.com Medication Guide 3/5 · US Lost my touch: I was a certified med tech for decades. In the ‘old days’ this was my Bible. Tonight I just tried to ID 4 different (old) pills I found, with no luck. Go figure….
  3. [R23] Drugs.com Medication Guide 5/5 · US Informative: I always come here to look up medications to see the doses the side effects and to see what the medication might be not good for me. I appreciate their information.
  4. [R29] Drugs.com Medication Guide 5/5 · US Cannot live without this app!!!!!!!!!: Drugs.com has such a surprisingly thorough and comprehensive database to not only include Rx medication, but also a wide variety of supplements. It is a great source to check drug interactions (to include the vitamins we take!!) and create an organized, easy to read list of medications to give to medical professionals and emergency personnel. It even organi
  5. [R14] Drugs.com Medication Guide 5/5 · US Awesome: This app is exactly what I needed. It helps me with my medications. I use it frequently to add or remove my medications. When going to a doctor and they need me to give them my medications it is always on my phone so I can give them an accurate account. It can also be printed out. You can also add each of your family’s meds. Highly recommend.
  6. [R15] Drugs.com Medication Guide 3/5 · US love but one major issue: This app has definitely helped me keep track of all of my medications and doses as well as any possible interactions w other foods/substances. My issue with it is that it logs me out of the app every. single. time. i close it. its so annoying having to log again every time i need to check my list. why not just use a website atp?
  7. [R18] Drugs.com Medication Guide 3/5 · US User unfriendly changes. Down 2 stars: Why would you have moved the “Add drug” as a menu way to the very bottom of the list of medications. Same for the “Edit this drug” menu. Again, all the way to very bottom of the page for that drug. The user has to scroll all the way down through the dosage information, warnings, FDA info, etc. Same exercise to get back to list of meds (Return to list of drugs
  8. [R22] Drugs.com Medication Guide 1/5 · US Cumbersome: I have to login every single time I use the interaction checker, constantly lose my list and have to re-create it
  9. [R1] Drugs.com Medication Guide 1/5 · US Mental Health app: I’m really kinda irritated with the app! It says that they are gonna charge you for $2, and then before you can blink, you have another charge for $14.99 and another after that, fortunately my credit card blocked the third transaction before it could go thru!!! This is very unbelievably rude and unprofessional in my opinion! I will definitely be changing the settings on my iPhon
  10. [R4] Drugs.com Medication Guide 1/5 · US Sad to see it happen to this app: This is a great app, or was I should say now. To go from paying five dollars to remove ads to now you gotta pay $8.99 a month to remove ads just shows how many developers and companies are going to greed immediately. I definitely pay to move ads and I don’t need all the other extra stuff as much but to go from five dollars a year to now have to pay nine bucks a mo
  11. [R12] Drugs.com Medication Guide 3/5 · US Good, but: It’s a good app but you have to pay if you want more than 3 profiles. Plus, if you delete the 3rd profile to change to someone different it will only permit you to have two profiles
  12. [R13] Drugs.com Medication Guide 1/5 · US Shady app: I would like to cancel my free trial subscription, however the app requires you to use a link sent to your email. The links getting sent to my email open the same page I’m trying to go to and then have the same message. It’s not possible to cancel or change plans/ subscriptions. Highly shady app. Take off the App Store! Also unable to contact app support as it says security verification
  13. [R10] Drugs.com Medication Guide 1/5 · US Scam: Used to be great years ago! I paid $2.99 to remove ad’s, now they have Plans up to $29.99! I’ve tried to contact them through support and they give me an error message!
  14. [R19] Drugs.com Medication Guide 1/5 · US Can’t cancel: Can’t cancel and no phone number or chat option. They keep charging me $8.99
  15. [R28] Drugs.com Medication Guide 1/5 · US Unable to login using appleID: Cannot retrieve meds. Been using for a year now. Need to see if I can take a medicine with my others and don’t have access.
  16. [R16] Drugs.com Medication Guide 1/5 · US Get rid of the ads easier: It was nice to pay $5 a year for your product. Now it’s not easy to subscribe and get no ads. Have to find an alternative for those that actually use these apps.
  17. [R66] Davis's Drug Guide 3/5 · US Great but tooo expensive: Every can be found on the web. Too expensive for a student trying to get through school
  18. [R102] Davis's Drug Guide 1/5 · US Healthcare provider: This App is very difficult to navigate and poorly organized. Also there are many common meds that are NOT included in the data base. It is NOT worth 39.99 per year. Several of the other Medicine Apps are much much better and those are either free or .99 cents. Please don’t waste your money on this terrible App, as it will only serve to fail you in an emergency!!!!
  19. [R64] Davis's Drug Guide 1/5 · US Poor business practices: This app was useful as a student, but I now get a superior drug guide for free through my workplace. However, there is no way to cancel this subscription. Please beware that if you subscribe to this app you are locked in for life. Better off with the hard copy of the book
  20. [R75] Davis's Drug Guide 3/5 · US Good information but not all drugs available: Good information but it is not comprehensive. There are more thorough drug book apps that are available. Also, this automatically renewed and charged me without my consent.
  21. [R85] Davis's Drug Guide 5/5 · US Best med app!: This app is incredible! It is designed where you don’t even need Internet or Wi-Fi so if you’re stuck in a med room and have to google something, you can always have your answer at hand. You can make notes which is great. After my shifts, I use the recent search list to review. I’ve looked up to feel more comfortable with them for next shift.

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