Best free drug reference on iPhone
32/50
6th of 6
| Clinical scope & reasoning | iPhone & iPad experience | Apple platform integration | Offline & on-device privacy | Access & eligibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4/10 | 7/10 | 7/10 | 8/10 | 6/10 |
- Best for
- Fast prescribing checks: monographs, an interaction checker across multiple drugs, pill identification by imprint and colour, and formulary coverage — the reason it sits on more than a million clinicians' phones.
- Limitation
- Drug information only: no clinical reasoning, no differential, no documentation. The free tier is open to any clinician, but the deeper content and the US-centric formulary data sit behind the premium upgrade, which is why it scores 6 out of 10 on access.
- Price
- Free tier; premium around $175/year
Dimension-by-dimension rubric criteria for iOS apps for doctors
- Clinical scope & reasoning4/10
Category high: 10/10
How much of the clinical job the app does, and whether it reasons or only retrieves. A single-purpose reference scores lower here than a tool that carries a case from question to differential to note, regardless of how good it is at its one job.
- iPhone & iPad experience7/10
Category high: 9/10
Whether the iPad build is a real tablet layout rather than a stretched phone app: multi-column reading, Split View and Stage Manager behaviour, one-handed iPhone reach, and typography you can read at arm's length on a ward round.
- Apple platform integration7/10
Category high: 8/10
Use of what iOS actually offers: on-device dictation quality, Shortcuts and widgets, Handoff between iPhone and Mac, Apple Watch presence, Face ID locking and Universal Search.
- Offline & on-device privacy8/10
Category high: 9/10
What still works in a basement reading room with no signal, how much content is stored locally, and whether protected health information stays on the device or is discarded after processing.
- Access & eligibility6/10
Category high: 10/10
Who can actually install and use it, weighted as heavily as what it costs: App Store and in-app subscription price, the size of the free tier, and the gates in front of it — clinician-verification requirements, country availability and language coverage. An app that is free but closed to most of the world's clinicians scores below a paid app anyone can buy.