Pill Identifier by Drugs.com is a searchable medication database for healthcare professionals and patients on iOS, featuring offline image access via a paid Pro edition.
Product velocity
Maintenance
Daily rank 🇺🇸
#28
▼9Medical · paid
Sentiment
3.4
142 reviews
Nemesis
GoodRx: Prescription Savings
The App DNA
What makes this app unique?
The app removes the dependency on constant internet connectivity for clinical medication verification, a critical friction point for medical staff during hospital shifts.
For Healthcare professionals and consumers requiring reliable, offline-capable drug identification and clinical information.
What does it look like?
Key features
Database search by imprint, drug name, shape, and color for over 24,000 medications
Local installation of over 10,000 pill images for offline access
How much does it cost?
Paid model anchored at $0.99, gating offline image access and advanced clinical metadata for professional users.
Velocity
Maintenance developmentnew contentperformanceShow more...
The app maintains a maintenance-level cadence, shipping approximately 0.18 releases per week over the last six months. Development is strictly focused on routine medication data and pill imprint library updates, with no evidence of new feature development or live operations. The Android platform has seen significantly less activity than iOS, with the latest release occurring 271 days ago. The overall development trend is stable but limited to content-only maintenance.
Who built it?
User Sentiment
What do users think recently?
Recent user voice shows a frustrated sentiment. Users appreciate medical professionals find the pill identification database useful for verifying medication accuracy during clinical shifts, but report incomplete pill database fails to identify common medications, leading users to label the app as useless.
How are ratings & reviews evolving?
What users say, by theme
- Medical professionals find the pill identification database useful for verifying medication accuracy during clinical shifts
- Incomplete pill database fails to identify common medications, leading users to label the app as useless
55 of 55 recent reviews analyzed · high confidence · Frustrated overall
Read the full review analysisUnlock 2 more frustration themes and 1 user request, each backed by review evidence.
Access the full report for freeCompetition
Competitive landscape for Pill Identifier by Drugs.com
How's the Medical market?
Pill Identifier currently holds the #26 Paid position in the US Medical category, but its grossing rank at #167 signals limited monetization depth. The reliance on a one-time $0.99 purchase model fails to capture the recurring value seen in adherence-focused rivals.
Read the market outlookThe rivals identified
By GoodRx
Dominates the medication savings niche with high-velocity updates and a massive, active user base.
- Integrates real-time pharmacy pricing and coupons to drive immediate cost-saving transactions for users
- Maintains a high-frequency release cadence of 13 updates in six months to optimize conversion funnels
- Leverages a massive pharmacy network integration that creates a significant barrier to entry for competitors
Unlock the deeper market read.
Access the full report for freeThe Analyst's Read
Key takeaways for Pill Identifier by Drugs.com
Where is it heading?
Users report: The medication identification market is consolidating around dynamic, service-integrated apps that offer more than just static data. Pill Identifier's maintenance-mode posture leaves it exposed to free web alternatives and high-velocity rivals, necessitating a shift toward visual recognition to remain relevant.
- The database coverage gap (frequent 'no result' errors) erodes trust, which compounds the negative sentiment already visible in the latest reviews.
- Maintenance-mode release cadence leaves the app vulnerable to rivals with high-frequency updates, accelerating the loss of professional users to more dynamic platforms.
The SWOT
- Brand authority as a peer-reviewed medical data source
- Integration of visual photo-based identification to improve search accuracy
Next best moves
Ship visual photo-based identification because it is the top-requested feature → improve search accuracy
+ 1 more prioritized moveThe counter-intuitive read
The app's reliance on a one-time purchase model is a strategic liability…
Read the full takeFeature gaps
Real-time pharmacy pricing and coupons (available in GoodRx but absent here) +1
Since the last report: The app's competitive standing has deteriorated following the emergence of user reports alleging deceptive billing and persistent, unresolved database failures. These accusations of wrongdoing, combined with a lack of feature development, have intensified the negative sentiment surrounding the product.
Bottom line
The current database coverage gap invalidates the app's core value proposition for many users. Expanding the medication library and introducing visual identification would address the primary churn drivers, shifting the product from a static reference tool to a reliable clinical utility.
Unlock 2 critical frictions, 1 market threat, 1 more prioritized move and the analyst’s take.
Access the full report for freeSources
- [1] App Store, source
Report last updated