# Chirys Draw > Intuitive app for drawing complex molecular structures and reaction schemes. (iPhone/iPad app by John Clark.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chirys-draw/id455125162 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [John Clark](https://appshunter.io/developer/1626395909) - Category: Productivity, Education - Price: Free - Rating: 2.60/5 from 8 App Store ratings · 15 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 10.0 · 18 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2011-08-29 - Data updated: 2026-06-05 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chirys-draw/id455125162/reviews.md ## What is Chirys Draw? Draw complex molecular structures and reaction schemes using your fingertips. An easy circle gesture (U.S. Patent No. 9754085 and No. 10,424,399) makes even complicated polycyclic rings easy and fun to draw. Multiple double bonds or multiple functional groups are simple to add all at one time. Annotation and reaction condition text is chemically aware and properly subscripts numbers. With over 175k downloads, Chirys Draw is speeding the way scientists draw and communicate. Imagine what you will create! Take notes at those seminars or class lectures! Present your ideas at project or group meetings! Draw structures and reaction schemes for your next paper! See the how-to videos on the Chirys web site. Key Features: • Create saturated, aromatic rings and chains • Draw reactions and reaction schemes with reaction conditions • Draw retrosynthetic pathways • Create multi-line text annotations with fonts and colors • Create complex fused and spirocyclic ring systems • Generate ion pairs • Airdrop sharing with colleagues • Airdrop transfer to your Macintosh • Copy and paste images or PDFs into Pages®, Keynote®, and other applications • Copy images to the Camera Roll • Send images of molecular structures by email, ready for publication • Make publication-quality prints and images • User-defined Groups • Export drawings as a scalable graphics PDF • Import and export molecules as MOL files Additional Features: • Automatic identification of molecular formulas in text • Molecular formula, weight, elemental composition, and exact mass calculations • Automatic layout of functional groups • Resonance and equilibrium arrows • 24 levels of undo and redo User feedback: “Wow. First of all, please let me say that this is the single best iPad application that I have ever used (not to mention one of the best structure drawing programs on any platform). You really nailed using gestures to design and manipulate structures. The app is an awesome example of harnessing the spirit of the iPad. I was up and drawing in 30 seconds. The interface is clean, intuitive, and so very well designed. Beautiful output too.” — Stephen “I use this for all my structure drawing needs now - desktop applications are so expensive and actually harder to use than Chirys Draw. Developer is very responsive. Improvements to the app keep coming. If you're a student, or a lecturer like myself, and need to draw quality chemical structures, then look no further. Exporting features make it easy to create a structure, then email to yourself for incorporation into a Powerpoint, Keynote, Word or any other sort of document. Highly recommended, and well worth the cost (much cheaper than desktop apps and for most purposes just as functional).” — Australian user “Extremely well-done, very easy to learn, and elegant. It will be easier and faster other competitors to sketch high-quality structures and could be really handy for taking notes in meetings.” — Jeff “Brilliant addition to the iPad workload. This is clearly a creative application and the most full featured molecular drawing app. I think the developers here have the most motivation, and have put more original thought into this. I hope they will be encouraged to continue with their vision…” — Cascade “I wanted to let you know directly how much I appreciate this app. It works exactly as advertised, is highly capable, and is now substituting for a desktop-based chemical structure drawing app. I am right now using it to prepare structures for my pharmacognosy lectures, and it is working well.” — Ian “The words that come to mind: Impressive. Quality. The development of Chirys Draw shows your deep, consistent, and scholarly chemistry flair and precision, and is impressive. Professional chemists will continue to love this.” — Atsuo “ChirysDraw represents the best chemical drawing package to date on the iPad.” — Brian “Thank you again for such a lovely program.” — Olivia ## Key features - Draw complex molecular structures and reaction schemes - Chemically aware text and automatic calculations - Intuitive circle gesture for ring creation - Publication-quality image and PDF export - Airdrop sharing and cross-platform compatibility - Import/export MOL files ## Recent user reviews (10 of 15) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chirys-draw/id455125162/reviews.md ### 1/5 — Crashes when adding R groups *2021-11-03* Cmon man ### 5/5 — Very easy and useful app *2019-02-10* I was wondering to draw chemical structures for my research and this app is tremendously useful for me. Thanks so much developers. ### 2/5 — Very difficult to use *2017-09-03* The GUI is not user friendly. Please have a look at ChemDraw and ChemDoodle and try to implement some of their features. ### 5/5 — I got this app as it may *2017-02-07* help me down the line should I ever have to convey something to someone revolving around structures. ### 2/5 — Cool Idea But Unresponsive *2017-01-06, version 2.0* Maybe I need a more powerful iPad than a Mini, but I found it to be pretty unresponsive. I'd like to check back in a month or two when they've polished it up a bit and responded to customer feedback. ### 5/5 — Creative arts *2016-02-28* Brilliant addition to the iPad workload. I am upgrading my initial response. This is clearly a creative application and the most full featured molecular drawing app. I enjoy some of the others also, but I think the developers here have the most motivation, and have put more original thought into this.I hope they will be encouraged to continue with their vision...... ### 5/5 — Fantastic ! *2014-11-05* I use this for all my structure drawing needs now - desktop applications are so expensive and actually harder to use than Chirys Draw. Developer is very responsive. Improvements to the app keep coming. If you're a student, or a lecturer like myself, and need to draw quality chemical structures, then look no further. Exporting features make it easy to create a structure, then email to yourself for incorporation into a Powerpoint, Keynote, Word or any other sort of document. Highly recommended, and well worth the cost (much cheaper than desktop apps and for most purposes just as functional). ### 5/5 — Must-have App for Chemistry Students and Profs *2012-12-22* App now allows saving images of drawings to camera roll (among other options). That feature is a great improvement over the previous version. This is the must have app for all organic chemistry students and profs. ### 1/5 — Export image resolution is poor *2012-11-09* Don't think that you are getting much more than a doodling toy at this point. The image export options mentioned by an earlier reviewer, I can live with those. What I can't live with is the poor resolution images that are exported. Furthermore, the images are also of the entire canvas, rather than just the section you drew your structure on. The concept is great, the drawing implementation is good, but the file export options keep this app from being a Chemdraw replacement for someone who wants to go tablet only. For the price, I would expect a whole lot more, but until I can get publication (300+ dpi of a selected portion of the canvas) it is not worth the $25. Fix those problems and you have a five star review. ### 5/5 — Excellent app for chemists *2012-03-30, version 1.1* A fantastic app for drawing chemical structures and in a very neat way with gestures. The structures produced are very stylish and the app looks great too. The best feature is that you can export the structures into a format that can be imported into desktop drawing programmes - ideal for sketching ideas when your travelling and only have your iPad. I had some problems with the structure exporting but I received excellent support from the developer who responded to my query within hours and identified the problem - I wish it was this easy with all apps. You might think it is expensive for an iPad app, but if you consider it as a professional too I would say its definitely worth it. I highly recommend this to other Chemists. ## Frequently asked questions about Chirys Draw ### How does Chirys Draw make drawing rings easy? Chirys Draw utilizes a patented circle gesture (U.S. Patent No. 9754085 and No. 10,424,399) that simplifies the creation of even complex polycyclic ring systems, making the drawing process intuitive and fun. ### Can Chirys Draw handle advanced chemical notations? Yes, the app is chemically aware, allowing for proper subscripting of numbers in annotation and reaction condition text. It can also generate ion pairs and handle multiple double bonds or functional groups simultaneously. ### What export options are available for Chirys Draw? Drawings can be exported as publication-quality images or scalable graphics PDFs. You can also copy images or PDFs into applications like Pages and Keynote, or send them via email for publication. ### Does Chirys Draw offer any molecular calculation features? Yes, Chirys Draw provides automatic identification of molecular formulas in text, and can calculate molecular formula, weight, elemental composition, and exact mass. ### How frequently is Chirys Draw updated? The latest version, 2.5, was released on April 23, 2021. While specific update frequency isn't detailed, user feedback suggests ongoing improvements from the developer. ### What devices is Chirys Draw compatible with? Chirys Draw is currently supported on iPads. Users can also Airdrop drawings to their Macintosh computers. ### What is the user sentiment towards Chirys Draw? User feedback is overwhelmingly positive, with users praising its intuitive interface, ease of use, elegant design, and the effectiveness of its gesture-based drawing system. Many find it superior to expensive desktop alternatives. ### Does Chirys Draw have ads? No, Chirys Draw does not contain advertisements. It is a free application without any ad interruptions. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 2.5 — 2021-04-23 Update for iOS 14 • Announce “U.S. Patent No. 10,424,399” in About Box • Enhance display of Documents View • Fix Tool View and Documents View for large iPads • Epimerization gesture changed to two-finger swipe • Updated sample molecules • Request Letter-sized paper source for printing • Other bug fixes and performance enhancements ### 2.1 — 2017-11-20 This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon. • Update for iOS 11 • Add rotate clockwise / counter clockwise with calculated angle • Support the import of a nitrogen atom with two or three bonds a formal charge • Change multiple charge display from “+2” to “2+” • Improved ring double bond drawing • Fix bug preventing the use of bottom row of Groups • Fix bug saving drawing images to the Cameral Roll • Other bug fixes and performance enhancements ### 2.0 — 2017-01-02 • Update for iOS 10 • Add elements Nihonium, Moscovium, Tesserine, Oganesson • Copy and paste between Chirys Draw and Asteris • Include Print Preview in print panel • Improved ring double bond drawing • New Chirys Draw app icon • Other bug fixes and performance enhancements ### 1.80 — 2015-08-05 • Updated for iOS8 (best with iOS8!) • Added 64-bit architecture • Replace Group wheel with Groups and Template panel • Export RXN/RD files • Add Press and Drag gesture to draw chains • Add image parameters panel for image resolution, transparent background • Permit +1 charge on N2 groups ### 1.70 — 2014-08-07 Updated user interface for iOS7 Add sulfoxide support, using either double bond, or separated charges Add multiple ring creation with one gesture if atoms are selected Permit scaling with selected atoms and bonds Add wavy bonds if Single bond tapped a second time Allow gem-dimethyl creation with a bond selected Add triple tap gesture to Add Text ## Apps similar to Chirys Draw | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [DWSIM Simulator](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dwsim-simulator/id1162110266) | 4.6 (101) | Free | Productivity | | [VerbTeX LaTeX Editor](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/verbtex-latex-editor/id560869163) | 4.5 (164) | Free | Productivity | | [eLABJournal](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/elabjournal/id932410151) | 5.0 (8) | Free | Productivity | | [ChemGraphic - Chemical Editor](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chemgraphic-chemical-editor/id1451571017) | 3.0 (2) | Free | Productivity | | [Lab.Hacks](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/labhacks/id1462593060) | 4.9 (131) | Free | Productivity | | [ElectraSyn 2.0](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/electrasyn-20/id1337147207) | 5.0 (4) | Free | Productivity | --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-05.*