Comparison

Aktiv Learning vs Codon

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Aktiv Learning

This platform offers dynamic problems and interactive tools for college-level chemistry and math. It helps students visualize abstract STEM concepts and provides instructors with real-time insights into class understanding. Features include a mobile-friendly Lewis structure drawing tool and over 250 practice questions.

Highlights
  • Interactive Lewis structure drawing tool
  • Dynamic STEM problems
  • Real-time class results
  • Over 250 built-in practice questions
  • Create in-class or homework assignments
  • Isoform recognition for answers
Read full description

Aktiv Learning is an active learning platform built specifically for college-level chemistry and mathematics. Say goodbye to static content and generic multiple choice questions and hello to dynamic problems that are designed to help students learn and visualize abstract concepts in STEM. Aktiv Learning allows chemistry instructors to ask students engaging questions, such as drawing Lewis structures, and receive real-time information on what structures the class is drawing. The app features a custom-built tool that allows students and instructors to quickly and intuitively draw Lewis structures on mobile devices. Additionally, both students and instructors have access to over 250 built-in questions related to Lewis structures, resonance, molecular geometries, VSEPR, hybridization, sigma and pi bonding, and molecular polarity. Features: • Intuitive Lewis structures drawing tool built specifically for mobile devices - Use as engaging demonstration for your students to show example Lewis structures and reinforce concepts such as the octet rule, formal charge, and VSEPR. Students can take advantage of the drawing tool to visualize the relationship between Lewis structures and molecular shapes. • Create in-class or homework assignments - Perfect for clicker, recitation, or review problems. Students receive push notifications to alert and remind them of pending assignments. • Assign or practice with over 250 built-in questions related to Lewis structures, resonance, molecular geometries, VSEPR, hybridization, sigma and pi bonding, and molecular polarity. • Real-time class results - Quickly find common incorrect structures to address student misunderstanding before exams. • Isoform recognition - Aktiv’s technology recognizes correct answers independent of the drawn structure orientation. • Export student activity - Student participation and performance exported in a tap of a button. • Easy sign-up - Students and instructors can create accounts and join courses all within the app in a few steps. • School IT and device independent - Assign, work, and review from any mobile device and over any network connection. More content and features coming soon!

About

Codon

Master biology from molecules to ecosystems with a comprehensive, offline curriculum. Explore 100 lessons, researcher profiles, and landmark experiments. Learn mechanisms and track progress with spaced repetition and interactive quizzes.

Highlights
  • Offline biology curriculum
  • 100 lessons with narration
  • Researcher profiles
  • Interactive quizzes with explanations
  • Spaced repetition learning
  • Offline access, no account needed
  • Home screen widgets
Features
Read full description

A four-year biology curriculum, offline, with no account and no network. Codon covers what an introductory sequence and the first two years of a degree teach: molecules and cells first, then inheritance and molecular biology, then evolution, diversity and ecology, then whole organisms and physiology. WHAT IS INSIDE 100 lessons across four years, each 15 to 25 minutes, with on-device narration 60 researcher profiles, from Mendel and Darwin to McClintock and Doudna 735 glossary terms, cross-linked to the lessons that use them 20 quizzes with worked explanations for every answer 18 landmark experiments reconstructed: Meselson and Stahl, Hershey and Chase, Luria and Delbruck Spaced repetition that schedules the terms you keep forgetting Bookmarks and notes on any lesson, profile or term Three Home Screen widgets: a quote, a term and a figure, each changing daily HOW IT TEACHES The course teaches mechanisms rather than vocabulary. Where a textbook says respiration yields 38 ATP, this one gives the real figure of roughly 30 to 32 and explains why the number moved. Where the field is unsettled, such as the origin of eukaryotes or the tempo of speciation, the lesson gives the competing accounts and who holds them. FREE AND PAID The first ten lessons are free. One purchase of $9.99 unlocks the remaining 90 and everything else, permanently. There is no subscription, there are no ads, and there is no account to create. Family Sharing is supported. OFFLINE BY DESIGN The app makes no network connections. Every lesson, profile, glossary entry, quiz and case study is bundled in the download, so the whole course works in airplane mode. Nothing you read or write here leaves your device.

Screenshots

Aktiv Learning4 screens
Codon3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Codon at 5.0 against Aktiv Learning's 3.2. Codon also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 weeks). Aktiv Learning's advantage is ratings volume (184 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Aktiv Learning sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Codon sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Codon holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Aktiv Learning has 184 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Aktiv Learning ships an update every 3 weeks, Codon every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Aktiv Learning versus Codon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAktiv LearningCodon
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.2 (184 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings184 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size95 MB5 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperTop Hat MonocleOMAR DANIEL GRAZIANO

Customer experience

Aktiv Learning

All ratings184 ratings
Positive53.8%
Neutral2.7%
Negative43.5%
Written reviews91 reviews
Positive72.5%
Neutral2.2%
Negative25.3%

Codon

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Aktiv Learning

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Pop-up warnings flicker and disappear too quickly
  • Drag-and-drop fails 70% of the time on iOS
  • App crashes on specific problems with no recovery
  • Login errors and password reset failures
  • Users locked out of questions permanently
Show 5 more
  • Window resizing issues on iPad 12.9in
  • Questions don't load properly or display incompletely
  • Subscripts/superscripts not displaying on Mac
  • Split-screen functionality disabled
  • Inconsistent performance between app and web versions

Requested features

10 requests
  • In-app notification system for assignment reminders
  • Ability to sign up for courses on mobile app
  • Split-screen functionality on iPad
  • Zoom capability for periodic table
  • Reset button for Lewis structure questions
Show 5 more
  • Full solutions displayed after using all attempts
  • Better hints and guidance for dimensional analysis
  • School login integration on mobile app
  • Improved question clarity and directions
  • Subscript and superscript display on web version

Codon

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Aktiv Learning

One-time1
  • Chem101 Course Activation$29.99
1 purchases

Codon

One-time1
  • Codon Full Access$9.99

Questions

Is Aktiv Learning free?
Aktiv Learning is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Codon free?
Codon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Aktiv Learning or Codon?
Codon is rated higher. Aktiv Learning averages 3.2 out of 5 from 184 ratings, while Codon averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Aktiv Learning or Codon have ads?
Neither Aktiv Learning nor Codon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Aktiv Learning or Codon?
Aktiv Learning ships an update every 3 weeks, and Codon every 10 days. Most recently, Aktiv Learning was updated on October 14, 2026 and Codon on October 13, 2026.

Other comparisons