Protein Guide vs CellWalk
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Protein Guide
Explore the intricate stages of protein structure with detailed diagrams, explanations, and animations. This app serves as a valuable reference for both beginners and experienced individuals, offering insights into unique properties and biological functions.
- Detailed diagrams of protein structure
- Explanations of protein stages
- Animations of protein structures
- Information on unique properties and functions
- Example proteins demonstrating structural aspects
- ClassKit integration for teachers
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Learn about each stage of a proteins structure with detailed diagrams and explanations. This is a great experience if you are just starting out and need to learn about proteins, or if you have lots of experience and want a handy reference with you wherever you go. Protein Guide has a great selection of example proteins to look at, with each demonstrating an aspect of protein structure. There is also more detailed info about the protein, describing unique properties, as well as its function in biological systems. There is also an animation of the proteins' itself to highlight its unique structure. Protein Guide takes advantage of the full iPad canvas. It also supports multitasking, with slide-over and split-view (requires iPad Air 2 and later). This means you can have your protein examples up, while reading or taking notes. Teachers can assign things to read for students in Protein Guide easily with ClassKit.
CellWalk
Explore the intricate world of cells in a 3D environment, from the overall structure down to molecular details. Tap on terms to receive clear, contextual explanations powered by on-device AI, adapting to your learning level. Designed for students and educators to foster a deeper understanding of cell biology.
- 3D cell exploration
- On-device AI definitions
- Multi-level explanations
- Interactive concept chains
- Touch-first navigation
- High-fidelity visuals
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CellWalk puts a living cell in your hands and on your desk. Zoom from a whole cell down to the atoms in DNA. Explore a cell modeled protein by protein from real structures discovered by scientists. Start your journey with Ako, an AI tutor that helps you understand what you see. Built for students, teachers and anyone curious about how life works at the molecular scale. 2025 Apple Design Award finalist. EXPLORE A REAL CELL Zoom from a whole Mycoplasma cell down to single atoms. Thousands of proteins, DNA and RNA, ribosomes and membranes, rendered from published scientific data. Tap any molecule to learn what it is and what it does. Tap any term for an explanation at your level, written on your device with Apple Intelligence. Place molecular scenes in your space with augmented reality on compatible iPhone and iPad devices. LEARN WITH AKO Ako helps you build understanding through questions. It brings molecular structures into view, invites you to look closer and explain what you notice, then builds on your answers to help you make connections. Socratic learning, one discovery at a time. Type or dictate. Ask anything about what’s on screen or in your space. Your Ako lessons, your progress in them and what Ako has learned about you stay with you: on your device and, if you use iCloud, in your own iCloud. Get more of Ako with CellWalk Pro. GUIDED TOURS Start your journey with The Molecular Design of Life, a complete tour of the Mycoplasma cell made with Dr. David Goodsell. Each tour includes a guided narration, free explore mode and Ako practice lessons to test your understanding. CellWalk Pro adds more guided tours and lessons with an expanded library of cells and organisms. Explore the incredible molecular machines that power neurons and thought, or dive into the architecture of a virus like HIV. LEARN BY DOING Step into the Central Dogma of Biology with a hands-on interactive lesson on the all new Learning Path. Learn how the instructions in DNA are read and translated into the proteins that build and sustain your cells. WHAT’S FREE Explore The Molecular Design of Life tour and its accompanying Ako lesson and explore modes, and try the “What is a Protein?” interactive lesson on the Learning Path. You can also ask Ako in-depth questions with a free daily allowance. CELLWALK PRO Unlock all other guided tours and their accompanying Ako lessons, a larger daily question allowance and longer answers from Ako. Choose a monthly or annual auto-renewing subscription. One subscription covers iPhone, iPad and Mac. ASK FROM ANYWHERE Say “Ask CellWalk a biology question” and Siri answers from CellWalk’s own content without opening the app. “Continue my lesson in CellWalk” picks up where you left off. On iPhone and iPad, use Visual Intelligence on a textbook diagram, choose Search CellWalk with an Image, and tap a match to open that tour, lesson or molecule. HOW THE AI WORKS Ako is built with the Foundation Models framework. Where Apple Intelligence is available, it answers on Private Cloud Compute, and the on-device model explains the terms you tap. OpenAI, a third-party AI service, plans lessons and answers when Apple Intelligence isn’t available on your device or in your region. The app asks your permission before sending your first question. You can change that permission under Account → Privacy. CellWalk doesn’t require a separate CellWalk account, and AI requests aren’t tied to your name. Find details under Account → Privacy → About CellWalk & AI. Apple Intelligence features require iPhone 15 Pro or later, an iPad with M1 or A17 Pro or later, or a Mac with Apple silicon. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://cellwalk.ca/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://cellwalk.ca/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
Protein Guide and CellWalk both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 92% of CellWalk's written reviews are positive against 50% of Protein Guide's. CellWalk also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 9 months). Protein Guide's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 27.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. CellWalk sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Protein Guide asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Protein Guide against 4.9 for CellWalk. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 45 and 72 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of Protein Guide's written reviews are positive against 92% of CellWalk's.
Protein Guide ships an update every 9 months, CellWalk every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Protein Guide | CellWalk |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (45 ratings) | 4.9 (72 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 91.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 45 | 72 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 27.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 224 MB | 554 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Axton Pitt | Ako Biotica Inc. |
Customer experience
Protein Guide
CellWalk
Bugs and requests
Protein Guide
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
CellWalk
Reported bugs
4 issues- ATP synthase described backwards
- Renderer noise causes nausea
- Buggy and low framerate
- Renderer not responsive to head movements
Requested features
10 requests- More cells to explore (eukaryotic, mammalian, computer cells)
- More content and depth
- Expand on descriptions with an 'expand on' feature
- Add tutorials for new users
- Add color to highlighted text for easy reference
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- Depict a minimal eukaryotic cell
- Depict a cell undergoing mitosis
- Make cell models free-floating instead of behind windows
- Option to purchase additional content
- Update renderer for responsiveness to head movements
In-app purchases
Protein Guide
No in-app purchases
CellWalk
- CellWalk Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
- CellWalk Pro Annual$79.991 Year
- Pro Lessons$29.99
Questions
Is Protein Guide free?
Is CellWalk free?
Which has better reviews, Protein Guide or CellWalk?
Do Protein Guide or CellWalk have ads?
Which is updated more often, Protein Guide or CellWalk?
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