Comparison

Crow Scientist vs Unreal Chemist

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

Head to head
About

Crow Scientist

This app guides young learners to observe crows like real scientists. It features expert insights, photo and audio guides for identification, and tracks observations to earn shareable certificates. Users can even contribute their own crow photos.

Highlights
  • Expert-led crow observation guidance
  • Photo and audio identification tools
  • Observation tracking (daily, yearly, lifetime)
  • Earnable certificates for completing lists
  • User photo contributions
  • Field notes for real-world observation
Features
Read full description

“Crow Scientist” coaches young scientists to head out into the real world and observe crows the way a scientist does. In this free app, real-life crow scientists Colleen & John Marzluff share their knowledge, their photo archives, and their love of crows. Young scientists learn about crow behavior and how to make sense of the crows they observe. The app tracks which observations the young scientist has made—by day, by year, and by lifetime. Most observations are behaviors, such as “foraging,” and some are calls. The app includes photos of behaviors and audio recordings of crow calls to help the young scientist identify them. Checking all 18 items earns the young scientist a certificate to share or to print out. Another list describes observations associated with the breeding season, such as juvenile crows or their distinctive begging call. Young scientists love to learn about animal families, and they love to learn to identify crow families. They also learn that in the cycle of life most young crows don’t survive. Again, if the player checks all the items, they earn a certificate to share and print. Another list identifies rare observations. Can you catch a crow sunbathing? What about a crow with white feathers? it If you can complete this list, you get a certificate that most players will never earn. The young scientist can even be part of the app. Players can upload images to the app, adding them to the photos that are already there. “Field Notes” in the app offer some advice for meeting crows “in the wild.” Players are invited to share their drawings and photos with the Lead Crow Scientist on Instagram. John Marzluff is a renowned crow scientist, a professor, and an author. His books include Gifts of the Crow, In the Company of Crows and Ravens, Subirdia, and Dog Days, Raven Nights. Colleen Marzluff, the “Lead Crow Scientist,” researches crows with John and co-wrote Dog Days, Raven Nights with him. She is passionate about bringing a love of nature to children. Includes illustrations by Tony Angell, illustrator and co-author of Gifts of the Crow and In the Company of Crows and Ravens. Developed in partnership with Jonathan Tweet, designer of Clades Solo, the Clades card game, and the children’s book Grandmother Fish. Programmed by David Marques, scientist and creator of educational games at Ideate Games and Phosphor Learn. Made possible by backers on Kickstarter.

About

Unreal Chemist

Explore a virtual chemistry lab on your phone. Mix chemicals, observe reactions, and conduct over 750 unique simulations with more than 150 available substances. Adjust variables like temperature and concentration to understand chemical principles.

Highlights
  • Mix chemicals for reactions
  • Burn salts for colorful flames
  • Heat elements for color emission
  • Adjust reactant concentration and quantity
  • Regulate reaction temperature
  • Control time flow (slow/fast forward)
  • Monitor pH changes with indicators
Features
Read full description

Chemistry experiments on your smartphones. You can Mix chemicals to see how they react, Burn salts to colorful flames and Heat elements to see what colors it emits There are 150 plus chemicals available to experiment with and more than 750 unique experiment simulations. Key Highlights - Adjusting the concentration and quantity of the reactants. - Regulate the temperature of the reaction. - Modify temperatures in precipitation reactions and see the effect of temperatures on solubility. - Slow down / Fast forward time. - Check the PH and PH change in a reaction, using Indicators. - Ignite flammable gases formed during reaction. Disclaimer Some reactions you will be doing in Unreal Chemist are extremely dangerous and may cause serious injury if conducted in real word. Even though most of the reactions are accurate to the real world, some reactions may be theoretical since physical verification of some reactions are not completed as of now.

Screenshots

Crow Scientist4 screens
Unreal Chemist4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Crow Scientist at none against Unreal Chemist's 1. Crow Scientist also leads on ads (none vs shown). Unreal Chemist's advantage is review sentiment (73% vs 50%) and ratings volume (68 vs 3). On price, rating, device support and iOS requirement 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. Unreal Chemist sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Crow Scientist asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Crow Scientist against 4.5 for Unreal Chemist. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Unreal Chemist has 68 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of Crow Scientist's written reviews are positive against 73% of Unreal Chemist's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crow Scientist ships an update monthly, Unreal Chemist every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Crow Scientist versus Unreal Chemist: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrow ScientistUnreal Chemist
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (3 ratings)4.5 (68 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews73.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings368 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.011.0
Further details — not scored
Size120 MB342 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIdeateGamesZipoApps

Customer experience

Crow Scientist

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

Unreal Chemist

All ratings67 ratings
Positive91.0%
Neutral1.5%
Negative7.5%
Written reviews64 reviews
Positive73.4%
Neutral4.7%
Negative21.9%

Bugs and requests

Crow Scientist

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Unreal Chemist

Reported bugs

17 issues
  • Sulfuric acid not dissolving with salts
  • Heating solution during titration
  • Watch ad for premium session not working
  • Mixing game not always working intuitively
  • Buttons on iPhone blocked by camera
Show 12 more
  • Some metal flame colors don't match description
  • Program sometimes locks up
  • Music setting resets after closing program
  • Some reactions don't show the full formula
  • App crashes on opening
  • App gets stuck on the home page
  • App kicks the user out
  • App opens to a blank grey or white screen
  • App won't open
  • App crashes when it takes too long to open
  • Free version has only 2 reactions
  • Interface is buggy (e.g., clicking play sends to home page)

Requested features

32 requests
  • Add more elements (e.g., Mn, H, O, Cl, F, Pb)
  • Add more acids (e.g., Chloroauric acid, Vanadic acid, Perrhenic acid)
  • Add more bases and solvents (e.g., styrofoam, polystyrene, ethanol, acetone)
  • Add gases (e.g., Chlorine, Fluorine, Hydrogen, Oxygen)
  • Option to specify amounts of chemicals to add
Show 27 more
  • Kid version with simplified instructions
  • Add crafting or new science game modes
  • Add more glassware and scientific equipment
  • Reintroduce feature to see compound information
  • Add challenges or daily missions
  • Add ability to use previously made chemicals for new reactions
  • Add definitions for elements and reactions
  • Add a story or background context
  • Add more reactions and compounds
  • Add liquid elements (e.g., liquid oxygen, hydrogen)
  • Add more bases
  • Add more solvents
  • Add styrofoam/polystyrene
  • Add more elements
  • Add more acids
  • Add more bases
  • Add more solvents
  • Add more glassware
  • Add more scientific equipment
  • Add more reactions
  • Add more compounds
  • Add more elements
  • Add more reactions
  • Add more compounds
  • Add more elements
  • Add more reactions
  • Add more compounds

In-app purchases

None

Crow Scientist

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Unreal Chemist

One-time1
  • Premium Version$5.99

Questions

Is Crow Scientist free?
Crow Scientist is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Unreal Chemist free?
Unreal Chemist is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Crow Scientist or Unreal Chemist?
Unreal Chemist is rated higher. Crow Scientist averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Unreal Chemist averages 4.5 from 68 ratings.
Do Crow Scientist or Unreal Chemist have ads?
Unreal Chemist shows ads; Crow Scientist does not.
Which is updated more often, Crow Scientist or Unreal Chemist?
Crow Scientist ships an update monthly, and Unreal Chemist every 2 weeks. Most recently, Crow Scientist was updated on October 24, 2026 and Unreal Chemist on October 20, 2026.

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