# Periodic Table Watch vs Open Access Helper

The clearest difference is price: Open Access Helper at Free against Periodic Table Watch's $0.99. Open Access Helper also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 9 months) and iOS requirement (17.6 vs 26.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Open Access Helper is free to download; Periodic Table Watch costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Periodic Table Watch ships an update every 9 months, Open Access Helper monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Periodic Table Watch | Open Access Helper |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | — | **[4.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/open-access-helper/id1592826205/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **4** |
| Positive reviews | — | 50.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Size | 6 MB | 11 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **17.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, Apple Watch | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Jim Haungs](https://appshunter.io/developer/1498282259) | [Claus Wolf](https://appshunter.io/developer/1441254407) |

## What reviewers say

### Periodic Table Watch

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/periodic-table-watch/id1551884849)

**Features:** Apple Watch app

**In-app purchases:** none


### Open Access Helper

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/open-access-helper/id1592826205)

Easily find legal, free versions of paywalled scientific articles using trusted APIs. Seamlessly connect to university library proxies like EZProxy and OpenAthens. This open-source tool respects your privacy and makes research more accessible.

**Highlights:** Find legal, free scholarly articles, Access paywalled research, Integrates with unpaywall.org and core.ac.uk, Seamless EZProxy/OpenAthens connection, Indicates version type (Published, Accepted, Submitted), Open-source and privacy-respecting

**Features:** Safari Extension, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Periodic Table Watch free?

Periodic Table Watch costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Open Access Helper free?

Open Access Helper is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Periodic Table Watch or Open Access Helper have ads?

Neither Periodic Table Watch nor Open Access Helper shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Periodic Table Watch or Open Access Helper?

Periodic Table Watch ships an update every 9 months, and Open Access Helper monthly. Most recently, Periodic Table Watch was updated on October 23, 2026 and Open Access Helper on October 19, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*