Molecules vs MoleculeGo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Molecules
Explore and interact with 3D molecular models on your device. Rotate, zoom, and pan structures using intuitive touch gestures. Visualize molecules in different modes and load custom structures from various sources.
- 3D molecule rendering
- Finger-based manipulation (rotate, zoom, pan)
- Ball-and-stick visualization
- Spacefilling visualization
- Load custom molecular structures
- File sharing and iCloud import
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Molecules is an application for viewing three-dimensional renderings of molecules and manipulating them using your fingers. You can rotate the molecules by moving your finger across the display, zoom in or out by using two-finger pinch gestures, or pan the molecule by moving two fingers across the screen at once. These structures can be viewed in both ball-and-stick and spacefilling visualization modes. Molecules can be stored on your handheld device for later viewing and are loaded via a standard document-based file browser. Custom molecular structures can be downloaded to the application via file sharing or iCloud, and obtained via sources like the RCSB Protein Data Bank (http://www.rcsb.org/pdb), an international repository of biological molecules and their 3-D structures, or NCBI's PubChem (http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov), a public database of compounds. For more details, please visit our website. Molecules is a BSD-licensed open source project.
MoleculeGo
Explore the world of molecular biology through an engaging, location-based game. Collect essential building blocks like amino acids and DNA sequences to synthesize proteins and discover their functions. Learn about their roles in disease, research, and cellular processes by visiting real-world hotspots.
- Location-based gameplay
- Collect molecular building blocks
- Synthesize proteins
- Discover genes and their functions
- Learn about molecular roles in disease and research
- Visit real-world hotspots for discovery
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MoleculeGo is a location based app that gamifies the process of learning about molecular biology. In this game, the player collects amino acids, ATP, and DNA sequences, the molecular building blocks used to synthesize proteins. By capturing DNA sequences, the player discovers genes that encode for proteins. These genes provide the user with the necessary "recipe" to synthesize proteins in their own lab, using amino acids and ATP. These proteins can then be combined to construct even larger protein complexes. As the player progresses in the game, new molecules become available and information will become available about each molecule's basic function and how its structure is associated with its molecular role. Players can visit hotspots (schools, parks, hospitals, universities, etc.) to accelerate the discovery of new molecules. While molecules are discovered, players can learn how they are involved in disease, biomedical applications, research, and their function in the cell.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: MoleculeGo at 4.5 against Molecules's 3.6. MoleculeGo also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). Molecules's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 14 months) and review sentiment (65% vs 50%). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
MoleculeGo holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Molecules has 166 ratings behind it against 23, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 65% of Molecules's written reviews are positive against 50% of MoleculeGo's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Molecules ships an update every 2 months, MoleculeGo every 14 months. The most recent releases landed on August 5, 2026 and July 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Molecules | MoleculeGo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (166 ratings) | 4.5 (23 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 65.5% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 166 — better | 23 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 14 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 64 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sunset Lake Software | Alonso Morcos |
Customer experience
Molecules
MoleculeGo
Bugs and requests
Molecules
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes when switching between views
- Molecules disappear after reopening the app
- Search function is unreliable and limited
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
Requested features
5 requests- Add ability to build and edit molecules
- Implement a color key for atom types
- Include more basic molecules (H2O, CO2, etc.)
- Allow sorting/organizing downloaded molecules
- Integrate with databases like PubChem and RCSB
MoleculeGo
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Molecules
No in-app purchases
MoleculeGo
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Molecules free?
Is MoleculeGo free?
Which has better reviews, Molecules or MoleculeGo?
Do Molecules or MoleculeGo have ads?
Which is updated more often, Molecules or MoleculeGo?
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