# Molecules vs iMolview

The clearest difference is price: Molecules at Free against iMolview's $0.99. Molecules also leads on ratings volume (166 vs 13). iMolview's advantage is review sentiment (78% vs 65%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). On rating, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Molecules is free to download; iMolview costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.6 for Molecules against 3.6 for iMolview. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Molecules has 166 ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 65% of Molecules's written reviews are positive against 78% of iMolview's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on August 5, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Molecules | iMolview |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $0.99 |
| Rating | [3.6 (166 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/molecules/id284943090/reviews) | [3.6 (13 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/imolview/id431002306/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **166** | 13 |
| Positive reviews | 65.5% of reviews | **78.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 3 MB | 55 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Sunset Lake Software](https://appshunter.io/developer/284943093) | [Molsoft](https://appshunter.io/developer/431002309) |

## What reviewers say

### Molecules

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/molecules/id284943090)

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.

**Highlights:** 3D molecule rendering, Finger-based manipulation (rotate, zoom, pan), Ball-and-stick visualization, Spacefilling visualization, Load custom molecular structures, File sharing and iCloud import

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 👍 Useful for visualizing molecules
- 👍 Great for teaching chemistry
- 👍 Excellent for biochemistry students

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes when downloading new molecules
- 🐛 Compatibility issues with newer iOS devices
- 🐛 Limited functionality, missing key features
- 🔍 Difficult to find common molecules
- 💡 Needs more view options (ribbon, surface, etc.)

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### iMolview

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/imolview/id431002306)

Explore biological molecules in 3D. View proteins, DNA, and drug structures from major databases. Customize representations, select specific elements, and analyze molecular interactions. Sync your own files and save scenes for later.

**Highlights:** 3D molecular visualization, Browse PDB, DrugBank, Pubchem, Customizable representations, Individual element coloring, Neighbor analysis, Electron density map contouring, Scene saving and management

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Molecules free?

Molecules is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is iMolview free?

iMolview costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Molecules or iMolview?

Molecules and iMolview are both rated 3.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 166 and 13 ratings respectively.

### Do Molecules or iMolview have ads?

Neither Molecules nor iMolview shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Molecules or iMolview?

Molecules ships an update every 2 months, and iMolview every 2 months. Most recently, Molecules was updated on August 5, 2026 and iMolview on September 22, 2026.

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