Molecules vs Atomizer AR
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.
Atomizer AR
Explore the quantum world with interactive 3D models of atoms and molecules in augmented reality. Visualize atomic and molecular orbitals, and sketch organic compounds to instantly generate their nomenclature.
- 3D atomic and molecular orbital visualization
- Augmented reality integration
- Hartree-Fock computational method for MOs
- Sketch organic compounds
- Automatic SMILES and IUPAC nomenclature generation
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Atomizer AR turns your iPhone or iPad into a portable quantum chemistry lab. Visualize atomic and molecular orbitals in 3D, render electron density clouds, and step into immersive WebXR augmented reality where molecules sit on your desk at real-world scale. — WHAT YOU CAN DO — • Explore atomic orbitals computed from real hydrogenic wavefunctions: 1s, 2p, 3d, 4f and beyond, with adjustable shell glow and Bohmian trajectory animation. • View any molecule's molecular orbitals (HOMO, LUMO, intermediates) computed via PySCF on the cloud, then rendered as interactive isosurfaces. • See ball-and-stick models in WebXR augmented reality. Tap "View in AR", point at a flat surface, place the molecule on a table, then pinch to scale and drag to rotate. • Pair your phone with the desktop using Atomizer Remote: enter a 4-letter code, then tilt your phone to control the on-screen molecule with your gyroscope. Live preview streams back to your phone in real time. • Browse 40+ molecules — water, glucose, caffeine, benzene, ammonia, ethanol, methane, sulfuric acid and more — with energy diagrams, dipole arrows, lone pairs (VSEPR) and MO correlation diagrams. • Calculate molar mass live from any chemical formula, including parenthesised groups like Ca(OH)₂ and (NH₄)₂SO₄, with per-element breakdown. • Balance equations, run stoichiometry, sketch molecules in 2D, and explore reaction pathways. — SUBSCRIPTIONS — Free: 5 molecule renders per period. All calculator tools and full periodic table. Californium Pass — $2.99/month. 50 renders monthly, priority compute queue. Einsteinium Pass — $6.99/month. Unlimited renders, GLTF export for AR/3D printing, protein visualization, priority support. Auto-renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Cancel anytime in Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions. Subscriptions sync across iPhone, iPad, and electronvisual.org. Privacy: https://electronvisual.org/privacy Terms: https://electronvisual.org/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Molecules at none against Atomizer AR's 4. Molecules also leads on ratings volume (166 vs 3). Atomizer AR's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 65%) and rating (4.0 vs 3.6). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Atomizer AR sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Molecules asks for nothing beyond the download.
Atomizer AR holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Molecules has 166 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Molecules's written reviews are positive against 100% of Atomizer AR's.
Molecules ships an update every 2 months, Atomizer AR every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Molecules | Atomizer AR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (166 ratings) | 4.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 65.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 166 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 4 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.2 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 132 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sunset Lake Software | Wonmo Seong |
Customer experience
Molecules
Atomizer AR
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
Atomizer AR
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Molecules
No in-app purchases
Atomizer AR
- Californium Pass$1.991 Month
- Californium Pass$2.991 Month
- Einsteinium Pass$3.991 Year
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- Einsteinium Pass$6.991 Month
Questions
Is Molecules free?
Is Atomizer AR free?
Which has better reviews, Molecules or Atomizer AR?
Do Molecules or Atomizer AR have ads?
Which is updated more often, Molecules or Atomizer AR?
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