Molecules vs Molecular Models
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.
Molecular Models
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Molecular Models - 3D Explore the world of molecules in stunning 3D!. Molecular Models - 3D helps you visualize and understand molecular structures interactively. Whether you're a student, teacher, or science enthusiast, this app makes chemistry come alive with beautiful 3D renderings. Rotate, zoom, and explore atoms, bonds, and molecular geometry with intuitive gestures. Instantly search for molecules like Water (H₂O), Hydrogen Sulfide (H₂S), Hydrogen Peroxide (H₂O₂), Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) and more - all displayed in spatial their arrangements.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Molecules at none against Molecular Models's 1. Molecular Models's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months). On price, ads, 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
Both are free to download. Molecular Models sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Molecules asks for nothing beyond the download.
Molecules ships an update every 2 months, Molecular Models every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on August 5, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Molecules | Molecular Models |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (166 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 65.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 166 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sunset Lake Software | Krishna Raj Salim |
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
Molecular Models
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Molecules
No in-app purchases
Molecular Models
- FullVersion$1.99
Questions
Is Molecules free?
Is Molecular Models free?
Do Molecules or Molecular Models have ads?
Which is updated more often, Molecules or Molecular Models?
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