Comparison

Molecules vs Molecule

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

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
Read full description

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.

About

Molecule

This app allows users to create and share chemical structures with ease. It calculates molecular formula, weight, and elemental composition in real-time as you draw. Ideal for students and researchers needing a simple tool for molecular visualization.

Highlights
  • Draw chemical structures
  • Share structures
  • Calculate MF, MW, Monoisotopic Mass
  • Calculate Elemental Composition
  • Interactive calculations
  • Modern interface
Features
Read full description

Simple modern chemical structure editor. Allow to draw and share chemical structure. MF, MW, Monoisotopic Mass and Elemental Composition calculated interactively during drawing.

Screenshots

Molecules4 screens
Molecule4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Molecule at 4.0 against Molecules's 3.6. Molecule also leads on review sentiment (76% vs 65%) and iOS requirement (7.0 vs 16.0). Molecules's advantage is ratings volume (166 vs 10) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Molecule 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 10, 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 76% of Molecule's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Molecules ships an update every 2 months, Molecule every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on August 5, 2026 and August 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Molecules versus Molecule: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMoleculesMolecule
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (166 ratings)4.0 (10 ratings) — better
Positive reviews65.5% of reviews76.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings166 — better10
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.07.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSunset Lake SoftwareKirill Blinov

Customer experience

Molecules

All ratings166 ratings
Positive62.7%
Neutral12.0%
Negative25.3%
Written reviews388 reviews
Positive65.5%
Neutral18.6%
Negative16.0%

Molecule

All ratings10 ratings
Positive70.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews21 reviews
Positive76.2%
Neutral9.5%
Negative14.3%

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

Molecule

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Molecules

No in-app purchases

None

Molecule

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Molecules free?
Molecules is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Molecule free?
Molecule is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Molecules or Molecule?
Molecule is rated higher. Molecules averages 3.6 out of 5 from 166 ratings, while Molecule averages 4.0 from 10 ratings.
Do Molecules or Molecule have ads?
Neither Molecules nor Molecule shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Molecules or Molecule?
Molecules ships an update every 2 months, and Molecule every 4 months. Most recently, Molecules was updated on August 5, 2026 and Molecule on August 30, 2026.

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