Comparison

Molecules vs WebMO Molecule Editor

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

WebMO Molecule Editor

Create and explore 3D molecular structures, visualize chemical properties, and access extensive chemical databases. This tool is ideal for students and educators needing on-the-go access to molecular information and computational chemistry resources.

Highlights
  • 3D molecular editor
  • Structure optimization
  • Orbital and symmetry visualization
  • Chemical database lookup
  • Spectra visualization
  • High-resolution image capture
  • Computational chemistry program integration
Features
Read full description

WebMO allows users to build and view molecules in 3-D, visualize orbitals and symmetry elements, lookup chemical information and properties from external databases, and access state-of-the-art computational chemistry programs. WebMO is recommended for students and faculty in high school, college, and graduate school who desire mobile access to molecular structures, information, and calculations. WebMO capabilities include: - Build molecules by drawing atoms and bonds in a 3-D molecular editor, or by speaking the name (e.g., “aspirin”) - Optimize structures using VSEPR theory or molecular mechanics - View Huckel molecular orbitals, electron density, and electrostatic potential - View molecular vibrations - View point group and symmetry elements of molecules - Lookup basic molecular information, including IUPAC and common names, stoichiometry, molar mass - Lookup chemical data from PubChem and ChemSpider - Lookup experimental and predicted molecular properties from external databases (NIST, Sigma-Aldrich) - Lookup IR, UV-VIS, NMR, and mass spectra from external databases (NIST, SDBS) - Capture high-resolution molecular images - Save and recall molecular structures locally - Export and import structures via email WebMO is also a front-end to WebMO servers (version 14 and higher): - Supports Gaussian, GAMESS, Molpro, MOPAC, NWChem, ORCA, PQS, PSI, Quantum Espresso, VASP, Q-Chem, and Tinker computational chemistry programs - Submit, monitor, and view calculations - View formatted tabular data extracted from output files, as well as raw output - Visualize geometry, partial charges, dipole moment, normal vibrational modes, molecular orbitals, and NMR/IR/UV-VIS spectra

Screenshots

Molecules4 screens
WebMO Molecule Editor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Molecules at none against WebMO Molecule Editor's 2. Molecules also leads on ratings volume (166 vs 40). WebMO Molecule Editor's advantage is rating (4.0 vs 3.6) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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. WebMO Molecule Editor sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Molecules asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

WebMO Molecule Editor holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 166 and 40 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 65% of Molecules's written reviews are positive against 60% of WebMO Molecule Editor's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Molecules ships an update every 2 months, WebMO Molecule Editor every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on August 5, 2026 and September 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Molecules versus WebMO Molecule Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMoleculesWebMO Molecule Editor
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (166 ratings)4.0 (40 ratings) — better
Positive reviews65.5% of reviews — better60.4% of reviews
Number of ratings166 — better40
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSunset Lake SoftwareWebMO, LLC

Customer experience

Molecules

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

WebMO Molecule Editor

All ratings40 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews53 reviews
Positive60.4%
Neutral9.4%
Negative30.2%

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

WebMO Molecule Editor

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Molecules

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

WebMO Molecule Editor

One-time2
  • WebMO Premium for paid usersFree
  • WebMO Premium$4.99

Questions

Is Molecules free?
Molecules is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is WebMO Molecule Editor free?
WebMO Molecule Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Molecules or WebMO Molecule Editor?
WebMO Molecule Editor is rated higher. Molecules averages 3.6 out of 5 from 166 ratings, while WebMO Molecule Editor averages 4.0 from 40 ratings.
Do Molecules or WebMO Molecule Editor have ads?
Neither Molecules nor WebMO Molecule Editor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Molecules or WebMO Molecule Editor?
Molecules ships an update every 2 months, and WebMO Molecule Editor every 3 months. Most recently, Molecules was updated on August 5, 2026 and WebMO Molecule Editor on September 3, 2026.

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