Molecules vs WebMO Molecule Editor
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.
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.
- 3D molecular editor
- Structure optimization
- Orbital and symmetry visualization
- Chemical database lookup
- Spectra visualization
- High-resolution image capture
- Computational chemistry program integration
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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
Verdict
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
Both are free to download. WebMO Molecule Editor sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Molecules asks for nothing beyond the download.
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.
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.
| Parameter | Molecules | WebMO Molecule Editor |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (166 ratings) | 4.0 (40 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 65.5% of reviews — better | 60.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 166 — better | 40 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sunset Lake Software | WebMO, LLC |
Customer experience
Molecules
WebMO Molecule Editor
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
Molecules
No in-app purchases
WebMO Molecule Editor
- WebMO Premium for paid usersFree
- WebMO Premium$4.99
Questions
Is Molecules free?
Is WebMO Molecule Editor free?
Which has better reviews, Molecules or WebMO Molecule Editor?
Do Molecules or WebMO Molecule Editor have ads?
Which is updated more often, Molecules or WebMO Molecule Editor?
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