Comparison

Molecules vs Cell World

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

Cell World

Explore the intricate world of a cell in an interactive, game-like experience. Navigate through the cytoplasm and discover the functions of various cell parts like the nucleus and mitochondria. This app offers an immersive journey into the microscopic elements that power the human body.

Highlights
  • Interactive cell exploration
  • Navigate cell parts
  • Discover organelle functions
  • Immersive microcosm experience
  • Educational gameplay
Features
Read full description

Enter the mysterious world of the cell. Travel through translucent blue cytoplasm and feel the hypnotic movement of the cell membrane. Discover the details of each cell part by navigating in game-like fashion to the Nucleus, Mitochondria, Ribosomes and more. Become immersed the in this amazing microcosm of nature and click to explore how this stunning and miraculous element powers the entire body.

Screenshots

Molecules4 screens
Cell World4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Molecules at Free against Cell World's $0.99. Molecules also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 18 months) and ratings volume (166 vs 9). Cell World's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 3.6) and review sentiment (94% vs 65%). On ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Molecules is free to download; Cell World costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cell World holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Molecules has 166 ratings behind it against 9, 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 94% of Cell World's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Molecules ships an update every 2 months, Cell World every 18 months. The most recent releases landed on August 5, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Molecules versus Cell World: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMoleculesCell World
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating3.6 (166 ratings)4.6 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews65.5% of reviews94.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings166 — better9
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 18 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.06.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB84 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSunset Lake SoftwareVirtual Immersive Educational Worlds, Inc.

Customer experience

Molecules

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

Cell World

All ratings9 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive94.1%
Neutral5.9%
Negative0.0%

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

Cell World

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Molecules

No in-app purchases

None

Cell World

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Molecules free?
Molecules is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cell World free?
Cell World costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Molecules or Cell World?
Cell World is rated higher. Molecules averages 3.6 out of 5 from 166 ratings, while Cell World averages 4.6 from 9 ratings.
Do Molecules or Cell World have ads?
Neither Molecules nor Cell World shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Molecules or Cell World?
Molecules ships an update every 2 months, and Cell World every 18 months. Most recently, Molecules was updated on August 5, 2026 and Cell World on September 26, 2026.

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