Chemical Constructor vs Solar Coaster
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chemical Constructor
This is a simple 2D drawing tool designed for creating molecular structures. Users can build chains of atoms and visualize chemical compounds.
- 2D molecule chain drawing
- Basic chemical structure visualization
- Simple interface for educational use
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A very basic 2D drawing application for building molecule chains.
Solar Coaster
Visualize the precise movements of the Sun and Moon with 3D graphs, eclipse details, and rise/set times. This app offers offline calculations for celestial positions and moon phases, making it ideal for astronomy enthusiasts.
- 3D movement graphs
- Eclipse information and circumstances
- Rise and set times
- Moon phase and illumination
- Offline astronomical data
- Local horizontal coordinate system
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Solar Coaster provides accurate position, time, motion and eclipse information for Earth's nearest star, Sol, our Sun, and nearest celestial body, Luna, our Moon. Information includes 3D movement graphs, upcoming eclipses and their circumstances, rise and set times, positions, distances and velocities, moon phase, illumination and crescent rotation. Solar Coaster automatically updates its state every minute, or you can examine minutes randomly. The simulation uses a local horizontal coordinate system when displaying information, which essentially means that your current position is the center of the Universe and all calculated values are relative to you. Sun and Moon positions are also available in equatorial coordinates. Solar Coaster stores enough onboard astronomical data to keep it running through the year 2100 AD, which means that all calculations can be performed locally without the need of a network connection — useful while in the wild chasing an eclipse. Algorithms are accurate at all longitudes, and latitudes between -61° south and +60° north (roughly speaking, locations outside the Polar regions). Of course, you must have Location Services enabled and allow Solar Coaster to access your position for accurate simulation results, and to properly detect eclipses visible at your location. You can also allow Notification Center to keep you informed when those eclipses will occur. Solar Coaster comes in various flavors: for iOS a native App; and for macOS a native App, Screen Saver and Web App.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Solar Coaster at 5.0 against Chemical Constructor's 1.9. Solar Coaster also leads on device support. Chemical Constructor's advantage is ratings volume (76 vs 2) and iOS requirement (2.2.1 vs 14.0). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Solar Coaster holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chemical Constructor has 76 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
| Parameter | Chemical Constructor | Solar Coaster |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.9 (76 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 76 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | — | Every 3 months |
| Ads | — | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | — | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 2.2.1 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 0 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Comatose Daisy | Steve Lidie |
Customer experience
Chemical Constructor
Solar Coaster
In-app purchases
Chemical Constructor
No in-app purchases
Solar Coaster
No in-app purchases






