Comparison

The Elements by Theodore Gray vs NOVA Elements

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

Head to head
About

The Elements by Theodore Gray

Explore the building blocks of the universe with this interactive guide to the periodic table. Discover beautifully photographed elements, fascinating stories, and detailed 3D models of over 500 objects, all presented in multiple languages.

Highlights
  • Living periodic table interface
  • Rotating 3D element samples
  • Detailed 3D object models
  • Pinch-zoom and 3D stereo viewing
  • Multilingual support
  • Fascinating stories and facts
Features
Read full description

From Theodore Gray comes a beautifully produced app introducing and educating users on the elements of the periodic table and how they combine to form the world around us. The Elements is a rich and engaging love story, told in words and pictures - allowing you to experience the beauty and fascination of the building blocks of our universe in a way you've never seen before. Start off on a living periodic table where every element is shown with a smoothly rotating sample. To read about gold, tap the gold nugget. Immediately you see the sample filling the screen, photographed to razor sharpness and rotating around a complete circle in front of your eyes. Enjoy the extensive array of facts and figures. Next find a fascinating story about the element, surrounded by carefully photographed objects representing it. Every one of these objects, well over 500 in total, is a freely rotatable, live object that you can examine from all sides and pinch zoom to see in unprecedented detail. Touch the element name at the top of the page and you can see that element’s name in over a dozen different languages. Choose one and you’ll find that the entire book, stories, captions and all, switches to that language: The Elements includes both the full English original text and over a dozen full translations. Pinch-zoom or tap any object to bring it up full screen, where you can split into a pair of stereo 3D images, allowing you to see all 500 objects pop off the screen in 3D, and you can spin the objects, in 3D, with the touch of a finger. This book will show everyone there’s a lot more to the periodic table than a bunch of numbers and letters. Features include: • Beautifully composed pages for every Element in the periodic table • Fun stories and fascinating facts • All objects pinch-zoom with amazing detail and rotate in 3D • Engaging introduction explaining the structure of the periodic table • Engaging introduction explaining the structure of the periodic table • Fully translated into English, Catalan, Croatian, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish ------------ Reviews: “The iPad’s splendor and power may be best shown by The Elements... it’s not like any ebook you’ve seen. The periodic table of elements comes to life.” – USA Today

About

NOVA Elements

Explore the periodic table and understand element properties. Learn how elements combine to form everyday objects through interactive games and educational videos.

Highlights
  • Interactive periodic table
  • Learn element properties
  • Understand element combinations
  • Educational game
  • NOVA program access
Read full description

Did you ever wonder why the periodic table is shaped the way it is, what gives each element its own unique set of properties, or even how elements combine to make everyday objects such as a cup of coffee? With “NOVA Elements,” explore an interactive periodic table, play a game hosted by David Pogue, or watch the two-hour NOVA program, “Hunting the Elements.”

Screenshots

The Elements by Theodore Gray4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: NOVA Elements at Free against The Elements by Theodore Gray's $9.99. NOVA Elements also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 17.0). The Elements by Theodore Gray's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.1) and review sentiment (73% vs 62%). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

NOVA Elements is free to download; The Elements by Theodore Gray costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Elements by Theodore Gray holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 122 and 254 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of The Elements by Theodore Gray's written reviews are positive against 62% of NOVA Elements's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Elements by Theodore Gray ships an update every 3 months, NOVA Elements every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
The Elements by Theodore Gray versus NOVA Elements: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Elements by Theodore GrayNOVA Elements
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (122 ratings) — better4.1 (254 ratings)
Positive reviews73.0% of reviews — better62.1% of reviews
Number of ratings122254 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPad
Requires iOS17.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1.5 GB513 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNatureGuides Ltd.PBS

Customer experience

The Elements by Theodore Gray

All ratings122 ratings
Positive89.3%
Neutral3.3%
Negative7.4%
Written reviews477 reviews
Positive73.0%
Neutral9.6%
Negative17.4%

NOVA Elements

All ratings254 ratings
Positive74.0%
Neutral8.3%
Negative17.7%
Written reviews58 reviews
Positive62.1%
Neutral17.2%
Negative20.7%

Bugs and requests

The Elements by Theodore Gray

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Element descriptions cut off on iPhone 6 Plus
  • Crashes when switching landscape orientations
  • Unable to download app after initial purchase

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add option to disable animations
  • Improve periodic table navigation
  • Include more detailed scientific information
  • Support multiple languages and spellings

NOVA Elements

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

The Elements by Theodore Gray

No in-app purchases

None

NOVA Elements

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is The Elements by Theodore Gray free?
The Elements by Theodore Gray costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is NOVA Elements free?
NOVA Elements is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, The Elements by Theodore Gray or NOVA Elements?
The Elements by Theodore Gray is rated higher. The Elements by Theodore Gray averages 4.6 out of 5 from 122 ratings, while NOVA Elements averages 4.1 from 254 ratings.
Do The Elements by Theodore Gray or NOVA Elements have ads?
Neither The Elements by Theodore Gray nor NOVA Elements shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Elements by Theodore Gray or NOVA Elements?
The Elements by Theodore Gray ships an update every 3 months, and NOVA Elements every 5 months. Most recently, The Elements by Theodore Gray was updated on October 8, 2026 and NOVA Elements on October 3, 2026.

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