HudsonAlpha iCell vs StudentPlus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HudsonAlpha iCell
Explore the inner workings of animal, plant, and bacteria cells in a 3D interactive environment. Tap on cellular components to learn their names and functions. Rotate and zoom to get a comprehensive understanding of cellular biology.
- 3D interactive cell models
- Animal, plant, and bacteria cell examples
- Tap to select and learn organelle functions
- Rotate and zoom functionality
- Adjustable text size and description levels
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***Updated 3.6.1*** iCell now works even better on the iPhone. We have added larger text for all descriptions and included the ability to change text description levels for the iPhone as well as the iPad. iCell gives students, teachers, and anyone interested in biology a 3D view inside a cell. Included are examples of three types of cells: animal, plant, and bacteria. Learn about the various parts of the cell, which biologists, biochemists, and DNA researchers at the HudsonAlpha Institute study and use to advance the limits of biotechnology. You can use your finger to tap on parts of the cell to select and zoom in on that particular organelle. Each organelle comes with a name and a short description of its function in the cell. For a better view of each cell, hold down one finger on the screen, and drag to rotate around the cell or selected organelle. You can zoom in and out by pinching or flaring with two fingers at once. We hope you enjoy!
StudentPlus
Access grades, scores, attendance, schedules, and homework on your mobile device. Stay updated with school announcements and alerts through a personalized calendar. This app fosters a stronger connection between students and their schools by providing essential academic information.
- Secure mobile access to grades and scores
- View attendance and homework assignments
- Access class schedules
- Receive school announcements and alerts
- Personalized combined calendar
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StudentPlus gives each student secure, mobile access to their grades, scores, attendance, schedule, and homework. Students can easily view school announcements, alerts and a personalized, combined calendar. StudentPlus creates a stronger connection between the school and the student by sharing information that is critical for success and learning.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: HudsonAlpha iCell at 70% against StudentPlus's 16%. HudsonAlpha iCell also leads on rating (3.0 vs 1.7) and update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 5 months). On price, ratings volume, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
HudsonAlpha iCell holds the better App Store score, 3.0 against 1.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 292 and 815 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of HudsonAlpha iCell's written reviews are positive against 16% of StudentPlus's.
HudsonAlpha iCell ships an update every 4 weeks, StudentPlus every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HudsonAlpha iCell | StudentPlus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (292 ratings) — better | 1.7 (815 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 69.8% of reviews — better | 15.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 292 | 815 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 83 MB | 57 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology | Rediker Software, Inc. |
Customer experience
HudsonAlpha iCell
StudentPlus
User reviews
HudsonAlpha iCell
From 292 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Helpful for learning about cells
- 🚀 Great 3D visuals and interactive features
- 💡 Different levels of complexity for various users
- 🎓 Useful for students and teachers
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🔍 Limited content and organelles covered
- 🤔 Lacking in-depth information and functionality
- 🙄 Boring and oversimplified for some users
StudentPlus
From 815 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💻 Better than the New one
- 🙂 Pretty good
- 👍 VERY AWESOME!
Room to improve
- 🐛 Not working
- ⏱️ Slow as a snail
- 🔑 Login Broken
- 🤯 Ruined my life
- 🤔 IT NEVER LOADS...
Bugs and requests
HudsonAlpha iCell
Reported bugs
3 issues- Frequent crashes and app instability
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- Missing or incorrectly labeled organelles
Requested features
4 requests- Add more cell types (e.g. fungi, virus)
- Provide quizzing and assessment features
- Improve level of detail and explanations
- Allow users to explore cell structures in more depth
StudentPlus
Reported bugs
5 issues- Please fix the bug where when you check your grades it is default set to second semester
- Login screen freezes
- Incompatible with older devices
- Request timed out every time I try to go on
- School Name is Invalid
Requested features
4 requests- Please add a recent scores widget for iOS 14
- Please fix the bug where when you check your grades it is default set to second semester
- Should be able to save password so you don't need to keep typing it in when you click on the app
- Can you put the calculation of my GPA somewhere? That would really help in terms of how much more I need to work and what needs to be done
In-app purchases
HudsonAlpha iCell
No in-app purchases
StudentPlus
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is HudsonAlpha iCell free?
Is StudentPlus free?
Which has better reviews, HudsonAlpha iCell or StudentPlus?
Do HudsonAlpha iCell or StudentPlus have ads?
Which is updated more often, HudsonAlpha iCell or StudentPlus?
Other comparisons
