iMolview vs Chem Viewer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iMolview
Explore biological molecules in 3D. View proteins, DNA, and drug structures from major databases. Customize representations, select specific elements, and analyze molecular interactions. Sync your own files and save scenes for later.
- 3D molecular visualization
- Browse PDB, DrugBank, Pubchem
- Customizable representations
- Individual element coloring
- Neighbor analysis
- Electron density map contouring
- Scene saving and management
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Explore the fascinating world of biological macromolecules: iMolview lets you browse and view in 3D protein and DNA structures from Protein Data Bank, drug molecules from DrugBank, and small molecules from Pubchem. Search for drug names like 'ibuprofen' or 'gefitinib' in DrugBank, or proteins like 'insulin' or 'thyroid receptor' in PDB. Information associated with each molecule in these databases is also at your fingertips. Sync and view your own structure files via iTunes. Molecular view can be customized with a rich set of molecular representations (wires, balls-and-sticks, space filling, ribbon diagrams, molecular surfaces) and various coloring schemes. Select residues, atoms or chains and color or change their representations individually. Select 'neighbors' of a ligand or any other selection to identify interacting atoms or residues. Set 'inertia' to the maximum and let your molecule spin in 3D indefinitely. Save the current scene (viewpoint + representation) as a slide which can be easily accessed later. Save the whole molecular document with multiple slides. Load and contour electron density map
Chem Viewer
Visualize chemical compounds in 2D and 3D with this app. Access over 3 million compounds from the PubChem database and interact with 3D models using touch gestures. Ideal for students, researchers, and educators.
- 2D and 3D chemical views
- Access to 3+ million compounds
- PubChem database integration
- Interactive 3D model manipulation
- Suitable for students and researchers
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View molecules on the go with Chem Viewer! Supporting two-dimensional and three-dimensional views Chem Viewer can visualize more than 3 million compounds from the PubChem database. Interact with 3d models using your fingers! Great for students, researchers, and educators.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Chem Viewer at Free against iMolview's $0.99. Chem Viewer also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months) and rating (4.0 vs 3.6). iMolview's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (78% vs 67%). On in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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
Chem Viewer is free to download; iMolview costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Chem Viewer holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13 and 4 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 78% of iMolview's written reviews are positive against 67% of Chem Viewer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
iMolview ships an update every 2 months, Chem Viewer every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iMolview | Chem Viewer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.6 (13 ratings) | 4.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 78.1% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 13 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 55 MB | 40 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Molsoft | Dylan Riffle |
Customer experience
iMolview
Chem Viewer
In-app purchases
iMolview
No in-app purchases
Chem Viewer
No in-app purchases









