ReactionFlash vs Tap OChem
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ReactionFlash
This app serves as a comprehensive flashcard-style learning tool for named chemical reactions. It provides detailed information on reaction mechanisms and examples from scientific literature, with a quiz mode to test user knowledge.
- Learn named chemical reactions
- Understand reaction mechanisms
- View literature examples
- Quiz mode for knowledge testing
- Flashcard interface
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Want to refresh your memory on named chemical reactions before an exam or a group meeting? Get all the details with ReactionFlash(R) as a great way to learn named reactions, understand their mechanisms and view examples published in peer-reviewed literature. Designed and developed in consultation with Professor Dr. Erick M. Carreira of ETH Zürich, the app covers 1'266 named chemical reactions, by far the largest collection of Named Reactions. Professor Carreira has helped ensure that we have all the fundamental reactions that should be part of every chemist’s toolkit: from the best-known ones to the ones only Nobel Prize winners remember! The app is designed like a set of flash cards so it can be used as a learning tool as well as a reference. Each ‘card’ shows the reaction, its mechanism and examples from peer-reviewed, published literature. It also has a quiz mode that lets you test your knowledge. Linking into Reaxys enables you to find the most recent examples of each reaction, many with experimental details. Reaxys delivers experimental facts from the literature, enabling researchers to find the best synthetic routes and conditions. Find out more at https://www.elsevier.com/solutions/reaxys Download the app now and see if you know all the named reactions! Summary: - Learn named reactions - Review and understand mechanisms - Explore examples published in peer-reviewed literature - Take the ReactionFlash quiz and see how much you know If you need support, please contact us at reactionflash@elsevier.com. Reaxys and ReactionFlash are trade marks of Elsevier Limited, used under license.
Tap OChem
Visualize complex organic chemistry reactions and concepts with animated explanations. This app covers a wide range of undergraduate organic chemistry topics, aiding in exam preparation and understanding of molecular behavior.
- Animated organic chemistry reactions
- Detailed concept explanations
- Electron pushing diagrams
- Full-color text descriptions
- MCAT, PCAT, OAT, DAT prep
- Regular content updates
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"Awesome" writes a reviewer! More reviewers comments! "I have used it for all of my exams so far and it is extraordinarily helpful." "This is the best investment that you can make to visualize the reactions. There are a ton of them and they are AWESOME!!!!!" Another reviewer writes “Covers all of the major topics and the videos help me visualize the details of the molecules and reactions”…“Could almost replace a whole textbook.” While we never claim to cover an entire organic chemistry class, with content added in each update (major free updates each year since publishing ten years ago!), Tap OChem is the app that delivers! The reactions and concepts included are many from the one year sequence of undergraduate organic chemistry that is offered at all major colleges and universities. Students have told us that this app was essential in their preparation for the MCAT. Whether you are currently in the one year sequence of classes or reviewing for the MCAT, or PCAT, OAT, and DAT, this app will help! Designed by two award winning chemists with over 48 years of combined experience teaching at major universities, Tap OChem makes organic chemistry reaction come to life for each included reaction or concept. The following animations are currently included: Substitution reactions (20 animations), Elimination reactions (11 animations), Alkene Chemistry (15 animations), Free Radical Chemistry (4 animations), Alkyne Chemistry (7 animations), Epoxide chemistry (4 animations), Benzene chemistry (10 animations), Diene Chemistry (8 animations), Carbonyl Chemistry (8 animations), Major concepts (62+ animations), and Molecules in Motion (35+ animations). The Concepts section includes valence bond theory, molecular orbital theory, electrostatic potential maps, radical spin density maps, alkene stability, dienes and stability, conformational analysis of alkanes and cyclohexane, etc. We've just started adding information on intermolecular interactions and plan on more spectroscopic topics! One animation on dipole/dipole attraction was added. Two animations, one focused on the introduction to IR spectroscopy are included. We are developing and updating more animations for future updates! Each animation has an accompanying text that drills down to the main facts of each reaction or concept. These are in FULL COLOR! They are short, handy, descriptions with important information regarding each reaction or concept. In the case of reaction animations, the concise scrollable text descriptions include electron pushing. We will continue to update the app with future releases. Tap OChem is native to both iPhones and iPads! In addition to the animations being very sharp on your iPhone and iPad, they are of excellent quality when projected (iPhone 4S and iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, X, 11, 12, and later, iPad 2 and later, using appropriate adapters) in a classroom. For the iPhone 6s and later; and iPad Air 1 and 2 and later, an appropriate adapter is needed like Lightning Digital AV Adapter (this is an HDMI adapter), or a USB C to HDMI adapter, or a Lightning to VGA Adapter. Please visit www.tapochem.com for further information.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ReactionFlash at Free against Tap OChem's $4.99. Tap OChem's advantage is review sentiment (92% vs 81%). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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
ReactionFlash is free to download; Tap OChem costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for ReactionFlash against 4.7 for Tap OChem. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 41 and 39 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 81% of ReactionFlash's written reviews are positive against 92% of Tap OChem's.
ReactionFlash ships an update every 4 months, Tap OChem every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ReactionFlash | Tap OChem |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (41 ratings) — better | 4.7 (39 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.6% of reviews | 91.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 41 — better | 39 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 13.2 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 3.5 GB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Elsevier Limited | Tap OChem, LLC |
Customer experience
ReactionFlash
Tap OChem
In-app purchases
ReactionFlash
No in-app purchases
Tap OChem
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is ReactionFlash free?
Is Tap OChem free?
Which has better reviews, ReactionFlash or Tap OChem?
Do ReactionFlash or Tap OChem have ads?
Which is updated more often, ReactionFlash or Tap OChem?
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