Bacterial ID Virtual Lab vs Unreal Chemist
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bacterial ID Virtual Lab
Explore the science and methods for identifying bacteria using DNA sequences. This interactive virtual lab simulates modern techniques applicable in research and forensics. It's designed for high school biology students and science enthusiasts.
- Learn DNA sequencing techniques
- Identify different bacteria types
- Simulates real-world lab methods
- Applicable to research and forensics
- Interactive virtual lab environment
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Learn about the science and techniques used to identify different types of bacteria based on their DNA sequences. Not long ago, DNA sequencing was a time-consuming, tedious process. With readily available commercial equipment and kits, it is now routine. The techniques used in this lab are applicable in a wide variety of settings, including scientific research and forensic labs. This app is geared for high school biology students and anyone interested in the biological sciences. The Bacterial ID Virtual Lab was first released in 2000 as a browser-based interactive lab. Since its inception, it and the other HHMI Virtual Labs have won several awards, including the Pirelli INTERNETional Award's top prize in 2002. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is a nonprofit medical research organization that ranks as one of the nation’s largest philanthropies. HHMI plays a powerful role in advancing biomedical research and science education. HHMI brings the latest biomedical research into the classroom with the award-winning BioInteractive website and the Holiday Lectures on Science. BioInteractive features free resources for science education, including animations, videos, interactive features, and classroom materials. The Holiday Lectures on Science feature world-class scientists who bring their leading-edge research to the classroom.
Unreal Chemist
Explore a virtual chemistry lab on your phone. Mix chemicals, observe reactions, and conduct over 750 unique simulations with more than 150 available substances. Adjust variables like temperature and concentration to understand chemical principles.
- Mix chemicals for reactions
- Burn salts for colorful flames
- Heat elements for color emission
- Adjust reactant concentration and quantity
- Regulate reaction temperature
- Control time flow (slow/fast forward)
- Monitor pH changes with indicators
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Chemistry experiments on your smartphones. You can Mix chemicals to see how they react, Burn salts to colorful flames and Heat elements to see what colors it emits There are 150 plus chemicals available to experiment with and more than 750 unique experiment simulations. Key Highlights - Adjusting the concentration and quantity of the reactants. - Regulate the temperature of the reaction. - Modify temperatures in precipitation reactions and see the effect of temperatures on solubility. - Slow down / Fast forward time. - Check the PH and PH change in a reaction, using Indicators. - Ignite flammable gases formed during reaction. Disclaimer Some reactions you will be doing in Unreal Chemist are extremely dangerous and may cause serious injury if conducted in real word. Even though most of the reactions are accurate to the real world, some reactions may be theoretical since physical verification of some reactions are not completed as of now.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Unreal Chemist at 4.5 against Bacterial ID Virtual Lab's 3.7. Unreal Chemist also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 14 months) and ratings volume (68 vs 9). Bacterial ID Virtual Lab's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On price and review sentiment 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. Unreal Chemist sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Bacterial ID Virtual Lab asks for nothing beyond the download.
Unreal Chemist holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Unreal Chemist has 68 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 75% of Bacterial ID Virtual Lab's written reviews are positive against 73% of Unreal Chemist's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Bacterial ID Virtual Lab ships an update every 14 months, Unreal Chemist every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bacterial ID Virtual Lab | Unreal Chemist |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (9 ratings) | 4.5 (68 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better | 73.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 9 | 68 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 14 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 11.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 21 MB | 342 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Howard Hughes Medical Institute | ZipoApps |
Customer experience
Bacterial ID Virtual Lab
Unreal Chemist
Bugs and requests
Bacterial ID Virtual Lab
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Unreal Chemist
Reported bugs
17 issues- Sulfuric acid not dissolving with salts
- Heating solution during titration
- Watch ad for premium session not working
- Mixing game not always working intuitively
- Buttons on iPhone blocked by camera
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- Some metal flame colors don't match description
- Program sometimes locks up
- Music setting resets after closing program
- Some reactions don't show the full formula
- App crashes on opening
- App gets stuck on the home page
- App kicks the user out
- App opens to a blank grey or white screen
- App won't open
- App crashes when it takes too long to open
- Free version has only 2 reactions
- Interface is buggy (e.g., clicking play sends to home page)
Requested features
32 requests- Add more elements (e.g., Mn, H, O, Cl, F, Pb)
- Add more acids (e.g., Chloroauric acid, Vanadic acid, Perrhenic acid)
- Add more bases and solvents (e.g., styrofoam, polystyrene, ethanol, acetone)
- Add gases (e.g., Chlorine, Fluorine, Hydrogen, Oxygen)
- Option to specify amounts of chemicals to add
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- Kid version with simplified instructions
- Add crafting or new science game modes
- Add more glassware and scientific equipment
- Reintroduce feature to see compound information
- Add challenges or daily missions
- Add ability to use previously made chemicals for new reactions
- Add definitions for elements and reactions
- Add a story or background context
- Add more reactions and compounds
- Add liquid elements (e.g., liquid oxygen, hydrogen)
- Add more bases
- Add more solvents
- Add styrofoam/polystyrene
- Add more elements
- Add more acids
- Add more bases
- Add more solvents
- Add more glassware
- Add more scientific equipment
- Add more reactions
- Add more compounds
- Add more elements
- Add more reactions
- Add more compounds
- Add more elements
- Add more reactions
- Add more compounds
In-app purchases
Bacterial ID Virtual Lab
No in-app purchases
Unreal Chemist
- Premium Version$5.99
Questions
Is Bacterial ID Virtual Lab free?
Is Unreal Chemist free?
Which has better reviews, Bacterial ID Virtual Lab or Unreal Chemist?
Do Bacterial ID Virtual Lab or Unreal Chemist have ads?
Which is updated more often, Bacterial ID Virtual Lab or Unreal Chemist?
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