# Nuclear vs atom.sim

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: atom.sim at none against Nuclear's 3. Nuclear's advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 7 months) and iOS requirement (7.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Nuclear sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. atom.sim asks for nothing beyond the download.

Nuclear ships an update every 3 months, atom.sim every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Nuclear | atom.sim |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.2 (302 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nuclear/id509546625/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **302** | — |
| Positive reviews | 69.5% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 months** | Every 7 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 55 MB | 78 MB |
| Requires iOS | **7.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [ESCAPE VELOCITY LIMITED](https://appshunter.io/developer/331526972) | [Hans Kovi](https://appshunter.io/developer/1493527465) |

## What reviewers say

### Nuclear

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nuclear/id509546625)

Explore the quantum world and learn about chemical elements by building atoms. This app visually models interactive atoms, allowing you to add or subtract subatomic particles to construct stable elements and unlock them on the periodic table.

**Highlights:** Interactive 3D atom visualization, Build chemical elements by adding/subtracting particles, Unlock elements on the periodic table, Explore atomic decay of isotopes, Learn about matter at the atomic scale

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Build All Elements | $2.99 | one-time |
| Discover Your Table | $2.99 | one-time |
| Discover All | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Awesome visuals
- 🔍 Great learning tool
- 👍 Fun and interactive
- 💡 Helpful for understanding atoms

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Bugs and glitches
- 💰 Paywall for full access
- 🔒 Locked features
- 🤔 Inaccurate decay/reaction modeling

**Reported bugs**

- Can't exit element discovery screen
- Proton cap prevents reaching higher elements
- Certain elements cannot be created
- Crashes when trying to add particles to Ununoctium

**Requested features**

- Expand decay modes (alpha, beta, etc.)
- Add ability to create molecules
- Improve stability/decay simulation
- Add more explanations and tutorials


### atom.sim

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/atomsim/id1493527466)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Nuclear free?

Nuclear is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is atom.sim free?

atom.sim is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Nuclear or atom.sim have ads?

Neither Nuclear nor atom.sim shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Nuclear or atom.sim?

Nuclear ships an update every 3 months, and atom.sim every 7 months. Most recently, Nuclear was updated on October 20, 2026 and atom.sim on October 11, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*