Genetics Lab vs Scio.ly
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Genetics Lab
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Helix turns the genetics you have to memorize into something you can actually work with. Build a cross and read the ratios in seconds, look up any triplet in the full genetic code, and walk a DNA strand all the way to its peptide chain. CROSS BUILDER Enter two parent genotypes and Helix draws the grid for you. Monohybrid, dihybrid, or a custom set of traits with your own letters for dominant and recessive alleles. Every square is filled in, then summarized as genotype and phenotype ratios so you can check your own work. Name a cross, save it, come back and edit or delete it later. Saved crosses live on this device in plain files, not in an account. INHERITANCE PATTERNS Six patterns, each explained the way an exam question asks about it: autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, X-linked recessive, X-linked dominant, codominance, and incomplete dominance. For each one you get the signature clues that identify it in a pedigree, a worked example cross, the affected, carrier, and unaffected probabilities drawn as bars, and real conditions that follow the pattern. THE FULL GENETIC CODE All 64 triplets laid out in the standard first-base, second-base, third-base chart, color coded by nucleotide. Tap any cell to see which amino acid it encodes, its three-letter and one-letter codes, and whether it is a start or a stop signal. TWENTY AMINO ACIDS Search by full name, three-letter code, or single letter, or filter by property: nonpolar, polar, acidic, basic, aromatic, special. Each entry carries the condensed structural formula, the molecular weight, the property class, and the complete list of triplets that encode it. TRANSCRIBE AND TRANSLATE Type or paste a DNA template and Helix transcribes it to mRNA base by base, splits the result into reading-frame triplets, and translates from the first start codon to the stop. You get the peptide chain in one-letter shorthand and in full amino acid names. Anything that is not A, T, G, or C gets flagged while you type, so a typo never becomes a wrong answer. CODON DRILL Ten multiple-choice rounds pulled from the sense codons, four plausible options each, and a best score saved between sessions. It is the fastest way to find out which parts of the code you only think you know. BUILT FOR STUDYING Everything works with no connection, on a plane, in a basement lab, or in an exam-prep session with airplane mode on. The interface is dark by design for long reading stretches. There are no ads and no account to create, and nothing you enter leaves your iPhone. Made for biology and biochemistry coursework, med and pre-health students, genetic counseling study, breeders working with plant and animal lines, and anyone who wants the molecular detail close at hand. SUBSCRIPTION Genetics Lab: Punnett Square requires a Pro unlock to build a cross. Pro opens the whole app: unlimited cross building and saved squares across monohybrid, dihybrid and custom trait sets with your own allele letters, the genotype and phenotype ratio summaries, the six inheritance pattern library with worked examples and probability bars, the complete 64-triplet genetic code chart, the twenty amino acid reference, the transcribe-and-translate tool, and the codon drill. Plans: a weekly subscription, a yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. A subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renewal in your Account Settings after purchase. Privacy policy: https://pnkl26.web.app/privacy-policy Terms of use: https://pnkl26.web.app/terms-of-service
Scio.ly
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Scio.ly is the free practice companion for Science Olympiad students and teams. PRACTICE ANY EVENT Build a test for any event this season in seconds: choose the number of questions, the time limit, the division, difficulty and subtopics. Answer one question per page, flag questions to come back to, and review everything on one screen before you submit. LEARN FROM EVERY ANSWER See which answers were right, what the correct answer was, and ask for an AI explanation of any question. Free responses are graded for you. PAST TOURNAMENT TESTS Take real invitational and tryout tests from the archive, timed or untimed, grade as you go or all at the end, and see your results by question. STUDY GUIDES Read study guides for every event, with tables, diagrams and math that fit your phone. Heart the guides you use most and save them for offline reading. PRACTICE OFFLINE Download an event's whole question bank (pictures too, for ID events) and practice on the bus or in the testing room hallway. Results upload when you're back online. CODEBUSTERS, ARENA AND MORE Solve ciphers in Codebusters, race a bot or another player in Arena, keep your daily streak, earn Ions, collect cosmetics and climb your leaderboards. FOR TEAMS Join your team to see assignments from your captains and coaches, take them in the app, and keep up with team announcements. Scio.ly is made by Science Olympiad students and is not affiliated with Science Olympiad, Inc.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Scio.ly at none against Genetics Lab's 3. Scio.ly also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 6 months). On price, ads, 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
Both are free to download. Genetics Lab sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Scio.ly asks for nothing beyond the download.
Genetics Lab ships an update every 6 months, Scio.ly every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Genetics Lab | Scio.ly |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 60 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Linh Phan Nhat Khanh | Kundan Baliga |
In-app purchases
Genetics Lab
- DNA Codon Translator$2.997 Days
- Pedigree & Heredity Charts$14.991 Year
- Protein & Mutation Builder$29.99
Scio.ly
No in-app purchases





