Comparison

PDB Viewer vs Magpie

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

PDB Viewer

Features
Read full description

PDB Viewer turns your phone into a molecular microscope. Search the entire Protein Data Bank and over 200 million AlphaFold predictions, then explore any protein, virus, drug, or DNA structure in interactive 3D — free, with no account, no ads, and no sign-up. WHERE THE MOLECULES COME FROM • RCSB Protein Data Bank — 200,000+ experimentally determined structures • AlphaFold — 200M+ AI-predicted protein models • SWISS-MODEL — template-based homology models • PubChem and ChEMBL — millions of drugs and compounds • Crystallography Open Database — small-molecule crystals • NCI/CADD resolver — type a chemical name and get a 3D model Every source is free and needs no API key. You can also open your own .pdb and .cif files. WAYS TO SEE IT • Five representations: wireframe, ball-and-stick, space-filling (CPK), cartoon/ribbon, and a smooth molecular surface • Color by element, chain, secondary structure, rainbow, or AlphaFold confidence (pLDDT) • Biological assemblies: rebuild an entire icosahedral virus capsid from a few deposited chains • NMR ensembles: overlay every model in the bundle to watch a protein flex • Automatic secondary-structure detection MADE FOR TOUCH • Rotate, pinch-zoom, and pan with smooth native rendering • Tap any atom to see its element, residue, and chain • Recently viewed structures are cached, so they reopen instantly and work offline For students, researchers, teachers, and the simply curious. PDB Viewer makes structural biology beautiful and accessible. Structures are provided by their respective databases. PDB Viewer is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by the RCSB PDB, EMBL-EBI, or AlphaFold.

About

Magpie

Features
Read full description

Magpie is a free molecular visualisation and scientific post-processing app for iPhone and iPad, designed for computational chemistry research, teaching and learning. KEY FEATURES • Open and inspect computational chemistry outputs, molecular coordinates, trajectories and volumetric data. • Explore interactive 3D structures, vibrational modes, reaction paths, spectra and potential-energy surfaces. • Export high-resolution PNG images with transparent backgrounds in standard mode or black backgrounds in red/blue 3D mode, ready for figures, presentations and teaching materials. • Export molecular structures and surfaces as GLB or USDZ 3D models, and trajectories, molecular vibrations and model rotation as USDZ animations. Save images and models to Files or share them through the system share menu. • Edit atoms, bonds and geometries, then optimise structures with UFF or MMFF94s force fields. • Generate quantum-chemistry input files, including ab initio molecular dynamics workflows, plus XYZ, MOL2, CIF and PDB files. • Play XYZ and DCD trajectories, inspect changing molecular structures and measurements, and visualise dynamic bonds and hydrogen bonds. • Visualise molecular orbitals with fast on-device GPU calculation, and explore signed CUBE scalar fields. Connect to a remote server running Multiwfn for additional wavefunction analysis. • Organise files locally, import from other apps, or connect to your SSH/SFTP server for remote file browsing and terminal work.

Screenshots

PDB Viewer4 screens
Magpie4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Magpie at none against PDB Viewer's 1. Magpie also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs monthly). PDB Viewer's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. PDB Viewer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Magpie asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDB Viewer ships an update monthly, Magpie every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Ā· 3 level
PDB Viewer versus Magpie: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDB ViewerMagpie
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperQvyshift LLCYuchen Zhou

In-app purchases

1 purchases

PDB Viewer

One-time1
  • PDB Viewer Pro$9.99
None

Magpie

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PDB Viewer free?
PDB Viewer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Magpie free?
Magpie is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do PDB Viewer or Magpie have ads?
Neither PDB Viewer nor Magpie shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDB Viewer or Magpie?
PDB Viewer ships an update monthly, and Magpie every 5 days. Most recently, PDB Viewer was updated on October 16, 2026 and Magpie on October 24, 2026.

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