Comparison

Crys vs CrysView

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

Head to head
About

Crys

This app allows users to view and analyze crystal structures locally on their mobile devices. It supports various file formats and offers tools for inspecting atoms, bonds, and unit cells, with features for generating simulated PXRD patterns and morphology previews.

Highlights
  • Local structure viewing
  • Supports CIF, XYZ, PDB, MOL, SDF, MOL2, RES files
  • Inspect atoms, bonds, unit cells
  • Display styles and scope control
  • Fullscreen and PXRD presentation modes
  • Simulated PXRD pattern generation
  • BFDH morphology preview
Features
Read full description

Crys-CAST brings crystal and molecular structure viewing, geometry analysis, and presentation tools to iPhone and iPad. OPEN AND EXPLORE Open CIF, XYZ, PDB, MOL, SDF, MOL2, and RES files from Files or other apps. Explore asymmetric units, unit cells, and supercells with ball-and-stick, Spacefill, coordination polyhedra, and thermal ellipsoids when suitable displacement data is available. Rotate, zoom, and view structures along crystallographic directions. MEASURE AND ANALYZE Inspect bond lengths, bond angles, and geometric hydrogen-bond candidates, grouped by type with clear symmetry details. Combine selected length, angle, and hydrogen-bond labels directly on the structure. Distinguish coordinate-calculated values from matching CIF-reported geometry, and export compact bond-length and bond-angle tables as TXT or Excel-compatible CSV. Explore simulated powder X-ray diffraction patterns, BFDH morphology, and geometric pore analysis. Display pore space alone or together with the crystal structure. BUILD YOUR COLLECTION Organize structures in My Database. Add files from History or import structure files and ZIP, RAR, or 7z archives into a chosen collection. Name entries, save viewing states, and export collections for reuse. CREATE PRESENTATION MATERIALS Save structure images and record GIF or MP4 animations with resolution and frame-rate presets and custom duration. Use automatic rotation or adjust the view while recording. Animation exports contain the structure viewer without interface controls or sound. MAKE THE VIEW YOUR OWN Use a consistent interface on iPhone and iPad, choose light or dark appearance, and customize backgrounds, unit-cell lines, axes, and scale bars. SCIENTIFIC SCOPE Calculated geometry, hydrogen-bond candidates, pore results, and other analyses depend on the input data and selected settings. They support visualization and interpretation but do not replace structure refinement or experimental validation. Missing hydrogen positions are not inferred. Actual recording frame rate depends on device performance and structure complexity.

About

CrysView

Features
Read full description

CrysView is an interactive 3D unit cell visualization tool designed specifically for chemistry learners. You can start your journey to the world of crystals as soon as you open it. · Full Range of Crystal Models It comes with hundreds of standard unit cells including simple cubic, body-centered cubic, face-centered cubic, hexagonal close-packed, diamond, NaCl, perovskite, rutile, and more. · Free Gesture Interaction Rotate freely, adjust the view precisely with X/Y/Z sliders. · Quick Crystal Search Supports fuzzy searches with chemical formulas, substance names, and lattice types to quickly locate the unit cell you need. · Atom Visualization and Differentiation Atoms of different elements use unique colors, with real-time legends to distinguish cations, anions, metals, and nonmetals clearly.

Screenshots

Crys4 screens
CrysView3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Crys at every 4 days against CrysView's every 2 weeks. Crys also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crys ships an update every 4 days, CrysView every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Crys versus CrysView: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrysCrysView
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer子铭 叶凌云 马

In-app purchases

None

Crys

No in-app purchases

None

CrysView

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Crys free?
Crys is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CrysView free?
CrysView is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Crys or CrysView have ads?
Neither Crys nor CrysView shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Crys or CrysView?
Crys ships an update every 4 days, and CrysView every 2 weeks. Most recently, Crys was updated on October 7, 2026 and CrysView on October 10, 2026.

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