Comparison

Crys vs MolVanilla

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

MolVanilla

Features
Read full description

MolVanilla is a chemical structure editor for iPhone and iPad. Build molecules with atoms, bonds, rings, functional groups, abbreviations, alkyl chains, and repeat units. View formula, molecular weight, exact mass, and isotope m/z. Export as SMILES, Molfile, or JSON. MolVanilla also includes structure cleanup, local saving, 3D viewing, property estimation, ¹H/¹³C NMR prediction, and MS fragment prediction.

Screenshots

Crys4 screens
MolVanilla4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Crys at none against MolVanilla's 3. On price, update cadence, ads 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. MolVanilla sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Crys asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crys ships an update every 4 days, MolVanilla every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Crys versus MolVanilla: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrysMolVanilla
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer子铭 叶KEISUKE MASUDA

In-app purchases

None

Crys

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

MolVanilla

One-time3
  • 10 Credits$0.49
  • 50 Credits$1.99
  • 200 Credits$5.99

Questions

Is Crys free?
Crys is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MolVanilla free?
MolVanilla is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Crys or MolVanilla have ads?
Neither Crys nor MolVanilla shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Crys or MolVanilla?
Crys ships an update every 4 days, and MolVanilla every 3 days. Most recently, Crys was updated on October 7, 2026 and MolVanilla on October 2, 2026.

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