Beyond Labz vs ChemCollective Virtual Lab
Beyond Labz
beyondlabz.comChemCollective Virtual Lab
chemcollective.orgSide by side
| Figure | Beyond Labz | ChemCollective Virtual Lab |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 2 |
| Spec score · Chemistry Simulation Software | 9.4 (#1) | 9.0 (#2) |
| Spec score · Virtual Lab Software | 9.5 (#1) | 9.0 (#2) |
| Customization | Instructors may tailor existing activities or author their own experiments. | Teachers can configure aqueous simulations, chemicals and which laboratory tools students can use. |
| Documentation | The support site provides getting-started guides, a searchable knowledge base, video guides and tutorials for individual labs. | Official help includes an introductory video, titration walkthrough and feature-by-feature user guide. |
| Licence | The software is licensed on a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable basis for educational use and is not sold to users. | The site and contents use the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 licence. |
| Support | Beyond Labz says its support team is available Monday through Friday and aims to respond within 24 hours during support hours. | The instructor guide invites users to contact the team for technical help, curriculum support, questions, and comments. |
| What it does | Beyond Labz provides virtual science laboratories for chemistry, organic chemistry, biology and physics, with guided and exploratory experiments. | ChemCollective provides virtual chemistry labs, scenario activities, tutorials and concept tests for teaching and learning. |
Plans
Beyond Labz
- Instructor accessFree
- Biology$31.95, paid once
- Chemistry$31.95, paid once
- Physics$31.95, paid once
- All Subjects$41.95, paid once
ChemCollective Virtual Lab
- ChemCollective Virtual LabFree
- Free accessFree
In their own words
Beyond Labz
Beyond Labz provides virtual science lab simulations for open-ended and guided activities in chemistry, organic chemistry, biology and physics. Its pricing page lists more than 650 lab activities aligned with textbooks. Students can make decisions, observe results and repeat experiments in a risk-free setting; auto-graded assessments provide immediate feedback. Lab Cam records and timestamps each student step to give instructors a procedure log. Lab procedures integrate with LTI 1.0, 1.1 and 1.3 compliant learning management systems, including Canvas, Blackboard and Moodle, so students can receive, complete and submit assignments within their LMS. The instructor plan is free for teaching, previewing and building assignments. Chemistry, Physics and Biology each cost $31.95 as a one-time purchase for 20-week access; All Subjects costs $41.95, paid once for one-year access. Web labs support desktop systems and tablets, but not smartphones. Downloaded desktop versions require macOS Yosemite or later or 64-bit Windows 8 or later, 4 GB RAM and 3 GB free disk space.
ChemCollective Virtual Lab
ChemCollective Virtual Lab is an online chemistry simulation that connects calculations with laboratory-style experiments. Students and educators can use its web activities without licensing requirements, including experiments with hundreds of standard aqueous reagents across acid-base chemistry, thermochemistry, solubility, and redox topics. Teaching resources include prepared lab problems, tutorials, courses, real-world scenarios, visualizations, simulations, and concept tests. Autograded activities randomize unknowns and check answers, with hints and feedback. Teachers can make free classroom pages that collect activity links, instructions, and handouts, and track attempts on autograded problems. Instructors may modify activities or request custom ones. Downloadable versions for Windows and Mac are available, though Java may be needed. The project aims to help high school and college students approach chemistry like practicing scientists. Its current scope is aqueous reactions. The Virtual Lab is free for educators and students; the site and its contents are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 NonCommercial-NoDerivs.