Molecular Workbench vs MolView
Molecular Workbench
mw.concord.orgMolView
molview.comSide by side
| Figure | Molecular Workbench | MolView |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $0.75/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 7 |
| Spec score · Chemistry Simulation Software | 8.5 (#7) | 8.7 (#4) |
| Documentation | An online user manual is available from the application and is intended to teach simulation and activity creation. | The help center page says it is under construction, while the site links tutorials, a user manual and API references. |
| Founded | 1994 | LinkedIn lists MolView as founded in 2012. |
| Integrations | Next-generation interactives can be shared or embedded in course sites, blogs, emails and learning-management systems. | The legacy service retrieves data from PubChem, RCSB Protein Data Bank, NIST Chemistry WebBook, Crystallography Open Database and NCI/CADD Chemical Identifier Resolver. |
| Notable news | AAAS reported on 23 June 2011 that Science selected Molecular Workbench for a SPORE award and that development began with a 2000 National Science Foundation grant. | A LinkedIn post says MolView won second place in the Dutch division of the 2024 Shenzhen International Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition with an AI-personalized chemistry-exercises proposition. |
| Purpose | Molecular Workbench is a modeling tool for designing and conducting computational experiments across science. | MolView is a web app for sketching and viewing small molecules. |
| What it does | Molecular Workbench provides interactive visual simulations and computational experiments for science teaching and learning. | MolView is a browser-based chemical sketcher and 3D viewer focused on small molecules. |
Plans
Molecular Workbench
- Molecular WorkbenchFree
- Molecular Workbench FreeFree
MolView
- FreeFree
- Student$9 a year
- Academic$49 a year
- Standard$99 a year
- Publisher$250 a year
- EnterprisePriced on request
- InstitutionPriced on request
In their own words
Molecular Workbench
Molecular Workbench is a free modeling tool for designing and conducting computational experiments across science. Its interactive learning environment supports science inquiry, while its authoring system lets instructional designers create and publish curriculum based on models and simulations. Users can customize simulations or create their own, with topics spanning gas laws, fluid mechanics, states of matter, chemical reactions, genetics, protein synthesis, and quantum phenomena. Activities can include assessments, student-data collection, learning monitoring, and teacher feedback. Simulations can also be embedded in blogs, wikis, or web pages. The Next-Generation Molecular Workbench brings computational experiments to browsers using HTML5. An offline version is available, but it cannot access the latest simulations or collect student data. Downloads are listed for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, and require Java Runtime Environment 1.5 or later. The maker says the software needs considerable computing power and may start slowly while the Java virtual machine launches. Molecular Workbench is developed and maintained by the Concord Consortium.
MolView
MolView is a web application for sketching and viewing small molecules, with API access and molecular modeling support. Its canvas handles structural formulas, reaction arrows, electron-pushing arrows, configurable styles, and keyboard shortcuts. A 3D viewer updates automatically as you edit a molecule. Chemical searches accept common names, IUPAC names, SMILES, InChI, InChIKey, and molecular formulas. Depending on the plan, you can save and load sketcher or viewer content, create shareable links, export structural data or SVG files, use transparent backgrounds, and set image resolution. Developers can embed the sketcher web component in vanilla JavaScript or React and customize its toolbar and diagram style. The free plan needs no sign-up and supports searching, sketching, and viewing, but cannot save diagrams. Paid plans include Student at $9.00 per year, Publisher at $250.00 per year, Academic at $4919.00 per year, and Standard at $9919.00 per year.