MolView Molecule Viewer and Editor (2D & 3D)

2D Graphics, CAD, 3D Graphics, Simulation

Free & Paid
No Download/Install required
No registration

MolView combines a structural formula editor with a 3D model viewer in the browser. You draw a molecule, convert it to 3D, then rotate or measure it.

Super great: it can also searches PubChem compounds, RCSB Protein Data Bank macromolecules and the Crystallography Open Database.

It shows mass, IR and predicted H1 NMR spectra, exports MOL, PDB and CIF files and images, and embeds a structure in a web page by link. The older version adds Jmol based calculations, including energy minimization and electrostatic potential surfaces.

Chemists and materials scientists view a crystal or a protein without desktop software. Engineers check the formula, mass and identifiers of a compound.

Note: the newer version of the app, developed since 2024, has premium features sold by subscription, and the older version remains available (popup at start giving the choice).

Disciplines: Chemistry, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Materials science, Education.

Free alternative to ChemDraw, Avogadro, PyMOL, Jmol.

MolView compared with ChemDraw, Avogadro, PyMOL and Jmol
MolView	ChemDraw	Avogadro	PyMOL	Jmol
Scope and typical use: MolView combines a structural formula sketcher with a 3D viewer in the browser. Its stated focus is small organic molecules and education, and it also displays proteins and crystals pulled from public databases.	Scope and typical use: ChemDraw is a structure drawing application sold by Revvity Signals. A newer cloud version, ChemDraw+, covers small and large molecule drawing inside the Signals Research Platform.	Scope and typical use: Avogadro 2 is an advanced molecular editor aimed at computational chemistry, molecular modeling, bioinformatics and materials science. It is built for preparing and optimizing structures rather than for quick lookups.	Scope and typical use: PyMOL is a molecular visualization package originally written by Warren DeLano and now maintained by Schrödinger. It is widely used to display and render biomolecular structures.	Scope and typical use: Jmol is a viewer for molecular structures aimed at students, educators and researchers in chemistry and biochemistry. It handles unit cells, symmetry operations, orbitals, surfaces and vibrations.
Data sources and formats: MolView searches PubChem, the RCSB Protein Data Bank, the Crystallography Open Database and NIST WebBook spectra. It exports PNG images, MOL, PDB and CIF files, and JCAMP-DX spectra.		Data sources and formats: Avogadro 2 supports a range of chemical data formats and external packages. It includes an ORCA input generator and a faster protocol for external energy models, including machine learning potentials and XTB.		Data sources and formats: Jmol reads MOL, V3000, SDF, CIF, mmCIF, CML, PDB, several XYZ variants, MOL2 and output from quantum chemistry codes such as Gaussian, GAMESS and NWChem. It exports JPG, PNG, PDF, POV-Ray, VRML, X3D and STL.
Licence and cost model: MolView started as an open-source project. The current app, developed since 2024, offers premium features through a subscription, and the older app is deprecated but still available.	Licence and cost model: ChemDraw is commercial software. Signals ChemDraw requires an active licence through the Signals Research Platform, and purchase goes through the vendor account manager.	Licence and cost model: Avogadro 2 is open source under the 3-clause BSD licence and free to use.	Licence and cost model: PyMOL has an open-source foundation published by Schrödinger under a BSD-like licence. A commercial build, Incentive PyMOL, adds maintenance and support through pymol.org.	Licence and cost model: Jmol is free and open source under the GNU Lesser General Public License.
Platform and installation: MolView runs in a web browser using WebGL and HTML5, so nothing is installed. The old app remains available mainly for its Jmol based surface calculations.	Platform and installation: ChemDraw 23.0 desktop runs on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11 and on macOS. Licensing is by login to Signals, with offline work allowed for up to 30 days after authentication.	Platform and installation: Avogadro 2 is a desktop application with builds for Linux, macOS and Windows.	Platform and installation: The SBGrid distribution lists PyMOL builds for 64-bit Linux and macOS. The open-source code is written mainly in C++ and Python.	Platform and installation: Jmol runs on Windows, macOS and Linux as Jmol.jar, which needs Java. JSmol is the HTML5 and JavaScript version that works in major browsers without Java.
Scripting and extensibility: MolView offers a link to the current structure and embed code for the 3D model. It builds on Ketcher, GLmol, JSmol and ChemDoodle Web Components.	Scripting and extensibility: ChemDraw desktop adds menu and toolbar access to licensed Signals apps and can open and save drawings in the Signals Platform.	Scripting and extensibility: Avogadro 2 has a plugin system with more than 20 plugins and a simple molecular dynamics mode in its AutoOpt tool.	Scripting and extensibility: Python is a core part of the PyMOL project, and an APBS plugin for electrostatics is included in the SBGrid installation.	Scripting and extensibility: Jmol supports the RasMol and Chime scripting language and a JavaScript library for embedding.