Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Rasmol VS Jmol

Compare Rasmol VS Jmol and see what are their differences

Rasmol logo Rasmol

RasMol. 96 likes. RasMol is a computer program written for molecular graphics visualization intended and used mainly to depict and explore biological...

Jmol logo Jmol

Jmol is a free, open source molecule viewer for students, educators, and researchers in chemistry...
  • Rasmol Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-20
  • Jmol Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-13

Rasmol features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Rasmol offers a straightforward and easy-to-use interface, making it accessible for beginners in molecular visualization.
  • Lightweight
    Rasmol is a lightweight application that requires minimal system resources, allowing it to run efficiently on older or less powerful hardware.
  • Wide File Format Support
    It supports a wide variety of molecular file formats, allowing users to easily import and visualize different types of molecular data.
  • Educational Use
    Rasmol is widely used in educational settings to help students visualize and understand molecular structures.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    Rasmol is available on multiple operating systems including Windows, MacOS, and Linux, making it accessible to a wide range of users.

Possible disadvantages of Rasmol

  • Limited Advanced Features
    Compared to more modern molecular visualization tools, Rasmol lacks some of the advanced features and functionalities needed for high-end research.
  • Aging Software
    Rasmol has not seen major updates in recent years, which might affect its usability with current technologies and user expectations.
  • Basic Graphics
    The graphical output of Rasmol is relatively basic, lacking the high-resolution and sophisticated rendering capabilities found in newer software.
  • Limited Customization
    There are limited options for customization and scripting, which can be a restriction for users needing detailed control over their visualizations.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    For users unfamiliar with command-line interfaces, there's a learning curve associated with mastering all of Rasmol's features and capabilities.

Jmol features and specs

  • Open Source
    Jmol is open-source software, which means it is freely available for anyone to use, modify, and distribute. This ensures a wide accessibility and encourages community collaboration and continual development.
  • Platform Independent
    Jmol is written in Java, making it platform-independent and usable on any operating system that supports Java, including Windows, MacOS, Linux, and Unix.
  • Broad File Format Support
    Jmol can read a wide variety of molecular file formats, including PDB, CIF, MDL Mol, and many more, which makes it versatile for different scientific applications.
  • 3D Visualization Capabilities
    Jmol provides robust 3D visualization capabilities, allowing users to effectively analyze and interpret complex molecular structures and behaviors.
  • Integration Capabilities
    Jmol can be easily integrated into web pages, making it a useful tool for online education and sharing of molecular data.

Possible disadvantages of Jmol

  • Java Dependency
    Since Jmol is based on Java, users must have Java installed on their systems, which can be a barrier for some users due to installation and security concerns.
  • Complex User Interface
    The user interface of Jmol may be considered complex or unintuitive by beginners, requiring a learning curve especially for those unfamiliar with molecular visualization software.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    While Jmol provides excellent basic visualization features, it may lack some advanced features found in specialized commercial molecular visualization and modeling software.
  • Performance Issues
    On older hardware or with very large molecular models, Jmol can encounter performance issues, affecting the responsiveness and rendering of models.
  • Lack of Professional Support
    As an open-source project, Jmol lacks formal customer support, meaning users must rely on community forums and documentation for troubleshooting and guidance.

Rasmol videos

Unboxing Bikano's new Rasmol Diwali Hamper

Jmol videos

Review of summary judgment, JMOL, New Trial, Jury Right, Prof. Nathenson, Spring 2015, part 5 of 7

More videos:

  • Review - Jmol Applet Molecules for Powerpoint
  • Review - JMol and PowerPoint

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Rasmol and Jmol)
Other Bio Tech
50 50%
50% 50
Knowledge Search
48 48%
52% 52
Knowledge Search Engine
47 47%
53% 53
Other Education Tech
62 62%
38% 38

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Jmol seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 1 time since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Rasmol mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Rasmol yet. Tracking of Rasmol recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Jmol mentions (1)

  • Online exercises for crystal structure type
    Mercury's functions are great and numerous, the program sadly became a bit resource hungry (better to spend 8 than 4GB of RAM, about 700+MB on the hard disk for a permanent installation. In this perspective, it is nice Jmol equally can be used to display/highlight symmetry relationships in crystals (link to an animated .gif) for less than 70MB when using Jmol's console. Source: about 2 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Rasmol and Jmol, you can also consider the following products

pymol - PyMOL is a powerful and comprehensive molecular visualization product for rendering and animating...

UCSF Chimera - UCSF Chimera is a highly extensible program for interactive visualization and analysis of molecular...

Avogadro - Avogadro is a free, fantastically easy to use molecule editor.

VMD - Visual Molecular Dynamics - VMD - Visual Molecular Dynamics, molecular graphics software for MacOS X, Unix, and Windows

QuteMol - QuteMol is an open source (GPL), interactive, high quality molecular visualization system.

ChemDraw - ChemDraw - The Gold Standard for Chemical Structure Drawing and Research Publications.