Open Source ChemDraw Alternatives

The best open source alternative to ChemDraw is Molsketch. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 10 alternatives to ChemDraw and seven of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to ChemDraw are BKchem, MolView, XDrawChem and Gnome Chemistry Utils.

ChemDraw

Paid • Proprietary

Communicate with the natural language of chemical structures, biological pathways, and models

More about ChemDraw

ChemDraw alternatives page was last updated Jan 18, 2023

Molsketch
A 2D molecular editing tool for GNU/Linux, Mac OS X and Windows. Its goal is to help you draw molecules quick and easily. Of course your creations can be exported afterwards in high quality in a number of vector and bitmap formats.
10 Molsketch alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
Molsketch Features
1. Ad-free
2. No registration required
3. Dark Mode
4. Lightweight
5. Works Offline
Show all NaN Molsketch features ▾
Molsketch VS ChemDraw
Is Molsketch a good alternative to ChemDraw?
- Molsketch is the most popular Open Source alternative to ChemDraw.
- Molsketch is Free and Open SourceChemDraw is Paid and Proprietary
- Molsketch is LightweightChemDraw is not according to our users

BKchem
BKChem is a free (as in free software :o) chemical drawing program. It was conceived and written by Beda Kosata and is currently maintained by Reinis Danne.
14 BKchem alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
- Digital Painting Tool
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
BKchem Features
2D and 3D physics
Show all NaN BKchem features ▾
Discontinued
The last release was in 2010.
BKchem VS ChemDraw
Is BKchem a good alternative to ChemDraw?
Comments about BKchem as an Alternative to ChemDraw

John Fastman
BKchem is an old attempt at replacing some of ChemDraw's functionality. It succeeded partially in providing some of ChemDraw's very core chemical structure drawing features. Unfortunately, BKchem has seen no new development since 2010, leaving it in limbo.
Negative comment •Dec 27, 2016
3
Guest
Very usefull software. You can paste images created with BKChem in a text processor or another open source graphical software like InkScape.
Positive comment •May 9, 2016
0
- Most users think BKchem is a great ChemDraw alternative.
- BKchem is Free and Open SourceChemDraw is Paid and Proprietary

MolView
MolView is an intuitive, Open-Source web-application to make science and education more awesome!
2 MolView alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Platforms
- Online
MolView VS ChemDraw
Is MolView a good alternative to ChemDraw?
- MolView is the most popular Web-based alternative to ChemDraw.
- MolView is Free and Open SourceChemDraw is Paid and Proprietary

XDrawChem
XDrawChem is a free software program for drawing chemical structural formulas, available for Unix and Mac OS. It is distributed under the GNU GPL. In Microsoft Windows this program is called WinDrawChem.
10 XDrawChem alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
Discontinued
Last release (1.10.2-1) was in January 2017.
XDrawChem VS ChemDraw
Is XDrawChem a good alternative to ChemDraw?
Comments about XDrawChem as an Alternative to ChemDraw

Guest
More simply for use in class
Positive comment •Oct 2, 2016
0
- Most users think XDrawChem is a great ChemDraw alternative.
- XDrawChem is Free and Open SourceChemDraw is Paid and Proprietary

Gnome Chemistry Utils
The Gnome Chemistry Utils include six chemistry related programs:

GChemPaint, a 2D chemical formula editor.

a chemical calculator (computes raw formule, molar weight, mass composition and isotopic pattern).

a molecule 3d viewer using OpenGL to display molecular models. .
19 Gnome Chemistry Utils alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Platforms
- Linux
Gnome Chemistry Utils Features
Periodic table
Show all NaN Gnome Chemistry Utils features ▾
+2
Gnome Chemistry Utils VS ChemDraw
Is this a good alternative to ChemDraw?

MollyCule
MollyCule is a completely free Open Source Chemistry visualisation program for MacOS, Linux and Windows. MollyCule is designed to be a nice, easy to use program to help ordinary people who want to explore Chemistry.
5 MollyCule alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
Discontinued
Last update appears to be August 2011.
MollyCule VS ChemDraw
Is MollyCule a good alternative to ChemDraw?

JChemPaint
JChemPaint is an editor and viewer for chemical structures in 2D. It is free and open source software, written in Java and so it runs on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Unix systems. There is a standalone application (editor), and two varieties of applet (editor and viewer) that...
7 JChemPaint alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
JChemPaint Features
Impact mapping
Show all NaN JChemPaint features ▾
JChemPaint VS ChemDraw
Is JChemPaint a good alternative to ChemDraw?