UCSF ChimeraX
UCSF's molecular visualization program for structures, cryo-EM maps and VR.
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About UCSF ChimeraX
ChimeraX is the successor to UCSF Chimera, built by the Resource for Biocomputing, Visualization, and Informatics (RBVI) at UC San Francisco. It displays and analyses atomic structures, sequences and density maps, and it is especially popular in cryo-EM and AlphaFold-era structural biology for fitting models into maps, segmenting volumes and making figures and movies. It has a command line and menus, a plugin store called the Toolshed, and Python scripting. It also supports virtual reality headsets such as Meta Quest and Valve Index, including multi-person VR sessions. ChimeraX is free for academic, government, nonprofit and personal use; companies need a commercial licence. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, with frequent releases and daily builds. It suits researchers and students who want one free tool for structures and maps; people who mostly need polished static images sometimes prefer PyMOL, and simulation-heavy work is often done in VMD.
Best for: Structural biologists working with cryo-EM maps, AlphaFold models and figures.
Pros and cons
What works
- Free for academic, government, nonprofit and personal use
- Strong tools for density maps, model fitting and segmentation
- VR headset support, including shared multi-person sessions
- Plugin Toolshed and Python scripting
Why people leave
- Commercial users must buy a licence
- Not open source under an OSI licence
- Less suited than VMD to analysing long simulation trajectories
Top UCSF ChimeraX alternatives
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UCSF ChimeraX: common questions
Is UCSF ChimeraX free?
UCSF ChimeraX has a free plan and paid plans.
Is UCSF ChimeraX open source?
No, UCSF ChimeraX is not open source. Open-source alternatives include Jmol.
What platforms does UCSF ChimeraX run on?
UCSF ChimeraX is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.
What are the best alternatives to UCSF ChimeraX?
The highest-ranked UCSF ChimeraX alternatives right now are PyMOL, VMD and Jmol. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.