MetaChem Academy
Free Chemistry Resources
Free courses, software, databases, tutorials and online tools for chemistry students and researchers – hand-picked and organised in one place.
Learn
Free courses & textbooks
Build strong basics in every branch of chemistry.
Chemistry LibreTextsFree open textbooks for general, organic, inorganic, physical and analytical chemistry.Free
NPTELIIT/IISc video courses in chemistry and materials science.Free
SWAYAMGovernment of India online courses, many with certificates.Free to learn
MIT OpenCourseWareLecture notes, videos and problem sets from MIT chemistry courses.Free
OpenStax Chemistry 2eComplete peer-reviewed chemistry textbook (PDF and online).Free
Khan Academy ChemistryShort videos and practice for core concepts.Free
RSC EducationRoyal Society of Chemistry teaching and learning resources.Free
ChemTube3DInteractive 3D animations of reactions, orbitals and structures.Free
IUPAC Gold BookOfficial definitions of chemical terms.Free
Practise
Software tutorials & manuals
Step-by-step guides for simulation, docking, crystallography and data work.
Install Ubuntu on Windows (WSL)Official Microsoft guide – the first step for most Linux research software.Free
GROMACS tutorials (Lemkul)Classic MD tutorials: protein in water, ligand complexes, membranes.Free
GROMACS manualInstallation guide, user guide and reference for every GROMACS version.Free
GROMACS forumAsk questions and search solved problems.Free
Quantum ESPRESSODFT code with documentation, examples and school tutorials.Free
ORCA Input LibraryReady-made ORCA inputs for DFT, spectroscopy and more.Free
AutoDock Vina docsOfficial docking tutorials from receptor prep to results.Free
TeachOpenCADDPython notebooks for computer-aided drug design.Free
PyMOL WikiCommands, scripts and figure-making tips for PyMOL.Free
GSAS-II tutorialsRietveld refinement and powder XRD worked examples.Free
RDKit documentationCheminformatics in Python – getting started and cookbook.Free
Software CarpentryBeginner lessons on the Linux shell, Python and Git.Free
Download
Free software
Official download pages for widely used free chemistry software.
MetaChem DrawDraw chemical structures in your browser – by MetaChem Academy.Free
AvogadroBuild and visualise molecules; prepare inputs for quantum codes.Free
VESTA3D visualisation of crystal structures and electron density.Free
MercuryCrystal structure viewer from CCDC (free version).Free
Olex2Single-crystal structure solution and refinement.Free
UCSF ChimeraXVisualise proteins, complexes and docking results.Free for academics
VMDVisualise and analyse molecular dynamics trajectories.Free
LAMMPSMolecular dynamics for materials and soft matter.Free
CP2KDFT and ab initio molecular dynamics.Free
Open BabelConvert between 100+ chemical file formats.Free
ImageJ / FijiAnalyse microscopy (SEM/TEM) and other scientific images.Free
SpectragryphOpen, compare and process UV–Vis, IR, Raman and other spectra.Free for academics
ChemSketchDraw structures, reactions and lab diagrams (freeware).Free
LabPlotFree alternative for plotting and data analysis.Free
InkscapeMake graphical abstracts and publication figures.Free
Search
Free databases
Look up compounds, spectra, crystal structures, proteins and materials.
PubChemCompounds, properties, safety data and bioactivity.Free
NIST Chemistry WebBookThermochemical data, IR, mass and UV–Vis spectra.Free
SDBSNMR, IR, Raman and mass spectra of organic compounds.Free
ChemSpiderRSC chemical structure database.Free
CAS Common ChemistryCAS registry numbers and basic data for common chemicals.Free
Crystallography Open DatabaseOpen CIF files for organic, inorganic and mineral structures.Free
CSD – Access StructuresSearch and view CSD crystal structures for free.Free to view
RRUFFRaman, XRD and chemistry data for minerals.Free
Materials ProjectComputed properties of inorganic materials.Free account
RCSB PDB3D structures of proteins and nucleic acids.Free
AlphaFold DBPredicted protein structures.Free
UniProtProtein sequences and functional information.Free
ChEMBLBioactive molecules with drug-like properties.Free
BMRBBiological magnetic resonance (NMR) data.Free
MassBankReference mass spectra.Free
HMDBHuman metabolites with spectra and properties.Free
GNPSShare and analyse tandem mass spectrometry data.Free
Use online
Free online tools
No installation needed – works in your browser.
MolViewDraw a molecule and see it in 3D instantly.Free
NMRdb predictorPredict ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra from a structure.Free
SwissADMEDrug-likeness, ADME and pharmacokinetics prediction.Free
SWISS-MODELHomology modelling of protein structures.Free
ClusProProtein–protein docking server.Free for academics
Publish
Research & writing
Find papers, manage references and write manuscripts.
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All links go to external websites. MetaChem Academy is not affiliated with them; check each site's licence terms before use.
All links go to external websites. MetaChem Academy is not affiliated with them; check each site's licence terms before use.