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Schrodinger vs Seven Bridges

Schrodinger logo

Schrodinger

Research

Physics based molecular modelling and drug discovery software, licensed by token pool

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Seven Bridges logo

Seven Bridges

Research

Cloud bioinformatics platform and trusted research environment, sold by Velsera

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Schrodinger licences are sold as token pools rather than unlimited module access, so a department can be blocked mid campaign because colleagues are consuming concurrency, and expanding the pool is a new commercial negotiation rather than a setting.; Seven Bridges the parent merged into Velsera in 2023 alongside Pierian and UgenTec, so the platform now competes for roadmap attention with clinical interpretation and diagnostics products inside a private equity owned group.
  • They diverge on capability: Schrodinger covers Maestro, Seven Bridges covers Trusted research environment.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Schrodinger and Seven Bridges actually diverge.

Attributes where Schrodinger and Seven Bridges differ
AttributeSchrodingerSeven Bridges
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, WebWeb, API, Cloud

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Research).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Schrodinger

  • Maestro
  • Glide
  • FEP+
  • Desmond
  • Jaguar
  • LiveDesign
  • Materials Science suite

Only in Seven Bridges

  • Trusted research environment
  • Cloud-agnostic
  • CWL pipelines
  • Compliance certifications
  • Cost prediction
  • Public data commons
  • Collaboration
  • Tool library

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Schrodinger

  • A medicinal chemistry programme using FEP+ to prioritise which analogues to synthesise, where avoiding a handful of wasted syntheses pays for the licencenot Seven Bridges
  • A structure based design campaign that needs docking at scale against a target with a good crystal structurenot Seven Bridges
  • A materials group modelling polymer or electrolyte properties before committing to formulation experimentsnot Seven Bridges
  • A university modelling group that qualifies for the published academic site licence and needs Maestro across a teaching and research cohortnot Seven Bridges

Seven Bridges

  • A cancer genomics group analysing controlled-access dbGaP data that cannot be moved to local infrastructurenot Schrodinger
  • A federal or federally funded programme that needs FedRAMP Moderate authorisation for its analysis environmentnot Schrodinger
  • A multi-institution consortium sharing pipelines and results under defined access controls rather than by emailing filesnot Schrodinger
  • A diagnostics developer building reproducible CWL pipelines that must stand up to later regulatory reviewnot Schrodinger

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Schrodinger

  • Licences are sold as token pools rather than unlimited module access, so a department can be blocked mid campaign because colleagues are consuming concurrency, and expanding the pool is a new commercial negotiation rather than a setting.
  • Commercial pricing is not published and is negotiated against modules, cores and term, so two companies of similar size can pay very different amounts and neither can benchmark the other.
  • FEP+ needs substantial GPU capacity that is not included in the licence, so the real annual cost includes cloud or on premise hardware that often rivals the software line item.
  • The tools require trained computational chemists to produce trustworthy results, and an organisation without that function will generate predictions it cannot interpret or defend to its own medicinal chemists.
  • Schrodinger runs its own internal drug discovery pipeline alongside selling software to discovery companies, and some prospective customers treat that dual role as a conflict when discussing proprietary targets, which slows procurement even where contractual separation exists.

Seven Bridges

  • The parent merged into Velsera in 2023 alongside Pierian and UgenTec, so the platform now competes for roadmap attention with clinical interpretation and diagnostics products inside a private equity owned group.
  • Pricing is not published and splits into a platform subscription plus consumption-based cloud compute, so a heavy analysis quarter produces a bill that headcount-based budgeting does not anticipate.
  • The analysis capability itself has credible open source equivalents in Nextflow and Cromwell on raw cloud, so you are principally paying for compliance and governance rather than for the science.
  • Pipelines are built around Common Workflow Language, which is a real learning curve and a portability commitment for teams whose existing work is in other workflow languages.
  • Cloud storage of large genomic datasets accrues continuously whether or not you are analysing, and egress charges apply when moving results out, both of which are outside the subscription line.

Pricing, plan by plan

Schrodinger

On request
  • Commercial licence$undefined/year
    • Quoted per customer against modules, cores and licence term
    • Applications draw from a shared token pool that caps concurrency
    • GPU compute for FEP+ and Desmond is a separate cost, on premise or cloud
  • Academic site licence$undefined/year
    • Published academic entry around 7,500 USD a year for a premium package with a token allocation
    • Restricted to academic and research use, not work supporting a commercial enterprise
    • Maestro generally unrestricted with tokens shared for compute heavy applications

Seven Bridges

On request
  • Seven Bridges Platform$undefined/year
    • Platform subscription quoted through Velsera sales
    • Cloud compute and storage charged on consumption on top of the subscription
    • Cost predictor tools provided to estimate analysis spend in advance

Which should you pick?

Choose Schrodinger if

  • You need maestro.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Web.
  • You also want glide.
Schrodinger review

Choose Seven Bridges if

  • You need trusted research environment.
  • You work on Web, API, Cloud.
  • You also want cloud-agnostic.
Seven Bridges review

Questions people ask

Is Schrodinger or Seven Bridges better?
Neither clearly leads. Schrodinger starts at On request and Seven Bridges at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Schrodinger or Seven Bridges?
Schrodinger starts at On request and Seven Bridges at On request.
Does Schrodinger or Seven Bridges run on more platforms?
Schrodinger runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Web. Seven Bridges runs on Web, API, Cloud.
What is Schrodinger best used for?
Schrodinger is most often used for a medicinal chemistry programme using fep+ to prioritise which analogues to synthesise, where avoiding a handful of wasted syntheses pays for the licence, a structure based design campaign that needs docking at scale against a target with a good crystal structure, a materials group modelling polymer or electrolyte properties before committing to formulation experiments, a university modelling group that qualifies for the published academic site licence and needs maestro across a teaching and research cohort. Of those, a medicinal chemistry programme using fep+ to prioritise which analogues to synthesise, where avoiding a handful of wasted syntheses pays for the licence and a structure based design campaign that needs docking at scale against a target with a good crystal structure are not what Seven Bridges is typically brought in for.
What can Schrodinger do that Seven Bridges cannot?
Schrodinger covers Maestro, Glide, FEP+, Desmond. Seven Bridges covers Trusted research environment, Cloud-agnostic, CWL pipelines, Compliance certifications.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Schrodinger: How is Schrodinger software licensed?

Annual licences with a shared token pool. Tokens cap how much you can run at once rather than which modules you own outright.

Seven Bridges: Is Seven Bridges still sold?

Yes. It is sold by Velsera, formed in 2023 when Summa Equity merged Seven Bridges with Pierian and UgenTec. The Seven Bridges name was retained for the platform.

Schrodinger: Is there published pricing?

Only for academic site licences, which start around 7,500 USD a year for a premium package. Commercial pricing is quoted.

Seven Bridges: What compliance does it hold?

FedRAMP Moderate, SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, dbGaP and ISO 27001, 27017, 27018 and 27701, which is the usual reason institutions choose it over building on raw cloud.

Schrodinger: Do I need my own GPUs?

For FEP+ and Desmond in practice yes, or cloud GPU capacity. Compute is not included in the licence.

Seven Bridges: How is it priced?

Not published. Expect a platform subscription plus consumption charges for cloud compute and storage.

Schrodinger: Does Schrodinger compete with its customers?

It runs its own drug pipeline as well as selling software. It manages this through contractual separation, but buyers with sensitive targets should raise it during procurement.

Seven Bridges: Do I have to use a specific cloud?

No. The platform is cloud-agnostic and designed to bring analysis to where the data already resides.

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