Prefer ESMFold when
- Sequence is designed / orphan (weak homologs for MSA)
- You want a quick research fold before or beside AF2
- MSA queues would block a short experiment
Next · P1 PREDICT · not Live yet
ESMFold
Fast single-sequence structure prediction for research. Shipping next as CandleAI’s second PREDICT engine so free and paid paths feel snappy when MSA is heavy or sequences are orphan/designed.
Prefer ColabFold / AF2 when
- You need MSA-backed AF2 confidence (pLDDT/PAE stack we run Live today)
- Paid Pilot SLA delivery on our current QC path
- Community-benchmarked AF2-ptm is the lab’s default expectation
Status: Roadmap until Spark smoke ≤400 aa + QC path. Free taste remains ColabFold until then. Dual mode (“two modes, one hub”) flips only after staff badge Live.