Vina Docking Score: Interpreting kcal/mol Across Different Proteins

By BioDockify Computational Research Team · August 10, 2026 · Vina Authority

How to interpret AutoDock Vina docking scores. What -5, -7, -9, and -10 kcal/mol mean, why scores cannot be compared across proteins, and what researchers should report.

Read the complete article with tables, code and references on BioDockify.

Key References

• Trott, O. & Olson, A.J. AutoDock Vina. J. Comput. Chem. 31, 455-461 (2010).

Scope & Limitations

Scores are NOT experimental binding affinities Cannot compare scores across different proteins Correlation with experiment: R-squared = 0.3-0.4