Cosmology vs Solar System
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cosmology
Explore the universe with stunning high-resolution images of celestial bodies. Journey through space, visiting planets and their moons, while learning about the evolution of space, time, and matter. Ponder the profound mysteries of existence.
- High-resolution images of planets, nebulae, and galaxies
- Interactive space travel to planets and moons
- Learn about the evolution of space, time, and matter
- Expert narration by Dr. Aaron Day
- Exploration of existential mysteries of the universe
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Explore the universe with 100s of high resolution images of planets, nebulae, galaxies, and more. Travel through space, visiting every planet and their major moons. Learn about the creation of space, time, and matter, and their evolution into stars, galaxies, and planets in the present day. Ponder the deep, existential mysteries of the universe. The story of creation is told by Dr. Aaron Day. Dr. Day earned his Ph.D. at the University of California, San Diego for research in cosmology.
Solar System
Explore planets, dwarf planets, and moons in your own space using augmented reality. Walk around the solar system, view celestial bodies in scale, and access detailed information about each planet and its moons.
- Augmented reality solar system view
- Explore planets, dwarf planets, and moons
- Scale mode for size and distance comparison
- Detailed planet and moon information
- Interactive exploration
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Place the Sun on your table or on the floor and walk among the planets in augmented reality. Get close to Saturn's rings, look at Jupiter's moons from below, or find out how far away Pluto really is when the Sun is one metre wide. THREE WAYS TO SEE IT • Learn: everything fits in one room, so you can see every planet at once. • To scale: the planets' sizes are true to each other. Earth is 4 cm, Jupiter 45 cm, and Neptune is 30 metres from the Sun. • Real scale: everything to the same scale. Earth is a 9 mm marble 107 m away; Pluto is more than 4 km from you. Follow the labels to find them. WHERE THE PLANETS ARE TODAY Every planet starts at its real position in its orbit. Speed up time to watch the years pass, or tap Today to come back. REAL PHYSICS • Orbits with their true tilt: Pluto 17°, Eris 44° • Axes that always point the same way, which is what makes the seasons • Moons that always show the same face to their planet • Triton orbiting backwards, and Io, Europa and Ganymede in their 1:2:4 dance • Haumea, the dwarf planet shaped like a rugby ball 21 WORLDS The Sun, the eight planets, five dwarf planets and seven moons. Each one has a fact sheet with NASA figures — diameter, distance, length of the day and the year, temperature, gravity, moons, who discovered it — a size comparison with Earth and a surprising fact. Great for school, for curious minds of every age, and for anyone who has wondered how big space really is. Augmented reality needs an iPhone or iPad with ARKit. On other devices the app opens in 3D mode.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Cosmology at 4.7 against Solar System's 3.8. Cosmology also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 107 months) and review sentiment (89% vs 67%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Cosmology holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cosmology has 554 ratings behind it against 32, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of Cosmology's written reviews are positive against 67% of Solar System's.
Cosmology ships an update monthly, Solar System every 107 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cosmology | Solar System |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (554 ratings) — better | 3.8 (32 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 88.6% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 554 — better | 32 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 107 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 190 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Aaron Day | Luis Carvajal Hoyos |
Customer experience
Cosmology
Solar System
Bugs and requests
Cosmology
Reported bugs
2 issues- Image display interference/hacking concerns
- App feels incomplete in certain sections
Requested features
6 requests- More interactive activities and engagement features
- Text-to-speech functionality
- More detailed explanations for beginner-level users
- Additional sub-categories and content sections
- Regular updates with current astronomical images
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- Alternative cosmological perspectives or viewpoints
Solar System
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Cosmology
No in-app purchases
Solar System
No in-app purchases
