Comparison

SPACE by THIX vs Galaxy Map

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

SPACE by THIX

Create and explore your own universe with realistic physics. Build celestial bodies, experiment with natural laws, and journey through the cosmos you design. Learn astronomy and astrophysics through interactive play.

Highlights
  • Create celestial bodies (planets, stars, black holes)
  • Experiment with gravity and natural laws
  • Simulate supernovae and planetary collisions
  • Interactive real-time physics
  • Explore created universes
  • Learn astronomy and astrophysics
Features
Read full description

* Best of 2016 – Apple * Create your own universe. Play with the law of nature. Visit the outer worlds. Build asteroids, nebula, comets, planets, moons, stars, pulsars and even blackholes at your fingertips. Experiment with gravity, supernova, planetary collision and so forth. Zoom in to ride comets. Zoom out to gaze at the galaxy of stars. S C I E N C E D R I V E N Learn Astronomy and Astrophysics for fun and creativity. All celestial bodies you create can move and interact in real-time and in accordance with the Newtonian astrophysics laws. C E L E S T I A L T O U C H Move planets with your fingers. Swipe to shoot a comet. Play with your own universe in an astronomical scale. SPACE puts gigantic celestial bodies under your fingertips. C O S M I C V O Y A G E Meditate in the indescribable beauty of space that you create, anywhere and anytime. Hold your device to view the universe in from any angle. Visit us: thix.co
 Like us: facebook.com/thixlab 
Follow us: twitter.com/thixlab Comments or Questions: support@thixlab.com

About

Galaxy Map

Explore the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies in an interactive 3D map. Discover nebulae, supernovae, and planets, with stunning visuals based on NASA data. Ideal for education and space enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Interactive 3D galaxy map
  • Explore nebulae and supernovae
  • Fly through planetary atmospheres
  • Land on planets
  • Based on NASA data
  • Available in 100+ languages
Features
Read full description

The galaxy map is an interactive map of the Milky Way galaxy, Andromeda and their satellite galaxies. Explore the Orion Arm's nebulae and supernovae from the comfort of your spaceship. Fly through the atmosphere of Mars and many other planets and you can even land on them. Discover the galaxy in a stunning three dimensional map based on NASA's artistic impression of the Milky Way galactic structure. Photos are taken by NASA spacecraft and ground based telescopes like Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-Ray, Herschel Space Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope. This interactive 3D map is excellent for teachers to use for instruction, and it is a great astronomy resource for students to explore the Milky Way galaxy and space as they learn more about the universe we live in. Available in over 100 languages! You can also From the outskirts of the galaxy, in the Norma-Outer spiral arm to the galactic center's supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, discover a galaxy full of amazing facts. Notable structures included: the Pillars of Creation, Helix Nebula, the Engraved Hourglass Nebula, the Pleiades, the Orion Arm (where the solar system and the Earth are located) with its Orion belt. Check out neighboring dwarf galaxies such as Sagittarius and the Canis Major Overdensity, stellar streams as well as internal galactic components such as a variety of nebulae, star clusters or supernovae. Explore space and get a little closer to our wonderful universe with this awesome astronomy app! The Galaxy Map requires internet access to retrieve information from the wiki.

Screenshots

SPACE by THIX4 screens
Galaxy Map4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Galaxy Map at Free against SPACE by THIX's $2.99. Galaxy Map also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.7) and review sentiment (80% vs 50%). SPACE by THIX's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 13) and ads (none vs shown). On update cadence and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Galaxy Map is free to download; SPACE by THIX costs $2.99 up front. Galaxy Map sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. SPACE by THIX asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Galaxy Map holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 169 and 600 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of SPACE by THIX's written reviews are positive against 80% of Galaxy Map's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SPACE by THIX ships an update every 2 months, Galaxy Map every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
SPACE by THIX versus Galaxy Map: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSPACE by THIXGalaxy Map
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating3.7 (169 ratings)4.6 (600 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.5% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings169600 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS10.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size106 MB613 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTHIX LLCAndrei Nistorescu

Customer experience

SPACE by THIX

All ratings169 ratings
Positive66.3%
Neutral13.0%
Negative20.7%
Written reviews212 reviews
Positive50.5%
Neutral17.9%
Negative31.6%

Galaxy Map

All ratings600 ratings
Positive91.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews100 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral7.0%
Negative13.0%

User reviews

SPACE by THIX

From 169 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Cool and fun to play with
  • 🌌 Relaxing and immersive space experience
  • 🎨 Beautiful graphics and visuals

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and glitchy behavior
  • 🔍 Difficulty seeing and interacting with small objects
  • 🤔 Lack of clear instructions or tutorials
  • 🕹️ Frustrating controls and navigation

Galaxy Map

From 600 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌌 Impressive 3D galaxy and nebula visualizations
  • 🚀 Spaceship exploration feature with landing capability
  • 📚 Educational content about space and astronomy
  • 🎮 Fun and engaging gameplay mechanics
  • ✨ No ads in free version

Room to improve

  • 💰 Excessive paywall for most content
  • 🐛 App crashes and fails to load
  • 🎮 Poor control mechanics for flying and walking
  • 🔍 Lack of zoom functionality or unclear controls
  • 🌑 Black holes look too similar to each other

Bugs and requests

SPACE by THIX

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Planets and objects behaving erratically or disappearing
  • Frequent crashes or freezes, especially with many objects
  • Inconsistent or unresponsive touch controls
  • Incorrect physics or behavior of certain celestial bodies

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to customize and edit planets
  • Implement time controls to speed up/slow down simulation
  • Provide more celestial objects and phenomena to interact with
  • Improve performance and reduce lag on complex scenes
  • Include a tutorial or in-game guidance for new players

Galaxy Map

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • App crashes on startup
  • Explore button shows nothing
  • Pinch-to-zoom doesn't work
  • App won't load on iPad
  • Text displays as boxes in language settings
Show 4 more
  • Mars moon orbital speed incorrect
  • App kicks users out during exploration
  • Loading issues and incomplete functionality
  • Inconsistent performance across platforms

Requested features

18 requests
  • Search button to find galaxies and objects
  • More diverse and realistic black hole designs
  • AR feature to identify stars/planets in real sky
  • More free content and objects
  • Exoplanet additions (TRAPPIST-1e, J1407B)
Show 13 more
  • Ability to click on stars within galaxies for details
  • Generated planets around stars
  • Sandbox/creation mode for user-generated content
  • Animation for Milky Way and Andromeda
  • More galaxy variety in the app
  • Coordinates filter for objects
  • Space-Engine style gameplay
  • Flying through galaxies feature
  • More female character customization options
  • VIP version option
  • Brown dwarfs addition
  • Photosphere viewing mode
  • More detailed star information

In-app purchases

None

SPACE by THIX

No in-app purchases

13 purchases

Galaxy Map

One-time13
  • Buy ship - Alien Destroyer$0.99
  • Buy ship - Alien fighter$0.99
  • Remove ads$1.99
Show 10 more
  • Buy ship - Alien Destroyer$1.99
  • Buy ship - Alien fighter$1.99
  • 3D Visualization Pack$1.99
  • Buy ship - Dragon Frigate$1.99
  • Essentials bundle - SALE$2.99
  • Remove ads$3.99
  • 3D Visualization Pack$3.99
  • Essentials bundle$4.99
  • Ultimate bundle - SALE$7.99
  • Ultimate bundle$12.99

Questions

Is SPACE by THIX free?
SPACE by THIX costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Galaxy Map free?
Galaxy Map is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SPACE by THIX or Galaxy Map?
Galaxy Map is rated higher. SPACE by THIX averages 3.7 out of 5 from 169 ratings, while Galaxy Map averages 4.6 from 600 ratings.
Do SPACE by THIX or Galaxy Map have ads?
Galaxy Map shows ads; SPACE by THIX does not.
Which is updated more often, SPACE by THIX or Galaxy Map?
SPACE by THIX ships an update every 2 months, and Galaxy Map every 5 weeks. Most recently, SPACE by THIX was updated on September 23, 2026 and Galaxy Map on September 24, 2026.

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