Comparison

CamSextant vs Celestial Nav

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

Head to head
About

CamSextant

This app functions as a celestial navigation tool, enabling users to take altitude measurements of celestial bodies using their phone. It provides real-time star and planet identification, automatic astronomical position calculations, and a perpetual nautical almanac.

Highlights
  • Celestial object altitude measurement
  • Real-time star and planet identification
  • Automatic astronomical position calculation
  • Perpetual nautical almanac
  • Audio star name and altitude announcement
  • Horizon calibration
Read full description

CamSextant is the easiest celestial navigation tool. It allows taking altitudes of celestial objects, using your phone as a sextant. It is a complete celestial navigation solution, with instrument, nautical almanac and celestial calculator. Point a celestial object and tap the image to capture the altitude and time. Stars and planets shown on screen in real time. Show constellation names and lines. Identify planets and navigation stars (from Hipparchus 150 catalog). The program can also speak the star names and altitudes (audio). Astronomic Position (AP) is automatically calculated once you have two sights. Calculate your astronomical position with less than 10 clicks. Perpetual nautical almanac using Astronomical Algorithms ( book by J. Meeus). If you take altitude observations of the same object, the average time/altitude are shown. You can calibrate the sextant horizon by reading the sea horizon altitude. Note that the phone is more like a bubble sextant: you don't need the sea horizon to use CamSextant. Anyway, click [Calibrate] button to save the correction. Calibration angle is subtracted from raw sensor reading. If you have a marine sextant at hand, you can edit the altitudes captured by the phone and get serious celestial navigation work done. Translations for en, es, fr, it, pt ( program texts and voice ) For more information check: http://www.tecepe.com.br/nav/CamSextant/

About

Celestial Nav

This app provides tools for celestial navigation, offering computations for celestial bodies and sight reductions. It includes an offline perpetual almanac and allows for quick capture of observation data for accurate course adjustments.

Highlights
  • Celestial navigational computations
  • Offline perpetual almanac
  • Quick celestial observation data capture
  • High accuracy sight reductions
  • Sight planning and reduction tools
  • Celestial fix computations
Features
Read full description

We believe celestial navigation is an amazing skill and develop Celestial Nav to offer a simple, yet powerful and all encompassing app for our users. Celestial Nav is an easy to use, all-in-one tool which offers: • Celestial navigational computations for your device • Simple toolbar menu for quick access • Internally stored perpetual Almanac • Offline ready and functional without the need for other external tools • Quick and easy capture celestial observation data • High accuracy sight reductions • Star reference tables SIGHT PLANNING • Local Hour Angle (LHA) for Aries • Star tables sorted by name, magnitude, declination, and SHA • Sunrise, sunset, twilight, and location reference • Moon phase reference SIGHT REDUCTION • High accuracy sight reduction algorithm • Perpetual Almanac offering accurate data for years 1600 - 3000 • Almanac data for Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn • Detailed Almanac data for 58 navigational stars • Assumed Position (AP) for any user defined position • Line of Position (LOP) intercept data for accurate course and speed adjustments • Computational variables displayed for accuracy and validation CELESTIAL FIX • Computations by USNO algorithm in the Nautical Almanac • Save all your LOP in an easy reference table BASIC VERSION Free daytime celestial navigation tools using the sun: • Unlimited sextant sight reduction calculations • Sight reduction to a line of position using the sun • Perpetual almanac for the sun • Advanced sight corrections for index error, eye height, temperature, and pressure • Support for upper and lower limb reference • Star Table with navigational references • Detailed Sun references • Limited Moon references PRO FEATURES (IN-APP PURCHASE) Advanced Day & Night Celestial Navigation includes all BASIC features plus: • Almanac data for 65 navigational bodies for years 1600 through 3000 • Map display for saved LOPs • View intercepts with course and speed corrections • Metric and imperial unit support with automatic conversions • Support for coordinate entries in different formats (H° M’ S” or Decimals) • Save all your LOP calculations for future reference • Save user preferences and settings • Unrestricted moon references • Almanac and algorithmic models for 65 navigational bodies: • Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn • 58 navigational stars Supported stars: Acamar, Achernar, Acrux, Adhara, Aldebaran, Alioth, Alkaid, Alnair, Alnilam, Alphard, Alphecca, Alpheratz, Altair, Ankaa, Antares, Arcturus, Atria, Avior, Bellatrix, Betelgeuse, Canopus, Capella, Deneb, Denebola, Diphda, Dubhe, Elnath, Eltanin, Enif, Fomalhaut, Gacrux, Gienah, Hadar, Hamal, Kaus Australis, Kochab, Markab, Menkar, Menkent, Miaplacidus, Mirfak, Nunki, Peacock, Polaris, Pollux, Procyon, Rasalhague, Regulus, Rigel, Rigil Kent., Sabik, Schedar, Shaula, Sirius, Spica, Suhail, Vega, Zubengenubi REFERENCES Sight reductions and celestial calculations use various internationally accepted references for the most accurate results: • Jean Meeus - Astronomical Algorithms • US Naval Observatory (USNO) Almanac and Algorithms • Hipparcos New Astrometric Catalog, Published 2007 • ELP2000-85 SUBSCRIPTION TERMS Celestial Nav is free to download and the basic features free to use. A paid upgrade to the PRO version provides access to premium features and additional tools. We may offer trial subscriptions that give limited time access to all PRO features and premium content for the duration of the trial period. Trial subscriptions automatically expire and the app will revert back to the Basic version thereafter. No data is lost but access and use of premium features will no longer be available.

Screenshots

CamSextant4 screens
Celestial Nav4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: CamSextant at none against Celestial Nav's 6. CamSextant also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). Celestial Nav's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months) and review sentiment (64% vs 50%). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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

Both are free to download. Celestial Nav sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. CamSextant asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for CamSextant against 4.3 for Celestial Nav. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 10 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of CamSextant's written reviews are positive against 64% of Celestial Nav's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CamSextant ships an update every 5 months, Celestial Nav every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
CamSextant versus Celestial Nav: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCamSextantCelestial Nav
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (6 ratings) — better4.3 (10 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews64.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings610 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOmar reisSkytip LLC

Customer experience

CamSextant

All ratings6 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral16.7%
Negative33.3%

Celestial Nav

All ratings10 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive64.3%
Neutral7.1%
Negative28.6%

In-app purchases

None

CamSextant

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Celestial Nav

Subscriptions3
  • PRO Version$1.991 Month
  • PRO Version$7.996 Months
  • PRO Version$9.991 Year
One-time3
  • 7 Day Trial License$0.99
  • 30 Day Trial License$2.99
  • PRO Version Lifetime$24.99

Questions

Is CamSextant free?
CamSextant is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Celestial Nav free?
Celestial Nav is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, CamSextant or Celestial Nav?
CamSextant is rated higher. CamSextant averages 4.3 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Celestial Nav averages 4.3 from 10 ratings.
Do CamSextant or Celestial Nav have ads?
Neither CamSextant nor Celestial Nav shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CamSextant or Celestial Nav?
CamSextant ships an update every 5 months, and Celestial Nav every 3 weeks. Most recently, CamSextant was updated on September 23, 2026 and Celestial Nav on October 1, 2026.

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