Astro Pics vs Rocketwatchr
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Astro Pics
Explore stunning daily images of space with a beautiful photo viewer and automatic syncing across Apple devices. View breathtaking astronomy pictures on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch.
- Daily astronomy pictures
- Favorites syncing
- Apple Watch app
- New photo viewer
- Cross-device support
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*** Rated #1 Astronomy Picture of the Day app for iOS *** Meet the all new Astro Pics! Featuring a breathtaking new photo viewer and a redesigned Apple Watch app, powerful yet simple and delightful interactions, and automatic favorites syncing across your suite of iOS devices—the way it should be. Astro Pics is the best way to view Astronomy Picture of the Day on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch. Experience a new, breathtaking photo of our universe each day. ** FAVORITES SYNCING ** Experience your favorite Astronomy Picture by adding them to your favorites. And now you can enjoy your favorites across your suite of Apple devices featuring the all new automatic favorites sync. The way it should be. ** WATCH APP ** Explore Astro Pics on your Apple Watch and view the latest astronomy pictures on the go. Stay tuned for more updates! Astronomy Picture of the Day is a service of ASD at NASA/GSFC and Michigan Technological University
Rocketwatchr
Stay updated on all upcoming rocket launches from major space agencies and companies. Watch live streams, view detailed schedules, and receive customizable notifications for launches, delays, and mission outcomes.
- View live launch streams
- Upcoming launch schedules
- Customizable notifications
- Mission status updates
- Launch cancellation/delay alerts
- Mission success/failure notifications
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Keep track of upcoming rocket launches View live streams, schedule & get notified for launches and spaceflight events - SpaceX, NASA, Blue Origin, ISRO Features: • Access live streams of upcoming launches with one click! (when available) • View all upcoming launch schedules with times, status, mission information and much more. • CUSTOMIZABLE NOTIFICATIONS! -- Get notified for upcoming spaceflight events and rocket launches. -- Customize your notifications. Do you want to get notified a day before the launch? 30 minutes before the launch? 5 minutes? It's all possible. -- Get notifications when a mission is cancelled or delayed. -- Receive notifications when a mission succeeds or fails. -- All notifications can be toggled as per your preference.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Astro Pics at none against Rocketwatchr's shown. Astro Pics also leads on review sentiment (83% vs 50%) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 69 months). Rocketwatchr's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (88 vs 7). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Astro Pics sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Rocketwatchr sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Rocketwatchr holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rocketwatchr has 88 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 83% of Astro Pics's written reviews are positive against 50% of Rocketwatchr's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Astro Pics ships an update every 5 weeks, Rocketwatchr every 69 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Astro Pics | Rocketwatchr |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (7 ratings) | 4.6 (88 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 83.3% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 88 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 69 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Type440 LLC | Inderjot Singh |
Customer experience
Astro Pics
Rocketwatchr
In-app purchases
Astro Pics
- AstroPics Premium$2.99
Rocketwatchr
- Remove all ads$6.99
