Orbitrack vs SkySafari 7 Pro
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Orbitrack
Explore thousands of satellites in orbit with this augmented and virtual reality spaceflight simulator. Visualize spacecraft, track their paths, and learn about their missions with detailed 3D models and real-time data. Experience space from a new perspective.
- Augmented and Virtual Reality modes
- Track over 5000 spacecraft
- Detailed 3D satellite models
- Voice-controlled VR
- Radio frequency data for amateur satellites
- Real-time satellite data updates
- Time Flow controls
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Orbitrack is a brand-new, Augmented-and-Virtual-Reality satellite tracker and spaceflight simulator! It's your pocket guide to the thousands of spacecraft in orbit around our home planet. 1) More than 16,000 spacecraft, including all active satellites, classified military satellites, the International Space Station, and SpaceX's Starlink communication satellites. 2) Rich new graphics, rewritten using Apple's Metal graphics API, show atmospheric effects, city lights on Earth’s night side, and highly-detailed 3D satellite models. 3) Voice-controlled Virtual Reality mode that works with any smartphone VR viewer. iPhone only. 4) A true "augmented reality" mode that helps you find satellites in the sky by blending the sky chart with video from your phone's camera. Works with Orbit and Satellite views too! 5) Radio frequency data for amateur radio satellites. 6) Updated descriptions for hundreds of spacecraft. Every satellite now has a description from n2yo.com. 7) Supports the latest Apple hardware and software: iPhone 13, iPad Pro, and iOS 15. Check the Mac App Store for our MacOS version! 8) Requires at least iPhone 6 or iPad Air with 64-bit processor and iOS 12 or later. 9) New sound effects and ambient background music. 10) New Time Flow controls let you easily set the date and time, and animate the view. If you're new to Orbitrack, here's what it can do: • Track thousands of satellites. Orbitrack will tell you when spacecraft pass overhead, show you where to find them in the sky, and let you track them across the planet. • Teach you about the International Space Station, Starlink, and hundreds of other satellites in orbit, with comprehensive mission descriptions. • Show the view from any satellite, and see the Earth from orbit just as the “bird” sees it! Orbitrack includes detailed 3D models for dozens of satellites – see them up close from any angle! • Stay on top of the space race. Orbitrack updates its satellite data from n2yo.com and celestrak.com every hour. When new spacecraft are launched, maneuver into new orbits, or fall back into the atmosphere, Orbitrack shows you what’s happening up there, right now. Orbitrack isn’t just powerful – it’s incredibly easy to use! You don’t need an aerospace degree to become an expert satellite tracker. Orbitrack puts advanced capabilities at your fingertips, with the same intuitive touch interface you use every day. The new VR mode is an out-of-this-world experience. Become an astronaut without ever leaving Planet Earth! And if that’s not enough, Orbitrack includes detailed, built-in Help – and expert, responsive technical support.
SkySafari 7 Pro
Explore the night sky with an extensive astronomy database and advanced planning tools. Discover astronomical events, control your telescope, and connect with other stargazers in real-time.
- Extensive celestial object database
- Advanced event finder
- Telescope control (ASCOM Alpaca, INDI, StarSense)
- Real-time social stargazing (OneSky)
- Guided sky tours (SkyCast)
- Observation planning and logging
- Home and lock screen widgets
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SkySafari makes stargazing a simple pleasure. It has the largest database of any astronomy app, includes every comet, asteroid, satellite & solar system object ever discovered, offers unparalleled accuracy, advanced planning and logging tools, flawless telescope control, and provides the very best experience under the stars when you depend on it. Don’t postpone joy. Discover why SkySafari is the #1 recommended astronomy app for serious amateur astronomers since 2009. Here's what’s new in version 7: + Complete support for iOS 18 and iPhone 16. Version 7 brings a new and immersive stargazing experience. + Events Finder - go to the new Events section to unlock a powerful search engine that finds astronomical events visible tonight and far into the future. The finder dynamically generates a listing of moon phases, eclipses, planetary moon events, meteor showers and planetary phenomenon such as conjunctions, elongations and oppositions. + Notifications - the notifications section has been completely revamped to allow you to customize and manage which events trigger an alert notification on your device. + Telescope Support - telescope control is at the heart of SkySafari. Version 7 takes a giant leap forward by supporting ASCOM Alpaca, INDI & StarSense Explorer. These next generation control protocols allow you to effortlessly connect to hundreds of compatible astronomical devices. SkySafari 7 brings social stargazing to mobile devices with two new features to help you connect with other like minded people. OneSky - allows you to see what other users are observing, in real time. This feature highlights objects in the sky chart and indicates with a number how many users are observing a particular object. SkyCast - allows you to guide a friend or group around the night sky through their own copy of SkySafari. After initiating SkyCast, you can generate a link and conveniently share it with other SkySafari users via text message, apps or social media accounts. + Sky Tonight - jump to the new Tonight section to see what’s visible in your sky tonight. Expanded information has been designed to help plan your night and includes Moon & Sun info, calendar curations, events and the best positioned deep sky and solar system objects. + Improved Observation Tools - SkySafari is the perfect tool to help you plan, record and organize your observations. New workflows make it easier to add, search, filter and sort data. + Home Screen and Lock Screen Widgets keep your favorite astro information at your fingertips. The Small Touches: + You can now edit the Jupiter GRS Longitude Value in the Settings. + Better Moon Age calculation. + New grid & reference options allow you to display Solstice and Equinox markers, Orbit + Node markers for all solar system objects, and tick marks and labels for the Ecliptic, Meridian, and Equator reference lines. + Previous In-app Purchases are Now Free - this includes the H-R diagram, 3D Galaxy view, and the PGC galaxy and GAIA star catalogs. Enjoy. + Many more. If you haven't used SkySafari 7 Pro before, here's what you can do with it: + Hold your device up, and SkySafari 7 Pro will find stars, constellations, planets, and more! + Simulate the night sky up to 5MM years in the past or future! Animate meteor showers, conjunctions, eclipses, and other celestial events. + Control your telescope, log and plan your observations. + Optionally backup all of your observing data in our secure cloud storage and make it easily accessible to multiple devices as well as from our new web interface, LiveSky.com. + Augmented Reality (AR) mode + Night Vision. + Orbit Mode. Leave the Earth’s surface behind, and fly through our solar system. + Galaxy View shows the position of deep sky objects in our Milky Way! https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ https://www.livesky.com/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Orbitrack at $4.99 against SkySafari 7 Pro's $17.99. Orbitrack also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 5) and review sentiment (76% vs 45%). SkySafari 7 Pro's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (5.4K vs 962). On rating, ads 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
Orbitrack costs $4.99 and SkySafari 7 Pro $17.99 up front. SkySafari 7 Pro sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Orbitrack asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Orbitrack against 4.6 for SkySafari 7 Pro. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SkySafari 7 Pro has 5.4K ratings behind it against 962, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of Orbitrack's written reviews are positive against 45% of SkySafari 7 Pro's.
Orbitrack ships an update every 4 months, SkySafari 7 Pro every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Orbitrack | SkySafari 7 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 — better | $17.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (962 ratings) — better | 4.6 (5.4K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 75.6% of reviews — better | 45.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 962 | 5.4K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #64 — better | #194 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 14.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 138 MB | 2.4 GB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Southern Stars Group, LLC | Simulation Curriculum Corp. |
Customer experience
Orbitrack
SkySafari 7 Pro
User reviews
Orbitrack
From 962 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great features
- 👍 User-friendly
- 💡 Innovative tracking
- 🔍 Detailed satellite information
- 🌍 Realistic Earth and sky views
Room to improve
- 🤑 Paid app
- 🐛 Occasional crashes
- 🔊 Annoying music
- 🗺️ Outdated satellite data
- 🔍 Inaccurate magnitude estimates
SkySafari 7 Pro
From 5.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent observational tool
- 🌟 Powerful and indispensable app
- 👍 Great app, easy to use
- 🔭 Wonderful planetarium app
- 💻 Best mobile tool for telescope control
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashes upon opening
- 🌍 Lack of Southern Hemisphere support
- 🔍 Complicated interface, not user-friendly
- 🔌 Crashes too often
- 💰 Pay even more for additional features
Bugs and requests
Orbitrack
Reported bugs
4 issues- Motion tracking issues
- Stuck on old date
- Accelerometer not working
- Satellite positions not accurate
Requested features
5 requests- Sort by magnitude feature
- Favorite satellites option
- Customizable field of view
- Notifications for visible passes
- Metric/imperial toggle
SkySafari 7 Pro
Reported bugs
5 issues- Free database downloads fail to complete
- Telescope button crashes the app
- Time settings spontaneously reset
- Observing list crashes the app
- Field of view indicators not working
Requested features
5 requests- Add ability to quickly edit light form
- Allow custom horizon mask input
- Include surface brightness data for extended objects
- Add transit altitude information for objects
- Improve object search with fuzzy matching
In-app purchases
Orbitrack
No in-app purchases
SkySafari 7 Pro
- SkySafari Premium Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- SkySafari Premium7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- PGC Galaxy DatabaseFree
- GAIA Star DatabaseFree
- Apollo Lunar MissionsFree
Questions
Is Orbitrack free?
Is SkySafari 7 Pro free?
Which has better reviews, Orbitrack or SkySafari 7 Pro?
Do Orbitrack or SkySafari 7 Pro have ads?
Which is updated more often, Orbitrack or SkySafari 7 Pro?
Which is more popular, Orbitrack or SkySafari 7 Pro?
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