Comparison

Classic Sky Map 2 vs Stellarium Mobile

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

Head to head
About

Classic Sky Map 2

Explore the cosmos with an intuitive and beautiful sky map. Easily identify stars, planets, and constellations by simply pointing your device at the sky. Track celestial events and understand astronomical movements with time-lapse features.

Highlights
  • Live sky tracking
  • Interactive earth map
  • Time-lapse sky simulation
  • Beautiful constellation art
  • Celestial object search
  • Night vision mode
Features
Read full description

Ever wonder why so many astronomy apps are so hard to use? We do. So we made Classic Sky Map simple and intuitive enough for anyone to enjoy. The user interface is beautiful and straightforward, the controls are easy to use and most settings are just a tap or two away. Classic Sky Map shows you thousands of the brightest stars, the Moon, planets, constellations, meteor showers and more. And it's painless. Free Features: - Live Tracking. Simply point your device toward the stars and the sky map aligns itself automatically, showing you the portion of the sky at which you are looking. If your device has a compass, Classic Sky Map uses it automatically. If not, you can tell Classic Sky Map where the North is, and it aligns the sky map accordingly. - Live Earth Map. Quickly jump from one city to another by tapping on a map that shows the Earth's day and night boundary in real-time. If you allow it, Classic Sky Map can detect your current location automatically. You can also create custom viewing locations in seconds. - Fast Forward and Rewind. Accelerate or reverse time to understand how stars and planets appear to move in the sky over a longer period of time. - Beautiful Constellation Images. We put a tremendous amount of work into creating beautiful constellation images inspired by antique engravings and aligning them precisely with the stars. - Sharing. Share snapshots of the sky map with your friends at the tap of a button. - Quick Help. Should you have any questions while using Classic Sky Map, a concise, illustrated user guide will help answer them quickly. Full Version Features (In-App Purchase): - Interactive Search. Simply type in a search field, pick an object from a list of matches, then point your device toward the sky. An arrow appears and guides you until you are pointing your device toward the object you selected. If the object is not yet visible in the sky, its next rise time is displayed. - Sky Events. Classic Sky Map shows a list of current sky events such as meteor showers, eclipses and more and helps you quickly locate them in the sky. - Night Vision. Classic Sky Map's night vision mode helps minimize loss of dark adaptation. And we went the extra mile to make it look great in cyan, orange or red. - Extra Information. Tooltips and an information panel show details about stars, planets, the Moon, meteor showers and more. - Personalization Options. Personalize your sky map by turning various guides and display options on or off. Have fun!

About

Stellarium Mobile

Explore the night sky with a real-time planetarium. Identify stars, planets, constellations, and satellites by simply pointing your phone. Offers detailed astronomical data and cultural constellation interpretations.

Highlights
  • Real-time sky simulation
  • Identify stars, planets, satellites
  • Constellation shapes and illustrations
  • Deep sky object catalog
  • Night mode for eye comfort
  • Telescope control (Plus)
Features
Currently charting
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Stellarium Mobile is a planetarium app that shows exactly what you see when you look up at the stars. Identify stars, constellations, planets, comets, satellites (such as the ISS), and other deep sky objects in real time in the sky above you in just a few seconds, just by pointing the phone at the sky! This astronomy application has an easy to use and minimalist user interface, that makes it one of the best astronomical applications for adults and children who want to explore the night sky. Stellarium Mobile features: • View an accurate night sky simulation of stars and planets for any date, time and location. • Dive in a collection of many stars, nebulas, galaxies, star clusters and other deep sky objects. • Zoom on realistic Milky Way and Deep Sky Objects images. • Discover how people living in other regions of the planet see the stars by selecting the shapes and illustrations of the constellations for many sky cultures. • Track artificial satellites, including the International Space Station. • Simulate landscape and atmosphere with realistic sunrise, sunset and atmosphere refraction. • Discover 3D rendering of the major solar system planets and their satellites. • Observe the sky in night mode (red) to preserve your eyes adaptation to darkness. Stellarium Mobile contains in-app purchases allowing to upgrade to Stellarium Plus. With this upgrade, the app will display objects as faint as magnitude 22 (versus magnitude 8 in the base version) and enable advanced observing features. Stellarium Plus features (unlocked with in-app purchase): • Reach the limit of knowledge by diving in a massive collection of stars, nebulas, galaxies, star clusters and other deep sky objects:   - All known stars: Gaia DR2 catalog of over 1.69 billion stars   - All known planets, natural satellites and comets, and many other minor solar system objects (10k asteroids)   - Most known deep sky objects: a combined catalog of over 2 million nebulas and galaxies • Zoom almost without limits on high resolution images of deep sky objects or planetary surfaces. • Observe in the field, even without internet connection, with a "reduced" set of data: 2 million stars, 2 million Deep Sky Objects, 10k asteroids. • Control your telescope through WIFI: drive any GOTO telescope compatible with NexStar, SynScan or LX200 protocols. • Prepare your observing sessions using the advanced observation tools, to predict a celestial object observability and transit times. Stellarium Mobile is made by the original creator of Stellarium, the well known open source planetarium and one of the best astronomy applications on Desktop PC. Your can unlock the full features using either a one time payment or a subscription. See In-App Purchase section for the subscription price available in your country. Payment will be charged to your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless cancelled 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. Auto renewal may be turned off at any time by going to your account settings after purchases. Terms of service: https://stellarium-labs.com/stellarium-mobile-plus/stellarium-mobile-terms-of-use Privacy policy: https://www.stellarium-labs.com/privacy-policy-for-stellarium-mobile

Screenshots

Classic Sky Map 24 screens
Stellarium Mobile4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Stellarium Mobile at every 5 weeks against Classic Sky Map 2's every 16 months. Stellarium Mobile also leads on chart position (#107 vs unranked) and review sentiment (84% vs 76%). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Classic Sky Map 2 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Stellarium Mobile sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Classic Sky Map 2 against 4.8 for Stellarium Mobile. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9.8K and 39K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of Classic Sky Map 2's written reviews are positive against 84% of Stellarium Mobile's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Classic Sky Map 2 ships an update every 16 months, Stellarium Mobile every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 27, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Classic Sky Map 2 versus Stellarium Mobile: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClassic Sky Map 2Stellarium Mobile
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (9.8K ratings)4.8 (39K ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.9% of reviews84.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9.8K39K — better
Update frequencyEvery 16 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#107 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617 — better
Further details — not scored
Size69 MB456 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperX04 Studios Inc.Noctua Software Ltd

Customer experience

Classic Sky Map 2

All ratings8,890 ratings
Positive94.0%
Neutral3.2%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews170 reviews
Positive75.9%
Neutral4.1%
Negative20.0%

Stellarium Mobile

All ratings38,274 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral1.7%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews620 reviews
Positive84.4%
Neutral5.6%
Negative10.0%

User reviews

Classic Sky Map 2

From 9.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Straightforward and not cluttered with ads
  • 🌟 Excellent for stargazing and learning about the night sky
  • 🌍 Helpful ground references for locating celestial objects
  • 🎓 Great educational tool for young astronomers

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional calibration and alignment issues
  • 🔍 Limited information on stars beyond just names
  • 🌌 Can't see below the horizon
  • 🗺️ Clumsy and unintuitive navigation at times
  • 🔍 Small viewing area that makes it hard to see all the stars

Stellarium Mobile

From 39K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Fabulous star tracking
  • 🌌 Detailed night sky information
  • 🔭 Helpful for stargazing and astronomy
  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 🌍 Accurate for different locations

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
  • 🔍 Difficulty finding some objects
  • 🌓 Inaccurate moon/planet positions in daylight
  • 🔧 Calibration issues with compass
  • 💰 Paid version may not justify the cost

Bugs and requests

Classic Sky Map 2

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Compass bearing is inaccurate
  • Active tracking no longer works
  • App becomes unusable after certain updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add information on comets, meteor showers, and other space events
  • Provide an option to only show visible stars
  • Improve search functionality to find planets, moons, and other objects not currently in the sky
  • Offer a live tracking mode that updates in real-time

Stellarium Mobile

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Compass not working properly
  • Favorites list disappearing
  • Inconsistent performance on different devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Notifications for astronomical events
  • More customization options
  • Integration with camera for AR overlay
  • Better support for telescopes and mounts
  • Improved search and navigation

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Classic Sky Map 2

One-time1
  • Full Version$2.99
2 purchases

Stellarium Mobile

Subscriptions1
  • Stellarium PLUS7 Days trial$1.991 Month
One-time1
  • Stellarium PLUS$18.99

Questions

Is Classic Sky Map 2 free?
Classic Sky Map 2 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Stellarium Mobile free?
Stellarium Mobile is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Classic Sky Map 2 or Stellarium Mobile?
Stellarium Mobile is rated higher. Classic Sky Map 2 averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9.8K ratings, while Stellarium Mobile averages 4.8 from 39K ratings.
Do Classic Sky Map 2 or Stellarium Mobile have ads?
Neither Classic Sky Map 2 nor Stellarium Mobile shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Classic Sky Map 2 or Stellarium Mobile?
Classic Sky Map 2 ships an update every 16 months, and Stellarium Mobile every 5 weeks. Most recently, Classic Sky Map 2 was updated on October 27, 2026 and Stellarium Mobile on October 27, 2026.

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