APOD vs Planets AR
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
APOD
Access NASA's daily astronomy images and explanations from professional astronomers. Explore stunning visuals of the universe, save your favorites, and share them with others.
- Daily NASA astronomy pictures
- Brief explanations by astronomers
- Access to the entire collection
- Save photos to device
- Share images with friends
- Explore the universe
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The starry sky, space, infinite universe! What fascinates and doesn't leave anyone indifferent. Astronomy Picture of the Day is a project, in which every day NASA publishes an amazing image of our fascinating universe along with a brief explanation written by professional astronomers. APOD Mobile provides comfortable and easy access to the collection, to something that fascinates and mysterious in one click. Save photos to your photo roll or share them with friends. Explore our beautiful universe with APOD. New inspiration every day! Please, check out the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use: Privacy Policy: https://apod.ai/privacyPolicy Terms of Use: https://apod.ai/termsOfUse
Planets AR
Explore the solar system in augmented reality, bringing planets and their orbits to life. Discover detailed facts and high-definition surface images for each celestial body. Witness the dynamic movement of planets rotating and revolving around the sun.
- Augmented reality solar system visualization
- Planet orbits and rotation simulation
- Detailed planet facts
- High-definition planet surface images
- Full solar system view
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Explore the solar system in 3D, or place the planets in your room with augmented reality. Discover what makes each world different through guided activities, comparisons and curated facts. • Explore the Sun, eight planets, Earth's Moon and Pluto • Discover facts about orbits, surfaces, atmospheres and moons • Compare the size and distance of two worlds • Ask questions about a world on supported devices • Enjoy the 3D viewer with or without augmented reality Start exploring for free. Unlock all worlds and features with a one-time purchase. No subscription. Fact and comparison sources: Sun: https://science.nasa.gov/sun/facts/ Mercury: https://science.nasa.gov/mercury/facts/ Venus: https://science.nasa.gov/venus/venus-facts/ Earth: https://science.nasa.gov/earth/facts/ Moon: https://science.nasa.gov/moon/facts/ Mars: https://science.nasa.gov/mars/facts/ Jupiter: https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter-facts/ Saturn: https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/facts/ Uranus: https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/facts/ Neptune: https://science.nasa.gov/neptune/neptune-facts/ Pluto: https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/pluto/facts/ Planet measurements: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/ Enceladus: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/cassini/science/enceladus/ Challenger Deep: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/pacific-islands/habitat-conservation/marianas-trench-marine-national-monument
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: APOD at every 3 weeks against Planets AR's every 40 months. APOD also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (1.2K vs 78). Planets AR's advantage is review sentiment (86% vs 63%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. APOD sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Planets AR sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
APOD holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: APOD has 1.2K ratings behind it against 78, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 63% of APOD's written reviews are positive against 86% of Planets AR's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
APOD ships an update every 3 weeks, Planets AR every 40 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | APOD | Planets AR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.2K ratings) — better | 4.5 (78 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 62.9% of reviews | 85.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K — better | 78 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 40 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 76 MB | 120 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Vibes LLC | Darren Tracey |
Customer experience
APOD
Planets AR
Bugs and requests
APOD
Reported bugs
3 issues- Photos not displaying correctly
- App crashing or freezing
- Sync/update issues
Requested features
4 requests- Search function for past photos
- Ability to save/download photos
- Improved photo captions and descriptions
- Option to change user profile/settings
Planets AR
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
APOD
- Subscribe Monthly$2.991 Month
- Subscribe Yearly3 Days trial$19.991 Year
- APOD$5.99
- Lifetime$49.99
Planets AR
- Unlock all features$4.99
