Comparison

Galaxy Map vs Magic Globe · Explore Earth

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

Head to head
About

Galaxy Map

Explore the cosmos with an interactive 3D planetarium. Journey to millions of stars, land on exoplanets, and delve into the mysteries of black holes and pulsars. Discover detailed information sourced from NASA and ESA.

Highlights
  • Interactive 3D space exploration
  • Land on exoplanets and moons
  • Explore gas giants
  • Venture near black holes and pulsars
  • Millions of stars and thousands of exoplanets
  • Daily updated exoplanet information
  • Multilingual support
Features
Read full description

Experience the captivating wonders of the cosmos with Galaxy Map - Stars and Planets, an interactive 3D planetarium powered by precise data obtained from NASA and ESA space missions. Delve into a profound expedition through the infinite expanse of space, where an abundance of knowledge is readily available, directly sourced from the forefront of groundbreaking space research. Traverse the vast expanse of the galaxy, soaring through the stardust as you journey to millions of stars. Land on alien planets and exomoons, where breathtaking landscapes and untold wonders await your arrival. Embrace the thrill of plunging into the turbulent atmospheres of gas giants to reach their elusive cores. This app includes both the "Galaxy Map" and "Stars and Planets" apps, with all their in-app purchases included (and future addons). Push the boundaries of exploration as you venture closer to black holes, pulsars and magnetars, where the laws of physics are stretched to their limits. With Galaxy Map - Stars and Planets, the entire universe becomes your playground, providing an unmatched platform for discovery and enlightenment. Features ▶ Immersive spacecraft simulation allowing users to fly to different planets and moons and explore the depths of gas giants ▶ Land on exoplanets and take command of a character, exploring the unique surfaces of these distant worlds ▶ Daily updated information on exoplanets from multiple sources, eliminating the need for manual application updates ▶ Extensive online database encompassing approximately 7.85 million stars, over 7500 exoplanets, 205 circumstellar disks, 32868 black holes, 3344 pulsars and over 150 moons in our Solar System (plus exomoons) ▶ Comprehensive search system for efficient data retrieval of stellar and substellar objects ▶ Global accessibility with support for over 100 languages Data imported from various sources including: SIMBAD, The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopedia, NASA Exoplanet Archive, Planet Habitability Laboratory Join my discord server so you can see what new features are planned in the future or if you simply want to talk about space related stuff: https://discord.gg/dyeu3BR If you have a PC/Mac you can also access Stars and Planets from your browser here: https://galaxymap.net/webgl/index.html

About

Magic Globe · Explore Earth

Explore a 3D Earth with interactive features like spoken country introductions, fun facts, and landmark photos. This app offers hands-free gesture and voice control for an engaging, offline educational experience for children.

Highlights
  • Spinnable 3D globe with country facts
  • Hands-free gesture and voice control
  • Explore world landmarks
  • Discover sea creatures
  • Offline functionality
  • Bilingual (English/Chinese)
Features
Read full description

Magic Globe turns your iPhone or iPad into a beautiful, hands-on 3D Earth that curious kids can explore for hours — no ads, no in-app purchases, and completely offline. Spin the globe with a finger, or with hand gestures in the air, tap any country to hear a friendly introduction, and discover the amazing world we live in. WHAT'S INSIDE • A gorgeous spinnable 3D globe — 177 countries, each with a warm spoken introduction and fun facts • Hands-free gesture control — wave to spin, pinch to zoom, point to pick a country (front camera, all on-device) • Voice control — just say "take me to France" or "zoom in" • Realistic Earth mode — see the real deserts, forests, snow and oceans from space • 114 world landmarks — the Great Wall, the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower and more, each with a real photo • Ocean World — dive under the sea and meet 60 sea creatures, matched to the real ocean you tapped • Zoom in to see provinces and states with crisp borders • A little surprise when your child finds their own country • Fully bilingual — English and Chinese, with real voice narration in both MADE FOR KIDS, LOVED BY PARENTS • No ads, ever • No in-app purchases • No accounts, no sign-up • Collects no data and works completely offline • The camera is used only for hand gestures, on your device — nothing is recorded or shared Magic Globe is a calm, screen-time-worthy way for children to fall in love with geography, animals, and the wonders of our planet.

Screenshots

Galaxy Map4 screens
Magic Globe · Explore Earth4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Magic Globe · Explore Earth at $0.99 against Galaxy Map's $12.99. Magic Globe · Explore Earth also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly). Galaxy Map's advantage is ratings volume (70 vs 1). On ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Galaxy Map costs $12.99 and Magic Globe · Explore Earth $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Magic Globe · Explore Earth holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Galaxy Map has 70 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Galaxy Map ships an update monthly, Magic Globe · Explore Earth fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Galaxy Map versus Magic Globe · Explore Earth: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGalaxy MapMagic Globe · Explore Earth
Price$12.99$0.99 — better
Rating4.6 (70 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews84.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings70 — better1
Update frequencyMonthlyFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size836 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAndrei Nistorescu师兵 杜

Customer experience

Galaxy Map

All ratings70 ratings
Positive91.4%
Neutral2.9%
Negative5.7%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive84.4%
Neutral6.3%
Negative9.4%

Magic Globe · Explore Earth

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Galaxy Map

No in-app purchases

None

Magic Globe · Explore Earth

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Galaxy Map free?
Galaxy Map costs $12.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Magic Globe · Explore Earth free?
Magic Globe · Explore Earth costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Galaxy Map or Magic Globe · Explore Earth?
Magic Globe · Explore Earth is rated higher. Galaxy Map averages 4.6 out of 5 from 70 ratings, while Magic Globe · Explore Earth averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Galaxy Map or Magic Globe · Explore Earth have ads?
Neither Galaxy Map nor Magic Globe · Explore Earth shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Galaxy Map or Magic Globe · Explore Earth?
Galaxy Map ships an update monthly, and Magic Globe · Explore Earth fortnightly. Most recently, Galaxy Map was updated on November 2, 2026 and Magic Globe · Explore Earth on October 31, 2026.

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