Comparison

Galaxy Map vs Planet Pointer

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

Planet Pointer

Features
Read full description

Planet Pointer turns your phone into a pocket sky guide. Pick one target — a planet, a star, a constellation, a satellite or a deep-sky object — and an on-screen arrow guides you until your phone is aimed right at it. Or point the camera at something you don't recognise and let the app tell you what it is. Simple, focused, and accurate. POINT AT THE SKY Choose what you want to find and follow the guide arrow. When you're locked on target, the phone confirms with a gentle vibration. The live camera view helps you line up the guide with the real sky. WHAT'S THAT? IDENTIFY MODE Point the camera at anything in the sky and tap it to identify it. A phone compass is only accurate to about 5°, so the app never hands you a confident answer it cannot back up: you get the most likely object with a match percentage, plus anything else near enough to be a real possibility. Ask which star that is and get an honest answer instead of a guess. WHAT YOU CAN FIND - The Sun, the Moon and all 7 planets - 33 of the brightest named stars - All 88 constellations, drawn as connect-the-dots figures over the live sky - Deep sky: nebulae, galaxies and star clusters — Orion, Andromeda, the Pleiades and more - Live satellites — including the ISS, Hubble, Starlink and more — tracked in real time with upcoming pass predictions ACCURATE & OFFLINE Positions are calculated on your device using a precise astronomy engine, with true-north correction from the World Magnetic Model. No internet needed for the core features. MORE TO EXPLORE - Sky Events (Pro): eclipses, meteor showers, planet conjunctions and the next ISS pass — tap to jump there - Time Travel (Pro): shift the sky forward or back in time to see where everything will be - Info cards with facts, figures and mythology for every body and constellation - Favourites, brightness/magnitude data, and a search you can filter to "visible now" SPEAKS YOUR LANGUAGE 13 languages built in, and 66 more available to download with Pro — 79 in all, with translated planet, star and constellation names. BUILT FOR STARGAZING - Night-vision red mode to protect your dark-adapted eyes - Spoken sky: hear your target and aim guidance read aloud - Choose km or miles, set your location manually, and more FREE & PRO Free, forever: the camera pointer, the Sun, the Moon and all 7 planets, identify mode for the planets, and a few famous stars, constellations, deep-sky objects and satellites to try. Planet Pointer Pro is a single one-time purchase — no subscription — that unlocks every star, constellation, deep-sky object and satellite, Time Travel, Sky Events, unlimited favourites, the full night-vision options and every language download. PRIVACY FIRST No account. No ads. No trackers. Your location and camera are used only on your device to point you at the sky — they're never recorded or sent anywhere. Look up. Point. Find it.

Screenshots

Galaxy Map4 screens
Planet Pointer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Planet Pointer at Free against Galaxy Map's $12.99. Planet Pointer also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 weeks). Galaxy Map's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). On ads and iOS requirement 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

Planet Pointer is free to download; Galaxy Map costs $12.99 up front. Planet Pointer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Galaxy Map asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Galaxy Map ships an update every 5 weeks, Planet Pointer every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Galaxy Map versus Planet Pointer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGalaxy MapPlanet Pointer
Price$12.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (70 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews84.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings70 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size841 MB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAndrei NistorescuHaviv Tarazi

In-app purchases

None

Galaxy Map

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Planet Pointer

One-time1
  • Planet Pointer Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Galaxy Map free?
Galaxy Map costs $12.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Planet Pointer free?
Planet Pointer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Galaxy Map or Planet Pointer have ads?
Neither Galaxy Map nor Planet Pointer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Galaxy Map or Planet Pointer?
Galaxy Map ships an update every 5 weeks, and Planet Pointer every 2 days. Most recently, Galaxy Map was updated on October 21, 2026 and Planet Pointer on October 12, 2026.

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