Astrospheric vs Ask Cloudman
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Astrospheric
This app offers advanced weather forecasting and astronomical data for stargazers and astrophotographers. It provides detailed hourly forecasts, cloud and sky transparency reports, and alerts for celestial events. It also includes tools for astronomical societies and offline site setup.
- 84-hour hourly weather forecast
- Ensemble cloud forecast
- Kp index for Aurora
- ISS flyover paths
- Integrated smoke forecast
- Sky and ground data
- Rise and set times
- Solar and Lunar eclipse data
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Astrospheric provides advanced weather tools for professional astronomers and astrophotographers, and supports hundreds of astronomical societies with tools that help members stay connected. Are you using what the pros use? Features • 84 hour, hour-by-hour forecast • Free notification reminders for major astronomical events • Ensemble cloud forecast lets you quickly compare the major forecast models with hourly updates (Astrospheric Pro) • Extended cloud forecast • Kp index for Aurora viewing (and alerts with Pro) • International Space Station (ISS) flyover paths and times • Astrospheric is the only astronomy service that integrates the smoke forecast into the transparency report • Sky data: cloud, sky transparency, seeing • Ground data: wind, temperature, and humidity • Precise rise and set times for both the sun and moon • Get weather alerts when conditions meeting your requirements are met (Astrospheric Pro) • Details Solar and Lunar eclipse data Astronomical Societies • Stay connected with chat, image sharing, and event planning with all of your members. • Qualifying astronomical societies can get Pro features for all of their members Site Mode • Information necessary to quickly set up your GOTO tracking mount • Available even if you don’t have a network connection Astrospheric Professional is now available to enable Weather Alerts, Ensemble cloud forecast, and more! • Astrospheric Professional is billed monthly or yearly and will auto-renew unless turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current subscription period. The renewal cost will be the same as the initial sign-up cost of the subscription. Any changes in cost will be communicated before renewal takes place. • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • Subscriptions may be managed by you and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the your Account Settings after purchase. A link to these settings is made available within Astrospheric "My Profile" for easy access. • The terms of use and privacy policy may be found at https://www.astrospheric.com/privacypolicy.php, purchasing a subscription shows agreement to these terms. PLEASE NOTE: Weather data is not available for Hawaii due to the domain area covered by the Canadian Meteorological Center. However, satellite and light pollution map layers, as well as other features will work in Hawaii. More information on Astrospherics forecast domain can be found here: https://www.astrospheric.com/dynamiccontent/datadomain.html
Ask Cloudman
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Meet Cloudman. Ask him the questions a forecast can't answer. Most weather apps hand you a grid of numbers and leave the thinking to you. Cloudman does the thinking. He reads the forecast for where you are and dresses for it — one glance at what he's wearing and you know: tee, hoodie, puffy, parka, raincoat. Then you ask him the rest. ASK, DON'T SCROLL "What should I wear?" "Need a coat tonight?" "Best beach day this week?" He answers in a sentence, in plain words. When you ask, the day folds into his pocket and the conversation has the screen; tap him to come home. HE DRESSES FOR IT Cloudman changes outfits when you should. His verdict for the day is one line, and he'll say when it flips — tee till four, hoodie for the ride home. Tap him and he texts you the day in three lines, the third one about what you told him matters. ON YOUR HOME SCREEN The widget wears the weather. The temperature, where the day goes, and Cloudman dressed for it — no app to open. Add it from Settings; he'll walk you through it. THE BEST DAY FOR IT Beach, hike, the weekend — ask which day and he scores the week and names the one, with the hour. ANYWHERE "Check weather in Monterey" hands you a card for there. "Heading to Tahoe Friday" gets a trip brief with the clock at both ends. THE DAY, HONESTLY Tap the Today card: the day as columns you can scrub, feels-like, wind and gusts, rain by the hour, UV, sunrise and sunset. The week in one row a day, with what stands out. WHERE THE SUN IS The Nearby map shows the readings around you, hour by hour, so on a foggy morning you can see which neighbourhood is warm — tap a place to look closer. HE LEARNS YOUR MORNINGS Tell him what matters — the run, the school gate, Friday's bike — and he brings it up when the weather does. FRIDAYS, A POEM Once a week he writes your neighbourhood three lines — about the fog on the hill, the bus that sighs, the sun by one — never a temperature. Tap the card, watch him write, share the page. °F OR °C Every degree in the unit you read. BUILT TO KNOW NOTHING ABOUT YOU No account, no sign-in, no ads, no tracking. Location is used only to fetch your forecast and is never stored. Everything the app remembers sits under a random identifier you can erase in one tap from Settings. Weather data by Apple Weather. Replies in chat are generated by AI and can be wrong — check the sky before you trust the coat.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ask Cloudman at none against Astrospheric's 2. Ask Cloudman also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks). Astrospheric's advantage is chart position (#75 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). On price and ads 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. Astrospheric sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Ask Cloudman asks for nothing beyond the download.
Astrospheric ships an update every 3 weeks, Ask Cloudman every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Astrospheric | Ask Cloudman |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (453 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 87.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 453 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Best chart rank | #75 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 9.1 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 47 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Daniel Fiordalis | James Schulte |
Bugs and requests
Astrospheric
Reported bugs
2 issues- App crashing or not loading on some devices
- Inconsistent temperature and wind data
Requested features
4 requests- Notification system for clear skies
- Widgets for quick access to data
- More detailed transparency and seeing data
- Ability to flip east and west in the app
Ask Cloudman
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Astrospheric
- Astrospheric Pro Subscription7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Astrospheric Pro Subscription7 Days trial$29.991 Year
Ask Cloudman
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Astrospheric free?
Is Ask Cloudman free?
Do Astrospheric or Ask Cloudman have ads?
Which is updated more often, Astrospheric or Ask Cloudman?
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