Comparison

Galaxy Map vs ISSINFO

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 Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies in an interactive 3D map. Discover nebulae, supernovae, and planets, with stunning visuals based on NASA data. Ideal for education and space enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Interactive 3D galaxy map
  • Explore nebulae and supernovae
  • Fly through planetary atmospheres
  • Land on planets
  • Based on NASA data
  • Available in 100+ languages
Features
Read full description

The galaxy map is an interactive map of the Milky Way galaxy, Andromeda and their satellite galaxies. Explore the Orion Arm's nebulae and supernovae from the comfort of your spaceship. Fly through the atmosphere of Mars and many other planets and you can even land on them. Discover the galaxy in a stunning three dimensional map based on NASA's artistic impression of the Milky Way galactic structure. Photos are taken by NASA spacecraft and ground based telescopes like Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-Ray, Herschel Space Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope. This interactive 3D map is excellent for teachers to use for instruction, and it is a great astronomy resource for students to explore the Milky Way galaxy and space as they learn more about the universe we live in. Available in over 100 languages! You can also From the outskirts of the galaxy, in the Norma-Outer spiral arm to the galactic center's supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, discover a galaxy full of amazing facts. Notable structures included: the Pillars of Creation, Helix Nebula, the Engraved Hourglass Nebula, the Pleiades, the Orion Arm (where the solar system and the Earth are located) with its Orion belt. Check out neighboring dwarf galaxies such as Sagittarius and the Canis Major Overdensity, stellar streams as well as internal galactic components such as a variety of nebulae, star clusters or supernovae. Explore space and get a little closer to our wonderful universe with this awesome astronomy app! The Galaxy Map requires internet access to retrieve information from the wiki.

About

ISSINFO

Features
Read full description

Follow the International Space Station in real time, plan your next sighting, and explore the spacecraft and worlds beyond Earth. ISSINFO combines live orbital tracking, accurate pass predictions, weather insights, and immersive 3D experiences in one app for iPhone and iPad. TRACK THE ISS AROUND EARTH - Follow the ISS on standard, satellite, hybrid, and photorealistic 3D globe views. - See the station at its true orbital altitude above a realistic day and night Earth. - View current and historic orbit paths, city lights, altitude, speed, visibility, and the location below. - Track Tiangong, Hubble, Vanguard 1, Landsat 9, and NOAA-20, each with its own position and orbit. PLAN YOUR NEXT SIGHTING - Find upcoming passes for your location. - Check start time, direction, maximum elevation, duration, visibility, and viewing quality. - Use cloud cover forecasts to decide whether the sky is worth watching. - Explore detailed sky path diagrams and maps for each pass. - Point the AR camera toward the sky to help locate the ISS. CHOOSE HOW YOU ARE ALERTED Set a standard notification before a pass, or choose a wake-up alarm for a pass you do not want to sleep through. Select an alarm at the start of the pass or from 5 to 60 minutes beforehand. With permission, alarms can sound through Silent Mode and Focus with a full-screen alert. STARLINK VISUALIZER Watch thousands of Starlink satellites move in real time around a photorealistic 3D Earth, or replay the last 24 hours and see the Earth turn beneath the constellation. Filter by orbital shell, use tapered trails to read direction, see your own location, and select individual satellites for live altitude and speed. Positions are computed on your device using SGP4. TRANSIT FINDER Discover rare moments when the ISS or Tiangong crosses the Sun or Moon. Search around your location, view the ground centerline, see exactly where to stand, inspect transit diagrams, compare the view from home, and open driving directions to the best viewing spot. SOLAR SYSTEM SIMULATOR Travel through a detailed 3D model of the Solar System using real planetary positions. Move through time by up to 50 years, switch between visual and true scale, inspect planets and moons, and explore a GPU-rendered asteroid belt. FOLLOW ARTEMIS AND THE CREW Track NASA Artemis missions through live and historic deep-space trajectories, mission phases, itineraries, imagery, and phase notifications. You can also meet the people currently in space through crew photos, biographies, missions, and spacecraft details. ISSINFO Pro includes Starlink Visualizer, Transit Finder, Solar System Simulator, 30 days of pass predictions, multi-satellite tracking, cloud forecasts, AR tracking, pass notifications, and wake-up alarms. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS ISSINFO Pro is an auto-renewing subscription, billed monthly or yearly. New subscribers can try the yearly plan free for 1 week. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase, or when the free trial ends. The subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it at any time in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://issinfo.net/app.html#privacy Built for space enthusiasts, photographers, educators, and anyone who has looked up and wondered when the ISS will pass overhead. ISSINFO is an independent app and is not affiliated with NASA, ESA, SpaceX, or any government space agency.

Screenshots

Galaxy Map4 screens
ISSINFO4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: ISSINFO at none against Galaxy Map's shown. Galaxy Map's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, 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

Both are free to download. Galaxy Map sells 13 one-off in-app purchases and ISSINFO sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Galaxy Map ships an update monthly, ISSINFO every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Galaxy Map versus ISSINFO: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGalaxy MapISSINFO
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (609 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews79.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings609 — better—
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size632 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAndrei NistorescuNeil Johnson

Bugs and requests

Galaxy Map

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • App crashes on startup
  • Explore button shows nothing
  • Pinch-to-zoom doesn't work
  • App won't load on iPad
  • Text displays as boxes in language settings
Show 4 more
  • Mars moon orbital speed incorrect
  • App kicks users out during exploration
  • Loading issues and incomplete functionality
  • Inconsistent performance across platforms

Requested features

18 requests
  • Search button to find galaxies and objects
  • More diverse and realistic black hole designs
  • AR feature to identify stars/planets in real sky
  • More free content and objects
  • Exoplanet additions (TRAPPIST-1e, J1407B)
Show 13 more
  • Ability to click on stars within galaxies for details
  • Generated planets around stars
  • Sandbox/creation mode for user-generated content
  • Animation for Milky Way and Andromeda
  • More galaxy variety in the app
  • Coordinates filter for objects
  • Space-Engine style gameplay
  • Flying through galaxies feature
  • More female character customization options
  • VIP version option
  • Brown dwarfs addition
  • Photosphere viewing mode
  • More detailed star information

ISSINFO

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

13 purchases

Galaxy Map

One-time13
  • Buy ship - Alien Destroyer$0.99
  • Buy ship - Alien fighter$0.99
  • Remove ads$1.99
Show 10 more
  • Buy ship - Alien Destroyer$1.99
  • Buy ship - Alien fighter$1.99
  • 3D Visualization Pack$1.99
  • Buy ship - Dragon Frigate$1.99
  • Essentials bundle - SALE$2.99
  • Remove ads$3.99
  • 3D Visualization Pack$3.99
  • Ultimate bundle - SALE$4.99
  • Essentials bundle$4.99
  • Ultimate bundle$8.99
2 purchases

ISSINFO

Subscriptions2
  • ISSINFO Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
  • ISSINFO Pro Yearly$14.991 Year

Questions

Is Galaxy Map free?
Galaxy Map is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ISSINFO free?
ISSINFO is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Galaxy Map or ISSINFO have ads?
Galaxy Map shows ads; ISSINFO does not.
Which is updated more often, Galaxy Map or ISSINFO?
Galaxy Map ships an update monthly, and ISSINFO every 6 weeks. Most recently, Galaxy Map was updated on October 16, 2026 and ISSINFO on October 9, 2026.

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