# Starry Map vs Vail Mountain School

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Vail Mountain School at none against Starry Map's 7. Vail Mountain School also leads on ads (none vs shown). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Starry Map sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Vail Mountain School asks for nothing beyond the download.

## The numbers

| Metric | Starry Map | Vail Mountain School |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (248 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/starry-map/id1176591850/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **248** | — |
| Positive reviews | 62.4% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | — |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 104 MB | 50 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [にゃんこソフトウェア](https://appshunter.io/developer/1843663669) | [School Window](https://appshunter.io/developer/1549834397) |

## What reviewers say

### Starry Map

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/starry-map/id1176591850)

Identify stars, constellations, and satellites by pointing your phone at the night sky. Augmented reality overlays display celestial names in real-time. Receive notifications for upcoming satellite passes and meteor showers.

**Highlights:** AR celestial identification, Constellation and star catalog, Satellite tracking and alerts, Meteor shower notifications, Offline functionality

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock Features | $0.99 | per month |
| Unlock Features | $0.99 | per month |
| Unlock Features | $3.99 | per year |
| Unlock Features | $3.99 | per year |
| Unlock Features (Lifetime) | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use and understand
- ✨ Beautiful and visually appealing interface
- 🔭 AR feature for real-time sky viewing
- 🛰️ Useful for tracking satellites (ISS, Starlink)
- 💡 Informative with links to Wikipedia

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Many features are paid/locked
- 💸 Increased monetization and paid features
- 📉 Some users feel it was better before monetization
- 🤔 Unclear how to use certain features
- 📱 Inconsistent performance across devices/OS versions

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on launch after updates
- Date/time setting resets to 1970
- Black screen upon opening the app
- Ads not disappearing even after purchase
- App closes when selecting specific objects (e.g., Comet Neowise)

**Requested features**

- Reflect weather and light pollution in star visibility
- Include stories/episodes related to constellations
- Separate 1st to 3rd magnitude stars in display options
- Simplify solar system display for beginners
- Option to hide background stars or make them less prominent


### Vail Mountain School

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vail-mountain-school/id6749655752)

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Starry Map free?

Starry Map is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Vail Mountain School free?

Vail Mountain School is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Starry Map or Vail Mountain School have ads?

Starry Map shows ads; Vail Mountain School does not.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*