Liftoff vs Launch Buddy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Liftoff
Track all space launches globally, past and future. Get detailed information on missions, launch vehicles, and real-time weather. Add events to your calendar and watch live streams.
- View past and upcoming launches worldwide
- Detailed launch and vehicle specifications
- Real-time launch weather updates
- Add launches to your calendar
- Home screen countdown widgets
- Search launches, vehicles, agencies, astronauts
- Live launch streams and past launch videos
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Liftoff is your go-to app for viewing past and upcoming space launches worldwide. Features: • Explore recent and upcoming launches worldwide. • Access launch details: time, location, mission specifics, and launch vehicle information including technical specifications, success rates, reusability, launch cost, and more. • Real-time weather information for each launch. Stay informed about launch conditions with detailed weather updates, covering visibility, precipitation chance, wind speed, and cloud cover. • Easily add launch events to your calendar and never miss a single launch. • Home Screen widgets for upcoming launch countdown. • Effortless search for launches, launch vehicles, agencies or astronauts. • Detailed insights and configuration data for launch vehicles and spacecraft. • Live streams of upcoming launches and videos of past launches.
Launch Buddy
Stay informed about upcoming rocket launches with detailed mission information, real-time weather data from launch sites, and countdown timers. Track rocket families, launch pads, and view status indicators for each event. Offline access to cached data is also available.
- Upcoming launch list
- Detailed mission information
- Real-time launch site weather
- Countdown timers
- Rocket and launch pad specifics
- Status indicators
- Offline cached data
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Launch Buddy tracks upcoming rocket launches with pad weather, a countdown, and live Watch and Home Screen widgets. See go/no-go at Starbase, the Cape, and Vandenberg. Open a launch for mission, orbit, rocket, and pad details, plus real-time METAR weather (wind, visibility, flight category). Put the next T-0 on your wrist or Home Screen. Pull to refresh. Works offline with the last cached schedule. Launch Buddy Pro unlocks full schedule access and widgets ($2.99/month or $29.99/year). Privacy & terms: https://github.com/hwpaige/hpPrivacyPolicy/blob/main/README.md
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Launch Buddy at 5.0 against Liftoff's 4.3. Launch Buddy also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 5 months). Liftoff's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (97 vs 2). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Launch Buddy sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Liftoff asks for nothing beyond the download.
Launch Buddy holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Liftoff has 97 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Liftoff ships an update every 5 months, Launch Buddy weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Liftoff | Launch Buddy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (97 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 57.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 97 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, Vision Pro | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 85 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Vatthikorn Apiratitham | H Paige Technologies |
Customer experience
Liftoff
Launch Buddy
In-app purchases
Liftoff
No in-app purchases
Launch Buddy
- Launch Buddy Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
- Launch Buddy Pro$29.991 Year
Questions
Is Liftoff free?
Is Launch Buddy free?
Which has better reviews, Liftoff or Launch Buddy?
Do Liftoff or Launch Buddy have ads?
Which is updated more often, Liftoff or Launch Buddy?
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