Light Pollution Map vs Sky Planner
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Light Pollution Map
Discover optimal locations for stargazing and astrophotography with a detailed light pollution map. Get real-time alerts for celestial events like meteor showers and auroras, track the ISS, and access daily astronomy photos. Enhance your night sky observations with comprehensive tools and information.
- Interactive light pollution map
- Aurora borealis live map and alerts
- Meteor shower and super moon alerts
- ISS tracker with live updates
- Moon phases and information
- Astronomy photo of the day
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Light Pollution Map allows you to easily locate dark sky locations where the sky will not be affected by light pollution, allowing the best observance, star gazing, and photography of the night sky! But it's not just a light pollution map. There's so much more, such as aurora borealis live viewing map, meteor shower alerts, super moon alerts, lunar eclipse alerts, moon phases and info, aurora and magnetic field information, international space station tracker, and a lot more! Light Pollution Map will help you master the night sky.. List of all features: • Highly accurate, customizable and interactive light pollution map to find dark sky viewing locations near you. • See live aurora borealis information such as KP value, magnetic field information, and more for the hardcore aurora chaser. • Live aurora borealis visibility map for northern and southern hemisphere, with additional timelapse options. • Aurora information widgets (today widget). • ISS Tracker with live updates about the international space station including the location, visibility, velocity, altitude, and more. • Night sky event calendar allows you to find dates for lunar eclipses, super moons, and meteor showers. • Live images of the Sun via NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. • Darkness countdown timer until the darkest period of night so you know when the night sky will be the darkest. Also let you know when it starts getting light outside. • Astronomy photo of the day directly from NASA! A new one every day to look at! • Local temperature indicator to know if you need to bring a sweater before you even step outside. • Local cloud coverage indicator to know if you will be able to see anything before you step outside. • Cloud cover overlay on the main map to find clear sky locations at night. • Settings to customize the app. • Moon information such as moon phase, moon rise, and moon set times, days of next full moon and new moon, etc. • Moon direction tool which allows you to find where the moon will be, at any time, any date, for any location. • Enable a horizon safe radius circle to avoid light pollution from nearby cities on the map. • Local Aurora Borealis (Northern/Southern Lights) alerts and push notifications. • Global Aurora Borealis Activity alerts and push notifications. • Meteor shower alerts and push notifications. • Super moon alerts and push notifications. • Lunar eclipse alerts and push notifications. • Save and load your favorite dark sky locations. • Navigate to your saved locations using the Apple Maps app. Some features above require an optional in-app purchase to upgrade to the pro version. Every purchase helps us to continue running and developing the app and is much appreciated. Note: Light Pollution Map loads data online. Internet connection or wifi is required, and we are not responsible for any data usage chargers from your provider. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Sky Planner
This app helps you plan stargazing and astrophotography sessions by providing cloud cover, Moon conditions, and observing target information. It offers forecasts up to 14 nights ahead and includes features for meteor showers and observing challenges.
- Cloud cover and Moon condition forecasts
- Observing target catalog
- Meteor shower field guides
- Observing challenges
- 72-hour cloud-cover map
- Horizon profiles
- Astrophoto sharing
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Is tonight worth heading out under the stars? Make your plan before you pack. DarkScout brings cloud cover, Moon conditions, darkness and observing targets into one place. Every feature is included, with no trial or subscription required. KNOW WHEN TO GO Check your Tonight recommendation, Astro Score and best observing window. Open Score Lens to understand which conditions help your night and which get in the way. PLAN YOUR NEXT SESSION Choose a target, date and location. Plan up to 14 nights ahead, compare observing locations and explore the full astronomical object catalog. NEW: LEONIDS METEOR WATCH Explore the 2026 field guide, check the radiant and Moon for your observing place, and record a timed watch with a red-screen meteor counter. Pause for breaks, save your counts and share a summary. The new field guide is in English and works offline. BUILD YOUR OBSERVING HABIT Explore 14 observing challenges with practical steps, local progress and direct links to the planning tools you need. CHECK BEFORE YOU DRIVE Review the 72-hour cloud-cover map, save unlimited observing spots and use horizon profiles to plan around your view. Set location alerts and your own thresholds. ENJOY THE NIGHT TOGETHER Browse astrophotos, share original-quality images, or join and host observing sessions with participant chat and weather backup plans. For stargazing with your eyes, binoculars or a telescope, and for planning astrophotography. Forecasts can change; recheck conditions before leaving. Requires iOS 26 or later. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Sky Planner at 100% against Light Pollution Map's 14%. Sky Planner also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 6) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). Light Pollution Map's advantage is ratings volume (262 vs 4) and chart position (#138 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, 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. Light Pollution Map sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Sky Planner asks for nothing beyond the download.
Sky Planner holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Light Pollution Map has 262 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 14% of Light Pollution Map's written reviews are positive against 100% of Sky Planner's.
Light Pollution Map ships an update every 3 weeks, Sky Planner every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Light Pollution Map | Sky Planner |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (262 ratings) | 4.8 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 14.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 262 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #138 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 93 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dunbar Technology, LLC | Sebastian Mraz |
Customer experience
Light Pollution Map
Sky Planner
Bugs and requests
Light Pollution Map
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes when opening light pollution map
- App crashes after locating user's position
- Cloud coverage feature not working as expected
Requested features
3 requests- Add Bortle rating information
- Improve cloud coverage feature
- Fix crashing issues
Sky Planner
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Light Pollution Map
- Pro Version$9.991 Year
- Pro Version$14.991 Year
- Pro Version$19.991 Year
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- Pro Version$29.991 Year
- Pro Version Upgrade Discounted$8.99
- Pro Version Upgrade$9.99
Sky Planner
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Light Pollution Map free?
Is Sky Planner free?
Which has better reviews, Light Pollution Map or Sky Planner?
Do Light Pollution Map or Sky Planner have ads?
Which is updated more often, Light Pollution Map or Sky Planner?
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