# Solar Coaster vs Engineering & Tech Animations

The clearest difference is price: Solar Coaster at Free against Engineering & Tech Animations's $15.99. Solar Coaster also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 9 months). Engineering & Tech Animations's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Solar Coaster is free to download; Engineering & Tech Animations costs $15.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Solar Coaster ships an update every 3 months, Engineering & Tech Animations every 9 months. Both last shipped on November 2, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Solar Coaster | Engineering & Tech Animations |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $15.99 |
| Rating | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/solar-coaster/id1218422388/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **2** | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 months** | Every 9 months |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 37 MB | 30 MB |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | [Steve Lidie](https://appshunter.io/developer/1869780159) | [Willie van Schalkwyk](https://appshunter.io/developer/1016415734) |

## What reviewers say

### Solar Coaster

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/solar-coaster/id1218422388)

Visualize the precise movements of the Sun and Moon with 3D graphs, eclipse details, and rise/set times. This app offers offline calculations for celestial positions and moon phases, making it ideal for astronomy enthusiasts.

**Highlights:** 3D movement graphs, Eclipse information and circumstances, Rise and set times, Moon phase and illumination, Offline astronomical data, Local horizontal coordinate system

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Engineering & Tech Animations

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/engineering-and-tech-animations/id1412547939)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Solar Coaster free?

Solar Coaster is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Engineering & Tech Animations free?

Engineering & Tech Animations costs $15.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Solar Coaster or Engineering & Tech Animations have ads?

Neither Solar Coaster nor Engineering & Tech Animations shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Solar Coaster or Engineering & Tech Animations?

Solar Coaster ships an update every 3 months, and Engineering & Tech Animations every 9 months. Most recently, Solar Coaster was updated on November 2, 2026 and Engineering & Tech Animations on November 2, 2026.

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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.*