Solar Coaster vs Pocket Planets
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Solar Coaster
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.
- 3D movement graphs
- Eclipse information and circumstances
- Rise and set times
- Moon phase and illumination
- Offline astronomical data
- Local horizontal coordinate system
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Solar Coaster provides accurate position, time, motion and eclipse information for Earth's nearest star, Sol, our Sun, and nearest celestial body, Luna, our Moon. Information includes 3D movement graphs, upcoming eclipses and their circumstances, rise and set times, positions, distances and velocities, moon phase, illumination and crescent rotation. Solar Coaster automatically updates its state every minute, or you can examine minutes randomly. The simulation uses a local horizontal coordinate system when displaying information, which essentially means that your current position is the center of the Universe and all calculated values are relative to you. Sun and Moon positions are also available in equatorial coordinates. Solar Coaster stores enough onboard astronomical data to keep it running through the year 2100 AD, which means that all calculations can be performed locally without the need of a network connection — useful while in the wild chasing an eclipse. Algorithms are accurate at all longitudes, and latitudes between -61° south and +60° north (roughly speaking, locations outside the Polar regions). Of course, you must have Location Services enabled and allow Solar Coaster to access your position for accurate simulation results, and to properly detect eclipses visible at your location. You can also allow Notification Center to keep you informed when those eclipses will occur. Solar Coaster comes in various flavors: for iOS a native App; and for macOS a native App, Screen Saver and Web App.
Pocket Planets
Explore our solar system with detailed information on planets, moons, and astronauts. Track who is currently in space and receive notifications for new launches. Access NASA images and compare celestial body characteristics.
- Detailed planet and moon data
- Astronaut information and missions
- Real-time space occupancy
- Launch notifications
- NASA image gallery
- Celestial body comparisons
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Pocket Planets gives you all the information you need about our solar system and human activity in space. Learn more about all 565 astronauts who been to space. What was their mission? How long had they been up there? See who is in space now! Get notified when somebody goes into space. Get up to date information about every planet and moon in the solar system. Including: - Physical characteristics: mass, radius, density, gravity, escape velocity - Orbital characteristics: real-time distance from the Sun and Earth, orbital period, orbital speed, eccentricity, apsis, periapsis, visualise orbit - Atmosphere: pressure, atmospheric composition - Images from Nasa - Moons: compare their size and distance
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Solar Coaster at none against Pocket Planets's shown. Solar Coaster also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Pocket Planets's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (22 vs 2). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Solar Coaster holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pocket Planets has 22 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Solar Coaster ships an update every 3 months, Pocket Planets every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Solar Coaster | Pocket Planets |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | 4.6 (22 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 22 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 66 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Steve Lidie | Ad Lunam Kereskedelmi es Szolgaltato Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag |
Customer experience
Solar Coaster
Pocket Planets
In-app purchases
Solar Coaster
No in-app purchases
Pocket Planets
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Solar Coaster free?
Is Pocket Planets free?
Which has better reviews, Solar Coaster or Pocket Planets?
Do Solar Coaster or Pocket Planets have ads?
Which is updated more often, Solar Coaster or Pocket Planets?
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