Comparison

Solar Coaster vs Real Solar System

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 3D movement graphs
  • Eclipse information and circumstances
  • Rise and set times
  • Moon phase and illumination
  • Offline astronomical data
  • Local horizontal coordinate system
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Real Solar System

Read full description

This solar system simulator reflects actual planetary position information. When the app is launched, the sun is positioned 20 cm in front of the device, based on the device's position. Around it, the eight main planets of the solar system and the celestial body to be observed orbit. The orbits are displayed as if they were trajectories. The position of each planet is calculated based on actual values. # Features - x] Realistic solar system with ARKit - x] Orbits of the 8 planets are displayed. - x] Planets are realistic textures imported from USDZ files. - x] Planet positions are calculated based on real values (using Horizons API) - x] The object to be observed can be changed. - x] Display of the orbit of the object of interest - x] Calculate the position of the target object based on actual values (using the Horizons API). - x] Adjustable speed (minus value for reverse rotation) - x] Zoom function (zoom in/zoom out) - x] Toggle the display of the text information and the coordinate axis (New!) ## How to use 1. when you launch the application, you will be asked for "permission to use camera" at the first startup. If you allow it, an ARKit session will start. 2. 2. a coordinate axis will be placed 20 cm in front of you, based on the device's position. 3. Tap the "Load Planet" button to load the planet model. Just wait a moment. 4. The 8 main planets of the solar system and the object to be observed will orbit around it. 5. Move the device to observe the solar system from various angles. 6. Tap the buttons at the bottom of the screen to adjust the speed and zoom. 7. You can change the object to be observed from the menu in the upper right corner of the screen. 1. Halley's Comet 2. Hayabusa2 & Ryugyu 3. Voyager 1 & 2 4. New Horizons & Pluto 5. Cassini (New!) 6. OSIRIS-REx & Bennu 7. Comparison of Circle and Ellipse 8. Geocentric theory (New!) 8. Toggle the display of the text information and the coordinate axis from the menu in the upper right corner of the screen. (New!)

Screenshots

Solar Coaster4 screens
Real Solar System4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Real Solar System at monthly against Solar Coaster's every 3 months. Solar Coaster's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.6). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Solar Coaster ships an update every 3 months, Real Solar System monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Solar Coaster versus Real Solar System: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSolar CoasterReal Solar System
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB302 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSteve LidieMasaya Nagaoka

In-app purchases

None

Solar Coaster

No in-app purchases

None

Real Solar System

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Solar Coaster free?
Solar Coaster is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Real Solar System free?
Real Solar System is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Solar Coaster or Real Solar System have ads?
Neither Solar Coaster nor Real Solar System shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Solar Coaster or Real Solar System?
Solar Coaster ships an update every 3 months, and Real Solar System monthly. Most recently, Solar Coaster was updated on September 22, 2026 and Real Solar System on September 20, 2026.

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