Star Map Tracker vs Bright Comets
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Star Map Tracker
Explore the night sky with this augmented reality stargazing app. Identify stars, constellations, planets, and galaxies in real-time. It provides detailed information and helps you locate celestial objects.
- Augmented reality celestial body view
- Identification of over 3,000 stars
- Depiction of 88 constellations
- Real-time celestial object tracking
- Solar system object identification
- Compass calibration
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Star Map Tracker is an impressive stargazing augmented reality app boasting a database of over 3,000 stars and constellations. This app not only provides guidance through the vast majority of known stars but also furnishes essential information such as right ascension, declination, azimuth, elevation, and more. Whether you aim to align your telescope or simply desire to point your device at the sky for star, constellation, nebula, galaxy, and solar system object identification, this app caters to your needs, functioning as a proficient star finder and augmented reality map of celestial bodies, offering real-time information about them. Immerse yourself in a captivating night stars safari by finding an open space, taking a stroll, and lifting your device to behold the mesmerizing night sky view. The Star Map app serves as an exceptional tracker for all celestial objects, essentially placing a sky object seeker right in your pocket. Key Features: - Augmented reality view of celestial bodies - 88 constellations depicted with their shapes - Over 3,000 actual stars accompanied by detailed descriptions - Ability to search by star/constellation name, HD, HR, HIP - Real-time position of stars/constellations in the sky - Inclusion of the entire solar system (consisting of 9 planets, Sun, and Moon) - Realistic lighting, shadows, and planet textures - Milky Way galaxy background enriched with precise spatial positioning - Compass calibration facilitated using the moon, sun, or cardinal points In-App Purchase: - Enhanced access to names and information of over 3,000 stars (by default, only star information for zodiac constellations is available) - Expanded access to 74 constellations (only 14 are available by default: 12 Zodiac constellations, Ursa Minor, and Ursa Major) - Detailed inclusions of the solar system (encompassing 9 planets; Moon and Sun are available by default)
Bright Comets
Discover visible comets in the night sky with this astronomy tool. Simply point your device upwards, and a red marker will guide you to the comet's location using real-time data.
- Locate visible comets
- Real-time sky pointing
- Red target marker guidance
- Uses device location
- NASA JPL ephemerides data
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This app helps you locate all bright comets currently visible in the night sky. Just hold your device up to the sky and find the red target marker on the screen. That's where the comet is! The app uses your location and up-to-date ephemerides from the NASA JPL's Horizons database to calculate the comet's position.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bright Comets at 75% against Star Map Tracker's 29%. Bright Comets also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (153 vs 1). Star Map Tracker's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Star Map Tracker sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Bright Comets sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Star Map Tracker holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bright Comets has 153 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 29% of Star Map Tracker's written reviews are positive against 75% of Bright Comets's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Star Map Tracker ships an update every 5 months, Bright Comets every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Star Map Tracker | Bright Comets |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.3 (153 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 28.6% of reviews | 74.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 153 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 107 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Yuriy Kvasha | Hanno Rein |
Customer experience
Star Map Tracker
Bright Comets
Bugs and requests
Star Map Tracker
Reported bugs
11 issues- Map is disoriented
- Stars and planets do not track movement
- Calibration does not stick
- App freezes
- App always points north
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- Compass is off by degrees
- Stars constantly shifting
- App shows incorrect directions
- GPS is way off
- App doesn't work on iPhone X
- AR is useless as camera can't see stars
Requested features
7 requests- Add search functionality for stars
- Include planets in the free version
- Improve compass synchronization
- Add language options
- Show horizon line
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- Display star sizes/visibility
- Provide more detailed information on planets
Bright Comets
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Star Map Tracker
- Stars & Constellations$1.99
- Planets$1.99
- Premium$2.99
Bright Comets
- Coffee$1.99
Questions
Is Star Map Tracker free?
Is Bright Comets free?
Which has better reviews, Star Map Tracker or Bright Comets?
Do Star Map Tracker or Bright Comets have ads?
Which is updated more often, Star Map Tracker or Bright Comets?
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