# SynScan vs StellarMate

The clearest difference is update cadence: StellarMate at every 8 days against SynScan's every 2 months. StellarMate also leads on review sentiment (35% vs 22%). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.3 for SynScan against 3.3 for StellarMate. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 20 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 22% of SynScan's written reviews are positive against 35% of StellarMate's.

SynScan ships an update every 2 months, StellarMate every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on June 1, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SynScan | StellarMate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.3 (8 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/synscan/id1243086631/reviews) | [3.3 (20 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stellarmate/id1252626058/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 8 | **20** |
| Positive reviews | 22.2% of reviews | **34.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 8 days** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 46 MB | 119 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Astropower Technology Co. Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1787940478) | [Ikarus Astronomy Company For Scientific Instruments & Tools](https://appshunter.io/developer/1252626057) |

## What reviewers say

### SynScan

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/synscan/id1243086631)

Control motorized telescope mounts for celestial object tracking and exploration. Features include GOTO functionality, object catalogs, and gamepad navigation. Ideal for novice users with alt-azimuth mounts.

**Highlights:** Control telescope mount slew, align, GOTO, and track, Point and Track celestial objects, Support gamepad navigation, Browse and save celestial object catalogs, Third-party app integration (ASCOM, SkySafari, Stellarium), Emulator mount for testing

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### StellarMate

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stellarmate/id1252626058)

Control your astrophotography equipment remotely. Capture images, stream video, and perform precise alignment. Automatically back up your photos to the cloud with rich metadata for easy searching.

**Highlights:** Remote equipment control, Image capture and video streaming, Polar alignment assistant, Cloud image backup, Metadata search and sorting, Software updates

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SynScan free?

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

### Is StellarMate free?

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

### Which has better reviews, SynScan or StellarMate?

SynScan and StellarMate are both rated 3.3 out of 5 on the App Store, from 8 and 20 ratings respectively.

### Do SynScan or StellarMate have ads?

Neither SynScan nor StellarMate shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SynScan or StellarMate?

SynScan ships an update every 2 months, and StellarMate every 8 days. Most recently, SynScan was updated on June 1, 2026 and StellarMate on September 21, 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.*