Comparison

SkySafari vs Lunar Eclipse Guide

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

Head to head
About

SkySafari

This powerful pocket planetarium helps you explore the night sky. Identify celestial objects by pointing your device, view astrophotography, and plan your stargazing with real-time visibility information. Offers guided tours and pronunciation guides for a comprehensive learning experience.

Highlights
  • Point and identify stars, planets, and constellations
  • Explore astrophotography in the Image Gallery
  • View real-time sky visibility in 'Sky Tonight'
  • Simulate the sky across time and locations
  • Access guided audio tours and pronunciation guides
  • Night Vision mode for dark observation
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

SkySafari 8 is a powerful planetarium that fits in your pocket, puts the universe at your fingertips, and is incredibly easy to use! Simply hold your device to the sky and quickly locate comets, planets, constellations, satellites, and millions of stars and deep sky objects. Whether you are a beginner or a longtime astronomy enthusiast, SkySafari 8 is your perfect stargazing companion, packed with interactive information, rich graphics, and a beautifully refined interface. What’s New in Version 8 + New Theme - A new look of the app with a fresh visual palette. + Image Gallery - Explore the universe through astrophotography. Import images directly from AstroBin. + Sky Tonight - Jump to the new Tonight section to see what’s visible in your sky right now. Expanded information has been designed to help plan your night and includes Moon & Sun info, calendar curations, and the best positioned deep sky and solar system objects. If you're new to SkySafari 8, here’s what you can do: + Point & Identify - Hold your device to the sky and instantly identify stars, constellations, planets, satellites, and more. The chart updates automatically with your movements. + OneSky - See what other users are observing in real-time. This feature highlights objects in the sky chart and indicates how many users are looking at them. + Orbit Mode - Lift off from Earth and travel to the planets, moons, and stars. + Guided Audio Tours - Listen to more than four hours of audio narration to learn the history, mythology, and science of the heavens. + Pronunciation Guide - Learn how to correctly pronounce the names of hundreds of celestial objects, from stars to constellations and planets. + Simulate the Sky - See an eclipse in the past or future! Simulate the night sky from anywhere on Earth many years backward or forward in time. + Night Vision - Preserve your eyesight after dark. SkySafari Premium Subscription Unlock amazing features with the optional Premium Subscription, including: + Massive Database - Access a massive deep sky database. + Custom Image Import - Upload and manage your own astrophotography images in the Image Gallery and show them in the sky chart. + Enhanced Tools - Access curated news, events, connected stargazing features, a light pollution map, and more. For telescope control and even more advanced features, check out SkySafari 8 Plus and SkySafari 8 Pro! Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.livesky.com/privacy.html

About

Lunar Eclipse Guide

Plan and experience solar and lunar eclipses with detailed information, simulations, and observation tools. Discover past and future events, view visibility maps, and receive timely notifications.

Highlights
  • Eclipse calendar
  • Observing from any location
  • Eclipse simulation
  • World map with eclipse path
  • Visibility gradation map
  • Best observation places
  • Notifications
Read full description

Eclipse Guide is a comprehensive and easy-to-use app for observing solar and lunar eclipses. It provides all information you need to experience and understand any eclipse of the past and the future. ***From the developers of famous astronomical app Star Walk, winner of the Apple Design Award 2010, loved by more than 20 million users around the world*** Main features: ● Eclipse calendar with the list of solar and lunar eclipses of the past and the future. ● Observing eclipses from the user's location, from any other place, or from the best location for observation. ● Eclipse simulation with the play button to get a visual representation of the celestial event from its beginning to the end. ● World map showing the eclipse path accompanied by the info about the sun coverage and the moon altitude. ● The map illustrating the gradation of eclipse visibility. ● The list of best places for eclipse observations. ● Eclipse phases, timelines, and other core information. ● Notifications about solar and lunar eclipses. ● Share the information about eclipses with friends. The app is not limited to upcoming eclipses only - you can choose any eclipse you want to learn about and view it at home or worldwide. Advanced features:* ● Audio guide with voice notifications won’t let you miss the desired solar or lunar eclipse. It will accompany your eclipse observation process providing comments on all the stages of the phenomenon. ● Fullscreen informative maps show the visibility of an eclipse and its path. Use them to pick a good location for your eclipse observation. Zoom in and out, check the eclipse visibility for any location. ● Star spotter simulates the sky at your observing location. Find out whether the eclipse will be visible from the selected location. Quickly identify and view solar and lunar eclipses in the sky. The Star Spotter feature won't work for the devices that are not equipped with digital compass. *Advanced features should be purchased separately (via In-App Purchase). Remember: Looking directly at the Sun can cause serious eye damage or blindness. Never look at a solar eclipse without proper eye protection. Questions or suggestions for improvements: support@vitotechnology.com We are looking forward to your feedback. Get ready for the next eclipse with Eclipse Guide!

Screenshots

SkySafari4 screens
Lunar Eclipse Guide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: SkySafari at none against Lunar Eclipse Guide's shown. SkySafari also leads on review sentiment (64% vs 42%) and ratings volume (18K vs 778). Lunar Eclipse Guide's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). On rating, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

SkySafari costs $0.99 and Lunar Eclipse Guide $1.99 up front. SkySafari sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Lunar Eclipse Guide sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for SkySafari against 4.6 for Lunar Eclipse Guide. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SkySafari has 18K ratings behind it against 778, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 64% of SkySafari's written reviews are positive against 42% of Lunar Eclipse Guide's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SkySafari ships an update monthly, Lunar Eclipse Guide every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
SkySafari versus Lunar Eclipse Guide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSkySafariLunar Eclipse Guide
Price$0.99 — better$1.99
Rating4.7 (18K ratings) — better4.6 (778 ratings)
Positive reviews63.7% of reviews — better42.1% of reviews
Number of ratings18K — better778
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#12 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size859 MB239 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSimulation Curriculum Corp.Vito Technology Inc.

Customer experience

SkySafari

All ratings17,862 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral2.8%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews377 reviews
Positive63.7%
Neutral8.2%
Negative28.1%

Lunar Eclipse Guide

All ratings778 ratings
Positive90.2%
Neutral2.2%
Negative7.6%
Written reviews76 reviews
Positive42.1%
Neutral9.2%
Negative48.7%

User reviews

SkySafari

From 18K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 User-friendly
  • 🚀 Accurate sky mapping
  • 🌌 Detailed information on celestial objects
  • 💡 Helpful for stargazing and astronomy
  • 🔭 Useful for telescope owners

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and glitches
  • 🤑 Excessive upselling and in-app purchases
  • 🤯 Confusing version and feature differences
  • 🙄 Intrusive notifications and sounds
  • 🤔 Difficult to use some features

Lunar Eclipse Guide

From 778 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Fantastic app
  • 🔍 Excellent simulation
  • 💡 Great for planning eclipses
  • 🌟 Superb app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and unreliable
  • 💰 Hidden charges
  • 🔔 Excessive notifications
  • 🗺️ Poor map quality
  • 🤖 Useless for planning

Bugs and requests

SkySafari

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Compass not working correctly
  • Disappearing or missing objects
  • Time travel feature issues
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to hide toolbar and UI elements
  • More customization options
  • Improved telescope integration
  • Better comet and new object tracking

Lunar Eclipse Guide

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Incorrect eclipse visibility information
  • Simulation stops at GMT midnight
  • Localisation issues
  • Crashes during use

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more future eclipses
  • Allow custom location saving
  • Implement landscape mode
  • Expand date range for historical eclipses
  • Add ability to scrub timeline

In-app purchases

3 purchases

SkySafari

Subscriptions2
  • SkySafari Premium7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • SkySafari Premium7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Apollo Lunar MissionsFree
1 purchases

Lunar Eclipse Guide

One-time1
  • Advanced Eclipse Calendar$0.99

Questions

Is SkySafari free?
SkySafari costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Lunar Eclipse Guide free?
Lunar Eclipse Guide costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SkySafari or Lunar Eclipse Guide?
SkySafari is rated higher. SkySafari averages 4.7 out of 5 from 18K ratings, while Lunar Eclipse Guide averages 4.6 from 778 ratings.
Do SkySafari or Lunar Eclipse Guide have ads?
Lunar Eclipse Guide shows ads; SkySafari does not.
Which is updated more often, SkySafari or Lunar Eclipse Guide?
SkySafari ships an update monthly, and Lunar Eclipse Guide every 3 months. Most recently, SkySafari was updated on September 25, 2026 and Lunar Eclipse Guide on September 24, 2026.

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