Comparison

SkySafari vs The Sky by Redshift

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

Head to head
About

SkySafari

Explore the cosmos with this powerful pocket planetarium. Identify celestial objects by pointing your device at the sky, access a vast database, and enjoy guided audio tours. Plan your stargazing nights with real-time visibility information and simulate the sky from any point in time.

Highlights
  • Point and identify stars, planets, and satellites
  • Interactive sky chart with real-time updates
  • Massive deep sky object database
  • Guided audio tours on astronomy
  • Simulate past and future sky events
  • Night vision mode
Features
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

The Sky by Redshift

This app is a powerful yet easy-to-use planetarium that acts as your daily astronomy companion. Simply point your device at the sky to identify planets, stars, and constellations, and explore celestial objects with detailed views and informative explanations.

Highlights
  • Identify stars, planets, and constellations
  • Track celestial object paths
  • Simulate astronomical events
  • Explore deep-space objects
  • Learn about astronomical phenomena
  • Eclipse timetable and simulation
Features
Read full description

Developed in collaboration with THAMES & KOSMOS: The Sky – Astronomy, a powerful and easy-to-use planetarium – your daily companion for observing the sky! Which star is this? Where do I find Mars? Is it the ISS up there? Hold your smartphone or tablet up to the sky and see which planets, stars, or constellations are above you. Where is Jupiter and how can I find my zodiac in the sky? The Sky shows you the position of celestial objects in the sky with just a few taps. Get close-up views not only of near-Earth planets and moons, but also experience deep-space objects in stunning detail. What do the Saturnian moons look like? The Sky takes you on a breath-taking journey into the infinite realms of outer space. Fly to planets, stars, and other celestial bodies and let the app tell you about our Universe. What is a solar eclipse and what does an opposition of Mars mean? The Sky answers your questions with stunning animations and insightful explanations. Thus, even beginners will be able to understand the mechanics and to visually imagine the most important celestial events. No matter if you are a beginner or amateur astronomer, child or adult - with the intuitive app The Sky, everyone will immediately understand the sky - without much prior knowledge and long training. Shine with your knowledge of the sky, around the campfire or on night walks: with The Sky, astronomy will always be a pleasure! Discover the joy of watching the skies and the age-old fascination with space that has inspired mankind for millennia – and become part of the worldwide Redshift community. The app contains more than 9,000 stars, 88 constellations, hundreds of moons, asteroids and comets, as well as 200 spectacular deep-sky objects - all with accurate position calculation and motion tracking in real time. At a glance: • Recognize the stars and constellations of the night sky • Identify planets, moons, comets, and satellites and track their paths • Take breath-taking flights through space to distant stars and colorful nebulae • See what’s going on in the sky tonight with a direct simulation of the events • Learn to understand astronomical phenomena and events New in version 2.0: • Eclipse Timetable • Orbits of celestial objects • Expanded database with 6500 cities worldwide, including 2500 cities in the United States Were you able to witness the total solar eclipse in North America on April 8, 2024? This app contains everything you need know about this magical event: • Detailed description of the path of the eclipse in Mexico, the USA and Canada • Information on how to safely observe a solar eclipse • Eclipse timetable with the exact times for your location or best viewing position • Direct simulation of the eclipse in exciting animations • Sky map with the planets and stars that could be seen during the totality phase • Illustrated explanations of how a solar eclipse occurs • Everything about solar eclipses: Explanations and facts, illustrated with pictures and videos • Location selection via map, location search or GPS or selection of the "best position" for observation Your thirst for knowledge is not yet satisfied? With the premium subscription, you can activate many additional spaceflights and orbits as well as additional knowledge sections of "Discover astronomy". Here you can find more spectacular images and videos of the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. There is also an eclipse calendar with all solar and lunar eclipses between 1900 and 2100 and a guided tour of the U.S. MARS 2020 mission. This tour includes images and animations of the landing on Mars, as well as of the environment at the landing site of the Mars rover Perseverance. ***** Questions or suggestions for improvements: Mail to support@redshiftsky.com We are looking forward to your feedback! For more information on news and updates: redshiftsky.com www.redshiftsky.com/terms-of-use-the-sky/ *****

Screenshots

SkySafari4 screens
The Sky by Redshift4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: The Sky by Redshift at Free against SkySafari's $4.99. The Sky by Redshift also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.6). SkySafari's advantage is ratings volume (18K vs 817) and chart position (#7 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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

The Sky by Redshift is free to download; SkySafari costs $4.99 up front. SkySafari sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and The Sky by Redshift sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. 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 4.7 for The Sky by Redshift. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SkySafari has 18K ratings behind it against 817, 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 65% of The Sky by Redshift's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SkySafari ships an update monthly, The Sky by Redshift every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
SkySafari versus The Sky by Redshift: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSkySafariThe Sky by Redshift
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (18K ratings)4.7 (817 ratings) — better
Positive reviews63.9% of reviews65.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings18K — better817
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#7 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.615.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size861 MB472 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSimulation Curriculum Corp.United Soft Media Verlag GmbH

Customer experience

SkySafari

All ratings17,862 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral2.8%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews377 reviews
Positive63.9%
Neutral8.0%
Negative28.1%

The Sky by Redshift

All ratings816 ratings
Positive94.5%
Neutral2.8%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews40 reviews
Positive65.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative25.0%

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

The Sky by Redshift

From 817 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Expertly done
  • 👍 Works well
  • 👍 Beautiful and accurate
  • 👍 Fun to use

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Too many ads
  • 🔍 Intrusive advertising
  • 🔍 Information banner not useful

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

The Sky by Redshift

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • Unauthorized access to private systems

Requested features

3 requests
  • Red light option to preserve night vision
  • Smaller, less obtrusive pointer
  • More features and accurate information

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
2 purchases

The Sky by Redshift

Subscriptions2
  • The Sky Premium 1 Month$0.991 Month
  • The Sky Premium 1 Year$3.991 Year

Questions

Is SkySafari free?
SkySafari costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is The Sky by Redshift free?
The Sky by Redshift is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SkySafari or The Sky by Redshift?
The Sky by Redshift is rated higher. SkySafari averages 4.7 out of 5 from 18K ratings, while The Sky by Redshift averages 4.7 from 817 ratings.
Do SkySafari or The Sky by Redshift have ads?
Neither SkySafari nor The Sky by Redshift shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SkySafari or The Sky by Redshift?
SkySafari ships an update monthly, and The Sky by Redshift every 2 months. Most recently, SkySafari was updated on November 9, 2026 and The Sky by Redshift on November 7, 2026.

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