Gate Guide vs Essential Sci
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Gate Guide
Easily track your progress through the Stargate universe. Filter episodes by show, air date, or rating to never lose your place during a re-watch. Get stats for your next binge-watching session.
- Filter by show (SG-1, SGA, SGU)
- Filter by original air date
- Filter by episode rating
- Track watched episodes
- Binge-watching stats
- Simple interface
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Over 20 years later Stargate is still the best SciFi show. With over 300 episodes, keeping your place can be tricky, but with Gate Guide you’ll never skip an episode or lose your place. Filter episodes by original air date and watch SG1 and SGA episodes in the correct order. Gate Guide is the fastest and easiest way to keep track of your next binge watch the greatest shows ever made! Keep track of your latest Stargate binge, filter by show, season or original air date. Features: - Filter by Show SG-1, SGA, SGU or SGO - Filter by Original Air date - Filter by Episode Rating - Keep track of previously watched episodes - Stats for you next binge - Simple and Easy Note: This app does not allow you to watch Stargate, its simply to keep track of your latest re-watch.
Essential Sci
Stream a vast library of science fiction movies and TV shows for free. Subscribe monthly to enjoy an ad-free viewing experience and access premium content.
- Hundreds of hours of sci-fi content
- Free streaming
- Monthly ad-free subscription
- Watch on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, iPod
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The Essential Sci-Fi Channel contains hundreds of hours of your favorite science fiction movies and television shows available to watch for free. Sign up for a monthly subscription to watch without ads! Terms of Use: http://macmillanweb.com/html/terms.asp
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Gate Guide at none against Essential Sci's shown. Gate Guide also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (100 vs 31). Essential Sci's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On price, update cadence, 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. Gate Guide sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Essential Sci sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Gate Guide holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 100 and 31 respectively.
Gate Guide ships an update every 3 months, Essential Sci every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Gate Guide | Essential Sci |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (100 ratings) — better | 4.5 (31 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 88.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 100 — better | 31 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 16.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Digital Tools Ltd | MacMillan Interactive Communications, LLC |
Customer experience
Gate Guide
Essential Sci
In-app purchases
Gate Guide
- Remove Ads$0.99
- Gate Guide Pro$1.99
Essential Sci
- Essential Sci-Fi Subscription$5.991 Month
- Essential Sci-Fi Yearly Sub$69.991 Year
Questions
Is Gate Guide free?
Is Essential Sci free?
Which has better reviews, Gate Guide or Essential Sci?
Do Gate Guide or Essential Sci have ads?
Which is updated more often, Gate Guide or Essential Sci?
Other comparisons
