Backyard Apollo AR vs HoppAR
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Backyard Apollo AR
Experience a life-sized Apollo Saturn V rocket in augmented reality. Explore it from all angles, walk around it, and launch it with realistic sounds and visuals. Customize your rocket experience and share snapshots.
- Life-sized rocket model
- 360-degree viewing
- Augmented reality placement
- Realistic launch sequence
- Authentic mission sounds
- Customizable rocket experience
- Snapshot sharing
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Its the model rocket you’ve always wanted! See a life-sized Apollo Saturn V rocket up close from every angle walk under and around it, then blast it off! Authentic mission sounds using 3D positional audio — wear headphones for the coolest effect — combine with realistic high-detail graphics, physically-based rendering, and HDR audio recordings of real rocket launches to make the experience just like being there! You’ll be able to launch your rocket again and again, from anywhere you like. Just tap where you want your rocket to appear. It's that easy! Launch a tiny model on your desktop or a full-sized giant in a field! Backyard Apollo offers ways to customize your experience too, making it even more fun to launch your rockets and take snapshots for your friends. “3…2…1…Houston: we have liftoff”!
HoppAR
Experience rocket launches and landings in augmented reality. Control thrust vectoring, perform engine test fires, and customize rockets with your own colors. Explore a variety of real spacecraft and space mission scenarios.
- Augmented reality rocket launches
- Manual thrust vectoring control
- Rocket engine test fires
- Customizable rocket coloring
- Variety of real spacecraft models
- Entry, Descent, and Landing simulations
- Indoor and Outdoor AR modes
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Launch and land your favorite rockets in Augmented Reality from your courtyard! Perform rocket engine test fires directly on your table. Manually control the Thrust Vectoring and perform your first landing at home! Color your favorite rocket and see it in action in Augmented Reality You can choose between many different rocket prototypes and real spacecrafts. Here are a few of them: the beloved StarHopper, the giant Starship MK1, and the hover test of the Dragon 2. Watch the Crew Dragon Demo Mission 2 leave the launch pad and the Falcon 9 first stage land back! Enjoy the Buran Orbiter and Energia Rocket conquer the sky, and many more spacecrafts to come! Not only rockets: enjoy the Perseverance Landing and the Sky-Crane maneuver in the "Last Minute of Terror" of the Entry Descend and Landing sequence. Fire a Raptor engine on your desk at home! Select between Indoor and Outdoor mode depending on where you are and the scale of the Rocket you want to launch. Apply filters to mimic the colors of your favorite planet and change the environmental conditions choosing among many different options: Rain, Thunderstorm, Snow and more Take a picture or record your best launch, share them with your friends with the #HoppAR hashtag and get into the Rocket Launcher's Social Wall Auto-renewable Subscription: Support app Development and new Rockets Addition (renewed on an annual basis) You get all mission unlocked with no limits for the time the subscription is active Non-Consumable Purchase: Instead of subscribing you might buy a single mission that will be unlocked with no time limit Let's HoppAR! (Disclaimer: This is app is not affiliated with any space company or its partners or customers)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Backyard Apollo AR at none against HoppAR's 14. HoppAR's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months) and review sentiment (85% vs 71%). On price, rating, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. HoppAR sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per year. Backyard Apollo AR asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Backyard Apollo AR against 4.8 for HoppAR. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.5K and 579 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 71% of Backyard Apollo AR's written reviews are positive against 85% of HoppAR's.
Backyard Apollo AR ships an update every 7 months, HoppAR every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Backyard Apollo AR | HoppAR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (1.5K ratings) | 4.8 (579 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 70.6% of reviews | 85.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.5K — better | 579 |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 82 MB | 372 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Wobbleworks LLC | Josef Grunig |
Customer experience
Backyard Apollo AR
HoppAR
User reviews
Backyard Apollo AR
From 1.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Realistic rocket simulation
- 👍 Engaging and educational experience
- 💡 Potential for more rocket models
- 👍 Free to download
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Camera authorization issues
- 🔋 High memory and storage usage
- 🐛 Compatibility problems on older devices
HoppAR
From 579 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎮 Excellent AR simulation and gameplay mechanics
- 🎨 High-quality rocket models and realistic designs
- 🎵 Great music and audio (with some caveats)
- 📱 Well-made and polished app overall
- 🌟 Immersive and satisfying launch experience
Room to improve
- 💰 Premium rockets locked behind paywall
- 🐛 AR functionality issues on some devices
- 📱 Orientation requirement (vertical/horizontal) frustrating
- ⏱️ Limited gameplay - rockets auto-launch and auto-land
- 🎬 Short 5-second clips lack player control
Bugs and requests
Backyard Apollo AR
Reported bugs
3 issues- Startup crashes and sensor reset loops
- Rocket launch sequence freezes
- Persistent audio issues after app closure
Requested features
3 requests- Add more rocket models and launch configurations
- Implement video recording capability
- Improve overall stability and performance
HoppAR
Reported bugs
7 issues- Black screen on horizontal surface scanning
- Camera not working on certain devices
- App won't open or crashes on startup
- Gray screen display issue
- iPad AR compatibility problems
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- App performance issues causing crashes
- Sound/audio problems requiring fixes
Requested features
15 requests- Space Shuttle addition
- Manual control for Falcon 9 and Dragon
- Free access to premium rockets
- Launch towers for all rockets
- Soyuz rocket
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- Sea Dragon rocket
- Starship inclusion
- First-person/cockpit camera view
- Non-AR mode for gameplay
- VR mode support
- Ability to place objects in front of rockets
- Increased rocket size to fill room
- Enhanced smoke/rumble effects
- Original countdown voices per rocket
- More rocket variety overall
In-app purchases
Backyard Apollo AR
No in-app purchases
HoppAR
- HoppAR Supporter$7.991 Year
- FALCON HEAVY$0.99
- STARSHIP Belly Flop$0.99
- SUPER HEAVY$0.99
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- DELTA IV HEAVY$0.99
- PERSEVERANCE$0.99
- DRONESHIP OCISLY$0.99
- NEW SHEPARD$0.99
- ARIANE 5$0.99
- ARTEMIS I$0.99
- SOYUZ$0.99
- ELECTRON$0.99
- SATURN V$1.99
- Control Feature$2.99
Questions
Is Backyard Apollo AR free?
Is HoppAR free?
Which has better reviews, Backyard Apollo AR or HoppAR?
Do Backyard Apollo AR or HoppAR have ads?
Which is updated more often, Backyard Apollo AR or HoppAR?
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