Comparison

Solar System vs Solar System Builder AR

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

Head to head
About

Solar System

Explore planets, dwarf planets, and moons in your own space using augmented reality. Walk around the solar system, view celestial bodies in scale, and access detailed information about each planet and its moons.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality solar system view
  • Explore planets, dwarf planets, and moons
  • Scale mode for size and distance comparison
  • Detailed planet and moon information
  • Interactive exploration
Features
Read full description

Place the Sun on your table or on the floor and walk among the planets in augmented reality. Get close to Saturn's rings, look at Jupiter's moons from below, or find out how far away Pluto really is when the Sun is one metre wide. THREE WAYS TO SEE IT • Learn: everything fits in one room, so you can see every planet at once. • To scale: the planets' sizes are true to each other. Earth is 4 cm, Jupiter 45 cm, and Neptune is 30 metres from the Sun. • Real scale: everything to the same scale. Earth is a 9 mm marble 107 m away; Pluto is more than 4 km from you. Follow the labels to find them. WHERE THE PLANETS ARE TODAY Every planet starts at its real position in its orbit. Speed up time to watch the years pass, or tap Today to come back. REAL PHYSICS • Orbits with their true tilt: Pluto 17°, Eris 44° • Axes that always point the same way, which is what makes the seasons • Moons that always show the same face to their planet • Triton orbiting backwards, and Io, Europa and Ganymede in their 1:2:4 dance • Haumea, the dwarf planet shaped like a rugby ball 21 WORLDS The Sun, the eight planets, five dwarf planets and seven moons. Each one has a fact sheet with NASA figures — diameter, distance, length of the day and the year, temperature, gravity, moons, who discovered it — a size comparison with Earth and a surprising fact. Great for school, for curious minds of every age, and for anyone who has wondered how big space really is. Augmented reality needs an iPhone or iPad with ARKit. On other devices the app opens in 3D mode.

About

Solar System Builder AR

Create and explore your own solar systems in augmented reality. Learn about planets, stars, and gravity through interactive simulations and educational content. Perfect for curious minds of all ages.

Highlights
  • Create custom solar systems in AR
  • Orbital physics simulation
  • Explore 35+ celestial bodies
  • Learn about gravity and orbits
  • Place objects in real-world environments
  • Detailed information on celestial bodies
Read full description

"Solar System Builder AR is a terrific app to have. Whether you truly want to learn about the stars and planets, read funny jokes about space or want to create your own dynamic solar system, this app provides the perfect augmented reality environment to do just that! You'll be able to explore and learn, and have fun at the same time, all through the magic of AR." • This is the first app of its kind in which you can create your own complete solar system with orbital physics in an augmented reality environment providing a fun experience and an educational opportunity alike. • With real world augmented reality tracking, you can now place stars/planets/moons/whole solar systems in orbit in your own bedroom/classroom/outside environment. You can move around and study your creation, send objects into orbit from far away or up close at different velocities and watch the magic happen. • There are lots of stars/planets/moons to play around with besides the ones in our solar system. Explore what other alien worlds might look like with special artist depictions of far away planets! • Solar System Builder AR brings a great opportunity for parents and educators alike to get kids interested in the inner workings of our grand universe. Visualize how gravity effects all things around us, learn how stellar objects orbit each other and learn useful information about all the different types of bodies available in the cosmos, all while providing a fun and engaging experience. Features: • Move objects around even after they are placed in orbit and study the effects. • Complete physics simulation of the motion of celestial objects as influenced by gravity. • Orbital trails(optional) to visualize the effects the gravitational pull has. • A total of 35 celestial bodies to choose from when you design your universe(the planets and moons in our solar system included). • Possibility to create a static solar system for up close studying of planets, moons and stars. • Select an object and learn more about it in the information tab available. • Great educational opportunity for teachers and parents alike to teach kids about the objects in cosmos, gravity and orbits, in a fun way. • No ads or annoying pop-ups for a smooth experience.

Screenshots

Solar System4 screens
Solar System Builder AR4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Solar System Builder AR at 4.7 against Solar System's 3.8. Solar System Builder AR also leads on review sentiment (94% vs 67%) and ratings volume (194 vs 32). Solar System's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, ads 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

Both are free to download. Solar System Builder AR sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Solar System asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Solar System Builder AR holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Solar System Builder AR has 194 ratings behind it against 32, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Solar System's written reviews are positive against 94% of Solar System Builder AR's.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Solar System versus Solar System Builder AR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSolar SystemSolar System Builder AR
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (32 ratings)4.7 (194 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews93.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings32194 — better
Update frequencyEvery 107 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB86 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLuis Carvajal HoyosMihai Ghiserel

Customer experience

Solar System

All ratings29 ratings
Positive62.1%
Neutral6.9%
Negative31.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

Solar System Builder AR

All ratings194 ratings
Positive90.7%
Neutral5.2%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews47 reviews
Positive93.6%
Neutral2.1%
Negative4.3%

Bugs and requests

Solar System

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Solar System Builder AR

Requested features

9 requests
  • Add more planets and celestial objects
  • Include pre-built solar systems
  • Add black holes
  • Scale sun size
  • Add tutorial for planet orbits
Show 4 more
  • Add asteroid belts, nebulas, singularities, galaxies
  • Implement a save feature for creations
  • Allow planets to collide if too close
  • Unlock all planets for free

In-app purchases

None

Solar System

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Solar System Builder AR

One-time1
  • PRO Pack - Stars and Planets$5.99

Questions

Is Solar System free?
Solar System is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Solar System Builder AR free?
Solar System Builder AR is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Solar System or Solar System Builder AR?
Solar System Builder AR is rated higher. Solar System averages 3.8 out of 5 from 32 ratings, while Solar System Builder AR averages 4.7 from 194 ratings.
Do Solar System or Solar System Builder AR have ads?
Neither Solar System nor Solar System Builder AR shows ads.

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