Comparison

Solar System vs DIY Solar System

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

DIY Solar System

Explore the solar system with interactive activities and an augmented reality planet walk. Learn about space travel, design a moon base, and identify celestial objects. Developed by leading science institutions, this app makes learning about space engaging for families and educators.

Highlights
  • Interactive space activities
  • Augmented reality planet walk
  • Design a moon base
  • Grow a space garden
  • Control a Mars rover
  • In or Out space game
  • NASA imagery
Features
Read full description

DIY Solar System makes it easy for families and educators to explore the solar system from anywhere, anytime! The app was developed by the Children’s Creativity Museum, Sciencenter, and Museum of Life and Science, in partnership with UC Berkeley’s The Lawrence Hall of Science. INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES DIY Solar System includes 11 easy-to-use activities to learn about space travel, living in space, and the unique objects that make up the planetary system we call home. Design a Moon base, grow your own space garden, or experience what it’s like to control a rover on Mars! Each activity includes step-by-step instructions that have been tested by educators, kids, and families. Activity materials are easily available and inexpensive—you may already have many of them in your home! AUGMENTED REALITY PLANET WALK Don’t have the time to travel several billion miles to reach Neptune? Try dropping a scale version of the solar system outside your home to start a walk that will show you planets, dwarf planets, and asteroids. At each stop, examine the space object up close using real images from NASA. Don’t forget to take a space selfie with your favorite planet! IN OR OUT GAME Quickly scan awe-inspiring images of space objects from NASA’s Earth and space observatories to decide if the objects are in or out of the solar system. While the solar system is vast, it only represents a tiny corner of the universe. After you have mastered your solar system knowledge, challenge yourself to a new round of objects in or out of our home galaxy, the Milky Way. Funding Source This work was supported by NASA under award number 80NSSC21M0082. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in these programs are those of the author and do not reflect the views of NASA. Compatibility Requires iOS 12.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone and iPad. Rated 4+.

Screenshots

Solar System4 screens
DIY Solar System4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: DIY Solar System at 4.5 against Solar System's 3.7. DIY Solar System also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 107 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DIY Solar System holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 30 and 17 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Solar System's written reviews are positive against 100% of DIY Solar System's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Solar System ships an update every 107 months, DIY Solar System every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Solar System versus DIY Solar System: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSolar SystemDIY Solar System
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (30 ratings)4.5 (17 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings30 — better17
Update frequencyEvery 107 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB180 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLuis Carvajal HoyosThe Lawrence Hall of Science

Customer experience

Solar System

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

DIY Solar System

All ratings16 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Solar System

No in-app purchases

None

DIY Solar System

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Solar System free?
Solar System is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is DIY Solar System free?
DIY Solar System is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Solar System or DIY Solar System?
DIY Solar System is rated higher. Solar System averages 3.7 out of 5 from 30 ratings, while DIY Solar System averages 4.5 from 17 ratings.
Do Solar System or DIY Solar System have ads?
Neither Solar System nor DIY Solar System shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Solar System or DIY Solar System?
Solar System ships an update every 107 months, and DIY Solar System every 2 months. Most recently, Solar System was updated on October 26, 2026 and DIY Solar System on October 24, 2026.

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