# Drifting Stars vs Solar System Sim

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Drifting Stars at none against Solar System Sim's 5. Drifting Stars also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (100% vs 81%). Solar System Sim's advantage is ratings volume (4.4K vs 2). On price, rating and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Solar System Sim sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Drifting Stars asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Drifting Stars against 4.5 for Solar System Sim. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Solar System Sim has 4.4K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of Drifting Stars's written reviews are positive against 81% of Solar System Sim's.

Drifting Stars ships an update every 2 days, Solar System Sim every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Drifting Stars | Solar System Sim |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drifting-stars/id1348001017/reviews)** | [4.5 (4.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/solar-system-sim/id6447612221/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **4.4K** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 80.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 days** | Every 5 days |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 67 MB | 522 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Hydronio (OPC) Private Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/1088950167) | [WPC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1681830786) |

## What reviewers say

### Drifting Stars

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drifting-stars/id1348001017)

Navigate your spaceship through an endless cosmic journey, dodging obstacles and strategically using celestial bodies. Experience thrilling action with beautiful visuals and simple controls in this free-to-play adventure.

**Highlights:** Infinite space adventure, Action-filled gameplay, Dodge missiles and planets, Strategic use of planets, Beautiful visuals and audio, Simple controls

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Solar System Sim

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/solar-system-sim/id6447612221)

Simulate and explore celestial bodies within our solar system and beyond. Create your own solar systems, experiment with gravity and physics, and observe orbital mechanics in action.

**Highlights:** Explore planets and moons, Visit nearby stars, Create custom solar systems, Gravity and physics simulation, Recalculate orbits, Newton's laws implementation

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| HD Mars | $2.99 | one-time |
| HD Earth | $2.99 | one-time |
| HD Moon | $2.99 | one-time |
| No-ads | $3.99 | one-time |
| HD 3-body pack | $6.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Realistic simulation
- 🚀 Detailed solar system
- 🚀 Ability to create custom solar systems
- 🚀 Impressive graphics
- 🚀 Frequent updates

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and glitches
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 💰 Excessive ads
- 🐛 Saving and loading issues
- 🐛 Unstable orbits

**Reported bugs**

- Planets/moons disappearing after saving and loading
- Bright flashes and screen distortions
- Planets/objects getting stuck inside stars
- Crashes when colliding or editing certain objects
- Inconsistent orbital mechanics and moons ejecting from planets

**Requested features**

- Add more galaxy and nebula textures
- Implement realistic supernova effects
- Allow customization of planet atmospheres and terrain
- Add binary star systems and rogue planets
- Introduce a galaxy maker and collision feature


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Drifting Stars free?

Drifting Stars is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Solar System Sim free?

Solar System Sim is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Drifting Stars or Solar System Sim?

Drifting Stars is rated higher. Drifting Stars averages 4.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Solar System Sim averages 4.5 from 4.4K ratings.

### Do Drifting Stars or Solar System Sim have ads?

Solar System Sim shows ads; Drifting Stars does not.

### Which is updated more often, Drifting Stars or Solar System Sim?

Drifting Stars ships an update every 2 days, and Solar System Sim every 5 days. Most recently, Drifting Stars was updated on October 10, 2026 and Solar System Sim on October 28, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*
