Celestial Navigation vs MagVar
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Celestial Navigation
This application assists with celestial navigation by performing sextant sight reduction calculations. It displays intermediate numbers for verification and can draw lines of position on a map. Features include a perpetual nautical almanac and a star finder to identify celestial bodies.
- Sextant sight reduction calculations
- Perpetual nautical almanac
- Line of position calculation and plotting
- Star Finder for celestial identification
- Save and manage sextant readings
- Display intermediate calculation numbers
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This app does all the calculations to reduce a sextant reading to a line of position on the map. All intermediate numbers are shown to check your manual calculations. • Perpetual nautical almanac • Calculation of the line of position (azimuth and distance) • Draws the line of position on the map. • Star Finder: just point your device to the sky to identify the navigational stars. • Save your readings, choose what to show on the map. A sextant is required to make full use of this app.
MagVar
This navigation tool calculates magnetic variation, the difference between true and magnetic north, essential for plotting courses on maps. It's designed for pilots, sailors, cartographers, and anyone using maps and a compass.
- Magnetic variation calculation
- True vs. magnetic north difference
- Map overlay display
- Accurate for 2025-2029
- Declination and inclination calculation
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MagVar is targeted towards anyone interested in navigation. This includes, pilots of aircraft, captains of sea going vessels, cartographers, engineers and surveyors. Anyone who uses maps and a compass will find the declination calculation (also referred to magnetic variation) very useful. (Declination is the difference between true and magnetic north and used when plotting a course on a map.) MagVar calculates the magnetic flux density for any location on the Earth and then uses this data to calculate magnetic variation. The model is accurate for dates ranging from January 1, 2025 up through December 31, 2029. Using the model, the app calculates declination and inclination. As the user pans the map, the magnetic variation is calculated and graphically shown as a map overlay.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: MagVar at 5.0 against Celestial Navigation's 4.2. MagVar also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 77%) and chart position (#126 vs unranked). Celestial Navigation's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 23 months) and ratings volume (15 vs 1). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
Celestial Navigation costs $1.99 and MagVar $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
MagVar holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Celestial Navigation has 15 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of Celestial Navigation's written reviews are positive against 100% of MagVar's.
Celestial Navigation ships an update every 5 days, MagVar every 23 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Celestial Navigation | MagVar |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | $0.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.2 (15 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 77.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 15 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Every 23 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #126 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 51 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dr. Harald Merkel | Robert Walker |
Customer experience
Celestial Navigation
MagVar
In-app purchases
Celestial Navigation
No in-app purchases
MagVar
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Celestial Navigation free?
Is MagVar free?
Which has better reviews, Celestial Navigation or MagVar?
Do Celestial Navigation or MagVar have ads?
Which is updated more often, Celestial Navigation or MagVar?
Other comparisons
