Comparison

It's Just a Phase® vs Planetary Guide

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

Head to head
About

It's Just a Phase®

Explore lunar cycles and zodiac signs with a comprehensive calendar. Track your intentions and practices with an integrated diary. Reflect and plan your life around celestial movements.

Highlights
  • Moon phase calendar
  • Zodiac information
  • Intention diary
  • Practice tracking
  • Lunar cycle reflection
Read full description

Learn about the moon phases with It’s just a Phase®. Our app features a calendar with moon phases and zodiac information to help you to reflect and plan. Sign up to have access to a diary to keep track of your intentions and your praxis. "[Praxis is] reflection and action directed at the structures to be transformed." - Paulo Freire. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://itsjustaphase.app/privacy/

About

Planetary Guide

Features
Read full description

Daily Planetary Guide showing exact timing of transits for selected locations / timezones (additional timezones can be added on request. This app provides all the information that you would expect in a daily planetary guide to assist with finding the best time for opportunities. Includes many techniques used by Mundane astrologers. Planetary Guide provides: - exact transit timing (to the minute) of planets, including retrogrades and ingresses - choice of either tropical or sidereal zodiacs defaults - variety of default locations / timezones to choose from - full /new moons, solar /lunar eclipse - retrogrades, ingresses and outer planet transit for extended periods - current longitude of planets and for the sidereal zodiac navamsha and nakshatra for each planet is included - current longitude by degree - this assists users to identify planets at close degrees, planets combust Sun or planets about to leave a sign - current aspects with orbs - current aspects to midpoints - ephemeris tables - longitude and declination - 30 and 45 degree graphical ephemeris - 2 options: All planets - 15 days, Outers - 90 days - annual retrogrades - eclipse dates for a 1 year period - aspects to new and full moons - 30 days prior and post selected date - moon void of course for next 30 days - 2 heat maps - current for the next 20 days and biannual for the next 180 days. Ingresses and Direct/Retrogrades can be overlayed to each heat map - transit chart for selected locations in both round and diamond format. The diamond format used by Sidereal Astrologers has a 9th harmonic chart and a listing of planetary strengths, aspects, combustion with the Sun - sort strip for a 15 degree equivalent longitude degree - solar lunar calendar - lunar cycle - planetary cycles - select a planetary pair to show their planetary cycle by way of a pie-chart. Also includes a summary listing of various planets and their current phase in their respective cycle - add notes - aspect / retrograde / ingress / planet to degree search for a 1 year period - Watch List capability so users can add / delete selected aspects / retrogrades / ingresses / degree from the Search menu option. Items can also be added to the Watch List from Moon, Ingresses, Retro , Outers tabs and Eclipses - date picker so user can select other time periods for all calculations - high precision calculations based on the latest Swiss Ephemeris The app is easy to use with clear, concise tables setting out the information

Screenshots

It's Just a Phase®4 screens
Planetary Guide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: It's Just a Phase® at Free against Planetary Guide's $9.99. It's Just a Phase® also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). Planetary Guide's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and update cadence (weekly vs every 4 weeks). On 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

It's Just a Phase® is free to download; Planetary Guide costs $9.99 up front. It's Just a Phase® sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Planetary Guide asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

It's Just a Phase® ships an update every 4 weeks, Planetary Guide weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 12, 2026 and July 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
It's Just a Phase® versus Planetary Guide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIt's Just a Phase®Planetary Guide
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating3.8 (64 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews54.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings64 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPHASE 333 PTY LTDAllyson Jane Bunting

Bugs and requests

It's Just a Phase®

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • App stuck on loading screen
  • App closes immediately upon opening after update
  • App won't open, shows white page
  • App disappears after opening
  • Connectivity issues reported
Show 5 more
  • App says 'something went wrong'
  • Journal save button glitchy
  • Calendar function shows incorrect day's info
  • Password reset banner blocks button
  • Misspelled Sagittarius

Requested features

9 requests
  • Sidereal option
  • Widgets for the app
  • Dark theme option
  • Option to change background color
  • Ability to interpret personal chart effects
Show 4 more
  • Option to add events/reminders to calendar
  • More notification options
  • Information on moon phase meanings (spiritual side)
  • Vedic astrological reference option

Planetary Guide

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

It's Just a Phase®

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Membership Monthly$7.991 Month
One-time9
  • IJAP - Premium Membership$4.99
  • IJAP - Premium Membership$5.00
  • IJAP Premium Membership$8.99
Show 6 more
  • IJAP - Premium Membership$9.99
  • IJAP - Premium Membership$10.00
  • IJAP - Premium Membership$10.49
  • IJAP - Premium Membership$13.99
  • IJAP - Premium Membership$19.99
  • IJAP - Premium Membership$20.00
None

Planetary Guide

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is It's Just a Phase® free?
It's Just a Phase® is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Planetary Guide free?
Planetary Guide costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do It's Just a Phase® or Planetary Guide have ads?
Neither It's Just a Phase® nor Planetary Guide shows ads.
Which is updated more often, It's Just a Phase® or Planetary Guide?
It's Just a Phase® ships an update every 4 weeks, and Planetary Guide weekly. Most recently, It's Just a Phase® was updated on September 12, 2026 and Planetary Guide on July 16, 2026.

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