Comparison

Alien Planets vs Solar System Viewer

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

Head to head
About

Alien Planets

Features
Read full description

Alien Planets is a field guide to worlds that do not orbit our Sun. Somewhere out there, a year can last a few days, a sky can hold two suns, and a planet can be so close to its star that its surface is a permanent storm. This app turns those distant discoveries into something you can actually browse. Open it and move through confirmed exoplanets and the stars they circle. Each world comes with the details that make it real: how large it is, how massive, how long it takes to orbit, how far away it sits, and how it was found. Set a planet next to Earth or Jupiter and the scale snaps into place. A “super-Earth” stops being a label and starts looking like a place. The catalog keeps growing. New observations revise old numbers, and planets once listed as candidates become confirmed. Alien Planets stays with that living record, written in plain language, so you can follow the nearest known worlds, the strangest orbits, and the thin band astronomers call the habitable zone without getting lost in a research paper. Save the planets you want to come back to. Then keep going. The galaxy is full of new worlds, and most of them still have a story waiting.

About

Solar System Viewer

Explore and simulate the orbits of planets in our solar system. This app allows you to speed up or slow down time, travel to any date, and view planetary positions. It also offers widgets for your home screen and Apple Watch complications.

Highlights
  • Simulate planetary orbits
  • Adjust time speed
  • Time travel to specific dates
  • Home screen widgets
  • Apple Watch integration
  • View planet overviews
Features
Read full description

8Planets is a simple viewer and simulator for planetary orbits in our Solar System. 8Planets helps you discover how the planets aligned and move around over time so that you feel the scale of the Solar System or even the Universe. By giving you quick and easy access to the Solar System everywhere, 8Planets will make you feel that the Solar System is close to us. FEATURES ・Planetary Motion Speed up or slow down time to see how the planets rotate over time and grasp the scale of the Solar System. ・Time Travel Travel back or forward in time to view the Solar System or planetary positions on any given date. ・Widgets Widgets allow you to display the real-time Solar System on your Home Screen. ・Watch View the Solar System on your wrist and use Digital Crown to travel back or forward in time. ・Others Apple Watch Complications, Overview of the planets, Option to show Pluto, Sharing your favorite moment of the Solar System, URL Scheme, and more.

Screenshots

Alien Planets4 screens
Solar System Viewer3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Alien Planets at none against Solar System Viewer's 4. Solar System Viewer's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $9.99) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 24 months). On ads and iOS requirement 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

Alien Planets costs $9.99 and Solar System Viewer $2.99 up front. Solar System Viewer sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Alien Planets asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Alien Planets ships an update every 24 months, Solar System Viewer every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Alien Planets versus Solar System Viewer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAlien PlanetsSolar System Viewer
Price$9.99$2.99 — better
Rating—4.4 (28 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—83.3% of reviews
Number of ratings—28 — better
Update frequencyEvery 24 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS27.026.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJose LealBLUE COMET LABS LLC

In-app purchases

None

Alien Planets

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Solar System Viewer

One-time4
  • Io Tip$1.99
  • Europa Tip$3.99
  • Ganymede Tip$5.99
Show 1 more
  • Callisto Tip$9.99

Questions

Is Alien Planets free?
Alien Planets costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Solar System Viewer free?
Solar System Viewer costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Do Alien Planets or Solar System Viewer have ads?
Neither Alien Planets nor Solar System Viewer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Alien Planets or Solar System Viewer?
Alien Planets ships an update every 24 months, and Solar System Viewer every 2 months. Most recently, Alien Planets was updated on October 19, 2026 and Solar System Viewer on October 18, 2026.

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