Comparison

Perpetual Nautical Almanac vs Celestial Nav

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

Head to head
About

Perpetual Nautical Almanac

Calculate precise celestial positions for navigation from 1900 to 2050. Get real-time data on the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, including rise/set times and atmospheric corrections.

Highlights
  • Real-time celestial body positions
  • Sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset calculations
  • Sunlight world map with celestial positions
  • Moon phase and age
  • Planet and star GHA/dec
  • Atmospheric refraction and dip corrections
Read full description

Using the U.S. Naval Observatory NOVAS library and solar system ephemerides from JPL, high precision positions can be calculated in real-time from 1900 to 2050. Simply select date and time and all values are recalculated instantly. The estimated elevation value is only needed for calculating sunrise/sunset, twilight, and moonrise/moonset. The app provides the following functionalities: *Aries: GHA position *Sun: -GHA/dec - Astronomical dawn, nautical dawn, civil dawn, sunrise, sunset, civil dusk, nautical dusk, astronomical dusk, and meridian passage at Greenwich. - Semidiameter - Sunlight world map with the Sun and the Moon position. *Moon: - GHA/dec - Moonrise/moonset and meridian passage at Greenwich. - Semidiameter - Moon phase and age of the Moon. *Planets: - GHA/dec for Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. *Stars: - Magnitude, SHA/dec of 99 stars ordered by SHA. *Corrections: - Correction for the atmospheric refraction. - Correction for the dip of the horizon. - Parallax correction for the Moon, the Sun, Venus, and Mars.

About

Celestial Nav

This tool provides comprehensive celestial navigation calculations, including sight reductions and almanac data. It offers both basic free features for daytime sun navigation and advanced pro features for day and night use with a wide range of celestial bodies. The app is designed for offline functionality and ease of use.

Highlights
  • Celestial navigational computations
  • Perpetual Almanac (1600-3000)
  • Offline functionality
  • High accuracy sight reductions
  • Sight planning and reduction tools
  • Save LOP calculations
  • Map display for saved LOPs
Features
Read full description

We believe celestial navigation is an amazing skill and develop Celestial Nav to offer a simple, yet powerful and all encompassing app for our users. Celestial Nav is an easy to use, all-in-one tool which offers: • Celestial navigational computations for your device • Simple toolbar menu for quick access • Internally stored perpetual Almanac • Offline ready and functional without the need for other external tools • Quick and easy capture celestial observation data • High accuracy sight reductions • Star reference tables SIGHT PLANNING • Local Hour Angle (LHA) for Aries • Star tables sorted by name, magnitude, declination, and SHA • Sunrise, sunset, twilight, and location reference • Moon phase reference SIGHT REDUCTION • High accuracy sight reduction algorithm • Perpetual Almanac offering accurate data for years 1600 - 3000 • Almanac data for Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn • Detailed Almanac data for 58 navigational stars • Assumed Position (AP) for any user defined position • Line of Position (LOP) intercept data for accurate course and speed adjustments • Computational variables displayed for accuracy and validation CELESTIAL FIX • Computations by USNO algorithm in the Nautical Almanac • Save all your LOP in an easy reference table BASIC VERSION Free daytime celestial navigation tools using the sun: • Unlimited sextant sight reduction calculations • Sight reduction to a line of position using the sun • Perpetual almanac for the sun • Advanced sight corrections for index error, eye height, temperature, and pressure • Support for upper and lower limb reference • Star Table with navigational references • Detailed Sun references • Limited Moon references PRO FEATURES (IN-APP PURCHASE) Advanced Day & Night Celestial Navigation includes all BASIC features plus: • Almanac data for 65 navigational bodies for years 1600 through 3000 • Map display for saved LOPs • View intercepts with course and speed corrections • Metric and imperial unit support with automatic conversions • Support for coordinate entries in different formats (H° M’ S” or Decimals) • Save all your LOP calculations for future reference • Save user preferences and settings • Unrestricted moon references • Almanac and algorithmic models for 65 navigational bodies: • Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn • 58 navigational stars Supported stars: Acamar, Achernar, Acrux, Adhara, Aldebaran, Alioth, Alkaid, Alnair, Alnilam, Alphard, Alphecca, Alpheratz, Altair, Ankaa, Antares, Arcturus, Atria, Avior, Bellatrix, Betelgeuse, Canopus, Capella, Deneb, Denebola, Diphda, Dubhe, Elnath, Eltanin, Enif, Fomalhaut, Gacrux, Gienah, Hadar, Hamal, Kaus Australis, Kochab, Markab, Menkar, Menkent, Miaplacidus, Mirfak, Nunki, Peacock, Polaris, Pollux, Procyon, Rasalhague, Regulus, Rigel, Rigil Kent., Sabik, Schedar, Shaula, Sirius, Spica, Suhail, Vega, Zubengenubi REFERENCES Sight reductions and celestial calculations use various internationally accepted references for the most accurate results: • Jean Meeus - Astronomical Algorithms • US Naval Observatory (USNO) Almanac and Algorithms • Hipparcos New Astrometric Catalog, Published 2007 • ELP2000-85 SUBSCRIPTION TERMS Celestial Nav is free to download and the basic features free to use. A paid upgrade to the PRO version provides access to premium features and additional tools. We may offer trial subscriptions that give limited time access to all PRO features and premium content for the duration of the trial period. Trial subscriptions automatically expire and the app will revert back to the Basic version thereafter. No data is lost but access and use of premium features will no longer be available.

Screenshots

Perpetual Nautical Almanac4 screens
Celestial Nav4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Celestial Nav at Free against Perpetual Nautical Almanac's $6.99. Celestial Nav also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 9 months) and review sentiment (60% vs 38%). Perpetual Nautical Almanac's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and in-app purchases (none vs 6). On ads, device support 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

Celestial Nav is free to download; Perpetual Nautical Almanac costs $6.99 up front. Celestial Nav sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Perpetual Nautical Almanac asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Perpetual Nautical Almanac holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Celestial Nav has 10 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 38% of Perpetual Nautical Almanac's written reviews are positive against 60% of Celestial Nav's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Perpetual Nautical Almanac ships an update every 9 months, Celestial Nav every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Perpetual Nautical Almanac versus Celestial Nav: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPerpetual Nautical AlmanacCelestial Nav
Price$6.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.3 (10 ratings)
Positive reviews37.5% of reviews60.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings110 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB21 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperRPA TechnologiesSkytip LLC

Customer experience

Perpetual Nautical Almanac

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive37.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative62.5%

Celestial Nav

All ratings10 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

Perpetual Nautical Almanac

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Celestial Nav

Subscriptions3
  • PRO Version$1.991 Month
  • PRO Version$7.996 Months
  • PRO Version$9.991 Year
One-time3
  • 7 Day Trial License$0.99
  • 30 Day Trial License$2.99
  • PRO Version Lifetime$24.99

Questions

Is Perpetual Nautical Almanac free?
Perpetual Nautical Almanac costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Celestial Nav free?
Celestial Nav is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Perpetual Nautical Almanac or Celestial Nav?
Perpetual Nautical Almanac is rated higher. Perpetual Nautical Almanac averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Celestial Nav averages 4.3 from 10 ratings.
Do Perpetual Nautical Almanac or Celestial Nav have ads?
Neither Perpetual Nautical Almanac nor Celestial Nav shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Perpetual Nautical Almanac or Celestial Nav?
Perpetual Nautical Almanac ships an update every 9 months, and Celestial Nav every 3 weeks. Most recently, Perpetual Nautical Almanac was updated on November 7, 2026 and Celestial Nav on November 3, 2026.

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