Pocket Planets vs VR Universe
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pocket Planets
Explore our solar system with detailed information on planets, moons, and astronauts. Track who is currently in space and receive notifications for new launches. Access NASA images and compare celestial body characteristics.
- Detailed planet and moon data
- Astronaut information and missions
- Real-time space occupancy
- Launch notifications
- NASA image gallery
- Celestial body comparisons
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Pocket Planets gives you all the information you need about our solar system and human activity in space. Learn more about all 565 astronauts who been to space. What was their mission? How long had they been up there? See who is in space now! Get notified when somebody goes into space. Get up to date information about every planet and moon in the solar system. Including: - Physical characteristics: mass, radius, density, gravity, escape velocity - Orbital characteristics: real-time distance from the Sun and Earth, orbital period, orbital speed, eccentricity, apsis, periapsis, visualise orbit - Atmosphere: pressure, atmospheric composition - Images from Nasa - Moons: compare their size and distance
VR Universe
Explore the universe with interactive augmented and virtual reality experiences. Learn about space, planets, and the International Space Station through hands-on projects like building a planetarium and launching a rocket. Bring educational content to life by holding your device over a special book.
- Augmented and virtual reality experiences
- Interactive space exploration
- Hands-on science projects
- Learn about planets and the solar system
- Bring educational content to life
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Join Professor Maxwell to explore the wonders of our universe with dozens of projects that come alive in augmented and virtual reality! Journey through space to learn about the Sun, our Solar System, planets, the International Space Station and more while experiencing it first-hand in immersive VR. Then get hands on with projects including launching a rocket, building a planetarium and creating a sundial to tell the time, all in Professor Maxwell’s VR Universe! To activate the experiences, simply download the app and hold your phone over the book included in the kit to see Professor Maxwell come to life!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Pocket Planets at 4.6 against VR Universe's 4.1. Pocket Planets also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months). VR Universe's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Pocket Planets holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 22 and 30 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Pocket Planets's written reviews are positive against 60% of VR Universe's.
Pocket Planets ships an update every 3 weeks, VR Universe every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pocket Planets | VR Universe |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (22 ratings) — better | 4.1 (30 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better | 60.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 22 | 30 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 66 MB | 1.2 GB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ad Lunam Kereskedelmi es Szolgaltato Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag | Abacus |
Customer experience
Pocket Planets
VR Universe
In-app purchases
Pocket Planets
No in-app purchases
VR Universe
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Pocket Planets free?
Is VR Universe free?
Which has better reviews, Pocket Planets or VR Universe?
Do Pocket Planets or VR Universe have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pocket Planets or VR Universe?
Other comparisons
