Pocket Planets vs Solar System Viewer
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
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.
- Simulate planetary orbits
- Adjust time speed
- Time travel to specific dates
- Home screen widgets
- Apple Watch integration
- View planet overviews
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Pocket Planets at Free against Solar System Viewer's $2.99. Pocket Planets also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). Solar System Viewer's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (83% vs 67%). On rating, ratings volume 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
Pocket Planets is free to download; Solar System Viewer costs $2.99 up front. Solar System Viewer sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Pocket Planets asks for nothing beyond the download.
Pocket Planets holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 22 and 28 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of Pocket Planets's written reviews are positive against 83% of Solar System Viewer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Pocket Planets ships an update every 3 weeks, Solar System Viewer every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pocket Planets | Solar System Viewer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.6 (22 ratings) — better | 4.4 (28 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 83.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 22 | 28 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 66 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ad Lunam Kereskedelmi es Szolgaltato Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag | BLUE COMET LABS LLC |
Customer experience
Pocket Planets
Solar System Viewer
In-app purchases
Pocket Planets
No in-app purchases
Solar System Viewer
- Io Tip$1.99
- Europa Tip$3.99
- Ganymede Tip$5.99
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- Callisto Tip$9.99
Questions
Is Pocket Planets free?
Is Solar System Viewer free?
Which has better reviews, Pocket Planets or Solar System Viewer?
Do Pocket Planets or Solar System Viewer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pocket Planets or Solar System Viewer?
Other comparisons
