Pocket Planets vs DIY Solar System
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
DIY Solar System
Explore the solar system with interactive activities and an augmented reality planet walk. Learn about space travel, design a moon base, and identify celestial objects. Developed by leading science institutions, this app makes learning about space engaging for families and educators.
- Interactive space activities
- Augmented reality planet walk
- Design a moon base
- Grow a space garden
- Control a Mars rover
- In or Out space game
- NASA imagery
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DIY Solar System makes it easy for families and educators to explore the solar system from anywhere, anytime! The app was developed by the Children’s Creativity Museum, Sciencenter, and Museum of Life and Science, in partnership with UC Berkeley’s The Lawrence Hall of Science. INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES DIY Solar System includes 11 easy-to-use activities to learn about space travel, living in space, and the unique objects that make up the planetary system we call home. Design a Moon base, grow your own space garden, or experience what it’s like to control a rover on Mars! Each activity includes step-by-step instructions that have been tested by educators, kids, and families. Activity materials are easily available and inexpensive—you may already have many of them in your home! AUGMENTED REALITY PLANET WALK Don’t have the time to travel several billion miles to reach Neptune? Try dropping a scale version of the solar system outside your home to start a walk that will show you planets, dwarf planets, and asteroids. At each stop, examine the space object up close using real images from NASA. Don’t forget to take a space selfie with your favorite planet! IN OR OUT GAME Quickly scan awe-inspiring images of space objects from NASA’s Earth and space observatories to decide if the objects are in or out of the solar system. While the solar system is vast, it only represents a tiny corner of the universe. After you have mastered your solar system knowledge, challenge yourself to a new round of objects in or out of our home galaxy, the Milky Way. Funding Source This work was supported by NASA under award number 80NSSC21M0082. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in these programs are those of the author and do not reflect the views of NASA. Compatibility Requires iOS 12.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone and iPad. Rated 4+.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: DIY Solar System at none against Pocket Planets's shown. DIY Solar System also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Pocket Planets's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, rating, 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Pocket Planets against 4.5 for DIY Solar System. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 22 and 16 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of Pocket Planets's written reviews are positive against 100% of DIY Solar System's.
Pocket Planets ships an update every 3 weeks, DIY Solar System every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 8, 2026 and June 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pocket Planets | DIY Solar System |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (22 ratings) — better | 4.5 (16 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 22 — better | 16 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 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 | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 66 MB | 180 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ad Lunam Kereskedelmi es Szolgaltato Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag | The Lawrence Hall of Science |
Customer experience
Pocket Planets
DIY Solar System
In-app purchases
Pocket Planets
No in-app purchases
DIY Solar System
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Pocket Planets free?
Is DIY Solar System free?
Which has better reviews, Pocket Planets or DIY Solar System?
Do Pocket Planets or DIY Solar System have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pocket Planets or DIY Solar System?
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