Comparison

Pocket Planets vs Below Me

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Detailed planet and moon data
  • Astronaut information and missions
  • Real-time space occupancy
  • Launch notifications
  • NASA image gallery
  • Celestial body comparisons
Features
Read full description

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

About

Below Me

This app uses your device's camera to show you countries and geographical features on the other side of the Earth. It provides a live augmented reality view of borders, sea names, and distances, allowing you to explore the planet from your current location or simulate others.

Highlights
  • Live AR view of country borders
  • Distance and direction readouts
  • Offline functionality
  • Simulate locations worldwide
  • Detailed geographical relief
  • Day-night line visualization
Features
Read full description

What's on the other side of the horizon? Point your iPhone or iPad at the horizon, tilt it down, and Below Me shows you the countries that lie beyond the curve of the Earth, as if you could look straight through the planet. Below Me isn't a map. It's a window. Every border you see is placed where it really is from where you stand: computed on the WGS84 ellipsoid with great-circle math and projected through the Earth along your line of sight. Tilt further and the countries get farther away. Point straight down and you're looking at your antipode. FEATURES • Live AR view: country borders, sea names, a labelled 10° grid and distance labels floating over your camera image • Crosshair readout: which country or sea you're looking at, how far away it is and in which direction • Info panel you can fold away to a small tag for a clear view • Mini globe showing your position and line of sight, drag it to spin • Outdoor mode that dims the camera for bright daylight • Colour tints for land and seas, thin or bold borders • Choose kilometers or miles • English and German • Works offline. No account, no tracking, no internet needed FREE Explore everything within 5,000 km of where you stand. PRO – ONE-TIME PURCHASE • Whole Earth: range up to 20,000 km, all the way to your antipode • Place search: any country, 34,000 cities offline or any place worldwide via Apple Maps. Up to five red markers, and an arrow guides you there through the Earth • Relief: mountains, shelves and deep-sea trenches as coloured, shaded terrain • Your exact antipode, marked in yellow straight below your feet • Fine borders and coastlines (Natural Earth 1:10M, five times more detail) • Home marker: a red dot shows where home is when you travel • Major cities with distance • Local time at the point you're looking at • Country info card: outline, capital, area, population, currency, calling code, languages • Live day-night line and the sun through the Earth: tilt down at night and see where it's shining right now • Simulate a location: explore the Earth from New York, Tokyo or anywhere else Buy once, keep forever. Family Sharing included. No subscription. For the curious, travellers, teachers, pilots, sailors and anyone who has ever stood on a beach and wondered what lies out there. Requires an iPhone or iPad (iOS 18 or later).

Screenshots

Pocket Planets4 screens
Below Me4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pocket Planets at none against Below Me's 1. Pocket Planets also leads on ratings volume (22 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.0). Below Me's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs every 3 weeks). On price 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Below Me sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Pocket Planets asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Below Me holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pocket Planets has 22 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pocket Planets ships an update every 3 weeks, Below Me daily. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Pocket Planets versus Below Me: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocket PlanetsBelow Me
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (22 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings22 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksDaily — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size66 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAd Lunam Kereskedelmi es Szolgaltato Korlatolt Felelossegu TarsasagMarc Bachmann

Customer experience

Pocket Planets

All ratings22 ratings
Positive86.4%
Neutral4.5%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative16.7%

Below Me

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Pocket Planets

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Below Me

One-time1
  • Below Me Pro Version$3.99

Questions

Is Pocket Planets free?
Pocket Planets is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Below Me free?
Below Me is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pocket Planets or Below Me?
Below Me is rated higher. Pocket Planets averages 4.6 out of 5 from 22 ratings, while Below Me averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Pocket Planets or Below Me have ads?
Pocket Planets shows ads; Below Me does not.
Which is updated more often, Pocket Planets or Below Me?
Pocket Planets ships an update every 3 weeks, and Below Me daily. Most recently, Pocket Planets was updated on October 24, 2026 and Below Me on October 10, 2026.

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