Comparison

Celestia vs Story Time

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

Head to head
About

Celestia

Explore the universe in real-time 3D. Visit planets, moons, star clusters, and galaxies, viewing them from any point in space and time. Customize your experience with expandable content and detailed simulations.

Highlights
  • Real-time 3D space visualization
  • Explore planets, moons, stars, galaxies
  • Accurate solar system object positions
  • Interactive planetarium mode
  • Expandable content with add-ons
  • Customizable celestial databases
Features
Read full description

Celestia — real-time 3D visualization of space 3D Space Simulator | Celestia lets you explore our universe in three dimensions. Celestia simulates many different types of celestial objects. From planets and moons to star clusters and galaxies, you can visit every object in the expandable database and view it from any point in space and time. The position and movement of solar system objects is calculated accurately in real time at any rate desired. Interactive Planetarium | Celestia serves as a planetarium – for an observer on any celestial object. You can easily navigate to any world and land on its surface. When used as a planetarium, Celestia shows accurate positions of solar system objects in the sky. You can switch labels and other supporting features on and off with hotkeys, or zoom in and out on an object of interest, for example Jupiter’s system of moons. Expandable Content | Customize Celestia according to your needs. Celestia’s catalogues can be easily expanded. There are many different add-ons available containing new objects like comets or stars, high-resolution textures of Earth and other well mapped solar system bodies, as well as 3D models for asteroids and spacecraft on precise trajectories. Even fictional objects from well-known sci-fi franchises can be found. EULA(End User License Agreement): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Story Time

Features
Read full description

Story Time helps young children practice reading aloud, one word at a time. As your child reads a story page by page, each word is highlighted the moment it's recognized. When they're stuck, a gentle helper reads the word aloud and celebrates their progress along the way. No red X's, no pressure, just encouragement that keeps them turning the page. **How it works** Pick a level and a story. Choose from 4 levels with 3 original stories each, from first words to confident short chapters. Read aloud while Story Time listens and highlights each word as you go. Get unstuck with a tap. The app reads the current word aloud, or gently assists after a few tries. Finish a page or story and celebrate with a little confetti. **Track progress** A private Parent Area keeps progress for each child. See reading streaks, words read, reading time, accuracy, and tricky words. "Keep going" takes you right back to the last story you were reading. **Private by design** Everything runs on device. Nothing is sent to any server. **For parents** A quick arithmetic gate keeps little ones out of the Parent Area. Recognition settings let you tune how strict the listener is, and even try Mock Speech for a quiet demo. **Privacy & Terms** [Privacy Policy](https://lirazhad.github.io/privacy-policy/policies/story-time/) [Terms of Use (EULA)](https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/)

Screenshots

Celestia4 screens
Story Time4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Story Time at none against Celestia's 4. On price, update cadence, ads 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. Celestia sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Story Time asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Celestia ships an update fortnightly, Story Time every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Celestia versus Story Time: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCelestiaStory Time
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (338 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews78.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings338 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size550 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer林峰 李Liraz Hadad

Bugs and requests

Celestia

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Milky Way and other galaxy textures not loading properly
  • Crashes when using certain add-ons
  • Issues with planet and moon orbits not being accurate

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more exoplanets and distant star systems
  • Implement terrain generation for planets
  • Expand to include more galaxies and the overall universe structure
  • Add support for black holes, pulsars, and other exotic objects
  • Improve controls and camera movement

Story Time

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Celestia

Subscriptions3
  • Celestia PLUS (Weekly)7 Days trial$0.997 Days
  • Celestia PLUS (Monthly)$1.991 Month
  • Celestia PLUS (Yearly)$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Celestia PLUS (Lifetime)$79.99
None

Story Time

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Celestia free?
Celestia is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Story Time free?
Story Time is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Celestia or Story Time have ads?
Neither Celestia nor Story Time shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Celestia or Story Time?
Celestia ships an update fortnightly, and Story Time every 10 days. Most recently, Celestia was updated on October 27, 2026 and Story Time on October 26, 2026.

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