Comparison

Solary vs DIY Solar System

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

Head to head
About

Solary

Explore our solar system in augmented reality. View individual planets or the entire system in orbit. Interact with celestial bodies by rotating, scaling, and repositioning them. Enhance your experience with a galaxy background.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality solar system exploration
  • View individual planets or the full system
  • Interactive planet controls (rotate, scale, move)
  • Adjustable rotation animations
  • Galaxy background option
Read full description

Solary is an AR app which lets you inspect each planet of our solar system. You can choose each planet one by one to check them out closely, or you can choose the whole solar system to experience all the planets orbiting around the sun. During the AR experience you can start and pause rotation animations, move the planets up and down, scale them or rotate them by yourself. If you really want to feel like you're in space, then tap on the galaxy button to enable it as a background.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

Solary4 screens
DIY Solar System4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: DIY Solar System at none against Solary's 3. DIY Solar System also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 30 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.0). On price, review sentiment, 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. Solary sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. DIY Solar System asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Solary ships an update every 30 months, DIY Solar System every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Solary versus DIY Solar System: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSolaryDIY Solar System
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.5 (17 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—17 — better
Update frequencyEvery 30 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS14.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size109 MB180 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGyorgy BorzThe Lawrence Hall of Science

Customer experience

Solary

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

DIY Solar System

All ratings16 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Solary

One-time3
  • Tip$0.99
  • Big tip$1.99
  • Giant tip$2.99
None

DIY Solar System

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Solary free?
Solary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DIY Solar System free?
DIY Solar System is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Solary or DIY Solar System have ads?
Neither Solary nor DIY Solar System shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Solary or DIY Solar System?
Solary ships an update every 30 months, and DIY Solar System every 2 months. Most recently, Solary was updated on October 19, 2026 and DIY Solar System on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons