# Star Stacker vs SharpStacker

The clearest difference is price: SharpStacker at Free against Star Stacker's $3.99. SharpStacker also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 months). Star Stacker's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.6). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

SharpStacker is free to download; Star Stacker costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Star Stacker ships an update every 6 months, SharpStacker fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Star Stacker | SharpStacker |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $3.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.3 (95 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/star-stacker/id1549693927/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **95** | — |
| Positive reviews | 56.3% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 4 MB | 17 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [michael webb](https://appshunter.io/developer/622398499) | [LUIGI VANNOZZI](https://appshunter.io/developer/6783673110) |

## What reviewers say

### Star Stacker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/star-stacker/id1549693927)

Create stunning star trail images and time-lapse videos from sequences of night sky photos. Offers various effects like full trails, faded trails, shooting stars, and warp mode. Supports importing photos from your device's gallery.

**Highlights:** Create star trail images, Generate time-lapse videos, Full trails effect, Faded trails effect, Shooting star effect, Warp mode effect, Import photos from gallery

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- ✨ Great results
- 🚀 Fast processing
- 💡 Versatile for different uses
- 👨‍🏫 Useful for teaching

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes
- 💸 Not worth the money
- 🤔 Unintuitive interface
- 🤷‍♂️ Lack of documentation
- 🐌 Slow stacking speed

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when starting stack
- App crashes when attempting to stack
- App crashes during stacking process
- App crashes when rendering video
- Cannot load photos

**Requested features**

- Option to export live photos
- Help info for stacking options
- Manual stacking option
- Advanced editing software
- Automatic alignment function


### SharpStacker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sharpstacker/id6783673108)

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Star Stacker free?

Star Stacker costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is SharpStacker free?

SharpStacker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Star Stacker or SharpStacker have ads?

Neither Star Stacker nor SharpStacker shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Star Stacker or SharpStacker?

Star Stacker ships an update every 6 months, and SharpStacker fortnightly. Most recently, Star Stacker was updated on September 30, 2026 and SharpStacker on September 28, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*