Comparison

Solar System Viewer vs Three

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

Head to head
About

Solar System Viewer

Explore and simulate the orbits of planets in our solar system. This app allows you to speed up or slow down time, travel to any date, and view planetary positions. It also offers widgets for your home screen and Apple Watch complications.

Highlights
  • Simulate planetary orbits
  • Adjust time speed
  • Time travel to specific dates
  • Home screen widgets
  • Apple Watch integration
  • View planet overviews
Features
Read full description

8Planets is a simple viewer and simulator for planetary orbits in our Solar System. 8Planets helps you discover how the planets aligned and move around over time so that you feel the scale of the Solar System or even the Universe. By giving you quick and easy access to the Solar System everywhere, 8Planets will make you feel that the Solar System is close to us. FEATURES ・Planetary Motion Speed up or slow down time to see how the planets rotate over time and grasp the scale of the Solar System. ・Time Travel Travel back or forward in time to view the Solar System or planetary positions on any given date. ・Widgets Widgets allow you to display the real-time Solar System on your Home Screen. ・Watch View the Solar System on your wrist and use Digital Crown to travel back or forward in time. ・Others Apple Watch Complications, Overview of the planets, Option to show Pluto, Sharing your favorite moment of the Solar System, URL Scheme, and more.

About

Three

Explore celestial mechanics by simulating gravitational interactions between multiple celestial bodies. Users can add up to seven suns and an asteroid matrix to observe complex orbital behaviors and gravitational slingshot effects. The app allows for adjustments to gravity parameters for demonstration purposes.

Highlights
  • Multi-body gravitational simulation
  • Add up to 7 suns
  • Asteroid matrix simulation
  • Observe gravitational slingshots
  • Adjustable gravity parameters for demonstration
  • Enlarged volumes for better observation
Features
Read full description

1. For a batter observation, all volumes are enlarged by many times (the range of gravity in the real universe is much larger, and the planet is much smaller, so don’t worry about breaking the Roche limit) 2. Users can add up to 7 Sun, and randomly distribute them to nearby spaces. 3. Users can add an asteroid matrix. Asteroids have no gravity (negligibly small in the reality) and are only affected by Suns. (Well, in fact, it is afraid that the cpu is limited, and it is impossible to calculate the mutual gravitational force of too many stars.) 4. The three-body system is very unstable, and it is prone to gravitational slingshot effect. If a star is too far away from other stars, it may never come back. 5. However, users can also turn on an additional r/10 parameter to increase the gravitational force of stars at a long distance and make it return to the system (after turning on the parameter, it can only be used for demonstration, and the data has no reference value).

Screenshots

Solar System Viewer3 screens
Three4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Solar System Viewer at 4.4 against Three's 2.0. Solar System Viewer also leads on review sentiment (83% vs 50%) and ratings volume (28 vs 4). Three's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). On ads, monetization model 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

Solar System Viewer costs $2.99 and Three $0.99 up front. Solar System Viewer sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Three asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Solar System Viewer holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Solar System Viewer has 28 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of Solar System Viewer's written reviews are positive against 50% of Three's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Solar System Viewer ships an update every 2 months, Three weekly. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Solar System Viewer versus Three: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSolar System ViewerThree
Price$2.99$0.99 — better
Rating4.4 (28 ratings) — better2.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings28 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS26.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB72 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBLUE COMET LABS LLC骐显 梁

Customer experience

Solar System Viewer

All ratings28 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral3.6%
Negative10.7%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative0.0%

Three

All ratings4 ratings
Positive25.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative75.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Solar System Viewer

One-time4
  • Io Tip$1.99
  • Europa Tip$3.99
  • Ganymede Tip$5.99
Show 1 more
  • Callisto Tip$9.99
None

Three

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Solar System Viewer free?
Solar System Viewer costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Three free?
Three costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Solar System Viewer or Three?
Solar System Viewer is rated higher. Solar System Viewer averages 4.4 out of 5 from 28 ratings, while Three averages 2.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Solar System Viewer or Three have ads?
Neither Solar System Viewer nor Three shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Solar System Viewer or Three?
Solar System Viewer ships an update every 2 months, and Three weekly. Most recently, Solar System Viewer was updated on October 24, 2026 and Three on October 24, 2026.

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