AuroraReach vs Aurora Compass
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
AuroraReach
Track and forecast aurora activity worldwide. Get local visibility scores based on weather conditions and aurora intensity. Receive alerts for potential sightings and explore aurora travel destinations.
- Global aurora tracking
- Local aurora visibility scores
- Weather condition integration
- 4-day weather forecasts
- Aurora sighting alerts
- Real-time aurora map
- City/country search for forecasts
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AuroraReach app is an aurora tracking, forecasting and alerting app that gives local aurora visibility scores for cities around the world. We take weather conditions like cloud cover, visibility, time of day etc. along with aurora score to generate a score that can help you find the aurora visibility times for a gives city. Along with aurora, weather conditions are also predicted for up to 4 days. We also let users checkin an aurora sighting and alert based on that. We track ~24K cities around the world for aurora activity and weather conditions. It is easy to get started by subscribing to alerts for multiple cities and get alerted on the app for free. Realtime aurora map shows the aurora activity on the map and you can interact with the map to select the cities we are tracking from map and having activity at that time. Aurora Travel destination searching is easier with this and with our city search page you can search by city or country for viewing the city aurora forecast report and subscribe to cities for alerts. You can favorite the cities for quick accesses in the future even if you are not registered with an account. As we track city specific aurora scores, we cover cities under the northern lights (aurora borealis), southern lights (aurora australis) and even cities where aurora hasn't occurred till date. Web page has sighting specific pages to chat on realtime aurora sighting, this will be released soon in the app version too. Enjoy hunting auroras with AuroraReach and find your next aurora destination with this app.
Aurora Compass
This app provides aurora forecasts and alerts, helping users find the best conditions to see the northern or southern lights. It offers detailed space weather data, real-time geomagnetic activity, and a cloudiness filter for accurate predictions.
- Aurora alert notifications
- Geomagnetic activity tracking
- Aurora forecast map
- Real-time aurora probability
- Solar image animation
- Cloudiness forecast
- Darkness tool
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Aurora Compass is a free aurora and space weather forecast app with no ads or paywalls. With it, you'll get all the data you need to catch the northern or southern lights in a layout that’s simple for beginners, yet detailed for experienced aurora chasers. The main features include: • Aurora alert notifications with cloudiness filter • Near real-time geomagnetic activity from over 110 magnetometers • Aurora forecast map with observation sharing tool • Current and forecasted aurora probability in your location • Solar image animation with x-ray chart and solar regions • WSA-Enlil solar wind forecast animation • Darkness tool to see when it'll be dark • Moon rise, set and phase information • Cloudiness forecast • Solar wind charts • Kp forecasts • Color theme for people with red-green colorblindness
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: AuroraReach at none against Aurora Compass's 8. AuroraReach also leads on ratings volume (102 vs 9). Aurora Compass's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Aurora Compass sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. AuroraReach asks for nothing beyond the download.
AuroraReach holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AuroraReach has 102 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 80% of AuroraReach's written reviews are positive against 83% of Aurora Compass's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | AuroraReach | Aurora Compass |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (102 ratings) — better | 4.8 (9 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews | 83.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 102 — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 67 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | HuskyCodes Oy | Otto Ranta-Ojala |
Customer experience
AuroraReach
Aurora Compass
In-app purchases
AuroraReach
No in-app purchases
Aurora Compass
- Pastel Color Palette$1.99
- Black and White Palette$1.99
- Pink Color Palette$1.99
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- Purple Color Palette$1.99
- IBM Color Palette$1.99
- Mint Color Palette$4.99
- Gold Color Palette$9.99
- Diamond Color Palette$29.99
Questions
Is AuroraReach free?
Is Aurora Compass free?
Which has better reviews, AuroraReach or Aurora Compass?
Do AuroraReach or Aurora Compass have ads?
Which is updated more often, AuroraReach or Aurora Compass?
Other comparisons
