CREDO Detector vs First Light
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CREDO Detector
This citizen science app uses your phone's camera to detect cosmic-ray particles. By contributing data globally, it helps researchers explore uncharted phenomena in astrophysics and fundamental physics.
- Detect cosmic-ray particles with device camera
- Contribute to global citizen science project
- Explore uncharted cosmic-ray phenomena
- Publicly available source code
- Join a network of global users
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What is CREDO Science? Cosmic-Ray Extremely Distributed Observatory (CREDO) — Citizen Science collaborative project which enables a strategy for a global analysis of cosmic-ray data to reach the sensitivity to extremely extended cosmic-ray phenomena, we call them Cosmic-Ray Ensembles (CRE), invisible for individual detectors or observatories. So far, the cosmic-ray research has been oriented on detecting single air showers only, while the search for CRE is a scientific terra incognita. We aim at exploring this uncharted realm. Observation of CRE would have an impact on cosmology, fundamental particle interactions and ultra-high energy astrophysics. A large role in the CREDO project is the CREDO Detector mobile app, which uses the camera's matrix to register cosmic-ray particles. By creating a network of users around the globe, we get a cosmic-ray telescope the size of the whole Earth. All application code is public and available on our GitHub. CREDO is an open Citizen Science collaborative project and all collected data are public. In the project participate schools and institutions from 5 continents. If you think your school should join the program, contact us at contact@credo.science. If you have an idea and desire to implement it, you are welcome to join us!
First Light
Explore the universe's earliest light with real cosmic microwave background data. Pan across the oldest light in the universe, switch between satellites, and observe shifts in frequency bands. This educational app brings real science and cosmic history to your mobile device.
- Explore cosmic microwave background data
- Immersive sky exploration via phone movement
- Switch between COBE, WMAP, and Planck satellites
- Adjust frequency bands to see universe shifts
- Utilizes real scientific data
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Look up. What you're seeing isn't the night sky. It's the afterglow of the Big Bang, captured by three of the most important space missions ever launched. First Light turns real cosmic microwave background data from COBE, WMAP, and Planck into an immersive sky you can explore by simply moving your phone. Pan across the oldest light in the universe. Switch between satellites. Dial through frequency bands and watch the universe shift. This is real data. Real science. And it fits in your pocket.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: First Light at 100% against CREDO Detector's 0%. First Light also leads on rating (5.0 vs 1.4) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months). CREDO Detector's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
First Light holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of CREDO Detector's written reviews are positive against 100% of First Light's.
CREDO Detector ships an update every 3 months, First Light every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CREDO Detector | First Light |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.4 (5 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 75 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Michal Frontczak | Thomas Sola |
Customer experience
CREDO Detector
First Light
In-app purchases
CREDO Detector
No in-app purchases
First Light
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is CREDO Detector free?
Is First Light free?
Which has better reviews, CREDO Detector or First Light?
Do CREDO Detector or First Light have ads?
Which is updated more often, CREDO Detector or First Light?
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