X vs DIY Solar System
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
X
Explore the solar system, Earth's atmosphere, and its structure with engaging audio and video content. This app offers an entertaining and educational journey for all ages, created by a team of experts.
- Audio guides for Solar System Trail
- On-demand content
- Audio and video on Earth's atmosphere
- Content on Earth's structure
- Solar System exploration
- Expert-created content
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Use the free Audio Guides and add another dimension to the Solar System Trail walk or enjoy the on-demand content. The App offers audio and video content about The Atmosphere, The Structure of the Earth and The Solar System. It is the collaborative work of scientists, writers, space artists and voice actors. Its aim is to deliver fun, entertaining and educational content to suit younger and older users alike. Get a new perspective as you go on a journey across the Solar System, fly to the top of the Atmosphere or descend on a Journey to the Center of the Earth.
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: DIY Solar System at 100% against X's 0%. DIY Solar System also leads on rating (4.5 vs 1.3) and in-app purchases (none vs 10). On price, update cadence, ads and monetization model 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. X sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. DIY Solar System asks for nothing beyond the download.
DIY Solar System holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 1.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DIY Solar System has 17 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of X's written reviews are positive against 100% of DIY Solar System's.
X ships an update every 3 months, DIY Solar System every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | X | DIY Solar System |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.3 (3 ratings) | 4.5 (17 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 17 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 180 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Roni Waserman | The Lawrence Hall of Science |
Customer experience
X
DIY Solar System
In-app purchases
X
- A Comet's Journey$0.99
- Journey To The Centre Of Earth$0.99
- A Mission To Mars$0.99
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- A Mission To The ISS$0.99
- A Voyage To Saturn$0.99
- Solar System Experience$0.99
- The World Under Our Feet$0.99
- Tour The Atmosphere$0.99
- When Dinosaurs Moved$0.99
- Moons Of The Solar System$0.99
DIY Solar System
No in-app purchases









