Comparison

DIY Solar System vs Planetarium Projector

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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+.

About

Planetarium Projector

Explore the universe with interactive lessons on constellations, planets, and space exploration. Engage with 3D augmented reality models and fun quizzes to learn about space history and mythology.

Highlights
  • Interactive space narrator
  • Augmented reality 3D models
  • Constellation drawing
  • Space conquest quiz
  • Planet and space facts
  • Rocket launching game
Features
Read full description

With the Planetarium Projector APP, discovering the wonders of the universe has never been so fun! Select the slide you are projecting with the Planetarium and let the narrator guide you through the constellations, the planets of the Solar System and the incredible story behind man’s conquest of space! Thanks to the special cards you can view fantastic 3D models in augmented reality, explore them, understand how they are made inside and discover lots of interesting facts on history and mythology. Play with the APP to launch your rocket! Answer the questions of the quiz correctly, compare weights and dimensions, draw the constellations and get ready to depart to conquer the universe!

Screenshots

DIY Solar System4 screens
Planetarium Projector4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: DIY Solar System at 100% against Planetarium Projector's 22%. DIY Solar System also leads on ratings volume (17 vs 1). Planetarium Projector's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.5). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Planetarium Projector holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DIY Solar System has 17 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of DIY Solar System's written reviews are positive against 22% of Planetarium Projector's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
DIY Solar System versus Planetarium Projector: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDIY Solar SystemPlanetarium Projector
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (17 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better22.2% of reviews
Number of ratings17 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size180 MB574 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe Lawrence Hall of ScienceClementoni S.p.A.

Customer experience

DIY Solar System

All ratings16 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Planetarium Projector

Written reviews9 reviews
Positive22.2%
Neutral11.1%
Negative66.7%

In-app purchases

None

DIY Solar System

No in-app purchases

None

Planetarium Projector

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is DIY Solar System free?
DIY Solar System is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Planetarium Projector free?
Planetarium Projector is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, DIY Solar System or Planetarium Projector?
Planetarium Projector is rated higher. DIY Solar System averages 4.5 out of 5 from 17 ratings, while Planetarium Projector averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do DIY Solar System or Planetarium Projector have ads?
Neither DIY Solar System nor Planetarium Projector shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DIY Solar System or Planetarium Projector?
DIY Solar System ships an update every 2 months, and Planetarium Projector every 2 months. Most recently, DIY Solar System was updated on November 3, 2026 and Planetarium Projector on November 4, 2026.

Other comparisons