Almicantarat vs Sextant
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
Almicantarat
This professional celestial navigation app allows users to accurately determine their position using a sextant to observe stars, planets, and the Sun. It features a 3D sky map and integrates with the device's native map for celestial fixes. Users can utilize either their current device location or dead reckoning for navigation.
- Sextant-based celestial observation
- Accurate position fixing
- 3D Sky Map (beta)
- Native map integration
- Device location or dead reckoning
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With your sextant, enjoy shooting stars, planets and the Sun with an easy-to-use, professional and accurate celestial navigation app. Features a smooth 3D Sky Map (beta). Check the celestial fix on the device native map. Use either device location or dead reckoning.
Sextant
This app provides a comprehensive celestial navigation toolkit for sailors and enthusiasts. It allows users to navigate using celestial bodies like the sun, moon, planets, and stars, even when GPS is unavailable. The app guides users through taking sextant readings, performing calculations, and plotting positions on a map.
- Celestial body identification using camera and ephemeris
- Sextant sight reduction with manual correction checks
- Offline celestial navigation
- Noon sight for latitude calculation
- Line of position plotting on a real map
- Polaris one-shot latitude
- Solar Compass for deviation checks
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A complete celestial navigation toolkit for sailors, students, and the curious. When the GPS quits, the sun, moon, planets, and stars still work. Sextant takes you all the way from a single sextant reading to a line of position on a map β with every correction shown, so you can check the math by hand if you want to. Point the camera at the sky The Sky tab labels every navigational body in view β the sun, the moon, all four navigational planets, and 58 navigational stars β using the magnetic compass and on-device ephemeris. Spot a star, tap its name, and a sight starts with that body identified and the time stamped. Sight with your camera, or a real sextant The camera flow measures altitude along the camera's line of sight from the phone's gravity sensor and shows how upright you're holding it. Multi-shot mode takes a series and saves the trimmed mean. Or just type your altitude from a brass sextant and let the app do the reduction. Every body you'll ever shoot Sun, moon, all four navigational planets β Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn β and all 58 standard navigational stars. Positions computed from astronomical theory (VSOP87 for the Sun and planets, ELP-2000 for the Moon, star positions with precession and proper motion), not stale tables, and tested against U.S. Naval Observatory data. Works fully offline. Noon Sight in one tap Take the sun's altitude at meridian passage; the app gives you latitude. It also predicts the exact UTC of local apparent noon so you know when to look. Plot your fix Every sight draws a line of position on a real map. Take more than one, apply dead reckoning between them, watch your running fix come together β exactly like the paper-chart workflow. Tools sailors actually use - Polaris one-shot latitude - Solar Compass β true bearing of the sun, for compass deviation checks - Starfinder β what's above the horizon right now - Reduction tables (dip, refraction, semi-diameter) - DMS / decimal converter Learn celestial navigation as you go Step through your first sight with a guided walk-through. Every screen has inline help, and every correction in the sight reduction β dip, refraction, semi-diameter, parallax β has an explanation a tap away. Check the app against your hand calculations, or let it do all the work. Share your work Export sight records as CSV or as a printable PDF work-form in the classic HO 229 layout. No subscription. No ads. No internet. One purchase, everything included.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Almicantarat at 100% against Sextant's 0%. Almicantarat also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 26.0). Sextant's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 7 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Almicantarat costs $9.99 and Sextant $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Almicantarat ships an update every 7 months, Sextant every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Almicantarat | Sextant |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | $9.99 |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews β better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 5 weeks β better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod β better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 β better | 26.0 |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 64 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pierre-Louis Deschamps | Stolk.cc |
Customer experience
Almicantarat
Sextant
In-app purchases
Almicantarat
No in-app purchases
Sextant
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Almicantarat free?
Is Sextant free?
Do Almicantarat or Sextant have ads?
Which is updated more often, Almicantarat or Sextant?
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