Comparison

Pocket Universe vs StarMap 3D+ Plus

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

Head to head
About

Pocket Universe

Explore the night sky with this intuitive guide. Identify planets, constellations, and satellites by simply pointing your device. Discover celestial events, track celestial bodies, and learn about thousands of astronomical objects.

Highlights
  • Live sky view with object identification
  • Time travel for celestial event prediction
  • Explore mode for upcoming events and solar activity
  • Search and browse celestial objects
  • Detailed information on thousands of objects
  • Home Screen widgets for Sun/Moon times and Moon phase
  • Customizable viewing modes with night vision
Features
Read full description

There's never been a better time to get into Astronomy! Start off easy with an app that will guide you around the night sky. "The app works beautifully, making astronomy a bit less mysterious—but no less remarkable", MacWorld "It’s truly an impressive marvel. 5 Mice out of 5", MacWorld. "..one of the prettiest and easiest to use. And at three bucks, it’s a steal", Cult of Mac. Apple App Store Staff Favorite Voted Best Educational iPhone Application by AppAdvice --- Pocket Universe 2 turns your iPhone or iPad into an intuitive guide to the night sky. Just point your device upward to instantly identify what’s overhead—planets, constellations, comets, satellites, and deep-sky wonders. Designed for clarity and ease of use, Pocket Universe 2 helps you learn the sky naturally, whether you’re stepping outside for a quick look or exploring in detail from your couch. Key features • Live sky view: Aim your device to identify stars, planets, the ISS, satellites, comets, and bright deep-sky objects in real time. • Time travel: Scrub hours or days forward and back, jump to sunrise, sunset, golden hour, moonrise, or moonset - and return to “now” instantly. • Explore mode: Discover what’s worth looking for tonight, with summaries of upcoming events, solar activity, Moon phases and maps, Jupiter and Saturn’s moons and rings, a full Solar System orrery, and dedicated ISS and satellite views. • Find anything fast: Search by name, browse curated “cool things” lists, or jump straight to planets and other Solar System bodies. • Rich object details: Learn about thousands of objects, including planets, stars, galaxies, nebulae, and more. • Widgets: Add Sun and Moon times and Moon phase to your Home Screen or desktop. • Deep customization: Night vision mode, labels, grids, constellation lines, satellites, comets, and more. Save presets to switch instantly between your favorite viewing modes. Pocket Universe 2 is the sequel to Pocket Universe, one of the first astronomy apps on the App Store. It has been completely rewritten using modern frameworks and tools to deliver a faster, cleaner, and more immersive stargazing experience. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

StarMap 3D+ Plus

Explore the cosmos with a portable star atlas. Identify planets, constellations, and deep sky objects using your device's sensors. Features detailed information and 3D visualizations for both beginners and advanced astronomers.

Highlights
  • Real-time satellite tracking (ISS, Hubble)
  • Extensive star and deep sky object database
  • Detailed constellation information and lines
  • Location-based celestial object identification
  • 3D universe visualization
  • Adjustable date and time for celestial viewing
Features
Read full description

Use your iPhone's compass and gyroscope to find planets, constellations, satellites, and more with crisp, colorful, high-definition Retina graphics that use every pixel of your iPhone or iPad! Hold the universe in your pocket! StarMap 3D Plus is the portable star atlas for beginners or advanced astronomers. Use StarMap 3D Plus to find the planets, stars, constellations, star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae visible to you based on your location and time. StarMap 3D will even use the compass to automatically align the map! • Real-time positions of 150 artificial satellites, including the International Space Station (ISS), and the Hubble Space Telescope • iPad Support • Over 100,000 stars, with detailed information for each of them • 6,441 deep sky objects, with details such as distance from Earth, diameter, apparent size and orientation, and morphology • All 88 modern constellations, with lines based on the outlines from "The Stars: A New Way to See Them" by H.A. Rey • MacRobert and Classic constellation lines also available • Location-based-services (LBS) / Global Positioning System (GPS) support, or manually enter your longitude and latitude • Adjustable date and time of day • Also adjust time instantaneously and interactively with the Time Scroll feature • Compass support, if present • Planetarium Mode for seeing only objects visible to you, or browse the entire celestial sphere • 3D Mode for visualizing the universe in three dimensions

Screenshots

Pocket Universe4 screens
StarMap 3D+ Plus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Pocket Universe at Free against StarMap 3D+ Plus's $2.99. StarMap 3D+ Plus's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (6.9K vs 260). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Pocket Universe is free to download; StarMap 3D+ Plus costs $2.99 up front. Pocket Universe sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and StarMap 3D+ Plus sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

StarMap 3D+ Plus holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: StarMap 3D+ Plus has 6.9K ratings behind it against 260, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Pocket Universe's written reviews are positive against 86% of StarMap 3D+ Plus's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Pocket Universe versus StarMap 3D+ Plus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocket UniverseStarMap 3D+ Plus
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating4.5 (260 ratings)4.8 (6.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.5% of reviews86.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2606.9K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS18.016.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size120 MB576 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJohn KennedySanville Software

Customer experience

Pocket Universe

All ratings259 ratings
Positive86.9%
Neutral2.3%
Negative10.8%
Written reviews491 reviews
Positive72.5%
Neutral8.4%
Negative19.1%

StarMap 3D+ Plus

All ratings6,821 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral1.5%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews753 reviews
Positive86.1%
Neutral5.0%
Negative8.9%

User reviews

Pocket Universe

From 260 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great app
  • 👍 Useful for astronomy
  • 👍 Excellent educational tool
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Accurate

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes
  • 🐛 Inaccurate compass/tracking
  • 🐛 Buggy after updates
  • 🐛 Doesn't work on older devices
  • 🐛 Location issues

StarMap 3D+ Plus

From 6.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Excellent star mapping and identification
  • 🔍 Detailed information on celestial objects
  • 👍 Easy to use and navigate
  • 🔭 Helpful for amateur astronomers
  • 🌍 Works well across locations

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional tracking/alignment issues
  • 🔍 Lack of detailed instructions/guides
  • 🔒 Privacy concerns regarding data collection
  • 🎨 Dislike for cartoon-style constellation art

Bugs and requests

Pocket Universe

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes on launch
  • Compass issues
  • Inaccurate sky positioning
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions

Requested features

8 requests
  • Ability to set time and date
  • Improved motion tracking and compass calibration
  • Larger text size options
  • More detailed information on stars, galaxies, etc.
  • Comet and asteroid tracking
Show 3 more
  • Satellite tracking
  • Southern hemisphere sky view
  • Wikipedia integration for more objects

StarMap 3D+ Plus

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes or freezes on launch
  • Incorrect moon and planet positioning
  • Inconsistent performance after updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • More detailed deep sky object representations
  • Improved tracking and compass accuracy
  • Addition of educational content and tutorials
  • Customization options for constellation art

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Pocket Universe

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly subscription$0.991 Month
  • Annual subscription$4.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pocket Universe Lifetime unlock$19.99
1 purchases

StarMap 3D+ Plus

One-time1
  • More Stars$1.99

Questions

Is Pocket Universe free?
Pocket Universe is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is StarMap 3D+ Plus free?
StarMap 3D+ Plus costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pocket Universe or StarMap 3D+ Plus?
StarMap 3D+ Plus is rated higher. Pocket Universe averages 4.5 out of 5 from 260 ratings, while StarMap 3D+ Plus averages 4.8 from 6.9K ratings.
Do Pocket Universe or StarMap 3D+ Plus have ads?
Neither Pocket Universe nor StarMap 3D+ Plus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pocket Universe or StarMap 3D+ Plus?
Pocket Universe ships an update every 5 weeks, and StarMap 3D+ Plus every 5 weeks. Most recently, Pocket Universe was updated on October 29, 2026 and StarMap 3D+ Plus on November 1, 2026.

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