Exoplanet vs SOS Explorer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Exoplanet
Explore a vast, interactive database of discovered exoplanets and their host stars. Visualize their physical properties, locations in the night sky, and orbital paths. Discover the observable universe from Earth to the cosmic microwave background with stunning 3D models and augmented reality features.
- Interactive visualizations and animations
- Daily updated exoplanet and host star properties
- 3D Milky Way model with exoplanet locations
- Augmented reality sky map
- Exoplanet orbit and habitable zone visualizations
- Data from multiple exoplanet catalogs
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Exoplanets are planets orbiting stars beyond our own solar system. This app allows you to explore all discovered exoplanets, their measured physical properties, their location in the night sky, and their host stars. An interactive model shows you the entire observable universe, all the way from the surface of the Earth to the cosmic microwave background. This app has been developed by a professional astronomer. Main features: * Interactive visualizations and animations. * Physical properties of all detected exoplanets and their host stars, updated on a daily basis. * Stunning 3D model of our Milky Way showing the location of all known exoplanets. You can zoom into any planetary system, explore how the night sky and the constellations look from the surface of other planets, or zoom out and see other local galaxies and galaxy clusters as well as the cosmic microwave background. * Visualizations of exoplanet orbits and the habitable zone. * Choose between the Open Exoplanet Catalogue, the NASA Exoplanet Archive, and the Extrasolar Planet Encyclopedia (exoplanet.eu). * Push notifications are sent out whenever a new planet is discovered. * Augmented reality sky map: point the phone towards the sky to find an exoplanet! * Interactive multi-touch correlation plots. * Solar System planets, major moons, and asteroids are included. * Explore S-Stars orbiting the black hole at the Galactic Center of our Milky Way * Background information about exoplanets and detection methods. * Full support of planets in binary, triple, quadruple systems and orphan planets. * Real-time ray tracing on the GPU.
SOS Explorer
Explore interactive animated datasets of Earth and space phenomena, from planetary rings to climate change models. This app brings complex environmental processes to life in an intuitive and captivating way, making learning accessible anywhere.
- Streaming high-resolution datasets
- Educational videos
- User-guided tours
- Analysis tools
- 100+ datasets
- Global and flat map views
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SOS Explorer (SOSx) Mobile is a free, flat screen mobile app version of the popular NOAA Science On a Sphere (SOS). This revolutionary software takes SOS datasets, usually only seen on a 6-foot sphere in large museum spaces, and makes them accessible, portable, and interactive anywhere. SOSx Mobile can immerse the user in animated images such as Saturn’s rings, atmospheric storms, climate change, and ocean temperatures to help explain sometimes complex environmental processes in a way that is intuitive, captivating, interactive, and entertaining. A desktop version, called SOS Explorer, is also available. Thank you for using SOS Explorer (SOSx) Mobile. We are committed to continually improving our software and providing you with an engaging and educational experience. We hope you enjoy the new features and enhancements in version 1.2! Please continue to share your feedback with us as we work on improvements. We appreciate your patience and support. Features include: • Streaming, high-resolution datasets • Educational videos • User-guided tours • Analysis tools • 100+ datasets • Global and flat map views Sample datasets: • Recent Hurricane Seasons • Bird Migration • Earthquake Activity • Snow and Ice • Ocean Currents • Historical Tsunamis • Facebook Friendships • Air Traffic • Planets of the Solar System • Climate Change Models • 360 Underwater Imagery • Narrated Movies • ...and so much more!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SOS Explorer at none against Exoplanet's 7. Exoplanet's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 11 months) and ratings volume (956 vs 20). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Exoplanet sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. SOS Explorer asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Exoplanet against 4.7 for SOS Explorer. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Exoplanet has 956 ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Exoplanet's written reviews are positive against 86% of SOS Explorer's.
Exoplanet ships an update every 2 weeks, SOS Explorer every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Exoplanet | SOS Explorer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (956 ratings) | 4.7 (20 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 91.0% of reviews — better | 85.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 956 — better | 20 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 11 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 105 MB | 249 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hanno Rein | University of Colorado Boulder |
Customer experience
Exoplanet
SOS Explorer
Bugs and requests
Exoplanet
Reported bugs
2 issues- Upgrade purchase issues with Galaxy Clusters and CMB add-on
- Kepler objects of interest disappearing when switching databases
Requested features
9 requests- Add more detailed textures and visuals for exoplanets
- Ability to view multiple databases simultaneously
- Option to see planet surfaces and atmospheres
- Inclusion of dwarf planets in our solar system
- Ability to zoom in on and explore other galaxies
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- Addition of black holes, pulsars, and other celestial objects
- Inclusion of satellite and spacecraft orbits
- Narration or audio commentary for key discoveries
- Ability to view the universe from the surface of planets
SOS Explorer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Exoplanet
- Galaxy Clusters and CMB$0.99
- Asteroids$0.99
- Gaia Stars$0.99
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- S-Stars$0.99
- Catalogues$0.99
- Developer Appreciation Coffee$1.99
- Kepler Add-on$2.99
SOS Explorer
No in-app purchases









