Comparison

NASA vs Stellar Tour

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

Head to head
About

NASA

Explore the universe with access to live and on-demand NASA+ videos, a vast collection of stunning images, and the latest mission news. Discover interactive augmented reality experiences and track the International Space Station's path.

Highlights
  • NASA+ video streaming
  • 21,000+ NASA images
  • Latest NASA news
  • Mission updates
  • Podcasts
  • ISS tracking and Sky View
  • Augmented reality experiences
Features
Read full description

The redesigned NASA App unlocks access to the new NASA+ video streaming service, plus all the latest NASA images, news, mission information, podcasts, and interactive augmented reality experiences to explore -- putting the universe at your fingertips! With the NASA App, you'll be able to: • Explore with unlimited access to NASA+, featuring all of NASA's official live coverage and original on-demand video series. No subscription required. • Easily view over 21,000 of the latest NASA images • Rate images and explore all of the highest rated ones • Read all the latest NASA news and feature articles • Get the latest updates on Artemis, the James Webb Space Telescope, and other exciting NASA missions. • Listen to our podcasts featuring astronauts and experts who take you on a tour of the galaxy without ever leaving Earth. • Set an alert for when the International Space Station will fly over your location and use the Sky View feature to help you locate the station during the visible pass • Experience our rovers and rockets up close and personal with augmented reality. • And so much more! Download the updated NASA App now!

About

Stellar Tour

Explore the cosmos with an augmented reality stargazing app guided by an astrophysicist. Discover exoplanets, solar system bodies, and deep-sky objects with scientifically accurate narratives and detailed visuals.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality stargazing
  • Astrophysicist-guided tours
  • Detailed exoplanet information
  • High-resolution solar system visuals
  • Exploration of galaxies and nebulae
  • Interactive 3D planet and moon models
Features
Read full description

Stellar Tour is the only AR stargazing app written by an astrophysicist. Point your phone at the night sky and get a guided tour of everything up there: 1.7 billion real stars, every planet and major moon, eclipses, meteor showers, 13,000 deep-sky objects, and a course in astronomy that starts with the sky over your head and ends at the edge of the universe. Astrophysicist Dr. Aaron Day wrote every word. Instead of the standard flood of random facts, Stellar Tour tells the scientifically accurate story of each world: what it is like on the ground, in the seas, or floating through the clouds. THE NIGHT SKY, FOR REAL • 1.7 billion stars from ESA's Gaia survey, each in its true position. Pinch to zoom from your backyard to the galactic core. • The Milky Way as it actually looks, drawn from every star Gaia measured, with constellations, planets, and satellites overlaid on your live sky. • A sky that looks like the time it is: dawn, daylight, twilight, and full dark, with a real atmosphere and hazy ridges on the horizon. The Moon shows its earthshine, and Earth's night side its city lights. • Night Vision mode keeps your eyes dark-adapted with a pure red display. LEARN THE SKY • Fifteen short lessons, from the sky over your head to the edge of the universe. Every stop is a live visit: the lesson flies you to the star, steps the clock, or opens the tool it is talking about. The first three lessons are free. • Three reference books inside the app, How We Know, The Sky, and The Whole Story, with a glossary and dozens of labeled diagrams. SEVEN SKIES • See the stars the way Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, India, and the Arabian desert saw them: their star figures and folk names drawn on your sky, their stories on each star's page, and their lunar festivals on the calendar. PLAN YOUR NIGHT • Sky Calendar: every eclipse, meteor shower, conjunction, and full moon, filtered by type. The week ahead is free; the full year comes with the expansion. • Night Planner: the best targets for your sky tonight, hour by hour. Sky Forecast: the cloud cover over your spot, hour by hour. • Reminders that fire only when something is worth stepping outside for, including ISS and Tiangong passes with a live countdown. • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets for rise and set times and the next sky event. Ask Siri what is visible tonight. ECLIPSE EXPLORER Simulate any solar or lunar eclipse from any place on Earth: local timings, a disc animation of the Moon crossing the Sun, and a live countdown. The next solar eclipse at your own location is free: its times, what you will see there, and a reminder. GO DEEPER • Telescope Catalog: 13,000 NGC, IC, and Messier objects, searchable and shown on your sky. • Exoplanets: nearly every known world, in its actual position on the sky, with sizes, temperatures, and orbits. • The Solar System up close: planets and major moons in NASA probe imagery, in visible light, ultraviolet, infrared, and radar. Rotate them to any angle. • Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope pictures, on the pages of the objects they show. FOR EVERYONE • Kid Mode rewrites the whole tour for explorers aged five to seven. • Birthday Sky: a shareable card of the sky on the night you were born. • Smart search: ask for exactly what you want. • Fifteen languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, Vietnamese, and Icelandic. Dates in your own calendar. • VoiceOver and Dynamic Type throughout. ONE PURCHASE, NO SUBSCRIPTION Cosmic Expansion adds the planner, the catalog, the eclipses, the exoplanets, the galaxies, the full year of the calendar, and the whole course in a single purchase that is yours forever. Take the Stellar Tour!

Screenshots

NASA4 screens
Stellar Tour4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NASA at none against Stellar Tour's 6. NASA also leads on ratings volume (64K vs 1.7K) and device support (4 vs 2). Stellar Tour's advantage is review sentiment (84% vs 70%). On price, rating, update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Stellar Tour sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. NASA asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for NASA against 4.7 for Stellar Tour. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NASA has 64K ratings behind it against 1.7K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 70% of NASA's written reviews are positive against 84% of Stellar Tour's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NASA ships an update every 2 weeks, Stellar Tour fortnightly. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
NASA versus Stellar Tour: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNASAStellar Tour
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (64K ratings) — better4.7 (1.7K ratings)
Positive reviews69.9% of reviews83.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings64K — better1.7K
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB570 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNASAAaron Day

Customer experience

NASA

All ratings63,707 ratings
Positive96.4%
Neutral1.7%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews509 reviews
Positive69.9%
Neutral6.7%
Negative23.4%

Stellar Tour

All ratings1,695 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral3.7%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews91 reviews
Positive83.5%
Neutral5.5%
Negative11.0%

User reviews

NASA

From 64K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast loading
  • 👍 Informative and educational
  • 🌟 Amazing images and videos
  • 💻 Great for learning about space
  • 🔭 Comprehensive space information

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🔍 Difficult to navigate and find content
  • 📺 Missing live streaming features
  • 🔄 Outdated user interface
  • 🔍 Lack of search functionality

Stellar Tour

From 1.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Amazing app
  • 👍 Excellent for stargazing and learning
  • 🔭 Helpful for identifying stars and constellations
  • 🌌 Detailed information on planets and exoplanets
  • 🎓 Great educational tool for all ages

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and glitches
  • 🤔 Some features not intuitive or user-friendly
  • 💰 Wish it was completely free without in-app purchases
  • 🌍 Language localization could be improved

Bugs and requests

NASA

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes on launch for some devices
  • Inability to close/exit image viewer
  • Notifications not working as expected
  • Incompatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add live streaming of NASA TV
  • Improve navigation and search
  • Implement dark mode option
  • Bring back old features (e.g. APOD widget, ISS sightings)
  • Enhance 3D models and AR capabilities

Stellar Tour

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • Videos not playing offline as expected

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for viewing comets and other celestial events
  • Improve AR functionality and integration
  • Provide more detailed information on exoplanets
  • Introduce a dark mode option for better visibility at night

In-app purchases

None

NASA

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Stellar Tour

One-time5
  • Remove Ads 1$2.99
  • Upgrade: Lessons & Sky Tools$3.99
  • Cosmic Expansion2 variants$9.99
Show 2 more
  • Remove Ads 2$9.99
  • Remove Ads 3$14.99

Questions

Is NASA free?
NASA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Stellar Tour free?
Stellar Tour is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, NASA or Stellar Tour?
NASA is rated higher. NASA averages 4.8 out of 5 from 64K ratings, while Stellar Tour averages 4.7 from 1.7K ratings.
Do NASA or Stellar Tour have ads?
Neither NASA nor Stellar Tour shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NASA or Stellar Tour?
NASA ships an update every 2 weeks, and Stellar Tour fortnightly. Most recently, NASA was updated on September 25, 2026 and Stellar Tour on September 25, 2026.

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