Comparison

NASA vs AstroAid

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

AstroAid

Visualize what you'll see through your telescope with different eyepieces and optical aids. Plan your astrophotography by pairing cameras with telescopes to see what fits in the frame. Includes astronomical catalogs and equipment lists.

Highlights
  • Telescope/eyepiece/imager field of view simulation
  • Magnification and visual magnitude limit calculation
  • Built-in astronomical object catalogs (Messier, NGC, IC)
  • Searchable object catalogs with downloadable images
  • Extensive equipment lists with custom entry support
  • iCloud synchronization for custom equipment
Features
Read full description

AstroAid is an app for amateur astronomers that functions as an aid to visualizing what you will see through your telescope/camera lens when you use a particular eyepiece and, optionally, an optical aid (such as a Barlow lens). You can also pair a camera/imager with a telescope and determine what your camera/imager will see in its frame. This will be a big help for astro-imagers. The app computes a number of parameters for your telescope/eyepiece/imager combination, such as magnification, actual field of view, visual magnitude limit, etc. and displays these values in tabular form. Several astronomical catalogues are built in to the app (including Messier, NGC, IC, and many other object catalogues), and will be updated on-line occasionally. Images for these objects can be downloaded. All catalogues can be searched. The app contains extensive lists of known vendor-supplied telescopes, camera lenses, eyepieces, imagers, and optical aids. You can also create your own custom entries if your equipment isn't listed (for example, if you made your own telescope). These custom entries are shared between your devices via iCloud (if available).

Screenshots

NASA4 screens
AstroAid4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: NASA at Free against AstroAid's $2.99. NASA also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (64K vs 44). AstroAid's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.6). On review sentiment, 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

NASA is free to download; AstroAid costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NASA holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NASA has 64K ratings behind it against 44, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 70% of NASA's written reviews are positive against 71% of AstroAid's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NASA ships an update every 2 weeks, AstroAid fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
NASA versus AstroAid: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNASAAstroAid
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating4.8 (64K ratings) — better4.3 (44 ratings)
Positive reviews69.9% of reviews71.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings64K — better44
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.610.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB125 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNASAiLanga, Inc.

Customer experience

NASA

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

AstroAid

All ratings44 ratings
Positive84.1%
Neutral6.8%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews45 reviews
Positive71.1%
Neutral17.8%
Negative11.1%

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

AstroAid

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

NASA

No in-app purchases

None

AstroAid

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NASA free?
NASA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is AstroAid free?
AstroAid costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NASA or AstroAid?
NASA is rated higher. NASA averages 4.8 out of 5 from 64K ratings, while AstroAid averages 4.3 from 44 ratings.
Do NASA or AstroAid have ads?
Neither NASA nor AstroAid shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NASA or AstroAid?
NASA ships an update every 2 weeks, and AstroAid fortnightly. Most recently, NASA was updated on October 20, 2026 and AstroAid on October 15, 2026.

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