Comparison

Star Chart vs SkyView® Lite

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

Head to head
About

Star Chart

Explore the cosmos with this augmented reality astronomy app. Point your device at the sky to identify stars, planets, and constellations in real-time. Discover celestial bodies and their positions, even traveling through time to view the universe's past and future.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality sky identification
  • 3D simulation of the visible universe
  • Real-time celestial object tracking
  • Time shift to view past/future sky
  • Explore planets, moons, and sun
  • View constellations and deep sky objects
  • Detailed object information
Features
Read full description

*** Star Chart is now FREE! *** The top educational & augmented reality astronomy app - download and find out why over 20 million people use Star Chart! You can now have a virtual star chart in your pocket. Look through the eyes of your iPhone or iPad* to see a high-tech window into the whole visible universe. All you have to do is point your AR enabled device* at the sky and Star Chart will tell you exactly what you are looking at. Using state of the art GPS technology, an accurate 3D simulation of the visible universe, and a great deal of technical wizardry, Star Chart calculates – in real time - the current location of every star, planet and moon visible from Earth and shows you precisely where they are; even in broad daylight! Want to know what that bright star is called? Point your device* at it – you might just find out it’s a planet! Want to know what the night sky looks like to people on the other side of the earth? Well just point your device down! Want to know where your star sign is in the sky? Star Chart will tell you all this and more. Star Charts features include: - Just point and view. When you hold your device up to the sky, Star Chart will automatically start tracking your movements to match the sky *. - Alternatively, look around the sky using finger gestures – perfect for armchair astronomers! - In a single app of less than 30MB, Star Chart dynamically scales its visuals and capabilities across all iOS devices to meet the high end capabilities of a retina display iPad while also running smoothly on the earliest iPhones and iPods. - Accurately depicts all the visible stars of the northern and southern hemispheres - a total of approximately 120,000 stars! - Fly to and explore all the planets of the solar system, their moons and the sun all rendered in beautiful 3D with state of the art visual effects. - Using the powerful Time Shift feature, simply tap the time button and smoothly shift up to 10,000 years forward or backward in time. - Displays all 88 constellations, with constellation imagery based on the beautiful artwork by 17th century astronomer Johannes Hevelius. - Includes the complete Messier catalogue of 110 exotic deep sky objects. - Tap on anything in the sky and get the facts on what you are looking at, including distance and brightness. - Very powerful zoom function, lets you view the sky in extra detail, using intuitive finger gestures. - Fully configurable. Star Chart displays only the sky objects that you are interested in. - Allows you to view the sky underneath the horizon. So now you can see where the sun is, even at night! - Manually set your location to find out what the sky looks like from anywhere in the world. - Supports dynamic device orientation viewing. Allows you to view the night sky whilst holding your iPhone/iPad* at any angle. So point your iPhone/iPad* at the sky and see what's out there! ------------ * Augmented Reality mode is available on devices that include a built-in compass. Manual scrolling is supported on all other devices. ------------ Star Chart is published by Escape Velocity Ltd and developed by Escapist Games Ltd. We update Star Chart regularly, so please send us your feedback and feature requests to starchart@escapistgames.com. And thanks for all your feedback so far! Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/starchart Follow Star Chart on Twitter: StarChartApp

About

SkyView® Lite

Identify stars, constellations, satellites, and more by simply pointing your device at the sky. This augmented reality app makes stargazing accessible to everyone, day or night. Explore celestial paths and even travel through time to view the sky on different dates.

Highlights
  • Identify stars, constellations, and satellites
  • Augmented Reality (AR) stargazing
  • Set reminders for celestial events
  • View sky paths for Sun and Moon
  • Time travel to view past/future skies
  • Capture and share sky images
Currently charting
Read full description

SkyView® Lite brings stargazing to everyone! Simply point your iPhone, iPad, or iPod at the sky to identify stars, constellations, satellites, and more! Downloaded over 40 million times. If you like our lite version of SkyView then you'll love our full version! It includes: a convenient Apple Watch app, a Today Widget displaying tonight's brightest objects, ALL in-app purchases offered in this version, thousands more objects to discover, and more! App Store Best of 2012 App Store Rewind 2011 -- Best Education App “If you've ever wanted to know what you're looking at in the night sky, this app is the perfect stargazer's companion.” – CNET "If you’ve ever been looking for a stargazing app for your iPhone, then this [is] definitely the one to get." – AppAdvice “SkyView is an Augmented Reality app that lets you see just what delights the sky has to offer.” – 148Apps Editor’s Choice You don't need to be an astronomer to find stars or constellations in the sky, just open SkyView® Lite and let it guide you to their location and identify them. SkyView® Lite is a beautiful and intuitive stargazing app that uses your camera to precisely spot and identify celestial objects in sky, day or night. Find your favorite constellations as they fade in and out while you scan across the sky, locate the Moon, discover distant galaxies, and witness satellite fly-bys. Features: • Simple: Point your device at the sky to identify galaxies, stars, constellations and satellites (including the ISS and Hubble) passing overhead at your location. • Sightings: set reminders for celestial events and plan an evening stargazing & spotting satellites. • Augmented Reality (AR): Use your camera to spot objects in the sky, day or night. • Sky Paths: Follow the daily sky tracks for the Sun and Moon to see their exact locations in the sky on any date & time. • Time Travel: Jump to the future or the past and see the sky on different dates and times. • Social: Capture and share beautiful images with friends and family on social networks. • Mobile: WiFi is NOT required (does not require a data signal or GPS to function). Take it camping, boating, or even flying! • Supports Space Navigator™ binoculars, spotting scope, and telescopes. What a fun way to teach yourself, your children, your students, or your friends about our wonderful universe!

Screenshots

Star Chart4 screens
SkyView® Lite4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Star Chart at none against SkyView® Lite's shown. Star Chart also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (85% vs 65%). SkyView® Lite's advantage is chart position (#117 vs unranked). On price, rating, ratings volume 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

Both are free to download. Star Chart sells 7 one-off in-app purchases and SkyView® Lite sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Star Chart against 4.5 for SkyView® Lite. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 25K and 19K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Star Chart's written reviews are positive against 65% of SkyView® Lite's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Star Chart ships an update fortnightly, SkyView® Lite every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Star Chart versus SkyView® Lite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStar ChartSkyView® Lite
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (25K ratings) — better4.5 (19K ratings)
Positive reviews85.0% of reviews — better64.6% of reviews
Number of ratings25K — better19K
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#117 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS7.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB122 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperESCAPE VELOCITY LIMITEDTerminal Eleven LLC

Customer experience

Star Chart

All ratings24,838 ratings
Positive92.2%
Neutral3.2%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews1,947 reviews
Positive85.0%
Neutral5.2%
Negative9.8%

SkyView® Lite

All ratings18,744 ratings
Positive89.5%
Neutral3.3%
Negative7.2%
Written reviews728 reviews
Positive64.6%
Neutral7.1%
Negative28.3%

User reviews

Star Chart

From 25K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💫 Impressive visuals
  • 🌌 Comprehensive celestial information
  • 🔍 Helpful for learning constellations
  • 🌍 Accurate location tracking
  • 🌠 Enjoyable stargazing experience

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • ⚠️ Outdated and unsupported
  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
  • 🗺️ Inaccurate mapping and calibration
  • 🔍 Missing key celestial objects

SkyView® Lite

From 19K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Accurate star and planet tracking
  • 👍 Easy to use and navigate
  • 🔭 Helpful for learning about the night sky
  • 💫 Engaging and educational for all ages
  • 🌌 Realistic AR display of celestial objects

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Compass/location issues causing inaccurate positioning
  • 🔍 Limited free features, many paid upgrades
  • 🤔 Confusing for some users to understand how it works
  • 🔋 High battery consumption

Bugs and requests

Star Chart

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes on launch
  • Purchased upgrades not working
  • Incorrect positioning of celestial objects
  • GPS location not detected properly
  • Scrolling and navigation issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • Update app with latest celestial objects
  • Improve stability and reduce crashes
  • Offer more affordable in-app purchases
  • Enhance mapping and calibration accuracy
  • Add search functionality for specific stars/planets

SkyView® Lite

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes or freezes on some devices
  • Outdated information on certain celestial objects
  • Compatibility issues with older iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more celestial objects like satellites, comets, and nebulae
  • Improve compass calibration and location accuracy
  • Provide more detailed information and facts about stars/planets
  • Integrate with virtual reality for immersive stargazing experience
  • Add reminders for upcoming astronomical events

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Star Chart

One-time7
  • Comets$2.99
  • Meteor Showers$4.99
  • Extended Solar System$4.99
Show 4 more
  • Enhanced Constellations$4.99
  • Satellites$4.99
  • Extended Star Catalog$9.99
  • Enhanced Messier Catalog$9.99
2 purchases

SkyView® Lite

One-time2
  • Stargazing Music Pack$0.99
  • Brightest Satellites & Sightings$0.99

Questions

Is Star Chart free?
Star Chart is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SkyView® Lite free?
SkyView® Lite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Star Chart or SkyView® Lite?
Star Chart is rated higher. Star Chart averages 4.6 out of 5 from 25K ratings, while SkyView® Lite averages 4.5 from 19K ratings.
Do Star Chart or SkyView® Lite have ads?
SkyView® Lite shows ads; Star Chart does not.
Which is updated more often, Star Chart or SkyView® Lite?
Star Chart ships an update fortnightly, and SkyView® Lite every 2 months. Most recently, Star Chart was updated on September 25, 2026 and SkyView® Lite on September 24, 2026.

Other comparisons