Comparison

Solar Walk vs Universal Zoom

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

Head to head
About

Solar Walk

Explore a detailed 3D model of our solar system and the universe. Interact with planets, moons, and satellites, and take virtual flights through space. Travel through time to see the universe's past and learn with educational movies.

Highlights
  • Interactive 3D solar system model
  • Virtual flights between celestial bodies
  • Time travel feature for historical views
  • Educational movies about space
  • Orrery and true-to-scale view modes
  • Milky Way Galaxy view
Features
Read full description

Solar Walk is an amazing 3D model of our Solar system bringing the universe to the palm of your hand and allowing you to interact with planets, satellites, moons, comets and other space objects anytime and anywhere. Start your fascinating journey through the realms of space and learn more about the universe we live in. *** Over 6 million users!*** *** National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) - GOLD winner in the Educational Tools for Parents and Children category! *** *** A Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner *** “Simply amazing.” - Macworld “Solar Walk serves up a visually impressive 3D model of our solar system. Set against a haunting, atmospheric soundscape, the app shows planets and satellites in their correct positions, and offers mini movies, facts and other related tidbits.” - TNW “This jaw-dropping app provides a wholly interactive 3D model of our solar system, one that’s had me hooked for days. It’s the kind of thing you can imagine a science teacher using in the classroom of the future — except that we don’t have to wait.” - CNet “Zoom from Mercury to Pluto (which makes the cut in this app), passing each planet’s moons along the way. Because Solar Walk knows what time it is, the planets are in proper orientation to the Sun: Earth is dark where it is currently night and gradually lightens to daytime on the other side.” - NY Times "It's great for showing my students the relative positions of the planets in the solar system, the satellites orbiting the Earth and our place in the galaxy. Awesome with a smartboard as well." - by jbrown61 Solar Walk enables you to: ► Observe the 3D model of our Solar system with all its objects in real time and in a proper orientation. Turn into an astronomer and explore planets, moons, satellites, asteroids, dwarf planets, comets, stars and other celestial bodies. Enjoy gorgeous graphics and visuals while navigating through the solar system. ► Make virtual flights from one space object to another. ► Travel in time and see what the universe and our Solar system looked like at a certain period. ► Find an exciting view of the Milky Way Galaxy. ► Watch a collection of educational solar system movies to learn about space-related topics including Earth's moon phases, Earth's cycles, tidal phenomena, and zodiacal constellations. ► Enjoy 3D planetarium with the help of special glasses and activating the anaglyph mode. ► Share interesting screenshots of the app with your friends. ► Choose the view mode comfortable for you (orrery/true-to-scale). The app contains In-App Purchases. Solar Walk is a great educational tool appropriate for both adults and children. The amount of information users can learn about the planets, moons, satellites and other celestial bodies is impressive. All information is age-appropriate and detailed. Animated video clips will make learning about our Solar system even more engaging. Start exploring the universe with Solar Walk!

About

Universal Zoom

Explore the universe's vastness and intricacy through interactive visual comparisons. Seamlessly zoom from subatomic particles to the observable universe, gaining intuition about scale and size with stunning imagery and clear explanations.

Highlights
  • Seamless zooming across scales
  • Visual comparisons of objects
  • Jargon-free scientific explanations
  • Audio narration
  • Over 270 objects presented to scale
  • Multi-language support
Features
Read full description

The universe is endlessly vast. A single atom is impossibly small. And somewhere between those two extremes lies everything that has ever existed. We believe that feeling — the electric, spine-tingling sense of scale — belongs to everyone. Not just scientists. Not just students. Everyone. That's why we built Universal Zoom. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Zoom seamlessly from the Planck length to the edge of the observable universe — about 300 objects presented to perfect scale. • Compare any two objects side by side: how many Earths fit inside Jupiter? How does a virus measure up against a skyscraper? Instant, visual, intuitive. (No other scale app lets you do this.) • Go deeper with audio narration and short, accessible explanations — the facts that matter, in plain language. WHAT YOU'LL EXPLORE • Elementary particles — quarks, leptons, and bosons. Atomic nuclei, atoms, and DNA. Living cells. Animals and landmarks. Planets, stars, and galaxies. A deep dive into physics, biology, and astronomy — with short, plain-language articles that make even particle physics easy to grasp — in 40 languages, with metric, imperial, or powers-of-ten units. • Real high-resolution photos and electron microscope images, where possible. Original artwork for things that can't be photographed — like elementary particles and DNA structures. • No ads. No in-app purchases. Pure discovery. BUILT WITH YOU We're a team of two (Andrey and Oksana) from Canada who have poured a decade into this app because we genuinely love science. Most objects come from community suggestions — carefully fact-checked and updated with every new discovery. Over 200 more are already in the queue. FOR EDUCATORS Used by teachers worldwide to visualize scale, build measurement intuition, and turn abstract numbers into "aha" moments. Available at 50% off for schools via Apple School Manager (20+ copies). FOLLOW THE JOURNEY Sneak peeks and upcoming additions: @gamifyitapps on X, YouTube, and TikTok. Feedback and ideas: gamifyitapps.com/contact

Screenshots

Solar Walk4 screens
Universal Zoom4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Universal Zoom at none against Solar Walk's 11. Universal Zoom also leads on review sentiment (97% vs 72%). Solar Walk's advantage is ratings volume (8.2K vs 365) and price ($4.99 vs $5.99). On rating, update cadence, ads 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

Solar Walk costs $4.99 and Universal Zoom $5.99 up front. Solar Walk sells 11 one-off in-app purchases. Universal Zoom asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Solar Walk against 4.8 for Universal Zoom. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Solar Walk has 8.2K ratings behind it against 365, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 72% of Solar Walk's written reviews are positive against 97% of Universal Zoom's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Solar Walk ships an update every 5 months, Universal Zoom every 4 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Solar Walk versus Universal Zoom: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSolar WalkUniversal Zoom
Price$4.99 — better$5.99
Rating4.7 (8.2K ratings)4.8 (365 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.2% of reviews96.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8.2K — better365
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size451 MB175 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVito Technology Inc.GamifyIt

Customer experience

Solar Walk

All ratings8,149 ratings
Positive93.1%
Neutral3.5%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews461 reviews
Positive72.2%
Neutral7.2%
Negative20.6%

Universal Zoom

All ratings356 ratings
Positive95.5%
Neutral2.0%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews389 reviews
Positive96.7%
Neutral1.5%
Negative1.8%

User reviews

Solar Walk

From 8.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Excellent graphics and visuals
  • 🔍 Detailed information about the solar system
  • 🌍 Ability to explore the planets and moons
  • 🎥 Informative videos and animations
  • 🧠 Educational and informative for all ages

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases required to unlock full features
  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes reported, especially after updates
  • 🕹️ Navigation and controls can be unintuitive
  • 🌌 Limited to just the solar system, no other galaxies or deep space

Universal Zoom

From 365 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Fascinating and informative
  • 🚀 Smooth and seamless experience
  • 💡 Puts things into perspective
  • 👍 Great learning tool for all ages
  • 👍 Visually appealing and well-designed

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🔇 Background music could be improved

Bugs and requests

Solar Walk

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes on launch for some users
  • In-app purchases not working correctly
  • Freezing and performance issues on older devices
  • Incorrect planet/moon positioning and timing

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more planets, moons, and objects to the solar system
  • Expand to include other star systems and galaxies
  • Improve navigation and controls for easier exploration
  • Offer more free content instead of paid add-ons
  • Fix reported bugs and crashes

Universal Zoom

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Incorrect information for some objects
  • Compatibility issues on older devices
  • Typos and minor errors in text

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more objects and comparisons
  • Customizable object feature
  • Support for more languages
  • Ability to toggle between metric and imperial units
  • Search and filtering options

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Solar Walk

One-time11
  • Mission of Cassini-HuygensFree
  • Cycles of the Earth SystemFree
  • Major Circles of LatitudeFree
Show 8 more
  • Movies BundleFree
  • 3D Satellites in Real TimeFree
  • Planets of the Solar SystemFree
  • What is a Solar Eclipse?Free
  • The Moon Phases ExplanationFree
  • Zodiacal ConstellationsFree
  • High Resolution Bundle$1.99
  • All Additional Content - Sale$2.99
None

Universal Zoom

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Solar Walk free?
Solar Walk costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Universal Zoom free?
Universal Zoom costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Solar Walk or Universal Zoom?
Universal Zoom is rated higher. Solar Walk averages 4.7 out of 5 from 8.2K ratings, while Universal Zoom averages 4.8 from 365 ratings.
Do Solar Walk or Universal Zoom have ads?
Neither Solar Walk nor Universal Zoom shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Solar Walk or Universal Zoom?
Solar Walk ships an update every 5 months, and Universal Zoom every 4 months. Most recently, Solar Walk was updated on November 1, 2026 and Universal Zoom on November 1, 2026.

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