Comparison

StarPilot vs Celestial Navigator

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

Head to head
About

StarPilot

This app provides advanced celestial navigation computations for iPhone and iPod touch. It offers mathematical and graphic solutions for position fixes, great circle sailing, and more, including lunar distance methods and a sight planner for accurate results.

Highlights
  • Celestial sight reductions
  • Position fixes and great circle sailing
  • Lunar distance method for GMT
  • Graphical Sight Planner
  • Sight Analyzer function
  • Menu-driven interface
  • Perpetual almanac
Features
Read full description

The state-of-the-art solution to navigation computations on your iPhone or iPod touch. StarPilot does celestial sight reductions of all bodies using high-precision internal almanac, plus mathematical and graphic solutions for position fixes, great circle, rhumb line, traverse and composite sailings, all current problems, piloting solutions, and much more...including lunar distance method of finding GMT from the sky and a unique graphical Sight Planner, and the new Sight Analyzer function that helps you get the most accurate results from a series of sights. The StarPilot is the self sufficient state of the art solution to ocean navigation, fully up-gradeable with free upgrades available via Internet download, easy to use operation from logical menu lists, plus illustrated context sensitive help with practice exercises. The StarPilot requires no external resources to complete its computations. Internet access is not required to use this program or to access any of its help files. General program design features... that save time, keystrokes, and minimize errors - Easy to use menu-driven interface - Stored settings of commonly used values - All bodies and star names stored internally, no need for separate lists - DR functions integrated with the celestial functions - Convenient DR updating by log or time - Input courses as true or magnetic - Convenient time input, with or without zone description and watch error - Graphing calculator plots LOPS, Fixes, DR positions, and Star maps - Program can be easily updated to incorporate latest version and features - Custom menu bar for quick navigation to often-used functions Sight Planning - Sunrise, Sunset, times and bearings (amplitudes) - LAN, time, Equation of time, Hs max at LAN1 - Nautical and Civil twilight times, and LHA Aries at midpoint between them - Moonrise, Moonset, Moon phase, and Moon age - Precompute specific values of Hc and Zn for any body - Planet and Star ID by observed height and bearing - SIGHT PLANNER function plots full sky showing moon, stars, and planets in Radar-like display of heights and bearings. Set Hc min/max and max number of stars before computation. Set cursor and click to read the actual height and bearing of a plotted body. - Special fast almanac mode allows full sky plot - Display internal list of 173 stars by name, brightness, and location - Unique BEST SIGHTS function selects the optimum triads of sights for any sky Sight Reduction - Optional modes for sequential sights using repeated settings or unrelated individual sights - Perpetual almanac accurate to 2100+ - Historically accurate almanac data to 16th century - Sight reduction of Sun, Moon, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn... plus Mercury! - Sight Reduction of 173 stars plus Polaris - “Assumed positions” read directly from DR section without extra input - View intercepts (a-values) with or without course and speed corrections - Full input data displayed with results to check for errors - Special center-body mode for artificial horizon data - Dip-short mode for practice at shorelines Celestial Fixes - Unique SIGHT ANALYZER fits a sequence of sights to the right slope for optimum sight selection - All fixes corrected automatically for course and speed as needed - Fix accuracy independent of DR accuracy in all cases - Plots LOPS with live cursor position display - Fix computed by USNO algorithm in the Nautical Almanac - Zoom in on plot to see where computed fix is located - Fix can be obtained by graphic selection from the LOP plot - Automatic display of DR-to-Fix range and bearing - Optional automatic update of DR after fix - Display new course and distance to stored destination

About

Celestial Navigator

This app assists with celestial navigation training by providing a perpetual almanac, star finder chart with animation, and tools for calculating lines of position and meridian passages. It can utilize device sensors for real-time chart positioning, though a marine sextant is still required for actual navigation.

Highlights
  • Perpetual almanac
  • Animated star finder chart
  • Line of position calculation
  • Meridian passage calculation
  • Real-time sensor integration
  • Celestial object data
Features
Read full description

Celestial Navigation Calculator with - perpetual Almanac - star finder chart with animation. Use phone sensor for altitude. - calculation of lines of position ( intercept/delta ) - celestial object data - meridian passage calculation - running fix support - astronomical position calculations with two or more altitude observations - Hipparchus 150 star catalog - World chart with lines and position Program can be set to use device's sensors (gyro, compass) to position the star finder chart in real time. Capture celestial object approximate altitude. Correct Altitude with a Marine Sextant reading (not included). You still need a marine sextant to do celestial navigation, but the phone sensors may be used for training. Software for iPhone and iPad, with the same features. e-book with manual and celestial navigation tutorial.

Screenshots

StarPilot4 screens
Celestial Navigator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Celestial Navigator at Free against StarPilot's $49.99. StarPilot's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 2.0) and review sentiment (75% vs 43%). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases 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

Celestial Navigator is free to download; StarPilot costs $49.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

StarPilot holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of StarPilot's written reviews are positive against 43% of Celestial Navigator's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StarPilot ships an update every 4 months, Celestial Navigator every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and August 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
StarPilot versus Celestial Navigator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarPilotCelestial Navigator
Price$49.99Free — better
Rating4.9 (8 ratings) — better2.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews — better42.9% of reviews
Number of ratings8 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStarpath CorpOmar reis

Customer experience

StarPilot

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative20.0%

Celestial Navigator

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive42.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative57.1%

In-app purchases

None

StarPilot

No in-app purchases

None

Celestial Navigator

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is StarPilot free?
StarPilot costs $49.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Celestial Navigator free?
Celestial Navigator is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, StarPilot or Celestial Navigator?
StarPilot is rated higher. StarPilot averages 4.9 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Celestial Navigator averages 2.0 from 3 ratings.
Do StarPilot or Celestial Navigator have ads?
Neither StarPilot nor Celestial Navigator shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StarPilot or Celestial Navigator?
StarPilot ships an update every 4 months, and Celestial Navigator every 9 months. Most recently, StarPilot was updated on September 21, 2026 and Celestial Navigator on August 12, 2026.

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