Distant Suns 5 vs Star Walk 2 Plus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Distant Suns 5
Explore the cosmos with a realistic and user-friendly astronomy app. Discover constellations, planets, and celestial events with detailed information and stunning visuals. Perfect for both casual stargazers and serious astronomers.
- Realistic night sky display
- View from Earth or solar system
- Over 18 million stars
- Integrated NASA space events
- Stories behind constellations
- Night vision color mode
- Hubble Space Telescope images
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Distant Suns: The night sky, reimagined. 2013 finalist in the Family category of TabTimes' best tablet app contest; "I am putting together some mobile astronomy apps for our local "Sky's the Limit" Observatory in Twentynine Palms, CA. I have been searching for something as good as, or better than, Distant Suns. Short answer: I have not found it yet. ...nothing portrays the night sky as well as Distant Suns. Distant Suns has been your personal guide to the cosmos since 1985. First on the desktop, now right in your hands. While others play games, you can travel to the stars. Award-winning Distant Suns has the reputation of both having one of the most realistic displays of the night sky, while being one of the easiest to use astronomy apps for casual sky watchers as well as serious astronomers. •Named in the "100 Essential Apps" by iLounge •Featured on NPR's MarketPlace Features include: •No Internet required. Just a sense of wonder. •View from the Earth or out in the solar system •Simply aim and gaze. •Over 18 million pinpoint stars scintillating like diamond dust in the palm of your hand (18 mil? Yup.) •Integrated with NASA's Night Sky Network space events in your area (US only at present) •What's Up? Gives a quick one snapshot overview of the evening's sky •Realistic ghostly band of the Milky Way •Stories behind each constellation •Viewpoint Lock keeps any object centered •Current weather patterns on the earth, updated daily •Change the look of the stars •Galaxies, nebula and star clusters •Hubble Space Telescope images •All 8 planets (or 9 for you purists) •GPS aware •Special color mode preserves your night vision. •Touch the sky to reveal hidden data for each object •Planetary data and information First Light is a proud member of Moms with Apps, a collaborative group of family-friendly developers with family-friendly apps. Twitter: @distantsuns Support: www.distantsuns.com
Star Walk 2 Plus
Explore the cosmos with a real-time sky map. Point your device to identify stars, planets, and constellations. Discover celestial events and learn about the universe with detailed information and 3D models.
- Real-time sky map
- 3D constellation models
- Time machine feature
- Deep sky object identification
- Augmented reality mode
- Celestial event tracking
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Star Walk 2 Plus is an exquisite stargazing app that enables you to explore the sky through the screen of your device. Make an effortless journey through thousands of stars, planets and constellations. All you have to do is point your device to the sky! ⁕BEST OF 2014: The next generation of the best-selling Star Walk, winner of Apple Design Award, used by over 10 million people⁕ The app uses your device’s sensors and the GPS to determine the exact position of stars, planets, constellations and other objects in the sky. “She’s a beauty.”- The Next Web “Star Walk 2 is a terrific introduction to astronomy for young and old. It’s also handy for serious stargazers for observing planning.” - TUAW “Star Walk 2 is visually stunning.” - PCmag “This is a very beautiful and unusual application that turns your phone into a real planetarium.” - Free apps for me “For those who enjoy the original app, Star Walk 2 is worth the upgrade — the interface is gorgeous. Anyone with even a passing interest in astronomy should grab Star Walk 2.” - iLounge “It is worth every penny.” - PadGadget Star Walk 2 Plus in travel & tourism industry: ‘Rapa Nui Stargazing’ based on Easter Island uses the app for sky observations during its astronomical tours. ‘Nakai Resorts Group’ in the Maldives uses the app during astronomy meetings. Main features: ◆ Map of the sky in real time ◆ 3D models of constellations and other sky objects ◆ “Time machine” ◆ Deep sky objects ◆ Rich info about celestial bodies and sky events ◆ The sky at different wavelengths ◆ Augmented reality mode ◆ "What's new" section with the latest astronomical news ◆ "Visible Tonight" section ► Star Walk 2 Plus shows the real-time map of the sky on your screen in whatever direction you are pointing the device (the Star spotter feature). As you point your device towards the sky, the star map follows your motions using the built-in gyroscope to match the map on your screen to the stars seen from your location. ► What's up in the sky tonight? Open the "Visible Tonight" section and learn about the upcoming astronomical events and celestial objects that will be visible from your location. ► Be aware of the latest news from the world of space and astronomy. The app's "What's new" section will tell you about the most outstanding celestial events in time. ► Create shortcuts to take your stargazing experience to a whole new level. Go to the "Visible Tonight" section and add the shortcut to Siri. Next time when you want to access the list of astronomy events for your location, ask Siri and get it quicker than ever. ► Touching a clock-face icon at the upper-right corner of the screen allows you to select any date and time and watch the sky of different periods. ► Get a deeper understanding of the constellation`s scale and place in the night sky. Enjoy observing wonderful 3D models of constellations, turn them upside down, read their stories. ► Find and study deep sky objects such as meteor showers, planetary nebulae, star clusters, etc. The app is ad-supported and contains In-App Purchases. If you want to use the app without ads, download the paid Star Walk 2 app or remove ads from Star Walk 2 Plus with a special In-App Purchase. Star Walk 2 Plus offers an optional subscription that gives you access to all additional content and removes ads from the app. It is an auto-renewable subscription with one week free trial. At the end of each subscription duration (1 month), the subscription will automatically renew until you choose to cancel it. Users can manage their subscriptions in their account settings on the App Store. Privacy policy: http://vitotechnology.com/privacy-policy.html Terms of use: http://vitotechnology.com/terms-of-use.html Start your best stargazing experience!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Star Walk 2 Plus at Free against Distant Suns 5's $2.99. Star Walk 2 Plus also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (96K vs 97). Distant Suns 5's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and chart position (#186 vs unranked). On review sentiment, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
Star Walk 2 Plus is free to download; Distant Suns 5 costs $2.99 up front. Distant Suns 5 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Star Walk 2 Plus sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Star Walk 2 Plus holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Star Walk 2 Plus has 96K ratings behind it against 97, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 77% of Distant Suns 5's written reviews are positive against 70% of Star Walk 2 Plus's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Distant Suns 5 ships an update every 5 months, Star Walk 2 Plus every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Distant Suns 5 | Star Walk 2 Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (97 ratings) | 4.6 (96K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 76.9% of reviews — better | 70.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 97 | 96K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #186 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 815 MB | 373 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mike Smithwick | Vito Technology Inc. |
Customer experience
Distant Suns 5
Star Walk 2 Plus
User reviews
Distant Suns 5
From 97 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌟 Excellent astronomy app
- 🔭 Comprehensive features for stargazing
- 🌍 Helpful for learning about the night sky
- 🔍 Useful for planning observing sessions
- 🌌 Stunning visuals and graphics
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and bugs in recent updates
- 🤔 Confusing or unintuitive interface changes
- 📱 Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- 🔍 Difficulty finding and selecting objects
- 🔍 Missing or inaccurate information
Star Walk 2 Plus
From 96K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌟 Informative and educational
- 🔭 Accurate star/planet tracking
- 🎨 Beautiful visuals and graphics
- 🔊 Relaxing background music
- 🌍 Useful for stargazing and astronomy
Room to improve
- 💢 Excessive and intrusive ads in free version
- 🤔 Confusing navigation and controls
- 🧭 Inaccurate compass and location tracking
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases required for full features
- 🔄 Frequent app crashes and freezes
Bugs and requests
Distant Suns 5
Reported bugs
5 issues- Crashes when accessing preferences
- Inability to sync with iCloud
- Unresponsive or freezing app
- Incorrect or outdated information displayed
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS devices
Requested features
5 requests- Add more detailed information on celestial objects
- Improve compass and tracking functionality
- Provide better support for astrophotography
- Introduce a dark mode for night viewing
- Add more customization options for the user interface
Star Walk 2 Plus
Reported bugs
4 issues- Compass and location tracking issues
- Crashes and freezes when using certain features
- Purchased upgrades not syncing across devices
- Notifications not working as expected
Requested features
5 requests- Add more detailed information about stars and constellations
- Improve widget functionality and visibility of planets/satellites
- Implement a dark mode for better visibility at night
- Allow customization of the display and overlay options
- Enhance the augmented reality experience
In-app purchases
Distant Suns 5
- Hubble Guide Star Catalog$0.99
Star Walk 2 Plus
- StarWalk2 Ads+ Monthly Premium7 Days trial2 variants$0.991 Month
- StarWalk2 Ads+ Monthly Premium$0.991 Month
- StarWalk2 Ads+ Yearly Premium7 Days trial$5.991 Year
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- StarWalk2 Ads+ Yearly Premium$5.991 Year
- Discover Solar System Objects$0.99
- Satellite Tracker in the Sky$0.99
- Night Sky View: without Ads$2.99
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- Night Sky Map: Limited Offer$5.99
- Night Sky View: No Ads$8.99
Questions
Is Distant Suns 5 free?
Is Star Walk 2 Plus free?
Which has better reviews, Distant Suns 5 or Star Walk 2 Plus?
Do Distant Suns 5 or Star Walk 2 Plus have ads?
Which is updated more often, Distant Suns 5 or Star Walk 2 Plus?
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