Comparison

Distant Suns 5 vs SkyView®

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

About

SkyView®

Identify stars, constellations, planets, and satellites by simply pointing your device at the sky. This app uses augmented reality to guide you and provides information on celestial objects, upcoming events, and even allows you to travel through time to view the sky on different dates.

Highlights
  • Identify stars, planets, and satellites with AR
  • Discover all 88 constellations
  • Schedule alerts for celestial events
  • Night mode for preserving vision
  • Time travel to view past/future skies
  • Capture and share celestial images
Read full description

SkyView® brings stargazing to everyone. Simply point your iPhone, iPad, or iPod at the sky to identify stars, constellations, planets, satellites, and more! Over 3.2 million downloads. 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® and let it guide you to their location and identify them. SkyView® is a beautiful and intuitive stargazing app that uses your camera to precisely spot and identify celestial objects in sky, day or night. Find all 88 constellations as they fade in and out while you scan across the sky, locate every planet in our solar system, discover distant galaxies, and witness satellite fly-bys. Features: • Simple: Point your device at the sky to identify galaxies, stars, constellations, planets, and satellites (including the ISS and Hubble) passing overhead at your location. • Sighting Events: schedule alerts for upcoming celestial events. • Apple Watch: see what objects are visible tonight and how to spot them using your Apple Watch. • Today Widget: brand new iOS 8 today widget lets you quickly see upcoming celestial events. • Night Mode: Preserve your night vision with red or green night mode filters. • Augmented Reality (AR): Use your camera to spot objects in the sky, day or night. • Sky Paths: Follow the sky track for any object to see it’s exact location in the sky on any date and time. • Comprehensive: Includes thousands of stars, planets, and satellites with thousands of interesting facts. • 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! What a fun way to teach yourself, your children, your students, or your friends about our wonderful universe!

Screenshots

Distant Suns 54 screens
SkyView®4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SkyView® at none against Distant Suns 5's 1. SkyView® also leads on ratings volume (7.7K vs 97) and rating (4.6 vs 4.3). Distant Suns 5's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.0). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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

Distant Suns 5 costs $2.99 and SkyView® $2.99 up front. Distant Suns 5 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. SkyView® asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SkyView® holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SkyView® has 7.7K ratings behind it against 97, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 77% and 77% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Distant Suns 5 ships an update every 5 months, SkyView® every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Distant Suns 5 versus SkyView®: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDistant Suns 5SkyView®
Price$2.99$2.99
Rating4.3 (97 ratings)4.6 (7.7K ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.9% of reviews — better76.8% of reviews
Number of ratings977.7K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank—#2 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size815 MB112 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMike SmithwickTerminal Eleven LLC

Customer experience

Distant Suns 5

All ratings97 ratings
Positive79.4%
Neutral4.1%
Negative16.5%
Written reviews337 reviews
Positive76.9%
Neutral5.0%
Negative18.1%

SkyView®

All ratings7,665 ratings
Positive89.9%
Neutral2.9%
Negative7.2%
Written reviews850 reviews
Positive76.8%
Neutral7.3%
Negative15.9%

User reviews

Distant Suns 5

From 97 App Store ratings

What 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

SkyView®

From 7.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🔭 Helpful for stargazing and identifying celestial objects
  • 🌌 Provides a lot of information about the night sky
  • 🎶 Relaxing background music
  • 🤩 Amazed by the app's capabilities

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Calibration issues and inaccurate compass
  • 🤷‍♀️ Missing some celestial objects like comets and the James Webb Space Telescope
  • 🌌 Constellation overlays can be obstructive
  • 🙈 Showing stars/planets on walls/floors even when not present
  • 📱 Compatibility issues on certain devices

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

SkyView®

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Freezing and crashing issues
  • Compass and orientation problems
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between automatic and manual calibration

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add more celestial objects like comets, dwarf planets, and the James Webb Space Telescope
  • Improve calibration and compass accuracy
  • Add option to hide constellation overlays
  • Implement a feature to track the International Space Station and other satellites
  • Add a widget for quick access to sky information
Show 1 more
  • Improve support for older devices and iOS versions

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Distant Suns 5

One-time1
  • Hubble Guide Star Catalog$0.99
None

SkyView®

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Distant Suns 5 free?
Distant Suns 5 costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is SkyView® free?
SkyView® costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Distant Suns 5 or SkyView®?
SkyView® is rated higher. Distant Suns 5 averages 4.3 out of 5 from 97 ratings, while SkyView® averages 4.6 from 7.7K ratings.
Do Distant Suns 5 or SkyView® have ads?
Neither Distant Suns 5 nor SkyView® shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Distant Suns 5 or SkyView®?
Distant Suns 5 ships an update every 5 months, and SkyView® every 4 months. Most recently, Distant Suns 5 was updated on October 14, 2026 and SkyView® on October 13, 2026.

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