Comparison

Distant Suns 5 vs Heliosphere

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

Heliosphere

Explore a real-time 3D simulation of the solar system, planets, moons, and spacecraft using accurate astronomical data. Learn about celestial bodies and space missions with educational content and quizzes.

Highlights
  • Real-time 3D solar system simulation
  • Live spacecraft tracking
  • Deep sky exploration
  • Comprehensive astronomy education
  • Time travel from 1900 to 2100
  • Planet-centric viewing mode
Features
Read full description

Explore the solar system at your fingertips. Heliosphere is a real-time 3D solar system simulation powered by NASA JPL Horizons data. It accurately recreates the orbits of planets, moons, comets, and dwarf planets while tracking the real positions of active spacecraft. * Real-time 3D Solar System Simulation — 8 planets, 5 dwarf planets, 10+ moons, and 4 comets — Precise Keplerian orbit calculations based on real astronomical data — Time travel from 1900 to 2100 — Pan, zoom, and rotate for a free-roaming perspective — Switch to planet-centric viewing mode * Live Spacecraft Tracking — Voyager 1, 2 | Pioneer 10, 11 — Cassini | Juno | New Horizons | Parker Solar Probe — Real position data from NASA JPL Horizons API * Deep Sky Exploration — Over 150 bright stars — 530 Milky Way stars — 124 deep-sky objects (Messier, NGC/IC catalogs) * Comprehensive Astronomy Education — 6 difficulty levels from middle school to graduate — Core concepts: Kepler's Laws, gravity, escape velocity, and more — Mission timelines for Voyager, Cassini, New Horizons, and others — 60+ quiz questions to test your knowledge — Historical space event date-guessing challenges * Free for Everyone — All content available at no cost — No ads — 11 languages supported Experience the beauty of the cosmos and the wonder of science through scientifically accurate data and intuitive interaction.

Screenshots

Distant Suns 54 screens
Heliosphere4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Heliosphere at Free against Distant Suns 5's $2.99. Heliosphere also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 5 months). Distant Suns 5's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 3.0) and review sentiment (77% vs 50%). On 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

Heliosphere is free to download; Distant Suns 5 costs $2.99 up front. Distant Suns 5 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Heliosphere sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Distant Suns 5 holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Distant Suns 5 has 97 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of Distant Suns 5's written reviews are positive against 50% of Heliosphere's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Distant Suns 5 ships an update every 5 months, Heliosphere every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Distant Suns 5 versus Heliosphere: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDistant Suns 5Heliosphere
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (97 ratings) — better3.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews76.9% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings97 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Vision Pro
Requires iOS14.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size815 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMike SmithwickCHUNGKIL KIM

Customer experience

Distant Suns 5

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

Heliosphere

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

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

Heliosphere

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Distant Suns 5

One-time1
  • Hubble Guide Star Catalog$0.99
3 purchases

Heliosphere

One-time3
  • 1 Coffee$2.99
  • 3 Coffees$8.99
  • 5 Coffees$14.99

Questions

Is Distant Suns 5 free?
Distant Suns 5 costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Heliosphere free?
Heliosphere is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Distant Suns 5 or Heliosphere?
Distant Suns 5 is rated higher. Distant Suns 5 averages 4.3 out of 5 from 97 ratings, while Heliosphere averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Distant Suns 5 or Heliosphere have ads?
Neither Distant Suns 5 nor Heliosphere shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Distant Suns 5 or Heliosphere?
Distant Suns 5 ships an update every 5 months, and Heliosphere every 3 days. Most recently, Distant Suns 5 was updated on October 22, 2026 and Heliosphere on October 24, 2026.

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