Comparison

Satellite Watcher vs SatNOGS

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

Head to head
About

Satellite Watcher

Track and identify visible satellites, stars, and constellations. Explore detailed information about celestial objects and record your sightings. Perfect for astronomy enthusiasts and educational purposes.

Highlights
  • Track 150 brightest satellites
  • View satellite times and locations
  • Record satellite sightings
  • Explore 9000 visible stars
  • Identify major constellations
  • Detailed object information
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

This app tracks the 150 brightest man-made objects in space, which can be seen by the human eye. Use it to see the time and location such objects can be seen. It also lets you record when you saw each satellite. You can also use this app to explore all 9000 stars visible to the human eye, as well as major constellations. Educational notes are displayed for satellites, constellations and well-known stars. Some of the app's features: * Preview mode lets you browse through future satellite passes, displaying the magnitude, path and time the satellite will appear * Real-Time mode shows you what is in the sky now, with the current location, magnitude and path for each satellite. If multiple satellites are in the sky, it shows them all simultaneously * Tap on a satellite's name to view detailed information including country of origin, launch date, magnitude (brightness), and more * Tap on a constellation's name to view its educational notes * The app lets you keep track of which satellites you've seen and when. You can tell it you see a satellite now, or enter a past sighting * The device detects your location automatically, but you can also enter the latitude and longitude yourself, or your U.S. zip code * Choose which satellite you want to scan for, or all satellites * Choose how many days into the future to scan for satellites, up to 30 days * Choose the minimum elevation for a satellites to be shown * Choose the minimum magnitude (brightness) for a satellites to be shown * Works offline (you should go online to download satellite data once every couple of days) * Displays weather warnings if clouds will be present (in the U.S. only) * Works on iPhone and iPad If you like science and astronomy, you will have great fun spotting satellites! All you need is a clear night with no moon. For best results, choose a location away from city lights. In the beginning, focus on the brighter satellites passing directly overhead. Satellites are visible after sunset (for about an hour) and before sunrise (also for about an hour) when the sky is dark and satellites reflect the sun's light. This is a great educational activity for kids.

About

SatNOGS

Access a global network of satellite ground stations to communicate with satellites and observe their data. The platform is open to all, with public observation results freely distributed. Resources are available for building your own ground station.

Highlights
  • Global ground station network access
  • Remote ground station operation
  • Satellite communication
  • Public observation data access
  • Ground station building resources
Read full description

SatNOGS Network is a global management interface to facilitate multiple ground station operations remotely. An observer is able to take advantage of the full network of SatNOGS ground stations around the world. The network is open to anyone. Any observer is able to utilize all available Ground Stations and communicate with Satellites. All observations results are public and all data are distributed freely under the Creative Commons Atribution-Share Alike license. Whether you own satellite ground station equipment or you want to build one you can head to SatNOGS Project site to get up to date documentation and info on how to build a SatNOGS ground station. App functionality is currently limited by SatNOGS API and will be significantly improved in next major release.

Screenshots

Satellite Watcher4 screens
SatNOGS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: SatNOGS at 5.0 against Satellite Watcher's 4.0. Satellite Watcher's advantage is ratings volume (59 vs 4) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SatNOGS holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Satellite Watcher has 59 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Satellite Watcher ships an update every 2 months, SatNOGS every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Satellite Watcher versus SatNOGS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSatellite WatcherSatNOGS
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (59 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings59 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMarwan ShabanVictor Belov

Customer experience

Satellite Watcher

All ratings59 ratings
Positive76.3%
Neutral6.8%
Negative16.9%
Written reviews126 reviews
Positive76.2%
Neutral9.5%
Negative14.3%

SatNOGS

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Satellite Watcher

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • App crashes or shows black screen after updates
  • Incompatibility with iOS 11 and newer iOS versions
  • Ground plot graph stopped working
  • Star chart misalignment with actual sky
  • Incomplete satellite database compared to visible satellites
Show 3 more
  • Difficulty changing time to predict future passes
  • Only displays portion of sky in some cases
  • Text size doesn't remain larger when zooming

Requested features

12 requests
  • Update for iOS 11+ compatibility
  • Apple Watch support
  • iPad native version
  • Alarm/notification for upcoming satellite passes
  • Ability to select multiple satellites to track
Show 7 more
  • Daylight pass visibility for bright satellites
  • Visible magnitude threshold settings
  • Database or link to special satellites (ISS, HST)
  • Larger buttons for easier interaction
  • Better user tutorial or manual
  • Reminder feature for upcoming passes
  • Include 'tonight' in days to scan option

SatNOGS

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Satellite Watcher

No in-app purchases

None

SatNOGS

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Satellite Watcher free?
Satellite Watcher is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SatNOGS free?
SatNOGS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Satellite Watcher or SatNOGS?
SatNOGS is rated higher. Satellite Watcher averages 4.0 out of 5 from 59 ratings, while SatNOGS averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Satellite Watcher or SatNOGS have ads?
Neither Satellite Watcher nor SatNOGS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Satellite Watcher or SatNOGS?
Satellite Watcher ships an update every 2 months, and SatNOGS every 5 months. Most recently, Satellite Watcher was updated on September 30, 2026 and SatNOGS on October 1, 2026.

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