Comparison

Mars Globe HD vs StarTracker HD

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

Head to head
About

Mars Globe HD

Explore the Red Planet with a detailed virtual globe. This app features a high-resolution satellite map, topographic lighting, and annotated surface features. Discover intriguing locations with an introduction and guided tour, or explore freely.

Highlights
  • High-resolution satellite map of Mars
  • Advanced topographic lighting
  • Annotated surface features (1500+)
  • Introduction and guided tour
  • Free exploration mode
Features
Read full description

Take a tour of the mysterious Red Planet. This virtual globe combines a high-resolution satellite map with laser altimeter data and advanced topographic lighting to present the planet Mars as it appears from above. An Introduction and Guided Tour present some of Mars' most intriguing features. You can leave the guided tour and explore Mars as you like; over 1500 surface features have been annotated with information and links. Mars Globe HD is a must-have app for anyone interested in our solar system. PLEASE NOTE: Regular Mars Globe is a smaller download and is free. This HD version has slightly, not extremely, better resolution and rendering.

About

StarTracker HD

Explore the night sky with this augmented reality planetarium. Identify stars, constellations, planets, and deep sky objects by simply pointing your device at the sky. All data is available offline.

Highlights
  • Augmented Reality Star Gazing
  • Identify 8000+ stars, planets, and constellations
  • Offline data access
  • Search and lock celestial objects
  • Time Machine feature
  • High-quality graphics
Features
Read full description

== Best StarGazing experience @60fps! == == Video: http://tiny.cc/starvideo == --- Top 1 Education app in 34 countries and Top 10 Education app in 79 countries when FREE! Thank you all my dear users, please leave a review or rating if you love this application! --- Hey, get outdoor with your friends and start star gazing! Let StarTracker guide you to explore the universe. Just hold up and point the device to the sky and have fun! You can see any stars, constellations and deep sky objects you are watching in reality. ======================== What our user said: "Best star gazing app I've ever used. Very well put together and great visuals!!! From end to end this app is a must-have for anyone interested in astronomy!!" "This app is a marvel of technology, art, and science. Super smooth operation, great graphics and a great merging of the devices capabilities. Having grown up using star charts and compasses, this app feels like science fiction come to life. Great job!" "Looking at the sky was never this incredible!" "If you download only one app, make sure it's this one!! This is one of the best apps I've ever seen, period! Its quality is unmatched among star gazing apps!" ======================== Features: • Augmented Reality Star Gazing with gyroscope! Just hold up the device. • Sun, Moon, planets and 8000+ stars visible to the naked eyes. • 88 Constellations & 100+ deep sky objects with magnificent graphics. • All data is offline! • Search and Lock the objects in Solar system, 12 Zodiac Constellations, 88 Constellations, Deep Sky Objects and Famous Stars. • 3D compass in AR mode, indicate position of objects your searched. • Location auto set by GPS, or set manually. • Time Machine. Time and date can be adjusted smoothly. • Capture a screenshot and share with your friends on Facebook, Twitter or save to Photos. • Smooth motion flow and quick response which is realized by cutting edge signal processing technique. • Superb high quality graphics with full screen anti-aliasing. Usage: • Bottom Right: Hide/Show Main Setting Menu, settings for name display, constellation, deep sky object, night mode, star amount and grid mode. • Top Right: Search Menu (Solar system, 12 Zodiac and 88 Constellations, Deep Sky Object and Famous Stars) • Top Left: Location Menu, choose location from a world map. Below is the Share button. • Top bar: Time Machine Menu, adjust any time/date. • Bottom Left: AR Compass indicator in AR track mode, pan the screen to enter un-track mode and click track button to back. Tips: • When search any object under un-track mode, it will be locked at the center of the screen, then user can adjust time/date to see changes of the related sky. • When under un-track mode, just lift up the screen and point it to the sky to enter AR track mode.

Screenshots

Mars Globe HD4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Mars Globe HD at 4.8 against StarTracker HD's 4.0. Mars Globe HD also leads on review sentiment (83% vs 67%) and price ($0.99 vs $3.99). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Mars Globe HD costs $0.99 and StarTracker HD $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mars Globe HD holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 54 and 43 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of Mars Globe HD's written reviews are positive against 67% of StarTracker HD's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mars Globe HD ships an update every 3 months, StarTracker HD every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Mars Globe HD versus StarTracker HD: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMars Globe HDStarTracker HD
Price$0.99 — better$3.99
Rating4.8 (54 ratings) — better4.0 (43 ratings)
Positive reviews82.7% of reviews — better67.2% of reviews
Number of ratings54 — better43
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS7.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size526 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMidnight Martian身吉 潘

Customer experience

Mars Globe HD

All ratings54 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral3.7%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews81 reviews
Positive82.7%
Neutral7.4%
Negative9.9%

StarTracker HD

All ratings43 ratings
Positive74.4%
Neutral4.7%
Negative20.9%
Written reviews128 reviews
Positive67.2%
Neutral10.2%
Negative22.7%

User reviews

Mars Globe HD

From 54 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Visually stunning and detailed
  • 💡 Informative and educational
  • 🚀 Smooth and intuitive navigation
  • 🌟 Great for astronomy enthusiasts
  • 📱 Pocket-sized Mars exploration

Room to improve

  • ⚠️ Lacks recent mission data (Curiosity, Perseverance)
  • blurry HD textures on modern iOS
  • 📉 Outdated information
  • ❓ Dead NASA links
  • 🐌 Slow download/update times

StarTracker HD

From 43 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth, fluid graphics and responsive gyroscope tracking
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy-to-use interface
  • 🌟 Beautiful HD visuals and stunning design
  • 📍 Accurate real-time sky positioning and planet/constellation identification
  • 🎓 Excellent educational tool for learning astronomy

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes on various devices
  • 🐛 Compass/gyroscope malfunction issues
  • 🐛 Screen display problems on larger tablets
  • ❌ Limited functionality and educational depth
  • ❌ Lack of object information and descriptions

Bugs and requests

Mars Globe HD

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Dead NASA links
  • Blurry HD textures on modern iOS
  • Navigation issues near poles
  • Choppy playback after updates
  • Jittery movement during rotation

Requested features

23 requests
  • Add Sun, Earth, and moons Phobos/Deimos
  • More defined sun color
  • Update with InSight and Perseverance landing sites
  • Add a reset button
  • Input latitude and longitude
Show 18 more
  • Add a coordinate grid
  • Allow inputting or importing custom locations
  • Add a 3D view
  • Add local time for MSL Curiosity
  • Add distances between landmarks, depths, and heights
  • Add similar apps for Ceres and Mercury
  • Add a real-time view of the central meridian
  • Add longitude and latitude scale and satellite locations
  • Show proper tilt, disk size, illumination, and distance data
  • Add a 'view from Earth' option
  • Add real-time phases or time sliding abilities
  • Add a telescope view option
  • Add Earth Globe HD product
  • Add Jupiter or other celestial bodies
  • Improve polar rendering
  • Allow flying close over the surface
  • More resolution for astronomers
  • Add German language support

StarTracker HD

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • App crashes on startup or during use
  • Compass direction incorrect (north pointing wrong direction)
  • Gyroscope not responding or locked
  • Share button causes crashes
  • Forward/share button greying out and causing screen loss
Show 10 more
  • Screen display only showing bottom right corner on iPad Pro 12.9
  • App spinning continuously without stopping
  • Screen orientation lock issues after iOS updates
  • Duplicate app installations appearing
  • iPad 2 compatibility issues despite gyroscope presence
  • Inaccurate celestial object positioning (e.g., M71 placement)
  • Sun position showing incorrectly during daytime
  • Ursa Minor not rotating properly over 24-hour period
  • Menu disappearing after using forward button
  • Half-screen display stuck after exploring tools

Requested features

13 requests
  • Add search functionality for celestial objects
  • Include ISS and satellite tracking
  • Display object information (distance, magnitude, color, brightness)
  • Add ecliptic line visibility option
  • Show coordinate information (RA, Dec, Alt, Azimuth)
Show 8 more
  • Tap-to-identify popup descriptions for objects
  • Add grid markings and horizon line with directional labels
  • Better zoom control with more detailed object information
  • Ability to manually rotate and correct star map
  • Offline functionality without WiFi requirement
  • Remove or disable astrology content
  • Project capability for classroom screens
  • iPhone version availability

In-app purchases

None

Mars Globe HD

No in-app purchases

None

StarTracker HD

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mars Globe HD free?
Mars Globe HD costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is StarTracker HD free?
StarTracker HD costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mars Globe HD or StarTracker HD?
Mars Globe HD is rated higher. Mars Globe HD averages 4.8 out of 5 from 54 ratings, while StarTracker HD averages 4.0 from 43 ratings.
Do Mars Globe HD or StarTracker HD have ads?
Neither Mars Globe HD nor StarTracker HD shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mars Globe HD or StarTracker HD?
Mars Globe HD ships an update every 3 months, and StarTracker HD every 5 months. Most recently, Mars Globe HD was updated on November 6, 2026 and StarTracker HD on November 1, 2026.

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