Sputnik! vs Satellite Tracker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sputnik!
Track the International Space Station and bright satellites with precise timing and location data. Get second-by-second countdowns, set reminders, and view satellite paths in the night sky. Supports offline calculations and sharing sightings.
- Accurate satellite and ISS sighting predictions
- Starlink satellite train detection
- Second-by-second countdowns
- Sighting reminders
- Compass direction and elevation display
- Night sky path visualization
- Offline calculations
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Sputnik! is an easy to use tool for predicting when the International Space Station will pass by your location or when a bright satellite will be visible in the skies above. Sputnik! features: - Predictions of satellite and ISS sightings accurate to the second. - Detection of Starlink satellite trains. - Second by second countdown to the satellite sighting. - Set reminders of upcoming satellite sightings. - Displays compass direction and elevation for your device to easily find the part of the sky where the sighting will occur (requires capable device). - Rotate your device to landscape orientation to show exactly where the satellite will pass in the night sky. - Share sightings via Twitter, Facebook, Mail, Messages and others. - Automatic download of up to date satellite orbital data. - Offline calculations, no need to be connected to the internet once orbital data has been downloaded. - Input your location automatically by GPS, select from a map or enter coordinates manually. - Save your favorite places for easy access. - Audio cues for the last seconds before the satellite passes by. Sputnik! on Apple Watch: - Easily find the next and last sighting at your current location. * Sputnik! is ad-supported *
Satellite Tracker
Track satellites, the Sun, and the Moon with rise/set times and visibility calculations. Visualize Earth with 3D globe or 2D map views and customize tracking options. Offers free basic functionality with optional subscriptions for expanded satellite access.
- Satellite, Sun, and Moon tracking
- Rise/set times and visibility calculations
- 3D globe and 2D map Earth views
- Customizable tracking options
- Free basic functionality
- Optional satellite subscription plans
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Satellite Tracker is the follow on to our award winning HamSat series of applications. Satellite Tracker merges all the features of the iPhone and iPad versions providing you a single application that seamlessly optimizes the screen to the device you’re running it on (check out the various iPhone and iPad screen shots). The application will calculate the rise/set times and associated azimuth and elevation for the selected satellite, Sun or Moon given either the user entered or network retrieved location. There are two modes for satellite rise/set calculations. The first is for those folks wanting to know all overflights for a given location (like Ham radio operators) while the second mode computes only those passes where the satellite would be visible to a ground observer. In the ground observer mode, the calculations not only take into account that the ground is dark but also that the satellite is in sunlight (it even takes into account if the satellite becomes lit or unlit during the pass) In addition, you can see the Earth rendered either as a 3D globe or a 2D map using photo realistic texture maps for the Earth model. The orientation of the map is easily changed by a simple rotation of the device from portrait (3D) to landscape (2D). In either orientation you can zoom in and out as well as pan using the touch screen. There are more than a dozen controls provided to allow you to customize how the application works to meet your specific needs (type of Earth texture used, location, type of overflight calculated…) Finally, the application is now free to download and provides full functionality for tracking, viewing and communicating with the International Space Station (what was the capability of the ISS family of paid apps). The following subscriptions are available for tracking and communicating with a larger set of satellites: -HamSat (Annual and Monthly): Provides access to the NORAD and AMSAT two line element sets which cover all amateur related satellites. -ProSat (Annual and Monthly): Provides access to thousands of satellites grouped into the following categories (from www.celestrak.com): -100 (or so) Brightest -Last 30 Day’s Launches (or so) -Amateur Ham Radio Satellites -CubeSats -Disaster Monitoring -Earth Resources -Education -Engineering -Geodetic -Geostationary -GOES -GPS Operational -Intelsat -Iridium -Molniya -NOAA -Orbcomm -Search & Rescue (SARSAT) -Space & Earth Science -Space Station -Weather To get a feel for the apps, please checkout the iPad quickstart video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiHCGxV0WM8) and associated user’s guide (http://www.vosworx.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/SatSeriesHD.pdf) or the iPhone quickstart video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuPccQI9oSg) and it’s user’s guide (http://www.vosworx.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/SatSeries.pdf). Please note that InApp payments will be charged to your AppleID account at the confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renews unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscription by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase. For more information, please visit our Terms of Service at http://www.vosworx.com/terms-of-service-for-app and our Privacy Policy at http://www.vosworx.com/privacy-policy-for-apps. Thanks to everyone who has sent in their questions/requests and keep them coming! -Craig (support@vosworx.com)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Sputnik! at 92% against Satellite Tracker's 44%. Sputnik! also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.4) and ratings volume (731 vs 13). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Sputnik! sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Satellite Tracker sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Sputnik! holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sputnik! has 731 ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of Sputnik!'s written reviews are positive against 44% of Satellite Tracker's.
Sputnik! ships an update every 5 months, Satellite Tracker every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and August 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sputnik! | Satellite Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (731 ratings) — better | 3.4 (13 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 92.2% of reviews — better | 44.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 731 — better | 13 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Applicate Ltd | Craig Vosburgh |
Customer experience
Sputnik!
Satellite Tracker
Bugs and requests
Sputnik!
Reported bugs
3 issues- App reporting 'No Sightings' for all categories
- Null check errors when selecting satellite sightings
- Issues with location settings and data updates
Requested features
4 requests- Add support for more satellite types
- Improve sky chart visualization and orientation
- Provide filtering options (e.g. by elevation, magnitude)
- Implement automatic data updates
Satellite Tracker
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Sputnik!
- Go ad-free$0.99
Satellite Tracker
- Amateur Satellites Monthly$1.491 Month
- All Satellites Monthly$1.991 Month
- Amateur Satellites Annual$8.991 Year
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- All Satellites Annual$11.991 Year
Questions
Is Sputnik! free?
Is Satellite Tracker free?
Which has better reviews, Sputnik! or Satellite Tracker?
Do Sputnik! or Satellite Tracker have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sputnik! or Satellite Tracker?
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