Sputnik! vs ISS 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 *
ISS Tracker
Monitor the International Space Station's live position and vital telemetry data in real-time. Track its orbit, altitude, velocity, and internal environmental systems. Ideal for space enthusiasts and students interested in space exploration.
- Real-time ISS position tracking
- Interactive world map
- Altitude and velocity data
- Comprehensive telemetry monitoring
- Environmental and power system data
- Dark mode support
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Find out when the International Space Station flies over you and exactly where to look. On a good night it’s brighter than any star. YOUR NEXT PASS, IN PLAIN WORDS “Tonight at 8:05 PM. Look west, low.” Each pass also says how long it’s visible and how bright it is, and has a round sky chart that shows its path, from where it appears to where it fades. See 14 days of passes, and the cloud forecast for the next ones. ALERTS FOR GOOD PASSES Get a heads-up a few hours before a good pass, and an alert 5 minutes before it starts. A good pass climbs at least 30° above the horizon, or is bright and long. If two weeks have none, you get alerts for the best low passes instead. You can turn on alerts for every visible pass in the app’s settings. A Live Activity counts down on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. FIND IT IN THE SKY Hold your phone up and follow the pointer to the station. Saw a bright, moving light? Ask “Was that the ISS?” and get a straight answer. No telescope needed. WHERE IS THE ISS RIGHT NOW? See it on a 3D globe, with the day and night sides of Earth, or on a live map with the ground track of its orbit. You can add Tiangong, China’s space station, and get its passes too. WHO’S UP THERE See the crew on board, and the next launches, dockings and spacewalks. ALWAYS ONE GLANCE AWAY Widgets show your next pass on the Home Screen and Lock Screen. A Control Center button opens the sky pointer. PRIVATE AND SIMPLE No account needed. Every pass is worked out on your phone, and your exact location is never sent to us. Apple Weather and Apple Maps use it for the cloud forecast and the place name. For iPhone and iPad.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ISS Tracker at none against Sputnik!'s 1. ISS Tracker also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 5 months). Sputnik!'s advantage is ratings volume (731 vs 17) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, review sentiment 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
Both are free to download. Sputnik! sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ISS Tracker asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Sputnik! against 4.7 for ISS Tracker. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sputnik! has 731 ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 92% of Sputnik!'s written reviews are positive against 100% of ISS Tracker's.
Sputnik! ships an update every 5 months, ISS Tracker weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sputnik! | ISS Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (731 ratings) | 4.7 (17 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 92.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 731 — better | 17 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Applicate Ltd | Lucent Enterprises Ltd. |
Customer experience
Sputnik!
ISS 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
ISS Tracker
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Sputnik!
- Go ad-free$0.99
ISS Tracker
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Sputnik! free?
Is ISS Tracker free?
Which has better reviews, Sputnik! or ISS Tracker?
Do Sputnik! or ISS Tracker have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sputnik! or ISS Tracker?
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