Comparison

Luminos vs SkySafari 7 Pro

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

Head to head
About

Luminos

This astronomy companion app, after 12 years of updates, is being retired. A more advanced version, Luminos Pro, is available with new features and ongoing support. This version remains accessible for existing users.

Highlights
  • Astronomy software
  • 12 years of updates
  • Retired version
  • Advanced version available (Luminos Pro)
  • Continued support for existing customers
Features
Read full description

Thank you for being a part of my journey with Luminos! As I strive to bring you the best in astronomical software, I want to let you know that, after 12 years of updates, this version of Luminos will be retired in 2023. But there's exciting news: I've developed Luminos Pro, an advanced version that offers even more amazing features and updates. To continue providing support and updates to my existing customers, this version will stay available in the App Store for now. I invite you to explore my latest features and designs in Luminos Pro and join me on this continuing adventure. See you in the stars! Clear skies, - John

About

SkySafari 7 Pro

Explore the night sky with an extensive astronomy database and advanced planning tools. Discover astronomical events, control your telescope, and connect with other stargazers in real-time.

Highlights
  • Extensive celestial object database
  • Advanced event finder
  • Telescope control (ASCOM Alpaca, INDI, StarSense)
  • Real-time social stargazing (OneSky)
  • Guided sky tours (SkyCast)
  • Observation planning and logging
  • Home and lock screen widgets
Features
Read full description

SkySafari makes stargazing a simple pleasure. It has the largest database of any astronomy app, includes every comet, asteroid, satellite & solar system object ever discovered, offers unparalleled accuracy, advanced planning and logging tools, flawless telescope control, and provides the very best experience under the stars when you depend on it. Don’t postpone joy. Discover why SkySafari is the #1 recommended astronomy app for serious amateur astronomers since 2009. Here's what’s new in version 7: + Complete support for iOS 18 and iPhone 16. Version 7 brings a new and immersive stargazing experience. + Events Finder - go to the new Events section to unlock a powerful search engine that finds astronomical events visible tonight and far into the future. The finder dynamically generates a listing of moon phases, eclipses, planetary moon events, meteor showers and planetary phenomenon such as conjunctions, elongations and oppositions. + Notifications - the notifications section has been completely revamped to allow you to customize and manage which events trigger an alert notification on your device. + Telescope Support - telescope control is at the heart of SkySafari. Version 7 takes a giant leap forward by supporting ASCOM Alpaca, INDI & StarSense Explorer. These next generation control protocols allow you to effortlessly connect to hundreds of compatible astronomical devices. SkySafari 7 brings social stargazing to mobile devices with two new features to help you connect with other like minded people. OneSky - allows you to see what other users are observing, in real time. This feature highlights objects in the sky chart and indicates with a number how many users are observing a particular object. SkyCast - allows you to guide a friend or group around the night sky through their own copy of SkySafari. After initiating SkyCast, you can generate a link and conveniently share it with other SkySafari users via text message, apps or social media accounts. + Sky Tonight - jump to the new Tonight section to see what’s visible in your sky tonight. Expanded information has been designed to help plan your night and includes Moon & Sun info, calendar curations, events and the best positioned deep sky and solar system objects. + Improved Observation Tools - SkySafari is the perfect tool to help you plan, record and organize your observations. New workflows make it easier to add, search, filter and sort data. + Home Screen and Lock Screen Widgets keep your favorite astro information at your fingertips. The Small Touches: + You can now edit the Jupiter GRS Longitude Value in the Settings. + Better Moon Age calculation. + New grid & reference options allow you to display Solstice and Equinox markers, Orbit + Node markers for all solar system objects, and tick marks and labels for the Ecliptic, Meridian, and Equator reference lines. + Previous In-app Purchases are Now Free - this includes the H-R diagram, 3D Galaxy view, and the PGC galaxy and GAIA star catalogs. Enjoy. + Many more. If you haven't used SkySafari 7 Pro before, here's what you can do with it: + Hold your device up, and SkySafari 7 Pro will find stars, constellations, planets, and more! + Simulate the night sky up to 5MM years in the past or future! Animate meteor showers, conjunctions, eclipses, and other celestial events. + Control your telescope, log and plan your observations. + Optionally backup all of your observing data in our secure cloud storage and make it easily accessible to multiple devices as well as from our new web interface, LiveSky.com. + Augmented Reality (AR) mode + Night Vision. + Orbit Mode. Leave the Earth’s surface behind, and fly through our solar system. + Galaxy View shows the position of deep sky objects in our Milky Way! https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ https://www.livesky.com/privacy.html

Screenshots

Luminos4 screens
SkySafari 7 Pro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Luminos at 90% against SkySafari 7 Pro's 45%. Luminos also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 5) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). SkySafari 7 Pro's advantage is price ($17.99 vs $19.99) and ratings volume (5.4K vs 1.1K). On ads 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

Luminos costs $19.99 and SkySafari 7 Pro $17.99 up front. SkySafari 7 Pro sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Luminos asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Luminos holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SkySafari 7 Pro has 5.4K ratings behind it against 1.1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 90% of Luminos's written reviews are positive against 45% of SkySafari 7 Pro's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Luminos ships an update every 2 weeks, SkySafari 7 Pro every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Luminos versus SkySafari 7 Pro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLuminosSkySafari 7 Pro
Price$19.99$17.99 — better
Rating4.8 (1.1K ratings) — better4.6 (5.4K ratings)
Positive reviews90.4% of reviews — better45.5% of reviews
Number of ratings1.1K5.4K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.614.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size930 MB2.4 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWobbleworks LLCSimulation Curriculum Corp.

Customer experience

Luminos

All ratings1,080 ratings
Positive96.5%
Neutral0.9%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews229 reviews
Positive90.4%
Neutral1.7%
Negative7.9%

SkySafari 7 Pro

All ratings5,434 ratings
Positive91.4%
Neutral2.6%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews354 reviews
Positive45.5%
Neutral14.7%
Negative39.8%

User reviews

Luminos

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Excellent astronomy app
  • 🔭 Comprehensive features and information
  • 🌌 Beautiful and intuitive interface
  • 🔍 Helpful for both beginners and advanced users
  • 🌍 Accurate tracking of celestial objects and satellites

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
  • 🔧 Difficulty configuring for use with telescopes
  • 🔒 Concerns about subscription model changes
  • 🔍 Steep learning curve for some features
  • 🔍 Lack of instructions or user guide

SkySafari 7 Pro

From 5.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent observational tool
  • 🌟 Powerful and indispensable app
  • 👍 Great app, easy to use
  • 🔭 Wonderful planetarium app
  • 💻 Best mobile tool for telescope control

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes upon opening
  • 🌍 Lack of Southern Hemisphere support
  • 🔍 Complicated interface, not user-friendly
  • 🔌 Crashes too often
  • 💰 Pay even more for additional features

Bugs and requests

Luminos

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Motion tracking and compass not working properly
  • Saved telescope settings erased after updates
  • Slow response times and location detection issues
  • Inconsistent behavior when tapping on objects

Requested features

8 requests
  • Add historical constellations
  • Integrate national borders when searching
  • Include exoplanets information
  • Improve motion tracking and orientation
  • Add observation forecast based on weather conditions
Show 3 more
  • Provide automatic sky rotation to match the real-time view
  • Enhance moon surface details and shadows
  • Add ability to center on objects while in orbit mode

SkySafari 7 Pro

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Free database downloads fail to complete
  • Telescope button crashes the app
  • Time settings spontaneously reset
  • Observing list crashes the app
  • Field of view indicators not working

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to quickly edit light form
  • Allow custom horizon mask input
  • Include surface brightness data for extended objects
  • Add transit altitude information for objects
  • Improve object search with fuzzy matching

In-app purchases

None

Luminos

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

SkySafari 7 Pro

Subscriptions2
  • SkySafari Premium Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • SkySafari Premium7 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time3
  • PGC Galaxy DatabaseFree
  • GAIA Star DatabaseFree
  • Apollo Lunar MissionsFree

Questions

Is Luminos free?
Luminos costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is SkySafari 7 Pro free?
SkySafari 7 Pro costs $17.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Luminos or SkySafari 7 Pro?
Luminos is rated higher. Luminos averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.1K ratings, while SkySafari 7 Pro averages 4.6 from 5.4K ratings.
Do Luminos or SkySafari 7 Pro have ads?
Neither Luminos nor SkySafari 7 Pro shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Luminos or SkySafari 7 Pro?
Luminos ships an update every 2 weeks, and SkySafari 7 Pro every 5 weeks. Most recently, Luminos was updated on September 24, 2026 and SkySafari 7 Pro on September 25, 2026.

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