Comparison

SkyView® vs Star Walk 2 Plus

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

Head to head
About

SkyView®

Identify stars, constellations, planets, and satellites by simply pointing your device at the sky. This app uses augmented reality to guide you and provides information on celestial objects, upcoming events, and even allows you to travel through time to view the sky on different dates.

Highlights
  • Identify stars, planets, and satellites with AR
  • Discover all 88 constellations
  • Schedule alerts for celestial events
  • Night mode for preserving vision
  • Time travel to view past/future skies
  • Capture and share celestial images
Read full description

SkyView® brings stargazing to everyone. Simply point your iPhone, iPad, or iPod at the sky to identify stars, constellations, planets, satellites, and more! Over 3.2 million downloads. App Store Rewind 2011 -- Best Education App “If you've ever wanted to know what you're looking at in the night sky, this app is the perfect stargazer's companion.” – CNET "If you’ve ever been looking for a stargazing app for your iPhone, then this [is] definitely the one to get." – AppAdvice “SkyView is an Augmented Reality app that lets you see just what delights the sky has to offer.” – 148Apps Editor’s Choice You don't need to be an astronomer to find stars or constellations in the sky, just open SkyView® and let it guide you to their location and identify them. SkyView® is a beautiful and intuitive stargazing app that uses your camera to precisely spot and identify celestial objects in sky, day or night. Find all 88 constellations as they fade in and out while you scan across the sky, locate every planet in our solar system, discover distant galaxies, and witness satellite fly-bys. Features: • Simple: Point your device at the sky to identify galaxies, stars, constellations, planets, and satellites (including the ISS and Hubble) passing overhead at your location. • Sighting Events: schedule alerts for upcoming celestial events. • Apple Watch: see what objects are visible tonight and how to spot them using your Apple Watch. • Today Widget: brand new iOS 8 today widget lets you quickly see upcoming celestial events. • Night Mode: Preserve your night vision with red or green night mode filters. • Augmented Reality (AR): Use your camera to spot objects in the sky, day or night. • Sky Paths: Follow the sky track for any object to see it’s exact location in the sky on any date and time. • Comprehensive: Includes thousands of stars, planets, and satellites with thousands of interesting facts. • Time Travel: Jump to the future or the past and see the sky on different dates and times. • Social: Capture and share beautiful images with friends and family on social networks. • Mobile: WiFi is NOT required (does not require a data signal or GPS to function). Take it camping, boating, or even flying! What a fun way to teach yourself, your children, your students, or your friends about our wonderful universe!

About

Star Walk 2 Plus

Explore the cosmos with a real-time sky map. Point your device to identify stars, planets, and constellations. Discover celestial events and learn about the universe with detailed information and 3D models.

Highlights
  • Real-time sky map
  • 3D constellation models
  • Time machine feature
  • Deep sky object identification
  • Augmented reality mode
  • Celestial event tracking
Features
Read full description

Star Walk 2 Plus is an exquisite stargazing app that enables you to explore the sky through the screen of your device. Make an effortless journey through thousands of stars, planets and constellations. All you have to do is point your device to the sky! ⁕BEST OF 2014: The next generation of the best-selling Star Walk, winner of Apple Design Award, used by over 10 million people⁕ The app uses your device’s sensors and the GPS to determine the exact position of stars, planets, constellations and other objects in the sky. “She’s a beauty.”- The Next Web “Star Walk 2 is a terrific introduction to astronomy for young and old. It’s also handy for serious stargazers for observing planning.” - TUAW “Star Walk 2 is visually stunning.” - PCmag “This is a very beautiful and unusual application that turns your phone into a real planetarium.” - Free apps for me “For those who enjoy the original app, Star Walk 2 is worth the upgrade — the interface is gorgeous. Anyone with even a passing interest in astronomy should grab Star Walk 2.” - iLounge “It is worth every penny.” - PadGadget Star Walk 2 Plus in travel & tourism industry: ‘Rapa Nui Stargazing’ based on Easter Island uses the app for sky observations during its astronomical tours. ‘Nakai Resorts Group’ in the Maldives uses the app during astronomy meetings. Main features: ◆ Map of the sky in real time ◆ 3D models of constellations and other sky objects ◆ “Time machine” ◆ Deep sky objects ◆ Rich info about celestial bodies and sky events ◆ The sky at different wavelengths ◆ Augmented reality mode ◆ "What's new" section with the latest astronomical news ◆ "Visible Tonight" section ► Star Walk 2 Plus shows the real-time map of the sky on your screen in whatever direction you are pointing the device (the Star spotter feature). As you point your device towards the sky, the star map follows your motions using the built-in gyroscope to match the map on your screen to the stars seen from your location. ► What's up in the sky tonight? Open the "Visible Tonight" section and learn about the upcoming astronomical events and celestial objects that will be visible from your location. ► Be aware of the latest news from the world of space and astronomy. The app's "What's new" section will tell you about the most outstanding celestial events in time. ► Create shortcuts to take your stargazing experience to a whole new level. Go to the "Visible Tonight" section and add the shortcut to Siri. Next time when you want to access the list of astronomy events for your location, ask Siri and get it quicker than ever. ► Touching a clock-face icon at the upper-right corner of the screen allows you to select any date and time and watch the sky of different periods. ► Get a deeper understanding of the constellation`s scale and place in the night sky. Enjoy observing wonderful 3D models of constellations, turn them upside down, read their stories. ► Find and study deep sky objects such as meteor showers, planetary nebulae, star clusters, etc. The app is ad-supported and contains In-App Purchases. If you want to use the app without ads, download the paid Star Walk 2 app or remove ads from Star Walk 2 Plus with a special In-App Purchase. Star Walk 2 Plus offers an optional subscription that gives you access to all additional content and removes ads from the app. It is an auto-renewable subscription with one week free trial. At the end of each subscription duration (1 month), the subscription will automatically renew until you choose to cancel it. Users can manage their subscriptions in their account settings on the App Store. Privacy policy: http://vitotechnology.com/privacy-policy.html Terms of use: http://vitotechnology.com/terms-of-use.html Start your best stargazing experience!

Screenshots

SkyView®4 screens
Star Walk 2 Plus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Star Walk 2 Plus at Free against SkyView®'s $2.99. Star Walk 2 Plus also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (95K vs 7.7K). SkyView®'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 15) and ads (none vs shown). On rating, review sentiment, device support and iOS requirement 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

Star Walk 2 Plus is free to download; SkyView® costs $2.99 up front. Star Walk 2 Plus sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. SkyView® asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for SkyView® against 4.6 for Star Walk 2 Plus. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Star Walk 2 Plus has 95K ratings behind it against 7.7K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 72% of SkyView®'s written reviews are positive against 70% of Star Walk 2 Plus's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SkyView® ships an update every 4 months, Star Walk 2 Plus every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
SkyView® versus Star Walk 2 Plus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSkyView®Star Walk 2 Plus
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (7.7K ratings)4.6 (95K ratings)
Positive reviews71.9% of reviews — better69.8% of reviews
Number of ratings7.7K95K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#2 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size112 MB373 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTerminal Eleven LLCVito Technology Inc.

Customer experience

SkyView®

All ratings7,665 ratings
Positive89.9%
Neutral2.9%
Negative7.2%
Written reviews606 reviews
Positive71.9%
Neutral9.1%
Negative19.0%

Star Walk 2 Plus

All ratings94,916 ratings
Positive91.2%
Neutral3.7%
Negative5.1%
Written reviews691 reviews
Positive69.8%
Neutral4.6%
Negative25.6%

User reviews

SkyView®

From 7.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🔭 Helpful for stargazing and identifying celestial objects
  • 🌌 Provides a lot of information about the night sky
  • 🎶 Relaxing background music
  • 🤩 Amazed by the app's capabilities

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Calibration issues and inaccurate compass
  • 🤷‍♀️ Missing some celestial objects like comets and the James Webb Space Telescope
  • 🌌 Constellation overlays can be obstructive
  • 🙈 Showing stars/planets on walls/floors even when not present
  • 📱 Compatibility issues on certain devices

Star Walk 2 Plus

From 95K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Informative and educational
  • 🔭 Accurate star/planet tracking
  • 🎨 Beautiful visuals and graphics
  • 🔊 Relaxing background music
  • 🌍 Useful for stargazing and astronomy

Room to improve

  • 💢 Excessive and intrusive ads in free version
  • 🤔 Confusing navigation and controls
  • 🧭 Inaccurate compass and location tracking
  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases required for full features
  • 🔄 Frequent app crashes and freezes

Bugs and requests

SkyView®

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Freezing and crashing issues
  • Compass and orientation problems
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between automatic and manual calibration

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add more celestial objects like comets, dwarf planets, and the James Webb Space Telescope
  • Improve calibration and compass accuracy
  • Add option to hide constellation overlays
  • Implement a feature to track the International Space Station and other satellites
  • Add a widget for quick access to sky information
Show 1 more
  • Improve support for older devices and iOS versions

Star Walk 2 Plus

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Compass and location tracking issues
  • Crashes and freezes when using certain features
  • Purchased upgrades not syncing across devices
  • Notifications not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more detailed information about stars and constellations
  • Improve widget functionality and visibility of planets/satellites
  • Implement a dark mode for better visibility at night
  • Allow customization of the display and overlay options
  • Enhance the augmented reality experience

In-app purchases

None

SkyView®

No in-app purchases

12 purchases

Star Walk 2 Plus

Subscriptions5
  • StarWalk2 Ads+ Monthly Premium7 Days trial2 variants$0.991 Month
  • StarWalk2 Ads+ Monthly Premium$0.991 Month
  • StarWalk2 Ads+ Yearly Premium7 Days trial$5.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • StarWalk2 Ads+ Yearly Premium$5.991 Year
  • StarWalk2 Ads+ Yearly Premium3 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time7
  • Constellations Encyclopedia$0.99
  • Discover Solar System Objects$0.99
  • Explore Planet Finder 3D$0.99
Show 4 more
  • Satellite Tracker in the Sky$0.99
  • Night Sky View: without Ads$2.99
  • Night Sky Map: Limited Offer$5.99
  • Night Sky View: No Ads$8.99

Questions

Is SkyView® free?
SkyView® costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Star Walk 2 Plus free?
Star Walk 2 Plus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SkyView® or Star Walk 2 Plus?
SkyView® and Star Walk 2 Plus are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 7.7K and 95K ratings respectively.
Do SkyView® or Star Walk 2 Plus have ads?
Star Walk 2 Plus shows ads; SkyView® does not.
Which is updated more often, SkyView® or Star Walk 2 Plus?
SkyView® ships an update every 4 months, and Star Walk 2 Plus every 6 weeks. Most recently, SkyView® was updated on September 24, 2026 and Star Walk 2 Plus on September 24, 2026.

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