# SkyView® vs Spot the Station

The clearest difference is price: Spot the Station at Free against SkyView®'s $2.99. Spot the Station also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.6). SkyView®'s advantage is review sentiment (77% vs 63%) and chart position (#2 vs unranked). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Spot the Station is free to download; SkyView® costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Spot the Station holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7.7K and 11K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 77% of SkyView®'s written reviews are positive against 63% of Spot the Station's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

SkyView® ships an update every 4 months, Spot the Station every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | SkyView® | Spot the Station |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.6 (7.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skyview/id404990064/reviews) | **[4.8 (11K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spot-the-station/id6449235044/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 7.7K | **11K** |
| Positive reviews | **76.8% of reviews** | 63.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Every 3 months** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | **#2** | — |
| Size | 112 MB | 84 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | [Terminal Eleven LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/378238417) | [NASA](https://appshunter.io/developer/355542146) |

## What reviewers say

### SkyView®

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skyview/id404990064)

**Currently charting:** #2 Top Paid · Education, #12 Top Paid (US App Store)

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- 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


### Spot the Station

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spot-the-station/id6449235044)

Receive notifications when the International Space Station is visible from your location. Explore real-time 2D and 3D views, augmented reality tracking, and access NASA resources. Experience the wonder of human presence in orbit.

**Highlights:** Real-time 2D & 3D station location, Upcoming sighting lists, Augmented reality view with trajectory, NASA space station resources & blog, Push notifications for sightings

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Awesome App
- 🚀 ISS joy!
- 🚀 Awesome App!
- 🚀 Brilliant
- 🚀 Great fun app

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 AR View jumps to a bug screen
- 🐛 Loses location
- 🐛 Can't open
- 🐛 Current location
- 🐛 Crashes on iPhone 15 Pro

**Reported bugs**

- Location-detection bugs are fixed, and the app is much much better.
- Location FIXED with the latest update
- App now working as expected
- App crashes when trying to use AR
- Crashes when granting camera permission

**Requested features**

- Would like to know speed and height at which this incredible machine is whizzing above our planet!
- I wish it could say dates further into the future though
- I would love to have an option of the map to show where it's at like which country or state it's flying over
- Would be nice if the notification would give you the details of the pass over your location i.e 
Visible: 1 min
Max Height: 16°
Appears: 10° above S
Disappears: 16° above S


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SkyView® free?

SkyView® costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Spot the Station free?

Spot the Station is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, SkyView® or Spot the Station?

Spot the Station is rated higher. SkyView® averages 4.6 out of 5 from 7.7K ratings, while Spot the Station averages 4.8 from 11K ratings.

### Do SkyView® or Spot the Station have ads?

Neither SkyView® nor Spot the Station shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SkyView® or Spot the Station?

SkyView® ships an update every 4 months, and Spot the Station every 3 months. Most recently, SkyView® was updated on October 25, 2026 and Spot the Station on October 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*