ioda vs SynScan
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ioda
This scientific application allows users to read and visualize data from various file formats commonly used in astronomy and high-energy physics. It supports formats like FITS, ROOT, HDF5, JPG, and FOG, and can execute specific script files.
- Read FITS, ROOT, HDF5, JPG, and FOG files
- Browse and visualize data
- Execute .kumac files
- Includes gopaw core
- Supports various scientific data schemas
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ioda should be read "IO-DA", for Input/Output and for Data Analysis. It is a scientific application that permits to read files at various formats as FITS used in astronomy, ROOT and AIDA used in high energy physics (HEP), HDF5 with the g4tools data schema semantic, JPG format to store images and FOG developed at CEA/Saclay (France) to describe the LHC/ATLAS geometry. ioda permits to browse these files and visualise some of their data. Since 1.14.x, ioda contains the gopaw (=Good Old PAW) core and can execute .kumac files.
SynScan
Control motorized telescope mounts for celestial object tracking and exploration. Features include GOTO functionality, object catalogs, and gamepad navigation. Ideal for novice users with alt-azimuth mounts.
- Control telescope mount slew, align, GOTO, and track
- Point and Track celestial objects
- Support gamepad navigation
- Browse and save celestial object catalogs
- Third-party app integration (ASCOM, SkySafari, Stellarium)
- Emulator mount for testing
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Use the SynScan app to control Sky-Watcher telescope mounts via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth LE. Mounts without built-in Wi-Fi can be supported via a SynScan Wi-Fi adapter. This version of the SynScan app is suited for novice users using alt-azimuth mounts. Features - Control telescope mount to slew, align, GOTO and track. - Point And Track: track celestial objects (including the Sun and planets) without aligning. - Support gamepad navigation. - Browse a catalog of stars, comets, and deep sky objects. Or, save your own objects. - Provide access to mount for use by third-party apps, including ASCOM clients, SkySafari, Luminos, Stellarium Mobile Plus, Stellarium Desktop or customer-developed apps. Also set up mount alignment for Luminos, Skysafari. - Support access to the mount and the SynScan app from any platform that supports TCP/UDP connections. - Provide emulator mount for testing and practicing. - Track fast-moving earth satellites by working with the PreviSat app on Windows PC or the Lumios app on iOS devices.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SynScan at 3.3 against ioda's 3.0. SynScan also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (8 vs 2). ioda's advantage is review sentiment (33% vs 22%) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 14.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
SynScan holds the better App Store score, 3.3 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 8 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 33% of ioda's written reviews are positive against 22% of SynScan's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
ioda ships an update every 5 months, SynScan every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ioda | SynScan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (2 ratings) | 3.3 (8 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews — better | 22.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 8 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 64 MB | 46 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Guy Barrand | Astropower Technology Co. Ltd. |
Customer experience
ioda
SynScan
In-app purchases
ioda
No in-app purchases
SynScan
No in-app purchases
