ioda vs Touch
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
Read full descriptionHide full description
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.
Touch
Control your astrophotography sessions remotely from your mobile device or Mac. Manage imaging, focus, guiding, and polar alignment. This open-source tool enhances your workflow without ads or in-app purchases.
- Remote imaging session launch
- Focus control
- Guiding performance monitoring
- Three Point Polar Alignment
- Connected device control
- Open source
Read full descriptionHide full description
Touch-N-Stars brings the core features of the popular astrophotography software N.I.N.A. right to your phone, tablet, or Apple Silicon Mac. Start imaging sessions, adjust focus, monitor guiding, or perform a Three Point Polar Alignment – all from the palm of your hand. Key Features: - Launch imaging sessions and control focus remotely - Monitor guiding performance in real time - Perform Three Point Polar Alignment (requires N.I.N.A. v2.2.2.0+) - Control all connected devices such as the dome or flat panel - 100% open source. No ads. No in-app purchases. Requirements: - A running N.I.N.A. instance on your imaging PC - Advanced API Plugin enabled (Port 1888, API v2) - Touch'N'Stars Plugin Touch-N-Stars is a companion tool – not a full replacement for the desktop experience. Enhance your astrophotography workflow and stay flexible – wherever you are.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Touch at 4.7 against ioda's 3.0. Touch also leads on review sentiment (75% vs 33%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months). ioda's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 16.6). 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.
Touch holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 7 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of ioda's written reviews are positive against 75% of Touch's.
ioda ships an update every 5 months, Touch fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ioda | Touch |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (2 ratings) | 4.7 (7 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 7 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 64 MB | 41 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Guy Barrand | Johannes Maier |
Customer experience
ioda
Touch
In-app purchases
ioda
No in-app purchases
Touch
No in-app purchases
