ioda vs Cygnus Astro
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.
Cygnus Astro
Control your astrophotography equipment remotely from your mobile device. This app provides a touch-friendly interface to connect, monitor, and manage your N.I.N.A. software and connected gear, simplifying your setup in the field.
- Remote equipment control
- N.I.N.A. software integration
- Mobile touch interface
- Real-time exposure preview
- Open-source and free
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Cygnus Astro Get ready to do astrophotography from your mobile phone! Cygnus Astro enables astrophotographers to use a mobile touch-friendly interface to control their equipment from N.I.N.A. software. No matter if you have a laptop, or a mini PC, you can replace that complex UI with a mobile app. When in the field, you're able to connect, monitor, and control all your astrophotography equipment without worrying about a desktop interface. Turn your PC on, and forget about it! Key features: - Connect your equipment (mount, camera, electronic focuser, etc.) using a simple button - Launch and monitor your advance sequence - Perform your Three-Point Polar Alignment without having to hold your laptop - Preview your exposures in real-time - Fully open-source. This app is, and will aways be free Cygnus Astro uses N.I.N.A. PC software and the N.I.N.A. Advanced API plugin to communicate with your PC. This app is not a replacement for N.I.N.A. or your PC.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Cygnus Astro at 4.3 against ioda's 3.0. Cygnus Astro also leads on review sentiment (67% vs 33%) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 months). ioda's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.1). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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.
Cygnus Astro holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of ioda's written reviews are positive against 67% of Cygnus Astro's.
ioda ships an update every 5 months, Cygnus Astro every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ioda | Cygnus Astro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (2 ratings) | 4.3 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 4 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 64 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Guy Barrand | Christopher Ventura |
Customer experience
ioda
Cygnus Astro
In-app purchases
ioda
No in-app purchases
Cygnus Astro
No in-app purchases
