SkyView® Lite vs Stellarium Mobile
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SkyView® Lite
Identify stars, constellations, satellites, and more by simply pointing your device at the sky. This augmented reality app makes stargazing accessible to everyone, day or night. Explore celestial paths and even travel through time to view the sky on different dates.
- Identify stars, constellations, and satellites
- Augmented Reality (AR) stargazing
- Set reminders for celestial events
- View sky paths for Sun and Moon
- Time travel to view past/future skies
- Capture and share sky images
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SkyView® Lite brings stargazing to everyone! Simply point your iPhone, iPad, or iPod at the sky to identify stars, constellations, satellites, and more! Downloaded over 40 million times. If you like our lite version of SkyView then you'll love our full version! It includes: a convenient Apple Watch app, a Today Widget displaying tonight's brightest objects, ALL in-app purchases offered in this version, thousands more objects to discover, and more! App Store Best of 2012 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® Lite and let it guide you to their location and identify them. SkyView® Lite is a beautiful and intuitive stargazing app that uses your camera to precisely spot and identify celestial objects in sky, day or night. Find your favorite constellations as they fade in and out while you scan across the sky, locate the Moon, discover distant galaxies, and witness satellite fly-bys. Features: • Simple: Point your device at the sky to identify galaxies, stars, constellations and satellites (including the ISS and Hubble) passing overhead at your location. • Sightings: set reminders for celestial events and plan an evening stargazing & spotting satellites. • Augmented Reality (AR): Use your camera to spot objects in the sky, day or night. • Sky Paths: Follow the daily sky tracks for the Sun and Moon to see their exact locations in the sky on any date & time. • 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! • Supports Space Navigator™ binoculars, spotting scope, and telescopes. What a fun way to teach yourself, your children, your students, or your friends about our wonderful universe!
Stellarium Mobile
Explore the night sky with a real-time planetarium. Identify stars, planets, constellations, and satellites by simply pointing your phone. Offers detailed astronomical data and cultural constellation interpretations.
- Real-time sky simulation
- Identify stars, planets, satellites
- Constellation shapes and illustrations
- Deep sky object catalog
- Night mode for eye comfort
- Telescope control (Plus)
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Stellarium Mobile is a planetarium app that shows exactly what you see when you look up at the stars. Identify stars, constellations, planets, comets, satellites (such as the ISS), and other deep sky objects in real time in the sky above you in just a few seconds, just by pointing the phone at the sky! This astronomy application has an easy to use and minimalist user interface, that makes it one of the best astronomical applications for adults and children who want to explore the night sky. Stellarium Mobile features: • View an accurate night sky simulation of stars and planets for any date, time and location. • Dive in a collection of many stars, nebulas, galaxies, star clusters and other deep sky objects. • Zoom on realistic Milky Way and Deep Sky Objects images. • Discover how people living in other regions of the planet see the stars by selecting the shapes and illustrations of the constellations for many sky cultures. • Track artificial satellites, including the International Space Station. • Simulate landscape and atmosphere with realistic sunrise, sunset and atmosphere refraction. • Discover 3D rendering of the major solar system planets and their satellites. • Observe the sky in night mode (red) to preserve your eyes adaptation to darkness. Stellarium Mobile contains in-app purchases allowing to upgrade to Stellarium Plus. With this upgrade, the app will display objects as faint as magnitude 22 (versus magnitude 8 in the base version) and enable advanced observing features. Stellarium Plus features (unlocked with in-app purchase): • Reach the limit of knowledge by diving in a massive collection of stars, nebulas, galaxies, star clusters and other deep sky objects: - All known stars: Gaia DR2 catalog of over 1.69 billion stars - All known planets, natural satellites and comets, and many other minor solar system objects (10k asteroids) - Most known deep sky objects: a combined catalog of over 2 million nebulas and galaxies • Zoom almost without limits on high resolution images of deep sky objects or planetary surfaces. • Observe in the field, even without internet connection, with a "reduced" set of data: 2 million stars, 2 million Deep Sky Objects, 10k asteroids. • Control your telescope through WIFI: drive any GOTO telescope compatible with NexStar, SynScan or LX200 protocols. • Prepare your observing sessions using the advanced observation tools, to predict a celestial object observability and transit times. Stellarium Mobile is made by the original creator of Stellarium, the well known open source planetarium and one of the best astronomy applications on Desktop PC. Your can unlock the full features using either a one time payment or a subscription. See In-App Purchase section for the subscription price available in your country. Payment will be charged to your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless cancelled 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. Auto renewal may be turned off at any time by going to your account settings after purchases. Terms of service: https://stellarium-labs.com/stellarium-mobile-plus/stellarium-mobile-terms-of-use Privacy policy: https://www.stellarium-labs.com/privacy-policy-for-stellarium-mobile
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Stellarium Mobile at none against SkyView® Lite's shown. Stellarium Mobile also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and review sentiment (84% vs 65%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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. SkyView® Lite sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Stellarium Mobile sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Stellarium Mobile holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19K and 37K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of SkyView® Lite's written reviews are positive against 84% of Stellarium Mobile's.
SkyView® Lite ships an update every 2 months, Stellarium Mobile every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | SkyView® Lite | Stellarium Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (19K ratings) | 4.8 (37K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 64.6% of reviews | 83.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 19K | 37K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #154 — better | #159 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 122 MB | 456 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Terminal Eleven LLC | Noctua Software Ltd |
Customer experience
SkyView® Lite
Stellarium Mobile
User reviews
SkyView® Lite
From 19K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌟 Accurate star and planet tracking
- 👍 Easy to use and navigate
- 🔭 Helpful for learning about the night sky
- 💫 Engaging and educational for all ages
- 🌌 Realistic AR display of celestial objects
Room to improve
- 🐛 Compass/location issues causing inaccurate positioning
- 🔍 Limited free features, many paid upgrades
- 🤔 Confusing for some users to understand how it works
- 🔋 High battery consumption
Stellarium Mobile
From 37K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌟 Fabulous star tracking
- 🌌 Detailed night sky information
- 🔭 Helpful for stargazing and astronomy
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 🌍 Accurate for different locations
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
- 🔍 Difficulty finding some objects
- 🌓 Inaccurate moon/planet positions in daylight
- 🔧 Calibration issues with compass
- 💰 Paid version may not justify the cost
Bugs and requests
SkyView® Lite
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes or freezes on some devices
- Outdated information on certain celestial objects
- Compatibility issues with older iOS versions
Requested features
5 requests- Add more celestial objects like satellites, comets, and nebulae
- Improve compass calibration and location accuracy
- Provide more detailed information and facts about stars/planets
- Integrate with virtual reality for immersive stargazing experience
- Add reminders for upcoming astronomical events
Stellarium Mobile
Reported bugs
3 issues- Compass not working properly
- Favorites list disappearing
- Inconsistent performance on different devices
Requested features
5 requests- Notifications for astronomical events
- More customization options
- Integration with camera for AR overlay
- Better support for telescopes and mounts
- Improved search and navigation
In-app purchases
SkyView® Lite
- Stargazing Music Pack$0.99
- Brightest Satellites & Sightings$0.99
Stellarium Mobile
- Stellarium PLUS7 Days trial$1.991 Month
- Stellarium PLUS$18.99
Questions
Is SkyView® Lite free?
Is Stellarium Mobile free?
Which has better reviews, SkyView® Lite or Stellarium Mobile?
Do SkyView® Lite or Stellarium Mobile have ads?
Which is updated more often, SkyView® Lite or Stellarium Mobile?
Which is more popular, SkyView® Lite or Stellarium Mobile?
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