SkyView® Lite vs Satellite Chasers
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!
Satellite Chasers
Explore the cosmos with this app that tracks nearly 50,000 orbital objects using augmented reality. Discover when satellites will be overhead, read space news, and customize their appearance. Compete with friends on a leaderboard and personalize your viewing experience.
- Track 50,000+ orbital objects
- Augmented Reality satellite viewing
- Real-time satellite addition
- Overhead pass notifications
- Integrated space news
- Satellite customization
- Leaderboard and friend system
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Satellite Chasers lets you explore the real satellite catalog from your phone, including active satellites, rocket bodies, debris, and newly added objects soon after launch. Point your phone at the sky in AR to see what is overhead, or explore satellites over the globe. Track satellites, launches, predicted decays, and conjunctions, which are close approaches between objects in orbit that may indicate potential collision risk. Features include: - Track tens of thousands of objects cataloged in Earth orbit - Use AR to see satellites overhead through your phone’s camera - Play SatSpot, a satellite pointing challenge where your aim determines your check-in points - Get notifications for predicted decays, conjunctions, launches, and newly added satellites - Search launches and see what flew together - Read space news connected to satellites, launches, and orbital activity - View satellite images, descriptions, radio/transmitter data from SatNOGS, and select NASA 3D models - Customize filters to show the satellites you care about - Check in with nearby satellites, earn points, and compete on leaderboards - Favorite satellites and organize your personal Orbit of friends Whether you are a space nerd, ham radio operator, sky watcher, or just curious about what is passing overhead, Satellite Chasers gives you a playful way to explore orbit in real time.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Satellite Chasers at none against SkyView® Lite's shown. Satellite Chasers also leads on review sentiment (75% vs 65%). SkyView® Lite's advantage is ratings volume (19K vs 26) and chart position (#143 vs unranked). On price, rating, 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 Satellite Chasers sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for SkyView® Lite against 4.5 for Satellite Chasers. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SkyView® Lite has 19K ratings behind it against 26, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 65% of SkyView® Lite's written reviews are positive against 75% of Satellite Chasers's.
SkyView® Lite ships an update every 2 months, Satellite Chasers every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | SkyView® Lite | Satellite Chasers |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (19K ratings) | 4.5 (26 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 64.6% of reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 19K — better | 26 |
| 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 | #143 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 122 MB | 34 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Terminal Eleven LLC | Austin Griffith |
Customer experience
SkyView® Lite
Satellite Chasers
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
Satellite Chasers
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
SkyView® Lite
- Stargazing Music Pack$0.99
- Brightest Satellites & Sightings$0.99
Satellite Chasers
- Remove Ads$1.99
- Remove Ads & Buy Me A Coffee$4.99








