SkyView® Lite vs Planetaria
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!
Planetaria
Explore a dynamic 3D model of the Solar System, synchronizing with real-time data to show celestial bodies in orbit. Discover planets, dwarf planets, and moons with detailed surface models. Manipulate time to view past and future solar system configurations.
- Interactive 3D Solar System model
- Real-time celestial body positions
- Detailed 3D surface models
- Explore planets, dwarf planets, and moons
- Time manipulation (past/future)
- AR integration
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Explore the celestial worlds of the Solar System with Planetaria, an interactive 3D simulator experience for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro. This dynamic scale model of the Solar System synchronizes with real-time data to display the live positions of celestial bodies in their orbits, along with beautiful and detailed 3D models of their surfaces. On your journey through outer space, you can visit the Sun, the 8 planets, 5 dwarf planets, and over 20 major moons. Entire worlds await your discovery, each with their own individual features and environments. You can also fast-forward or rewind time, and see what the Solar System looks like at any time in the past or future. Photos and 3D models provided by NASA/JPL.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: SkyView® Lite at Free against Planetaria's $4.99. SkyView® Lite also leads on ratings volume (19K vs 9) and review sentiment (65% vs 50%). Planetaria's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On rating, device support and iOS requirement 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
SkyView® Lite is free to download; Planetaria costs $4.99 up front. SkyView® Lite sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Planetaria asks for nothing beyond the download.
Planetaria holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SkyView® Lite has 19K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 65% of SkyView® Lite's written reviews are positive against 50% of Planetaria's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
SkyView® Lite ships an update every 2 months, Planetaria every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SkyView® Lite | Planetaria |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (19K ratings) | 4.7 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 64.6% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 19K — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #154 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 122 MB | 510 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Terminal Eleven LLC | Joseph Rupertus |
Customer experience
SkyView® Lite
Planetaria
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
Planetaria
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
SkyView® Lite
- Stargazing Music Pack$0.99
- Brightest Satellites & Sightings$0.99
Planetaria
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is SkyView® Lite free?
Is Planetaria free?
Which has better reviews, SkyView® Lite or Planetaria?
Do SkyView® Lite or Planetaria have ads?
Which is updated more often, SkyView® Lite or Planetaria?
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