Cloud Map vs Xasteria
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cloud Map
Access satellite imagery from over 120 NOAA weather stations to view cloud cover. Utilize GPS to locate nearby stations or save favorites for quick access. View current conditions on Apple Watch.
- 120+ NOAA weather station satellite images
- Visible cloud cover view
- GPS for nearest station
- Favorite weather stations list
- Apple Watch integration
- Standard and Pro versions
Read full descriptionHide full description
Quickly check any of the 120 NOAA weather station satellite images for visible cloud cover. If you travel, you can use the GPS feature to find the nearest weather station image. You can also collect a list of your favorite weather stations for easy reference. The standard version includes 2 satellite views. View the current satellite image on Apple Watch. Upgrade to Pro version and get 23 satellite views.
Xasteria
Access detailed astronomical weather forecasts worldwide, including cloud cover, seeing, and transparency. Integrates with popular weather resources and shows satellite and ISS passes for your location. Offers multiple visualization modes for data.
- Worldwide astro weather forecast
- Clear Sky Charts integration
- ISS and satellite pass tracking
- Sun/Moon rise/set times
- Moon phase data
- Cloud cover and seeing forecasts
- Multiple data visualization modes
Read full descriptionHide full description
Xasteria helps you decide if tonight is worth observing. It brings together astronomical weather forecasts, sky conditions and observing tools in one ad-free app, built around the 7Timer ASTRO forecast. Configurable forecast sources: • 7Timer / GFS, worldwide coverage, ~20km resolution: · Cloud cover (with layer breakdown) · Astronomical seeing · Atmospheric transparency · Temperature and humidity · Rain / snow · Atmospheric instability · Wind speed and direction • MET Norway, based on the ECMWF model, particularly useful in regions with significant terrain variation • Multi: combines MET Norway’s short-term forecast with 7Timer astronomy data. Disagreements are highlighted. Sun/moon details: • Sun / Moon rise, set and twilight times. • Moon phase and elevation. Tools: • Aurora forecast, with worldwide and local data/maps. • ISS and satellite passes for your location, plus NASA’s ISS Live Feed. • Interactive Light Pollution map using World Atlas 2015 or Xasteria/VIIRS 2025 data. • Quick access to Clear Outside, Meteoblue, Windy, Astrospheric, Sat24, water vapor satellite imagery and more. Display Three display modes: 7Timer icon/graphic view, color-stripe view, or raw text. The left panel can be switched to icons, and summary icons and cloud layers are configurable in settings. This app will always be ad-free, with no in-app popups asking for reviews. If you would like to support it and the 7Timer service, Xasteria Plus adds an Apple Watch app, Home Screen widgets, OpenWeather real-time forecasts, Apple Weather, satellite maps and tracking, night vision mode, lunar calendar, solar eclipse tools and more. A quick rating or review on the App Store is always appreciated. For suggestions or feedback: http://astro.ecuadors.net
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Xasteria at 94% against Cloud Map's 33%. Xasteria also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.2). Cloud Map's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). On price, ads, monetization model and device support 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. Cloud Map sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Xasteria asks for nothing beyond the download.
Cloud Map ships an update monthly, Xasteria every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cloud Map | Xasteria |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.7 (59 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 32.6% of reviews | 93.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 59 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.2 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | náhodný | Dimitrios Kechagias |
Customer experience
Cloud Map
Xasteria
Bugs and requests
Cloud Map
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Xasteria
Reported bugs
10 issues- App update doesn’t scale on iPhone
- App rarely updates on iPhone
- Crashes constantly
- meteoblue defaulted to Greek every time after update
- Xasteria is going into thin air
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Widget issue
- App stopped working completely
- No longer updates
- Does not seem to display correct info on cloud cover for Perth in Western Australia
- Low clouds aren’t shown on main screen
Requested features
8 requests- Bortle scale on main page
- Widget integration
- Watch complication
- Notifications for good viewing conditions
- Landscape mode support
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Map for location input
- Add Meteoblue's astronomical data support
- Option to remove unwanted locations
In-app purchases
Cloud Map
- Cloud Map Pro$3.99
Xasteria
No in-app purchases
