A Solar System Journey vs DIY Solar System
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
A Solar System Journey
Explore our solar system with detailed information and images for each planet. Discover facts, view animated orbits, and learn about Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
- Detailed planet information
- Close-up planet images
- Animated planet orbits
- Facts about each planet
- Covers all major planets
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A Journey through our Solar System. This includes all of the planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. A few comments and facts about each planet and close up image of the planet is also included. There is also an animated orbit for the planets.
DIY Solar System
Explore the solar system with interactive activities and an augmented reality planet walk. Learn about space travel, design a moon base, and identify celestial objects. Developed by leading science institutions, this app makes learning about space engaging for families and educators.
- Interactive space activities
- Augmented reality planet walk
- Design a moon base
- Grow a space garden
- Control a Mars rover
- In or Out space game
- NASA imagery
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DIY Solar System makes it easy for families and educators to explore the solar system from anywhere, anytime! The app was developed by the Children’s Creativity Museum, Sciencenter, and Museum of Life and Science, in partnership with UC Berkeley’s The Lawrence Hall of Science. INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES DIY Solar System includes 11 easy-to-use activities to learn about space travel, living in space, and the unique objects that make up the planetary system we call home. Design a Moon base, grow your own space garden, or experience what it’s like to control a rover on Mars! Each activity includes step-by-step instructions that have been tested by educators, kids, and families. Activity materials are easily available and inexpensive—you may already have many of them in your home! AUGMENTED REALITY PLANET WALK Don’t have the time to travel several billion miles to reach Neptune? Try dropping a scale version of the solar system outside your home to start a walk that will show you planets, dwarf planets, and asteroids. At each stop, examine the space object up close using real images from NASA. Don’t forget to take a space selfie with your favorite planet! IN OR OUT GAME Quickly scan awe-inspiring images of space objects from NASA’s Earth and space observatories to decide if the objects are in or out of the solar system. While the solar system is vast, it only represents a tiny corner of the universe. After you have mastered your solar system knowledge, challenge yourself to a new round of objects in or out of our home galaxy, the Milky Way. Funding Source This work was supported by NASA under award number 80NSSC21M0082. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in these programs are those of the author and do not reflect the views of NASA. Compatibility Requires iOS 12.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone and iPad. Rated 4+.
Screenshots
Verdict
A Solar System Journey and DIY Solar System both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of DIY Solar System's written reviews are positive against 25% of A Solar System Journey's. DIY Solar System also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months). A Solar System Journey's advantage is ratings volume (435 vs 17). On price, rating, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for A Solar System Journey against 4.5 for DIY Solar System. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: A Solar System Journey has 435 ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 25% of A Solar System Journey's written reviews are positive against 100% of DIY Solar System's.
A Solar System Journey ships an update every 6 months, DIY Solar System every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | A Solar System Journey | DIY Solar System |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (435 ratings) | 4.5 (17 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 25.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 435 — better | 17 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 180 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | John Rouda | The Lawrence Hall of Science |
Customer experience
A Solar System Journey
DIY Solar System
Bugs and requests
A Solar System Journey
Reported bugs
9 issues- App doesn't work after download
- Cannot exit planet view
- App crashes on opening
- Planets rotate and orbit backwards
- Mercury and Earth both listed as densest
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- Earth listed as fifth largest planet (should be fourth)
- Bug with dragging finger across bottom of screen shows messed up text/pictures
- App is a slow web browser, doesn't work offline
- Irritating rolling ads in updates
Requested features
8 requests- Add dwarf plants and other stuff
- Add more moons
- Add more photos
- Add more data about planets
- Add Pluto
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- Improve accuracy of facts
- Make text zoomable
- Update app for current solar system facts
DIY Solar System
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
A Solar System Journey
No in-app purchases
DIY Solar System
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is A Solar System Journey free?
Is DIY Solar System free?
Which has better reviews, A Solar System Journey or DIY Solar System?
Do A Solar System Journey or DIY Solar System have ads?
Which is updated more often, A Solar System Journey or DIY Solar System?
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