Night Sky vs Orbitrack
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Night Sky
Explore the cosmos with an AI-powered planetarium. Identify stars, planets, and satellites by pointing your device at the sky. Discover celestial objects in augmented reality and share your stargazing experiences with others.
- AI personal planetarium
- Identify stars, planets, constellations, satellites
- Augmented Reality (AR) exploration
- AI Super Astronomer (subscription)
- Customizable Sky Tags
- Connected Stargazing with SharePlay
- Spatial Audio Object Navigation
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Night Sky is a powerful AI personal planetarium. Quickly identify stars, planets, constellations and satellites above by simply holding your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch to the Night Sky! This is all done magically. Whether you’re looking for a constellation, or the International Space Station, let Night Sky direct you to it, then explore the object in AR! FEATURE SET: - NIGHT SKY + AURA (Night Sky + Aura Subscription required) - Your Personal AI Super Astronomer! Ask Night Sky Aura virtually anything about Space and it will know the answer. Night Sky Aura fully interfaces with features within Night Sky, to direct you to objects you’re interested in, provide information on anything to do with astronomy, or even show you how the sky looks on the other side of the world! With your own personal AI Super Astronomer right by your side, Night Sky Aura becomes the new natural way to interact with the sky above! - SKY TAGS - Make Night Sky yours, by adding personal Sky Tags to the map! Pin Sky Tags to objects in the sky to save for future reference, and share them via iMessage so others can find them! Sky Tags can be categorized, and are completely personal to you. Maybe you want to tag a star as a memorial to someone, or tag something you’d like to observe later that night. You can even add Astrophotography photos and observation notes to your Sky Tags! - CONNECTED STARGAZING (+ Feature) - Connected Stargazing is a revolutionary new feature that utilizes SharePlay in iOS 15.1, allowing you to stargaze with others when you are apart! Start a FaceTime Audio call with those who you would like to stargaze with, then create a session by adding objects for everyone to find in the sky! - SPATIAL AUDIO OBJECT NAVIGATION - Using AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, search for an object when automatic sky tracking is on, and Night Sky will make the star, planet or constellation ‘chirp’ in the 360° soundscape, assisting you to navigate to the object with sound! - AR SKY WINDOW - Erase the ceiling of your bedroom, lounge or classroom with AR! Night Sky intelligently detects the ceiling or other flat surface in a room, and can make it magically disappear to reveal the sky behind it! - BILLIONS OF STARS! (+ Feature) - Space is vast, so Night Sky has been hyper charged with over 1.7 BILLION STARS streamed from the cloud! With a new super deep zoom (greater than 10X before), prepare to delve deeper into space than you ever imagined! - MAPS UI - A clean and familiar interface with Search features including Quick Find, intelligent Night Red Mode, Light Pollution indicator and easy to use menu, prepare to navigate Night Sky quicker than ever before! - AR PLANETARY PORTALS & AR GRAND ORRERY (+ Features) - Step onto the surface of other planets by placing AR portals around your room! Or walk around the entire Solar System using the newly refreshed interactive Grand Orrery! - NIGHT SKY WATCH AR - Night Sky magically comes to life on Apple Watch, with Glass Constellations, Red Vision, and Night Sky Live Tours - all on your wrist! - AR OBJECT EXPLORATION - Pull Planets, Stars and Constellations out of the sky and look at them in detailed AR! - NIGHT SKY TOURS (+ Feature): Get a live sky tour or create your own sky tours for any location and time in the world! - NIGHT SKY MINDFULNESS (+ Feature) - A mindfulness stargazing experience adding mindfulness minutes with Apple HealthKit. - AND MANY MORE FEATURES! Subscription Information: 'Night Sky +' and 'Night Sky + Aura' are available as optional subscriptions. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Privacy policy: http://www.icandiapps.com/privacy-policy/ Terms and Conditions of Use: http://www.icandiapps.com/terms-conditions/
Orbitrack
Explore thousands of satellites in orbit with this augmented and virtual reality spaceflight simulator. Visualize spacecraft, track their paths, and learn about their missions with detailed 3D models and real-time data. Experience space from a new perspective.
- Augmented and Virtual Reality modes
- Track over 5000 spacecraft
- Detailed 3D satellite models
- Voice-controlled VR
- Radio frequency data for amateur satellites
- Real-time satellite data updates
- Time Flow controls
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Orbitrack is a brand-new, Augmented-and-Virtual-Reality satellite tracker and spaceflight simulator! It's your pocket guide to the thousands of spacecraft in orbit around our home planet. 1) More than 16,000 spacecraft, including all active satellites, classified military satellites, the International Space Station, and SpaceX's Starlink communication satellites. 2) Rich new graphics, rewritten using Apple's Metal graphics API, show atmospheric effects, city lights on Earth’s night side, and highly-detailed 3D satellite models. 3) Voice-controlled Virtual Reality mode that works with any smartphone VR viewer. iPhone only. 4) A true "augmented reality" mode that helps you find satellites in the sky by blending the sky chart with video from your phone's camera. Works with Orbit and Satellite views too! 5) Radio frequency data for amateur radio satellites. 6) Updated descriptions for hundreds of spacecraft. Every satellite now has a description from n2yo.com. 7) Supports the latest Apple hardware and software: iPhone 13, iPad Pro, and iOS 15. Check the Mac App Store for our MacOS version! 8) Requires at least iPhone 6 or iPad Air with 64-bit processor and iOS 12 or later. 9) New sound effects and ambient background music. 10) New Time Flow controls let you easily set the date and time, and animate the view. If you're new to Orbitrack, here's what it can do: • Track thousands of satellites. Orbitrack will tell you when spacecraft pass overhead, show you where to find them in the sky, and let you track them across the planet. • Teach you about the International Space Station, Starlink, and hundreds of other satellites in orbit, with comprehensive mission descriptions. • Show the view from any satellite, and see the Earth from orbit just as the “bird” sees it! Orbitrack includes detailed 3D models for dozens of satellites – see them up close from any angle! • Stay on top of the space race. Orbitrack updates its satellite data from n2yo.com and celestrak.com every hour. When new spacecraft are launched, maneuver into new orbits, or fall back into the atmosphere, Orbitrack shows you what’s happening up there, right now. Orbitrack isn’t just powerful – it’s incredibly easy to use! You don’t need an aerospace degree to become an expert satellite tracker. Orbitrack puts advanced capabilities at your fingertips, with the same intuitive touch interface you use every day. The new VR mode is an out-of-this-world experience. Become an astronaut without ever leaving Planet Earth! And if that’s not enough, Orbitrack includes detailed, built-in Help – and expert, responsive technical support.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Night Sky at Free against Orbitrack's $4.99. Night Sky also leads on ratings volume (495K vs 962) and update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). Orbitrack's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and review sentiment (76% vs 63%). On rating, ads, chart position 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
Night Sky is free to download; Orbitrack costs $4.99 up front. Night Sky sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Orbitrack asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Night Sky against 4.7 for Orbitrack. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Night Sky has 495K ratings behind it against 962, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 63% of Night Sky's written reviews are positive against 76% of Orbitrack's.
Night Sky ships an update monthly, Orbitrack every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Night Sky | Orbitrack |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (495K ratings) | 4.7 (962 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 62.9% of reviews | 75.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 495K — better | 962 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #37 — better | #56 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 529 MB | 138 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | iCandi Apps Ltd. | Southern Stars Group, LLC |
Customer experience
Night Sky
Orbitrack
User reviews
Night Sky
From 495K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌟 Excellent app for stargazing and learning about the night sky
- 🔭 Detailed information on celestial objects, satellites, and space events
- 🌍 Accurate mapping of the sky to real-world locations
- 🎨 Beautiful visuals and animations
- 🔍 Helpful for identifying stars, planets, and constellations
Room to improve
- 💰 Frequent prompts to upgrade to premium subscription
- 🔌 Concerns about high battery consumption
- 🤔 Calibration and alignment issues with the AR features
- 🤯 Overwhelming amount of information and features for casual users
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and glitches reported
Orbitrack
From 962 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great features
- 👍 User-friendly
- 💡 Innovative tracking
- 🔍 Detailed satellite information
- 🌍 Realistic Earth and sky views
Room to improve
- 🤑 Paid app
- 🐛 Occasional crashes
- 🔊 Annoying music
- 🗺️ Outdated satellite data
- 🔍 Inaccurate magnitude estimates
Bugs and requests
Night Sky
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashing or freezing during use
- Inaccurate mapping of the night sky compared to the real-world view
- Issues with the app continuing to run and consume data in the background even when not in use
Requested features
5 requests- Option to disable or reduce the frequency of subscription prompts
- Improved accuracy and responsiveness of the AR sky blending
- More customization options to tailor the app experience
- Better support for users in areas with high light pollution
- Ability to search for and locate specific celestial objects more easily
Orbitrack
Reported bugs
4 issues- Motion tracking issues
- Stuck on old date
- Accelerometer not working
- Satellite positions not accurate
Requested features
5 requests- Sort by magnitude feature
- Favorite satellites option
- Customizable field of view
- Notifications for visible passes
- Metric/imperial toggle
In-app purchases
Night Sky
- Night Sky+$5.991 Month
- Night Sky +$5.997 Days
- Night Sky +$9.991 Month
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- Night Sky + Aura$9.997 Days
- Night Sky + Aura$17.991 Month
- Night Sky+$39.991 Year
- Night Sky +$49.991 Year
- Night Sky + Aura$69.991 Year
- Night Sky + Aura3 Days trial$69.991 Year
- Night Sky + Aura (Unlimited)$229.99
Orbitrack
No in-app purchases






