# Night Sky vs SkySafari 7 Pro

The clearest difference is price: Night Sky at Free against SkySafari 7 Pro's $17.99. Night Sky also leads on ratings volume (498K vs 5.5K) and review sentiment (63% vs 46%). SkySafari 7 Pro's advantage is iOS requirement (14.1 vs 16.4). On rating, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Night Sky is free to download; SkySafari 7 Pro costs $17.99 up front. Night Sky sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days and SkySafari 7 Pro sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Night Sky against 4.6 for SkySafari 7 Pro. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Night Sky has 498K ratings behind it against 5.5K, 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 46% of SkySafari 7 Pro's.

Night Sky ships an update monthly, SkySafari 7 Pro every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Night Sky | SkySafari 7 Pro |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $17.99 |
| Rating | **[4.7 (498K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/night-sky/id475772902/reviews)** | [4.6 (5.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skysafari-7-pro/id1567658979/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **498K** | 5.5K |
| Positive reviews | **62.9% of reviews** | 45.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Monthly** | Every 5 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#27** | — |
| Size | 530 MB | 2.4 GB |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | **14.1** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Vision Pro** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [iCandi Apps Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/305827577) | [Simulation Curriculum Corp.](https://appshunter.io/developer/791341744) |

## What reviewers say

### Night Sky

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/night-sky/id475772902)

**Currently charting:** #27 Top Grossing · Reference, #36 Top Free · Reference (US App Store)

Identify stars, planets, and constellations by pointing your device at the sky. Explore celestial objects in augmented reality and learn about space with an AI super astronomer. Share stargazing experiences with friends and family.

**Highlights:** AI personal planetarium, AR exploration of celestial objects, AI Super Astronomer assistant, Personalized Sky Tags, Connected Stargazing with SharePlay, Spatial audio navigation, AR Planetary Portals & Grand Orrery

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, iMessage stickers, SharePlay, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Night Sky + | $5.99 | per 7 days |
| Night Sky + | $9.99 | per month |
| Night Sky + Aura | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Night Sky + Aura | $17.99 | per month |
| Night Sky + | $49.99 | per year |
| Night Sky + Aura | $69.99 | per year |
| Night Sky + Aura | $69.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🌟 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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### SkySafari 7 Pro

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skysafari-7-pro/id1567658979)

Explore the night sky with an extensive astronomy database and advanced planning tools. Discover astronomical events, control your telescope, and connect with other stargazers in real-time.

**Highlights:** Extensive celestial object database, Advanced event finder, Telescope control (ASCOM Alpaca, INDI, StarSense), Real-time social stargazing (OneSky), Guided sky tours (SkyCast), Observation planning and logging, Home and lock screen widgets

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SkySafari Premium Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| SkySafari Premium | $39.99 | per year |
| PGC Galaxy Database | Free | one-time |
| GAIA Star Database | Free | one-time |
| Apollo Lunar Missions | Free | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent observational tool
- 🌟 Powerful and indispensable app
- 👍 Great app, easy to use
- 🔭 Wonderful planetarium app
- 💻 Best mobile tool for telescope control

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App crashes upon opening
- 🌍 Lack of Southern Hemisphere support
- 🔍 Complicated interface, not user-friendly
- 🔌 Crashes too often
- 💰 Pay even more for additional features

**Reported bugs**

- Free database downloads fail to complete
- Telescope button crashes the app
- Time settings spontaneously reset
- Observing list crashes the app
- Field of view indicators not working

**Requested features**

- Add ability to quickly edit light form
- Allow custom horizon mask input
- Include surface brightness data for extended objects
- Add transit altitude information for objects
- Improve object search with fuzzy matching


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Night Sky free?

Night Sky is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is SkySafari 7 Pro free?

SkySafari 7 Pro costs $17.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Night Sky or SkySafari 7 Pro?

Night Sky is rated higher. Night Sky averages 4.7 out of 5 from 498K ratings, while SkySafari 7 Pro averages 4.6 from 5.5K ratings.

### Do Night Sky or SkySafari 7 Pro have ads?

Neither Night Sky nor SkySafari 7 Pro shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Night Sky or SkySafari 7 Pro?

Night Sky ships an update monthly, and SkySafari 7 Pro every 5 weeks. Most recently, Night Sky was updated on November 6, 2026 and SkySafari 7 Pro on November 3, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*