Comparison

Night Sky vs Sky Guide

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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/

About

Sky Guide

Identify stars, constellations, planets, and satellites in real-time by holding your device overhead. Explore celestial bodies with AR overlays, track satellites like the ISS, and travel through time to view past and future astronomical events. Perfect for both novice and experienced stargazers.

Highlights
  • Automatic celestial object identification
  • Augmented reality sky overlay
  • Satellite tracking and notifications
  • Time travel for past/future viewing
  • Personalized astronomical event calendar
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Bring the beauty of the stars down to Earth. Hold Sky Guide® overhead to automatically identify any star, constellation, planet or satellite! Easy to use and powerful, it’s epic stargazing for any experience level. Is it a star or the planet Mars? Knowing what’s up in your night sky is easier than ever. Sky Guide’s AR mode superimposes figures onto your real sky so visualizing the heavens becomes effortless. Have you ever wished you could recognize constellations but didn’t want to fumble around with paper star charts? Now you can. A speck of light crosses the night sky, growing brighter. What could it be? You don’t have to wonder anymore. Track a bright satellite and receive perfectly-timed notifications whenever the International Space Station is about to fly over your location. With Sky Guide, you’ll be saying ‘Goodbye, aliens’ and ‘Hellooooo, astronauts!’ Voyage to the past or future with cinematic time controls. Know where the Moon will be later in the evening so you can capture that perfect photo or be an eyewitness to history’s greatest comets. Whether you’re searching for Sagittarius, Saturn, or the next big meteor shower, Sky Guide is jam-packed with information and rich graphics that will satisfy the most curious minds. Plus, stay current with location-filtered events like solar and lunar eclipses with Sky Guide’s personalized Calendar. Camping in the backcountry? Sky Guide can function with or without Wi-Fi, cellular service or GPS, so everything is at your fingertips no matter where you go. Join the millions who have discovered a more personal connection to the stars with Sky Guide. It might forever change the way you look up. Terms of Use: https://www.fifthstarlabs.com/terms-of-use

Screenshots

Night Sky4 screens
Sky Guide4 screens

Verdict

The call

Night Sky and Sky Guide both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 86% of Sky Guide's written reviews are positive against 63% of Night Sky's. Sky Guide also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly). Night Sky's advantage is device support (6 vs 4) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Night Sky sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Sky Guide sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Night Sky against 4.8 for Sky Guide. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 495K and 374K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 63% of Night Sky's written reviews are positive against 86% of Sky Guide's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Night Sky ships an update monthly, Sky Guide every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Night Sky versus Sky Guide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNight SkySky Guide
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (495K ratings)4.8 (374K ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.9% of reviews86.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings495K — better374K
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#37#28 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro
Requires iOS16.4 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size529 MB379 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperiCandi Apps Ltd.Fifth Star Labs LLC

Customer experience

Night Sky

All ratings495,165 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral3.1%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews1,331 reviews
Positive62.9%
Neutral6.5%
Negative30.7%

Sky Guide

All ratings374,372 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral1.7%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews2,721 reviews
Positive86.0%
Neutral3.3%
Negative10.7%

User reviews

Night Sky

From 495K App Store ratings

What 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

Sky Guide

From 374K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Stunning visuals and graphics
  • 📚 Wealth of information on celestial objects
  • 🧭 Accurate and responsive compass/AR features
  • 🌌 Immersive stargazing experience
  • 🔍 Ability to identify stars, planets, and satellites

Room to improve

  • 🧭 Occasional compass/location calibration issues
  • 💰 Subscription model limits access to some features
  • 🌍 Lack of support for certain regions/locations
  • 🕰️ Outdated information on some celestial objects

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

Sky Guide

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App freezes when near polar regions
  • Occasional crashes or performance issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more detailed information on moons of planets
  • Implement mosaic planning tools for astrophotography
  • Provide earlier notifications for satellite/ISS passes
  • Allow users to share their observations and photos
  • Improve integration with telescope/camera equipment

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Night Sky

Subscriptions9
  • Night Sky+$5.991 Month
  • Night Sky +$5.997 Days
  • Night Sky +$9.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • 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
One-time1
  • Night Sky + Aura (Unlimited)$229.99
6 purchases

Sky Guide

Subscriptions4
  • PLUS$4.991 Month
  • PRO$8.991 Month
  • PLUS7 Days trial$39.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • PRO7 Days trial$59.991 Year
One-time2
  • All Constellations$1.99
  • PRO Lifetime$249.99

Questions

Is Night Sky free?
Night Sky is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sky Guide free?
Sky Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Night Sky or Sky Guide?
Sky Guide is rated higher. Night Sky averages 4.7 out of 5 from 495K ratings, while Sky Guide averages 4.8 from 374K ratings.
Do Night Sky or Sky Guide have ads?
Neither Night Sky nor Sky Guide shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Night Sky or Sky Guide?
Night Sky ships an update monthly, and Sky Guide every 2 weeks. Most recently, Night Sky was updated on September 24, 2026 and Sky Guide on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Night Sky or Sky Guide?
Night Sky currently peaks at #37 in the App Store charts, and Sky Guide at #28. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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