Comparison

Luminos Map vs Celestial Nav

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

Head to head
About

Luminos Map

This app provides precise global data on sun and moon positions, sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset times. It features an interactive map and time-chart for easy visualization of celestial paths and seasonal shifts, with offline calculations for current location.

Highlights
  • Real-time Sun/Moon data
  • Sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset times
  • Celestial path visualization
  • Global location search
  • Twilight data
  • Moon phase information
Features
Read full description

Enhance your outdoor adventures with Luminos Map: Twilight Nav Tool. Curious about Sunrise, Sunset, Moonrise, and Moonset times? This app has you covered. Discover precise Sun and Moon positions, plus upcoming twilight, anywhere globally. Its stunning time-chart and interactive map make rich data accessible and intuitive. Explore how sunrise/sunset times shift across seasons with customizable dates. Access real-time Sun/Moon info for any worldwide location, beyond just your current spot. Play with the map feature—tap ‘Map’ to navigate globally for detailed celestial data. Data updates automatically; switch to chart view for location specifics and refresh. Time zones adjust seamlessly to your chosen location, ensuring accuracy. Features of Luminos Map: Twilight Nav Tool: - Real-time Sun/Moon, sunrise/sunset, and moonrise/moonset data - Rise/set locations for Sun/Moon on any day - Exact Sun/Moon paths at specific times - Landscape capture tips (e.g., sunset, milky way) - Altitude and azimuth details - Solstice and equinox dates for any year - Moon phase info (name/days) - New and full moon dates - Twilight data (official, civil, nautical, astronomical) - Select locations via search or manual latitude/longitude input; adjust date/time/zone as needed. - Apple Watch users enjoy automatic location detection. Note: Calculations are offline, but internet is required for updates and searches. Offline mode supports current location data with location services on. Terms of use: https://mapnitude.com/terms-of-service ## Subscriptions ## "Luminos Map: Twilight Nav Tool" is completely free to use with all features. You can subscribe to this application to remove ads. Device subscriptions are available in these plan and will renew automatically each month, six months or year, unless cancelled. (Per month) - $0.99 (Per six-months) - $4.99 (Per year) - $8.99 Pricing shown is for the United States store. Pricing in other stores will vary. Payment for subscriptions will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed by going to your iTunes Account Settings after purchase or by clicking the “Purchase / Manage Subscription. Auto-renewal may be turned off by going to Account Settings after purchase. Subscription cannot be cancelled during the active subscription period More information: https://mapnitude.com/distance Privacy policy: https://mapnitude.com/privacy-policy Terms of use: https://mapnitude.com/terms-of-service

About

Celestial Nav

This app provides tools for celestial navigation, offering computations for celestial bodies and sight reductions. It includes an offline perpetual almanac and allows for quick capture of observation data for accurate course adjustments.

Highlights
  • Celestial navigational computations
  • Offline perpetual almanac
  • Quick celestial observation data capture
  • High accuracy sight reductions
  • Sight planning and reduction tools
  • Celestial fix computations
Features
Read full description

We believe celestial navigation is an amazing skill and develop Celestial Nav to offer a simple, yet powerful and all encompassing app for our users. Celestial Nav is an easy to use, all-in-one tool which offers: • Celestial navigational computations for your device • Simple toolbar menu for quick access • Internally stored perpetual Almanac • Offline ready and functional without the need for other external tools • Quick and easy capture celestial observation data • High accuracy sight reductions • Star reference tables SIGHT PLANNING • Local Hour Angle (LHA) for Aries • Star tables sorted by name, magnitude, declination, and SHA • Sunrise, sunset, twilight, and location reference • Moon phase reference SIGHT REDUCTION • High accuracy sight reduction algorithm • Perpetual Almanac offering accurate data for years 1600 - 3000 • Almanac data for Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn • Detailed Almanac data for 58 navigational stars • Assumed Position (AP) for any user defined position • Line of Position (LOP) intercept data for accurate course and speed adjustments • Computational variables displayed for accuracy and validation CELESTIAL FIX • Computations by USNO algorithm in the Nautical Almanac • Save all your LOP in an easy reference table BASIC VERSION Free daytime celestial navigation tools using the sun: • Unlimited sextant sight reduction calculations • Sight reduction to a line of position using the sun • Perpetual almanac for the sun • Advanced sight corrections for index error, eye height, temperature, and pressure • Support for upper and lower limb reference • Star Table with navigational references • Detailed Sun references • Limited Moon references PRO FEATURES (IN-APP PURCHASE) Advanced Day & Night Celestial Navigation includes all BASIC features plus: • Almanac data for 65 navigational bodies for years 1600 through 3000 • Map display for saved LOPs • View intercepts with course and speed corrections • Metric and imperial unit support with automatic conversions • Support for coordinate entries in different formats (H° M’ S” or Decimals) • Save all your LOP calculations for future reference • Save user preferences and settings • Unrestricted moon references • Almanac and algorithmic models for 65 navigational bodies: • Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn • 58 navigational stars Supported stars: Acamar, Achernar, Acrux, Adhara, Aldebaran, Alioth, Alkaid, Alnair, Alnilam, Alphard, Alphecca, Alpheratz, Altair, Ankaa, Antares, Arcturus, Atria, Avior, Bellatrix, Betelgeuse, Canopus, Capella, Deneb, Denebola, Diphda, Dubhe, Elnath, Eltanin, Enif, Fomalhaut, Gacrux, Gienah, Hadar, Hamal, Kaus Australis, Kochab, Markab, Menkar, Menkent, Miaplacidus, Mirfak, Nunki, Peacock, Polaris, Pollux, Procyon, Rasalhague, Regulus, Rigel, Rigil Kent., Sabik, Schedar, Shaula, Sirius, Spica, Suhail, Vega, Zubengenubi REFERENCES Sight reductions and celestial calculations use various internationally accepted references for the most accurate results: • Jean Meeus - Astronomical Algorithms • US Naval Observatory (USNO) Almanac and Algorithms • Hipparcos New Astrometric Catalog, Published 2007 • ELP2000-85 SUBSCRIPTION TERMS Celestial Nav is free to download and the basic features free to use. A paid upgrade to the PRO version provides access to premium features and additional tools. We may offer trial subscriptions that give limited time access to all PRO features and premium content for the duration of the trial period. Trial subscriptions automatically expire and the app will revert back to the Basic version thereafter. No data is lost but access and use of premium features will no longer be available.

Screenshots

Luminos Map4 screens
Celestial Nav4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Celestial Nav at none against Luminos Map's shown. Luminos Map's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (297 vs 10). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and in-app purchases 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. Luminos Map sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Celestial Nav sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Luminos Map holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Luminos Map has 297 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of Luminos Map's written reviews are positive against 64% of Celestial Nav's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Luminos Map versus Celestial Nav: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLuminos MapCelestial Nav
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (297 ratings) — better4.3 (10 ratings)
Positive reviews67.9% of reviews — better64.3% of reviews
Number of ratings297 — better10
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMapnitude Company LimitedSkytip LLC

Customer experience

Luminos Map

All ratings297 ratings
Positive90.6%
Neutral3.7%
Negative5.7%
Written reviews56 reviews
Positive67.9%
Neutral8.9%
Negative23.2%

Celestial Nav

All ratings10 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive64.3%
Neutral7.1%
Negative28.6%

Bugs and requests

Luminos Map

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • App crashes seconds after losing
  • App crashes on launch
  • Popup in Thai, no English option
  • Does not update on Apple Watch
  • Useless on Apple Watch
Show 6 more
  • Displayed only 5 of 8 sun times on Watch
  • Won't open to your location
  • Appearance of Chinese letters
  • Failure to launch to your location
  • Does not save last location
  • App crashed from the beginning in Jun 17, 2017 update

Requested features

8 requests
  • Add Azimuth for sun/moon
  • Add option to remove ads
  • Add city search feature
  • Add input for coordinates
  • Add new moon date and time
Show 3 more
  • Regain previous features (city press for sunrise/sunset)
  • Add future time projections
  • Lock position button on map

Celestial Nav

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Luminos Map

Subscriptions3
  • Plus Upgrade$0.991 Month
  • Plus Upgrade$5.496 Months
  • Plus Upgrade$9.991 Year
6 purchases

Celestial Nav

Subscriptions3
  • PRO Version$1.991 Month
  • PRO Version$7.996 Months
  • PRO Version$9.991 Year
One-time3
  • 7 Day Trial License$0.99
  • 30 Day Trial License$2.99
  • PRO Version Lifetime$24.99

Questions

Is Luminos Map free?
Luminos Map is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Celestial Nav free?
Celestial Nav is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Luminos Map or Celestial Nav?
Luminos Map is rated higher. Luminos Map averages 4.6 out of 5 from 297 ratings, while Celestial Nav averages 4.3 from 10 ratings.
Do Luminos Map or Celestial Nav have ads?
Luminos Map shows ads; Celestial Nav does not.
Which is updated more often, Luminos Map or Celestial Nav?
Luminos Map ships an update every 3 weeks, and Celestial Nav every 3 weeks. Most recently, Luminos Map was updated on October 14, 2026 and Celestial Nav on October 1, 2026.

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