Space Simulator vs Pocket Galaxy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Space Simulator
Experience ultra-realistic 3D space flight with real physics in a full-scale Solar System. Play historic NASA missions or explore planets and moons with functional 3D cockpits and interactive orbit planning.
- Full-scale Solar System simulation
- Historic NASA mission replays
- Functional 3D cockpits
- Interactive orbit planner
- Real physics engine
- Ultra-realistic rendering
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Space Simulator is an ultra realistic 3D space flight simulation game running real physics in a full-scale Solar System with unrivaled rendering and graphics. PLAY historic NASA missions of the Apollo Moon Program, Space Shuttle flights, Project Gemini, X-15 Hypersonic Plane and free flight missions to explore all planets and major moons of the Solar System. LAUNCH from Kennedy Space Center, orbit the Earth and Moon, dock with ISS, perform Trans Lunar Injections, land on the Moon, practise rendezvous and return home with reentry and splashdown. PLAN complex interplanetary orbits, operate flight computers, use onboard switches, instruments and displays, experience the full challenges of space flight and unleash the astronaut within! key features: • Custom missions to explore all planets and major moons in Solar System • Spaceships have 3D cockpits with functional controls and instruments • Original audio footage on selected missions • Interactive orbit planner to easily visualize, create and modify complex interplanetary orbits • Space Simulator uses real gravitational forces, distances and velocities based on a physics engine especially created for this app running on the GPU • Ultra realistic rendering engine for the Earth and Moon with high resolution surfaces and atmosphere using a new metal-based graphics engine for unprecedented realism at maximum possible framerate • The Apollo computers are emulated running actual code from the 1960s • Configurable window-based UI allowing customization of the interface to suit your preferences • Configuration options to customize difficulty and gameplay according to your device capabilities
Pocket Galaxy
Design and simulate your own solar systems and galaxies with realistic physics. Customize planets, stars, and orbits, then share your creations. Features smooth 3D graphics and a user-friendly interface.
- 3D galaxy sandbox
- Realistic physics simulation
- Planet and star customization
- Smooth 3D graphics
- User-friendly interface
- Shareable creations
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Drop a planet into empty space and watch gravity take hold of it. Pocket Galaxy is a 3D gravity sandbox where you place planets, stars and moons and then watch them orbit under real, physics-based simulation. Arrange a solar system exactly how you like it, then take it apart: heat worlds until they glow, freeze them solid, hurl asteroids, fire solar rays and set off chain reactions. There are no levels and no timers. The sandbox is the whole game, and the only clock is the one gravity keeps. What you can do • Sculpt entire solar systems from a near-infinite variety of worlds • Tune each world's gravity, size and orbit, even flip gravity to repulsive • Reach for cosmic tools: asteroid storms, solar rays, ice rays and explosions • Unlock new world and star types as you experiment • Discover procedural worlds, gas giants and glowing stars • Track your creations, and how life develops, in the Planet Journal • Save, load and screenshot your universe to share Relaxing and powerful at once, Pocket Galaxy turns real orbital mechanics into a toy box. Build a calm, life-bearing system, or smash it to particles; there is no wrong way to play it. This is the full paid version. No ads, no in-app purchases, no interruptions. Pay once and own the whole universe.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Pocket Galaxy at every 2 months against Space Simulator's every 5 months. Pocket Galaxy also leads on review sentiment (95% vs 84%) and price ($3.99 vs $4.99). Space Simulator's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). On rating, ratings volume, ads 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
Space Simulator costs $4.99 and Pocket Galaxy $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Space Simulator against 4.8 for Pocket Galaxy. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.3K and 10K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 84% of Space Simulator's written reviews are positive against 95% of Pocket Galaxy's.
Space Simulator ships an update every 5 months, Pocket Galaxy every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Space Simulator | Pocket Galaxy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $3.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (4.3K ratings) | 4.8 (10K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 83.5% of reviews | 95.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4.3K | 10K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.5 GB | 125 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tai Chen | Pocket Labs UK |
Customer experience
Space Simulator
Pocket Galaxy
Bugs and requests
Space Simulator
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Pocket Galaxy
Reported bugs
5 issues- Planets not staying in orbit
- Satellites and black holes causing UI issues
- Textures disappearing in planet selection
- Saved universes not loading correctly
- Inconsistent planet/star coloring after reloading
Requested features
5 requests- Add more celestial bodies (neutron stars, pulsars, etc.)
- Improve life simulation and terraforming mechanics
- Allow custom planet/star creation and editing
- Implement surface view and spaceship exploration
- Add more advanced simulation features (galaxy formation, etc.)
In-app purchases
Space Simulator
No in-app purchases
Pocket Galaxy
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Space Simulator free?
Is Pocket Galaxy free?
Which has better reviews, Space Simulator or Pocket Galaxy?
Do Space Simulator or Pocket Galaxy have ads?
Which is updated more often, Space Simulator or Pocket Galaxy?
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