Comparison

Aurora Forecast. vs Astrospheric

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

Head to head
About

Aurora Forecast.

This app acts as an intelligent guide for aurora hunting, leveraging AI and local weather data to provide personalized "Go/No-Go" verdicts. It offers real-time updates, interactive maps, and customizable notifications to help you find the Northern Lights.

Highlights
  • AI Aurora Analyst with personalized Go/No-Go verdicts
  • Real-time Kp-index updates via widgets
  • Apple Watch complications for wrist tracking
  • Interactive aurora probability map
  • 3D globe with real-time aurora visualization
  • Customizable push notifications for storms
Features
Read full description

Aurora Forecast answers one question: can you see the aurora tonight, from where you are? It brings together NOAA space weather, the sky above you, and reports from people nearby who are watching it right now. — SEE IT AS IT HAPPENS — When people near you spot the aurora, their reports appear on the map and on the Home tab, showing how many have seen it within 100 km and how close the nearest one is. Seeing it yourself? Share it in one tap. No account needed, and every location is blurred to about 1 km before anyone else sees it. — KNOW BEFORE THE SKY GLOWS — • NOAA OVATION 30-minute aurora forecast on a map and a 3D globe • Aurora probability for your exact location • Kp index history, 3-day forecast and 27-day outlook • Live solar wind: speed, density and magnetic field (Bz) • Cloud cover, moon phase, sunrise and sunset • Live aurora webcams and real-time images of the Sun • Aurora hotspots: well-known viewing spots, including dark-sky parks • Aurora Guide, plus Stories & News from the world of the aurora — AURORA INTELLIGENCE (ULTIMATE) — One clear answer to "Should I go out now?", weighing the forecast, the clouds above you, the moonlight and reports from people nearby. On iPhones with Apple Intelligence it runs on your device; otherwise it uses our cloud AI. — ALERTS, WIDGETS AND APPLE WATCH — • Aurora alerts for your location (Pro) • Apple Watch complications (Pro) • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets (Ultimate) • Detailed cloud cover by altitude (Ultimate) — ON EVERY SCREEN — iPhone, iPad, and iPhone Duo open or folded, in 32 languages. — SUBSCRIPTIONS — The forecast, maps, live data, webcams and community reports are free. • Aurora Pro, monthly or yearly: aurora alerts and Apple Watch complications • Aurora Ultimate Pro, monthly or yearly: everything in Pro, plus Aurora Intelligence, widgets and detailed cloud cover Prices are shown in the app in your local currency. Payment will be charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscriptions in Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions. Privacy Policy: https://www.tinacinc.com/AuroraForecast/privacy_policy.html Terms of Use: https://www.tinacinc.com/AuroraForecast/terms_of_conditions.html

About

Astrospheric

This app offers advanced weather forecasting and astronomical data for stargazers and astrophotographers. It provides detailed hourly forecasts, cloud and sky transparency reports, and alerts for celestial events. It also includes tools for astronomical societies and offline site setup.

Highlights
  • 84-hour hourly weather forecast
  • Ensemble cloud forecast
  • Kp index for Aurora
  • ISS flyover paths
  • Integrated smoke forecast
  • Sky and ground data
  • Rise and set times
  • Solar and Lunar eclipse data
Features
Read full description

Astrospheric provides advanced weather tools for professional astronomers and astrophotographers, and supports hundreds of astronomical societies with tools that help members stay connected. Are you using what the pros use? Features • 84 hour, hour-by-hour forecast • Free notification reminders for major astronomical events, customized for your location • Ensemble cloud forecast lets you quickly compare the major forecast models with hourly updates (Astrospheric Pro) • Extended cloud forecast • Kp index for Aurora viewing (and alerts with Pro) • International Space Station (ISS) flyover paths and times • Astrospheric is the only astronomy service that integrates the smoke forecast into the transparency report • Sky data: cloud, sky transparency, seeing • Ground data: wind, temperature, and humidity • Precise rise and set times for both the sun and moon • Get weather alerts when conditions meeting your requirements are met (Astrospheric Pro) • Details Solar and Lunar eclipse data Astronomical Societies • Stay connected with chat, image sharing, and event planning with all of your members. • Qualifying astronomical societies can get Pro features for all of their members Site Mode • Information necessary to quickly set up your GOTO tracking mount • Available even if you don’t have a network connection Astrospheric Professional is now available to enable Weather Alerts, Ensemble cloud forecast, and more! • Astrospheric Professional is billed monthly or yearly and will auto-renew unless turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current subscription period. The renewal cost will be the same as the initial sign-up cost of the subscription. Any changes in cost will be communicated before renewal takes place. • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • Subscriptions may be managed by you and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the your Account Settings after purchase. A link to these settings is made available within Astrospheric "My Profile" for easy access. • The terms of use and privacy policy may be found at https://www.astrospheric.com/privacypolicy.php, purchasing a subscription shows agreement to these terms. PLEASE NOTE: Weather data is not available for Hawaii due to the domain area covered by the Canadian Meteorological Center. However, satellite and light pollution map layers, as well as other features will work in Hawaii. More information on Astrospherics forecast domain can be found here: https://www.astrospheric.com/dynamiccontent/datadomain.html

Screenshots

Aurora Forecast.4 screens
Astrospheric4 screens

Verdict

The call

Aurora Forecast. and Astrospheric both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 87% of Astrospheric's written reviews are positive against 32% of Aurora Forecast.'s. Astrospheric also leads on monetization model (freemium vs subscription) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.6). Aurora Forecast.'s advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks) and ratings volume (4.9K vs 483). On price, rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Aurora Forecast. sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Astrospheric sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Astrospheric holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Aurora Forecast. has 4.9K ratings behind it against 483, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 32% of Aurora Forecast.'s written reviews are positive against 87% of Astrospheric's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Aurora Forecast. ships an update weekly, Astrospheric every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Aurora Forecast. versus Astrospheric: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAurora Forecast.Astrospheric
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (4.9K ratings)4.8 (483 ratings) — better
Positive reviews32.0% of reviews86.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4.9K — better483
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFreemium — better
Best chart rank#101#72 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS18.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB39 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTINAC Inc.Daniel Fiordalis

Customer experience

Aurora Forecast.

All ratings4,875 ratings
Positive89.5%
Neutral5.0%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews331 reviews
Positive32.0%
Neutral13.0%
Negative55.0%

Astrospheric

All ratings481 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral1.9%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews151 reviews
Positive86.8%
Neutral5.3%
Negative7.9%

User reviews

Aurora Forecast.

From 4.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Excellent app with nice graphs
  • 🌟 Accurate with current solar activity and short-term forecast
  • 🌟 Fantastic amount of information about the sun and aurora
  • 🌟 Alerts help plan for aurora viewing
  • 🌟 Comprehensive data and visuals

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes or freezes
  • ⚠️ Inaccurate forecasts and predictions
  • ⚠️ Notifications not working as expected
  • ⚠️ Difficult to interpret data and graphs
  • ⚠️ Biased towards Northern Hemisphere

Astrospheric

From 483 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Precision tool for astrophotography
  • 🔍 Detailed weather forecasts
  • ⭐ Accurate and reliable
  • 💻 Comprehensive data and features
  • 📊 Helpful for planning observing sessions

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional inaccurate forecasts
  • 🔍 Missing some weather data (e.g. wind)
  • 💰 Subscription required for full functionality
  • 🔌 Compatibility issues on some devices

Bugs and requests

Aurora Forecast.

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Forecast data not updating
  • App crashing on startup
  • Incorrect location data
  • Alerts not working as intended

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for Southern Hemisphere aurora
  • Improve location-based forecasting and alerts
  • Provide more user-friendly explanations of data and graphs
  • Allow customization of notification settings
  • Expand coverage to include more regions

Astrospheric

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App crashing or not loading on some devices
  • Inconsistent temperature and wind data

Requested features

4 requests
  • Notification system for clear skies
  • Widgets for quick access to data
  • More detailed transparency and seeing data
  • Ability to flip east and west in the app

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Aurora Forecast.

Subscriptions4
  • Alerts (Monthly)3 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Aurora Ultimate Pro (Monthly)$4.991 Month
  • Aurora Alerts(Yearly)7 Days trial$12.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Aurora Ultimate Pro (Yearly)3 Days trial$19.991 Year
2 purchases

Astrospheric

Subscriptions2
  • Astrospheric Pro Subscription7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Astrospheric Pro Subscription7 Days trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Aurora Forecast. free?
Aurora Forecast. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Astrospheric free?
Astrospheric is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Aurora Forecast. or Astrospheric?
Astrospheric is rated higher. Aurora Forecast. averages 4.6 out of 5 from 4.9K ratings, while Astrospheric averages 4.8 from 483 ratings.
Do Aurora Forecast. or Astrospheric have ads?
Neither Aurora Forecast. nor Astrospheric shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Aurora Forecast. or Astrospheric?
Aurora Forecast. ships an update weekly, and Astrospheric every 2 weeks. Most recently, Aurora Forecast. was updated on October 29, 2026 and Astrospheric on October 29, 2026.
Which is more popular, Aurora Forecast. or Astrospheric?
Aurora Forecast. currently peaks at #101 in the App Store charts, and Astrospheric at #72. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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