Comparison

Cosmo Desktop vs +Frames

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

Head to head
About

Cosmo Desktop

Access stunning NASA astronomy pictures on your iOS device. Easily browse, save, and set them as your wallpaper. Enjoy a user-friendly interface for exploring the cosmos.

Highlights
  • View NASA astronomy pictures
  • User-friendly browsing interface
  • Save pictures to photo album
  • Set pictures as iOS wallpaper
  • Free and ad-less experience
Features
Read full description

Cosmo Desktop serves the latest NASA astronomy pictures http://apod.nasa.gov/ to your iOS device in a few clicks. You can let you slide and flip through all the pictures in a user-friendly manner. If you would like to use the pictures to be your iOS wallpaper, just export the pictures to your iOS Photo Album first. You can then select the pictures at your iOS settings. All astronomy pictures are courtesy of the NASA Astronomy Pictures of the Day under public domain, or their respective owners. The Cosmo Desktop will always be free and ad-less. Please direct your appreciations to the APOD team by Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html Cosmo Desktop is also available on the Mac App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cosmo-desktop/id553916089?ls=1&mt=12

About

+Frames

This app helps astrophotographers plan their shots by providing a sky atlas, equipment-specific target recommendations, and field-of-view previews. It also offers an AI assistant for personalized advice and project tracking for deep-sky objects.

Highlights
  • Sky atlas with millions of stars and deep-sky objects
  • Ranked target recommendations based on equipment and sky conditions
  • True field-of-view preview for cameras and eyepieces
  • Mosaic planning up to 4x4
  • Project tracking for exposures and filters
  • AI assistant for personalized astrophotography advice
  • Augmented Reality (AR) mode for target location
Read full description

Clear night ahead? +Frames tells you what to shoot - and how to shoot it. THE ATLAS The whole sky in your pocket: ~12 million stars down to magnitude 14, 8,800 deep-sky objects, Sun, Moon and planets, asteroids, comets and 16,000 satellites moving live. Real astrophotos lie on the map, galaxies are drawn with their true orientation, and every object opens a card with the numbers that matter tonight. TONIGHT'S TARGETS, RANKED The Night tab scores every object for YOUR equipment, YOUR sky and YOUR horizon: altitude, moon distance, usable dark window, field-of-view fit. Grade A to E - the best target for tonight is always on top. FRAME IT True field-of-view preview for your camera or eyepiece. Rotate the frame, plan mosaics up to 4×4, check the sampling. An 8-sector horizon profile per site keeps trees and rooftops out of your plans. PROJECTS Track every target over nights: subs, exposure, gain, filter by filter. Camera angle and position are saved with the project and restored when you return. Export the plan in ASIAIR format. ASTRO BUDDY Your AI assistant knows your gear, your site and tonight's sky. Ask what to shoot, why a filter fits, how long to expose — computed from your sensor, your Bortle sky and the Moon. Type "I have a ZWO ASI2600MC" and he looks it up and saves it to your gear. AND MORE - Plate solving puts your own photos on the atlas - AR mode shows where a target sits in your real sky - Red night mode protects your dark adaptation - Calendar with moon phases and events, searchable up to 2050 - Works offline; no account, your data stays on your device (private iCloud backup) +Frames Premium unlocks the whole app - 7-day free trial. Languages: EN, DE, FR, ES, IT, PT, JA, KO, ZH, UK, RU, PL, TR. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ App terms: https://plus-frames.com/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://plus-frames.com/privacy.html

Screenshots

Cosmo Desktop4 screens
+Frames4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cosmo Desktop at none against +Frames's 2. Cosmo Desktop also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). +Frames's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 6 months). 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. +Frames sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Cosmo Desktop asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Cosmo Desktop against 5.0 for +Frames. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cosmo Desktop ships an update every 6 months, +Frames every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Cosmo Desktop versus +Frames: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCosmo Desktop+Frames
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB743 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperPulsely ConsultingLEVIN GIDEON MERANER

Customer experience

Cosmo Desktop

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

+Frames

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Cosmo Desktop

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

+Frames

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Cosmo Desktop free?
Cosmo Desktop is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is +Frames free?
+Frames is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cosmo Desktop or +Frames?
Cosmo Desktop and +Frames are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Cosmo Desktop or +Frames have ads?
Neither Cosmo Desktop nor +Frames shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cosmo Desktop or +Frames?
Cosmo Desktop ships an update every 6 months, and +Frames every 8 days. Most recently, Cosmo Desktop was updated on September 30, 2026 and +Frames on September 26, 2026.

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