Sky Guide vs Orbitrack
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Automatic celestial object identification
- Augmented reality sky overlay
- Satellite tracking and notifications
- Time travel for past/future viewing
- Personalized astronomical event calendar
- Offline functionality
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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
Orbitrack
Explore thousands of satellites in orbit with this augmented and virtual reality spaceflight simulator. Visualize spacecraft, track their paths, and learn about their missions with detailed 3D models and real-time data. Experience space from a new perspective.
- Augmented and Virtual Reality modes
- Track over 5000 spacecraft
- Detailed 3D satellite models
- Voice-controlled VR
- Radio frequency data for amateur satellites
- Real-time satellite data updates
- Time Flow controls
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Orbitrack is a brand-new, Augmented-and-Virtual-Reality satellite tracker and spaceflight simulator! It's your pocket guide to the thousands of spacecraft in orbit around our home planet. 1) More than 16,000 spacecraft, including all active satellites, classified military satellites, the International Space Station, and SpaceX's Starlink communication satellites. 2) Rich new graphics, rewritten using Apple's Metal graphics API, show atmospheric effects, city lights on Earth’s night side, and highly-detailed 3D satellite models. 3) Voice-controlled Virtual Reality mode that works with any smartphone VR viewer. iPhone only. 4) A true "augmented reality" mode that helps you find satellites in the sky by blending the sky chart with video from your phone's camera. Works with Orbit and Satellite views too! 5) Radio frequency data for amateur radio satellites. 6) Updated descriptions for hundreds of spacecraft. Every satellite now has a description from n2yo.com. 7) Supports the latest Apple hardware and software: iPhone 13, iPad Pro, and iOS 15. Check the Mac App Store for our MacOS version! 8) Requires at least iPhone 6 or iPad Air with 64-bit processor and iOS 12 or later. 9) New sound effects and ambient background music. 10) New Time Flow controls let you easily set the date and time, and animate the view. If you're new to Orbitrack, here's what it can do: • Track thousands of satellites. Orbitrack will tell you when spacecraft pass overhead, show you where to find them in the sky, and let you track them across the planet. • Teach you about the International Space Station, Starlink, and hundreds of other satellites in orbit, with comprehensive mission descriptions. • Show the view from any satellite, and see the Earth from orbit just as the “bird” sees it! Orbitrack includes detailed 3D models for dozens of satellites – see them up close from any angle! • Stay on top of the space race. Orbitrack updates its satellite data from n2yo.com and celestrak.com every hour. When new spacecraft are launched, maneuver into new orbits, or fall back into the atmosphere, Orbitrack shows you what’s happening up there, right now. Orbitrack isn’t just powerful – it’s incredibly easy to use! You don’t need an aerospace degree to become an expert satellite tracker. Orbitrack puts advanced capabilities at your fingertips, with the same intuitive touch interface you use every day. The new VR mode is an out-of-this-world experience. Become an astronaut without ever leaving Planet Earth! And if that’s not enough, Orbitrack includes detailed, built-in Help – and expert, responsive technical support.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Sky Guide at Free against Orbitrack's $4.99. Sky Guide also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (374K vs 962). Orbitrack's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and iOS requirement (16.6 vs 18.0). On rating, ads, chart position and device support 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
Sky Guide is free to download; Orbitrack costs $4.99 up front. Sky Guide sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Orbitrack asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Sky Guide against 4.7 for Orbitrack. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sky Guide has 374K ratings behind it against 962, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 86% of Sky Guide's written reviews are positive against 76% of Orbitrack's.
Sky Guide ships an update every 2 weeks, Orbitrack every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sky Guide | Orbitrack |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (374K ratings) — better | 4.7 (962 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 86.0% of reviews — better | 75.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 374K — better | 962 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #27 — better | #64 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 16.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 379 MB | 138 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Fifth Star Labs LLC | Southern Stars Group, LLC |
Customer experience
Sky Guide
Orbitrack
User reviews
Sky Guide
From 374K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Orbitrack
From 962 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great features
- 👍 User-friendly
- 💡 Innovative tracking
- 🔍 Detailed satellite information
- 🌍 Realistic Earth and sky views
Room to improve
- 🤑 Paid app
- 🐛 Occasional crashes
- 🔊 Annoying music
- 🗺️ Outdated satellite data
- 🔍 Inaccurate magnitude estimates
Bugs and requests
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
Orbitrack
Reported bugs
4 issues- Motion tracking issues
- Stuck on old date
- Accelerometer not working
- Satellite positions not accurate
Requested features
5 requests- Sort by magnitude feature
- Favorite satellites option
- Customizable field of view
- Notifications for visible passes
- Metric/imperial toggle
In-app purchases
Sky Guide
- PLUS$4.991 Month
- PRO$8.991 Month
- PLUS7 Days trial$39.991 Year
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- PRO7 Days trial$59.991 Year
- All Constellations$1.99
- PRO Lifetime$249.99
Orbitrack
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Sky Guide free?
Is Orbitrack free?
Which has better reviews, Sky Guide or Orbitrack?
Do Sky Guide or Orbitrack have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sky Guide or Orbitrack?
Which is more popular, Sky Guide or Orbitrack?
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