Comparison

Sky Guide vs SkySafari

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Automatic celestial object identification
  • Augmented reality sky overlay
  • Satellite tracking and notifications
  • Time travel for past/future viewing
  • Personalized astronomical event calendar
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

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

About

SkySafari

This powerful pocket planetarium helps you explore the night sky. Identify celestial objects by pointing your device, view astrophotography, and plan your stargazing with real-time visibility information. Offers guided tours and pronunciation guides for a comprehensive learning experience.

Highlights
  • Point and identify stars, planets, and constellations
  • Explore astrophotography in the Image Gallery
  • View real-time sky visibility in 'Sky Tonight'
  • Simulate the sky across time and locations
  • Access guided audio tours and pronunciation guides
  • Night Vision mode for dark observation
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

SkySafari 8 is a powerful planetarium that fits in your pocket, puts the universe at your fingertips, and is incredibly easy to use! Simply hold your device to the sky and quickly locate comets, planets, constellations, satellites, and millions of stars and deep sky objects. Whether you are a beginner or a longtime astronomy enthusiast, SkySafari 8 is your perfect stargazing companion, packed with interactive information, rich graphics, and a beautifully refined interface. What’s New in Version 8 + New Theme - A new look of the app with a fresh visual palette. + Image Gallery - Explore the universe through astrophotography. Import images directly from AstroBin. + Sky Tonight - Jump to the new Tonight section to see what’s visible in your sky right now. Expanded information has been designed to help plan your night and includes Moon & Sun info, calendar curations, and the best positioned deep sky and solar system objects. If you're new to SkySafari 8, here’s what you can do: + Point & Identify - Hold your device to the sky and instantly identify stars, constellations, planets, satellites, and more. The chart updates automatically with your movements. + OneSky - See what other users are observing in real-time. This feature highlights objects in the sky chart and indicates how many users are looking at them. + Orbit Mode - Lift off from Earth and travel to the planets, moons, and stars. + Guided Audio Tours - Listen to more than four hours of audio narration to learn the history, mythology, and science of the heavens. + Pronunciation Guide - Learn how to correctly pronounce the names of hundreds of celestial objects, from stars to constellations and planets. + Simulate the Sky - See an eclipse in the past or future! Simulate the night sky from anywhere on Earth many years backward or forward in time. + Night Vision - Preserve your eyesight after dark. SkySafari Premium Subscription Unlock amazing features with the optional Premium Subscription, including: + Massive Database - Access a massive deep sky database. + Custom Image Import - Upload and manage your own astrophotography images in the Image Gallery and show them in the sky chart. + Enhanced Tools - Access curated news, events, connected stargazing features, a light pollution map, and more. For telescope control and even more advanced features, check out SkySafari 8 Plus and SkySafari 8 Pro! Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.livesky.com/privacy.html

Screenshots

Sky Guide4 screens
SkySafari4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Sky Guide at Free against SkySafari's $0.99. Sky Guide also leads on review sentiment (86% vs 64%) and ratings volume (374K vs 18K). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Sky Guide is free to download; SkySafari costs $0.99 up front. Sky Guide sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and SkySafari sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Sky Guide against 4.7 for SkySafari. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sky Guide has 374K ratings behind it against 18K, 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 64% of SkySafari's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sky Guide ships an update every 2 weeks, SkySafari monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Sky Guide versus SkySafari: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSky GuideSkySafari
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating4.8 (374K ratings) — better4.7 (18K ratings)
Positive reviews86.0% of reviews — better63.7% of reviews
Number of ratings374K — better18K
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#21#20 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size379 MB859 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFifth Star Labs LLCSimulation Curriculum Corp.

Customer experience

Sky Guide

All ratings374,372 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral1.7%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews2,721 reviews
Positive86.0%
Neutral3.3%
Negative10.7%

SkySafari

All ratings17,862 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral2.8%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews377 reviews
Positive63.7%
Neutral8.2%
Negative28.1%

User reviews

Sky Guide

From 374K App Store ratings

What 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

SkySafari

From 18K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 User-friendly
  • 🚀 Accurate sky mapping
  • 🌌 Detailed information on celestial objects
  • 💡 Helpful for stargazing and astronomy
  • 🔭 Useful for telescope owners

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and glitches
  • 🤑 Excessive upselling and in-app purchases
  • 🤯 Confusing version and feature differences
  • 🙄 Intrusive notifications and sounds
  • 🤔 Difficult to use some features

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

SkySafari

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Compass not working correctly
  • Disappearing or missing objects
  • Time travel feature issues
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to hide toolbar and UI elements
  • More customization options
  • Improved telescope integration
  • Better comet and new object tracking

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Sky Guide

Subscriptions4
  • PLUS$4.991 Month
  • PRO$8.991 Month
  • PLUS7 Days trial$39.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • PRO7 Days trial$59.991 Year
One-time2
  • All Constellations$1.99
  • PRO Lifetime$249.99
3 purchases

SkySafari

Subscriptions2
  • SkySafari Premium7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • SkySafari Premium7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Apollo Lunar MissionsFree

Questions

Is Sky Guide free?
Sky Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SkySafari free?
SkySafari costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Sky Guide or SkySafari?
Sky Guide is rated higher. Sky Guide averages 4.8 out of 5 from 374K ratings, while SkySafari averages 4.7 from 18K ratings.
Do Sky Guide or SkySafari have ads?
Neither Sky Guide nor SkySafari shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sky Guide or SkySafari?
Sky Guide ships an update every 2 weeks, and SkySafari monthly. Most recently, Sky Guide was updated on September 25, 2026 and SkySafari on September 23, 2026.
Which is more popular, Sky Guide or SkySafari?
Sky Guide currently peaks at #21 in the App Store charts, and SkySafari at #20. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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