Comparison

PhotoPills vs ApolloOne GO

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

Head to head
About

PhotoPills

Plan and capture stunning photos of the sun, moon, and Milky Way. This app helps you visualize celestial events and landscape compositions with advanced planning tools and augmented reality.

Highlights
  • 2D Map-Centric Planner (Sun, Moon, Milky Way)
  • 3D Augmented Reality Views
  • Celestial Event Finder
  • Photo Plans Manager
  • Location Scouting Tool
  • Calculators (Long Exposure, Timelapse, etc.)
Features
Read full description

Unlock your creative potential! Discover how to easily turn any Sun, Moon and Milky Way scene you imagine into a real picture… and start shooting truly legendary photos every time you pick up the camera! Whether your passion is to capture beautiful landscapes, immortalize the infinite night sky, surprise the bride and the groom in their happiest day... or to travel the world, PhotoPills will make you love exploring new artistic possibilities to tell visual stories in a way it wasn’t possible before. * All in one app PhotoPills is your iPhone and iPad personal assistant in all photographic matters. It provides tasty remedies to answer most of the questions when planning and shooting your creative ideas: - The First 2D Map-Centric Planner: Sun, Moon, Milky Way - Sun, Moon Alignments Fast Finder - 3D Augmented Reality: Sun, Moon, Milky Way, Celestial Equator, Polaris, DoF, FoV - Photo Plans Manager - Location Scouting Tool - Key information: Sunrise/set, Twilights, Golden Hour, Blue Hour, Moonrise/set, Supermoon dates, Moon Calendar - Calculators: Long Exposure, Timelapse, Spot Stars, Star Trails, Hyperfocal Table, DoF, FoV - Widgets: Sun, Moon, Milky Way - PhotoPills Awards… and much more! * Endorsed by Masters “PhotoPills is an invaluable tool which I use every time I plan a shoot.” – Mark Gee, Astronomy Photographer of the Year. “A tool every photographer should have.” – Kevin Raber, Luminous-landscape.com. “It pays off! Using such a tool ensures that we are repeatedly capable of quickly planning powerful shots; leaving maximum opportunity for more creative ruminations.” – José B. Ruiz, Innovation Award, Wildlife Photographer of the Year. * How it works Have you ever walked around a place and thought: "What a pity the Moon isn't EXACTLY right there... I would have captured a great photo!"? What about the Sun? And the Milky Way? Well, now you can let your imagination fly and calculate when this specific magic moment happens in just a few seconds: - IMAGINE: the Milky Way arching over a powerful landscape, a giant full Moon appearing from behind a nearby hill or a sunset between two rocks on a magic beach... The only limit is your imagination! - PLAN: easily calculate the exact date and time the scene you’ve imagined happens. Work smarter, not harder! - SHOOT: just get out there, immerse yourself in the great outdoors, and enjoy living and capturing unique moments. * Become a Legend Because we know the huge amount of time, energy and love you put in your photos. We want to HONOR them, SHOW them to the World, and REWARD you with up to $6,600 in cash prizes. It's easy and FREE! Just submit your creative photos from PhotoPills and join the Legacy! * Never waste an unmissable scene again Create a To-Do list of planned photos and get to the location on time. * Get it right Adjust your frame for the best composition before you shoot. Use the 3D Augmented Reality Views to see whether Sun, Moon and Milky Way will be at the desired position when pressing the shutter. * Explore, discover great places and create your own database of locations If you come across a location you’d like to remember, save it as a Point of Interest. * Enjoy all daily information in just one swipe with the Widgets Just swipe down from the top of the screen to get all the Sun, Moon and Milky Way events for your current location and date, in addition to your upcoming photo plans. * Get more than an app Our goal is not only to help you plan your shots, but also to help you nail them. Whenever you need help, take a look at our How-To articles and videos, join our free online courses or just contact us! “This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take PhotoPills – you stay in Wonderland and we show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes. Remember: all we’re offering are Legendary Photos and Goosebumps in your skin, nothing more.”

About

ApolloOne GO

Quickly view and select RAW photos directly from your camera on your iPhone or iPad. Streamline your workflow by culling shots in the field and syncing decisions to your Mac. Offers instant RAW viewing and support for a wide range of camera formats.

Highlights
  • Instant RAW viewing
  • Supports virtually all camera RAW formats
  • Two-tap culling with Auto-Advance
  • Browse camera/memory cards over USB
  • Contact Sheet for batch operations
  • Mac round-trip workflow via Finder tags
Features
Read full description

Cull Your RAW Shoot in the Field ApolloOne GO is the fastest way to view and cull RAW files on your iPhone and iPad. Race through the day's shoot, keep the good ones, and hand your decisions straight to ApolloOne on the Mac. Free for 14 days — every feature unlocked. Try it on your own RAW files today. • Instant RAW viewing: pre-rendered swipes, 100% pixel-peeping zoom, AF points, and true HDR on capable displays. • Virtually every camera RAW: Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, Panasonic LUMIX, OM SYSTEM / Olympus, Leica, Hasselblad, Pentax, Sigma, DNG and more — powered by RawBridge™, the engine behind ApolloOne on the Mac. • Two-tap culling: big Pick / Reject buttons built for one hand and a bumpy ride, with Auto-Advance to keep the rhythm. • Browse your camera over USB: full-quality previews and selective import straight from the camera — no import-first, no waiting. Memory cards open right in the app: view, cull, and copy in place. • Contact Sheet: drag-select batches, then copy or move your picks to an SSD or iCloud, AirDrop them to the Mac, or delete the rejects — offload a day's shoot without a laptop. • The Mac round trip: Picks and Rejects travel as Finder tags through iCloud to ApolloOne on the Mac — and your ApolloOne Quick Edit adjustments show on the go. One workflow, two devices. A viewer, not an editor: make keeper decisions in the field, then rate and edit back at the desk. After the free 14-day trial, a single one-time purchase — Standard Edition — unlocks the app forever. No subscription. Purchases need an internet connection, and the unlock then works offline forever — so buy before you travel. Requirements: iPhone or iPad with iOS 16 / iPadOS 16 or later. ApolloOne for Mac (sold separately) for the round-trip workflow. Love ApolloOne GO? Please leave us a review — we read every one, and your suggestions help us make the app better.

Screenshots

PhotoPills4 screens
ApolloOne GO4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ApolloOne GO at Free against PhotoPills's $10.99. ApolloOne GO also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). PhotoPills's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (1.5K vs 4). On ads, monetization model, device support and iOS requirement 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

ApolloOne GO is free to download; PhotoPills costs $10.99 up front. ApolloOne GO sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PhotoPills asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ApolloOne GO holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PhotoPills has 1.5K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of PhotoPills's written reviews are positive against 100% of ApolloOne GO's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PhotoPills ships an update every 2 months, ApolloOne GO fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
PhotoPills versus ApolloOne GO: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhotoPillsApolloOne GO
Price$10.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (1.5K ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews84.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.5K — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#14 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB13 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperPhotoPills S.L.Anogeissus Limited

Customer experience

PhotoPills

All ratings1,525 ratings
Positive92.5%
Neutral1.5%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews484 reviews
Positive84.9%
Neutral4.1%
Negative11.0%

ApolloOne GO

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

PhotoPills

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when using depth of field calculator
  • Location settings not persisting between sessions
  • Milky Way position not aligning correctly

Requested features

5 requests
  • User guide in multiple languages
  • Improved integration with other apps
  • More customization options
  • Weather forecast integration
  • Apple Watch companion app

ApolloOne GO

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

PhotoPills

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

ApolloOne GO

One-time1
  • Standard Edition$29.99

Questions

Is PhotoPills free?
PhotoPills costs $10.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ApolloOne GO free?
ApolloOne GO is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PhotoPills or ApolloOne GO?
ApolloOne GO is rated higher. PhotoPills averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while ApolloOne GO averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do PhotoPills or ApolloOne GO have ads?
Neither PhotoPills nor ApolloOne GO shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PhotoPills or ApolloOne GO?
PhotoPills ships an update every 2 months, and ApolloOne GO fortnightly. Most recently, PhotoPills was updated on November 6, 2026 and ApolloOne GO on October 31, 2026.

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