Comparison

AstroShader vs Pic 2 Planet

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

Head to head
About

AstroShader

Capture, stack, and edit stunning astrophotography directly on your mobile device. This app streamlines the process by aligning and stacking images live during capture, eliminating the need for external software. Fine-tune your celestial images with a comprehensive suite of editing tools.

Highlights
  • Live image alignment and stacking
  • Manual focus control
  • Adjustable exposure, ISO, and white balance
  • Intervalometer for timed captures
  • Advanced image editing tools
  • Save in multiple formats including TIFF
Read full description

One-time purchase. No subscription. AstroShader is an astrophotography app for capturing, stacking and editing. All you need is a stand, tripod, telescope or rock (to lean your phone on). AstroShader lets you align and stack live during the image capture process. You can also align and stack images from you Photos library. No need to transfer images to a computer to align and stack them separately (but there is a built in intervalometer if you need it). To take an image follow these steps: • Use a stand, tripod, telescope mount (or lean your iPhone on a rock). • Zoom in on stars and set focus manually, or use autofocus. • Set the exposure time, ISO and white balance, or leave to auto-exposure. • Set the number of exposures to be automatically aligned and stacked. • Calibrate your images from the edit tools. • After the capture is complete you can edit and save your image—including as 16bit TIFF. • You can open images directly to use the edit tools in AstroShader - rather following a new image capture. Image capture options include: • Number of exposures to be aligned and stacked • Exposure time • ISO • White balance • Camera type • Countdown timer • Manual focus • Pause the capture to reposition iPhone or telescope Edit options include: • Stretch image • Background extraction • Dynamic background extraction (DBE) • x5 Histogram curves for fine tonal adjustment • x3 sharpen layers each with radius and intensity with layer blending rather than chaining • Brightness (low light enhancement) • Saturation • Black point • Temperature • Tint • Save format options; HEIF, PNG, JPEG, TIFF

About

Pic 2 Planet

Transform photos of textures and objects into unique, lifelike planets. Utilize various tools to customize size, blur, and color for cosmic creations. Share your interstellar art with friends or the dedicated online community.

Highlights
  • Create lifelike planets from photos
  • Customizable size, zoom, and rotation
  • Blur and shadow effects
  • Color adjustments
  • Share creations with friends
  • Community sharing on Reddit
Features
Read full description

Pic 2 Planet challenges you to capture unique textures and objects, turning them into breathtaking, lifelike planets. With customizable tools like size, zoom, rotation, blur, shadow, and color adjustments, you can craft your own cosmic creations. Share your planets with friends or share them on the /r/pic2planet community. Whether you're a space enthusiast, a creative artist, or someone who loves to experiment with photos, Pic 2 Planets makes it easy to explore new worlds. Download now and start creating your own planets!

Screenshots

AstroShader4 screens
Pic 2 Planet4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Pic 2 Planet at Free against AstroShader's $1.99. Pic 2 Planet also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 62%) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 weeks). AstroShader's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (119 vs 6). On 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

Pic 2 Planet is free to download; AstroShader costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AstroShader holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AstroShader has 119 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 62% of AstroShader's written reviews are positive against 100% of Pic 2 Planet's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AstroShader ships an update every 3 weeks, Pic 2 Planet every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
AstroShader versus Pic 2 Planet: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAstroShaderPic 2 Planet
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (119 ratings) — better4.0 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews62.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings119 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#12 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAstroShader LimitedThomas Saunders

Customer experience

AstroShader

All ratings105 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral8.6%
Negative11.4%
Written reviews114 reviews
Positive62.3%
Neutral14.0%
Negative23.7%

Pic 2 Planet

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

AstroShader

No in-app purchases

None

Pic 2 Planet

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AstroShader free?
AstroShader costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pic 2 Planet free?
Pic 2 Planet is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, AstroShader or Pic 2 Planet?
AstroShader is rated higher. AstroShader averages 4.3 out of 5 from 119 ratings, while Pic 2 Planet averages 4.0 from 6 ratings.
Do AstroShader or Pic 2 Planet have ads?
Neither AstroShader nor Pic 2 Planet shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AstroShader or Pic 2 Planet?
AstroShader ships an update every 3 weeks, and Pic 2 Planet every 8 days. Most recently, AstroShader was updated on October 25, 2026 and Pic 2 Planet on October 24, 2026.

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