AstroShader vs Pic 2 Planet
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
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.
- Create lifelike planets from photos
- Customizable size, zoom, and rotation
- Blur and shadow effects
- Color adjustments
- Share creations with friends
- Community sharing on Reddit
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
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.
| Parameter | AstroShader | Pic 2 Planet |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (119 ratings) — better | 4.0 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 62.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 119 — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #12 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | AstroShader Limited | Thomas Saunders |
Customer experience
AstroShader
Pic 2 Planet
In-app purchases
AstroShader
No in-app purchases
Pic 2 Planet
No in-app purchases









