Seestar vs +Frames
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Seestar
Explore the universe with a smart telescope that simplifies stargazing. Automatically find, focus, and capture celestial objects without professional guidance. Observe stars, the sun, and even landscapes with intuitive app control.
- Wireless control of telescope
- Automatic celestial object finding and tracking
- Solar observation with filter
- Scenery mode for terrestrial viewing
- Built-in sky atlas and encyclopedia
- Stargazing index and recommendations
- Share observations with community
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Take the first step in exploring the universe! The Seestar smart telescope will give you a stargazing experience like never before. No need for professional guidance, just tap on the screen and you are ready to observe and capture the stars. Seestar is a smart device that integrates the functions of an altazimuth mount, telescope, and camera, with both hardware and software applications. With the Seestar App, you can easily control this multifunctional device and explore the infinite world of stars. Key features: - Wireless control: Control with Seestar device through wireless connection. - Stargazing Mode: Automatically find and focus on celestial objects, intelligently identify stars and track them for automatic capturing and image processing. - Solar Mode: Support auto-scan and solar tracking. Use the included Solar Filter to observe the unique sun. - Scenery mode: Manually control the telescope direction and auto-focus, so you can enjoy observing birds and landscapes. -Sky Atlas: Built-in curated celestial object database AND a rich astronomical knowledge encyclopedia,help you easily understand the mystery of starry sky. - Stargazing Index forecasts and popular Recommendations: Stay updated with popular information, making you an expert in astronomical events. - Share Your Work in the Square: Engage and exchange insights with astronomy enthusiasts from around the world, showcasing your observational achievements. - Adaptation Model: It will work with all Seestar models. Seestar is your ideal companion for exploring the universe, observing the stars and sharing experiences. Download Seestar App now and Explore the universe with Seestar.
+Frames
This app helps astrophotographers plan their shots by providing a sky atlas, equipment-specific target recommendations, and field-of-view previews. It also offers an AI assistant for personalized advice and project tracking for deep-sky objects.
- Sky atlas with millions of stars and deep-sky objects
- Ranked target recommendations based on equipment and sky conditions
- True field-of-view preview for cameras and eyepieces
- Mosaic planning up to 4x4
- Project tracking for exposures and filters
- AI assistant for personalized astrophotography advice
- Augmented Reality (AR) mode for target location
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Clear night ahead? +Frames tells you what to shoot - and how to shoot it. THE ATLAS The whole sky in your pocket: ~12 million stars down to magnitude 14, 8,800 deep-sky objects, Sun, Moon and planets, asteroids, comets and 16,000 satellites moving live. Real astrophotos lie on the map, galaxies are drawn with their true orientation, and every object opens a card with the numbers that matter tonight. TONIGHT'S TARGETS, RANKED The Night tab scores every object for YOUR equipment, YOUR sky and YOUR horizon: altitude, moon distance, usable dark window, field-of-view fit. Grade A to E - the best target for tonight is always on top. FRAME IT True field-of-view preview for your camera or eyepiece. Rotate the frame, plan mosaics up to 4×4, check the sampling. An 8-sector horizon profile per site keeps trees and rooftops out of your plans. PROJECTS Track every target over nights: subs, exposure, gain, filter by filter. Camera angle and position are saved with the project and restored when you return. Export the plan in ASIAIR format. ASTRO BUDDY Your AI assistant knows your gear, your site and tonight's sky. Ask what to shoot, why a filter fits, how long to expose — computed from your sensor, your Bortle sky and the Moon. Type "I have a ZWO ASI2600MC" and he looks it up and saves it to your gear. AND MORE - Plate solving puts your own photos on the atlas - AR mode shows where a target sits in your real sky - Red night mode protects your dark adaptation - Calendar with moon phases and events, searchable up to 2050 - Works offline; no account, your data stays on your device (private iCloud backup) +Frames Premium unlocks the whole app - 7-day free trial. Languages: EN, DE, FR, ES, IT, PT, JA, KO, ZH, UK, RU, PL, TR. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ App terms: https://plus-frames.com/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://plus-frames.com/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: +Frames at 5.0 against Seestar's 4.2. +Frames also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs monthly). Seestar's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (334 vs 1). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. +Frames sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Seestar asks for nothing beyond the download.
+Frames holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Seestar has 334 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Seestar ships an update monthly, +Frames every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Seestar | +Frames |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (334 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 61.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 334 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Freemium — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.3 GB | 743 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | SuZhou ZWO Co., Ltd | LEVIN GIDEON MERANER |
Customer experience
Seestar
+Frames
Bugs and requests
Seestar
Reported bugs
5 issues- Firmware update cycle preventing settings changes
- Tracking errors and star trailing issues
- App crashing on startup
- Inability to connect to telescope
- Forced firmware updates during use
Requested features
5 requests- Add equatorial mode support
- Provide fine control of exposure time
- Implement mosaic mode for wider FOV
- Add support for iPad landscape mode
- Integrate with other astronomy apps
+Frames
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Seestar
No in-app purchases
+Frames
- Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year








