Seestar vs Ephemis
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
Read full descriptionHide full description
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.
Ephemis
Read full descriptionHide full description
Ephemis ranks the best deep-sky targets to photograph tonight — matched to your gear, your sky, and the Moon. It does the planning math so you can spend clear nights imaging instead of guessing. Point it at a date and location, tell it about your telescope and camera, and Ephemis scores thousands of galaxies, nebulae, and clusters by how well they fit your field of view and how long they stay high in a dark sky. WHAT IT DOES • Ranks 16,000+ deep-sky objects for any night, at any site • Scores each target on framing, altitude, available dark hours, Moon interference, and feasibility for your setup • Models real darkness — astronomical, nautical, or civil twilight — not just sunset to sunrise • Full Moon avoidance with broadband and narrowband profiles, plus per-night Moon tracks • Field-of-view fit for your exact optic and sensor, including multi-panel mosaics • Altitude charts with transit time, meridian flip, and your local horizon limits • Save targets to a project list, set hour goals, and log your imaging sessions • Best Nights view to find when a target peaks over the coming weeks BUILT FOR THE FIELD • Fully offline — every catalog is bundled, so it works with no signal under a dark sky • Messier, NGC/IC, Sharpless, Barnard, van den Bergh, LBN and LDN catalogs included • Native on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with iCloud sync of your rigs, sites, and targets • Deep links to AstroBin references and Clear Outside forecasts Set up your rig and observing site once, and every night Ephemis tells you exactly where to point.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Ephemis at every 3 days against Seestar's monthly. Seestar's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Seestar ships an update monthly, Ephemis every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Seestar | Ephemis |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (352 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 61.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 352 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.3 GB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | SuZhou ZWO Co., Ltd | David Roka |
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
Ephemis
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Seestar
No in-app purchases
Ephemis
No in-app purchases









