# Seestar vs Shutter Trail

The clearest difference is rating: Shutter Trail at 5.0 against Seestar's 4.2. Shutter Trail also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs monthly). Seestar's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (355 vs 2). On price and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Shutter Trail sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year. Seestar asks for nothing beyond the download.

Shutter Trail holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Seestar has 355 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Seestar ships an update monthly, Shutter Trail every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Seestar | Shutter Trail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.2 (355 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/seestar/id6447429891/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shutter-trail/id6792596736/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **355** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 62.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 6 days** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 1.3 GB | 4 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 17.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [SuZhou ZWO Co., Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1367782033) | [JIMMY HU](https://appshunter.io/developer/6792468315) |

## What reviewers say

### Seestar

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/seestar/id6447429891)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Continuous updates
- 💡 Great value for money
- 👍 Intuitive interface
- 👍 Excellent image quality

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Firmware updates causing issues
- 🐛 Connectivity problems
- 🐛 Tracking and stability issues
- 🔋 Battery life concerns
- 🐛 Crashes and bugs after updates

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### Shutter Trail

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shutter-trail/id6792596736)

Record your GPS trails for free to easily geotag photos from any camera. Create trips, review routes, and sync with Lightroom Classic using a free plugin. Export GPX files with a subscription.

**Highlights:** Record GPS trails for free, Geotag photos from multiple cameras, Create and review trips on a map, Lightroom Classic plugin for automatic matching, Export GPX files with subscription, Optional biometric authentication

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Shutter Trail Premium | $9.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Seestar free?

Seestar is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Shutter Trail free?

Shutter Trail is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Seestar or Shutter Trail?

Shutter Trail is rated higher. Seestar averages 4.2 out of 5 from 355 ratings, while Shutter Trail averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Seestar or Shutter Trail have ads?

Neither Seestar nor Shutter Trail shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Seestar or Shutter Trail?

Seestar ships an update monthly, and Shutter Trail every 6 days. Most recently, Seestar was updated on November 3, 2026 and Shutter Trail on October 31, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*