Comparison

Solar System Sim vs Galactic Drift

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

Head to head
About

Solar System Sim

Simulate and explore celestial bodies within our solar system and beyond. Create your own solar systems, experiment with gravity and physics, and observe orbital mechanics in action.

Highlights
  • Explore planets and moons
  • Visit nearby stars
  • Create custom solar systems
  • Gravity and physics simulation
  • Recalculate orbits
  • Newton's laws implementation
Features
Read full description

Zoom from a planet's surface out to distant galaxies, then reshape the whole system with your own hands. Solar System Sim is a real-time gravity sandbox built on Newton's laws and real astronomical data. Every body you add, move or destroy recalculates the orbits of everything else, live. • Smash worlds together: impact craters carve into the surface, firestorms sweep the globe, and glowing debris rains back down. • Build your own universe: add planets, moons, asteroids and comets with their own size, mass and looks, or customise the ones already there. • Land anywhere: drop to a first-person view on any planet's surface and experience its environment. • Sculpt rings: add particle rings and watch gravity shape them in real time. • Witness real eclipses: solar and lunar, with real-world astronomical precision. • Follow comets: watch them streak past and interact with the bodies they meet. • Leave the Solar System: travel to remarkable nearby stars and find them within the Milky Way. • Feel the scale: see the true vastness of space, from a pebble-sized moon to the nearest galaxies. Whether you're here to learn how gravity really works or just to break planets with it, explore at your own pace. Start your cosmic adventure with Solar System Sim.

About

Galactic Drift

Plot intricate journeys through a gravity-simulated cosmos. Launch your craft, utilizing celestial bodies to achieve maximum distance and discover unique trajectories. Compete on global leaderboards and challenge friends in daily cosmic puzzles.

Highlights
  • Gravity-bent cosmos simulation
  • Strategic angle and thrust control
  • Celestial body interaction
  • Global leaderboards
  • Daily challenges
  • 25 hand-crafted levels
  • Real-time n-body gravity simulation
Features
Read full description

GALACTIC DRIFT Plot the longest possible journey through a gravity-bent cosmos. Out here, the shortest path is boring. In Galactic Drift, every level is a single question with infinite answers: how far can you make a single launch travel before it lands? Pick any starting body, dial in your angle and thrust, and release your craft into a living orbital mechanics simulation. Planets pull. Stars burn. Moons drift in lazy ellipses. And somewhere in the dark, a pair of twin black holes wait to either eat you whole or fling you across half the galaxy at impossible speeds. The destination — that calm green world on the other side of the map — is only the minimum requirement. Anyone can plot a straight line. The pilots who top the leaderboards are the ones who turn their flight into a story: a slingshot off a gas giant, a hairpin around a neutron star, a wormhole transit at full burn, and a wide patient drift through a debris field before finally settling into the green. Every level is a fresh orbital puzzle. Some are tight clockwork systems where one degree of angle decides everything. Others are sprawling solar fields begging to be looped, bent, and exploited. There are no scripted paths, no rails, no fail states that punish ambition — just real physics, applied honestly, and the long road waiting to be discovered. Challenge your friends Own the leaderboard Every level — and every Daily Challenge — feeds into a global Game Center leaderboard. Send your score to a friend. Watch them fire it up, certain they can do better. Watch them fail. Watch them try again. The same level, the same physics, the same starting bodies — but a wildly different trajectory every single time, because the longest, weirdest, most beautiful path is rarely the obvious one. Trade screenshots. Trade insults. Trade replays. Then go back to your ship and find the route that finally takes the top spot — until they take it back. The Daily Challenge is the great equalizer: one map, one set of bodies, one shared physics simulation, one global ranking, every day. Show up. Plot something audacious. Stake your claim before midnight. Features - 25 hand-crafted levels — each one a deliberate orbital puzzle, ranging from elegant two-body warm-ups to chaotic multi-star tangles with black holes lurking at the edges. - Real-time n-body gravity simulation — fully deterministic. Every launch resolves through the same physics that runs under your fingertip, so every trajectory is reproducible, defensible, and earnable. No randomness. No luck. Just gravity. - Daily Challenge — the same cosmic gauntlet for every player, every day. One leaderboard. One shot at glory before the clock resets. - Twin black holes & wormhole tunneling — the most dangerous and most rewarding bodies in the game. - Tutorial mission — learn the ropes in a guided system before the stars get serious. - Global Game Center leaderboards — per-level boards for the campaign, plus a single shared board for the daily run. Compete with pilots worldwide. - Ghost trajectories — your personal best is rendered as a translucent path on every retry, so you can see exactly where to push further, climb higher, or finally let go. - Cinematic soundtrack & spatial SFX — engines, gravity wells, atmospheric arrivals, and the cold hush of empty space, all rendered in stereo. - Haptic launches — feel every burn through your phone. Thrust has weight here. - Gravity-field visualizer — toggle on a real-time map of the gravitational landscape and read the solar system the way a navigator does. - Variable replay speed — watch your trajectory unfold at 1×, 2×, or 4×, or skip to the verdict. - Shareable scores — export your run as a screenshot or a stat card and dare your friends to beat it. --- Galactic Drift is free to play. Tutorial, the first seven missions, and the Daily Challenge are yours forever. Unlock the full 25-level campaign with a single one-time purchase — no subscriptions, no recurring charges, no surprises.

Screenshots

Solar System Sim4 screens
Galactic Drift4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Galactic Drift at 5.0 against Solar System Sim's 4.5. Galactic Drift also leads on ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Solar System Sim's advantage is ratings volume (4.4K vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Solar System Sim sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Galactic Drift sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Galactic Drift holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Solar System Sim has 4.4K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Solar System Sim ships an update every 5 days, Galactic Drift every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Solar System Sim versus Galactic Drift: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSolar System SimGalactic Drift
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (4.4K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews80.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings4.4K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 6 days
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size522 MB25 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperWPCByteLathe LLC

Customer experience

Solar System Sim

All ratings4,331 ratings
Positive86.3%
Neutral5.4%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews1,212 reviews
Positive80.7%
Neutral9.7%
Negative9.7%

Galactic Drift

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Solar System Sim

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Planets/moons disappearing after saving and loading
  • Bright flashes and screen distortions
  • Planets/objects getting stuck inside stars
  • Crashes when colliding or editing certain objects
  • Inconsistent orbital mechanics and moons ejecting from planets

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add more galaxy and nebula textures
  • Implement realistic supernova effects
  • Allow customization of planet atmospheres and terrain
  • Add binary star systems and rogue planets
  • Introduce a galaxy maker and collision feature
Show 5 more
  • Implement a reverse time lapse option
  • Add more speed options (128x, 256x, etc.)
  • Introduce a population counter and life simulation for planets
  • Allow custom city lights and vegetation on planets
  • Add a Roche limit feature to observe tidal disruption

Galactic Drift

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Solar System Sim

One-time5
  • HD Mars$2.99
  • HD Earth$2.99
  • HD Moon$2.99
Show 2 more
  • No-ads$3.99
  • HD 3-body pack$6.99
9 purchases

Galactic Drift

One-time9
  • 5 Navigator Hints$0.99
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Full Game - Special Offer$1.99
Show 6 more
  • Cosmetics Pack$1.99
  • 25 Navigator Hints$2.99
  • Galactic Drift Full Unlock$3.99
  • Generous Tip$4.99
  • Supporter Bundle$7.99
  • Stellar Tip$9.99

Questions

Is Solar System Sim free?
Solar System Sim is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Galactic Drift free?
Galactic Drift is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Solar System Sim or Galactic Drift?
Galactic Drift is rated higher. Solar System Sim averages 4.5 out of 5 from 4.4K ratings, while Galactic Drift averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Solar System Sim or Galactic Drift have ads?
Solar System Sim shows ads; Galactic Drift does not.
Which is updated more often, Solar System Sim or Galactic Drift?
Solar System Sim ships an update every 5 days, and Galactic Drift every 6 days. Most recently, Solar System Sim was updated on October 30, 2026 and Galactic Drift on October 28, 2026.

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