Comparison

Galactic Compass vs HELBoard

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

Head to head
About

Galactic Compass

This app provides a floating arrow to guide you towards the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A*. It calculates the direction based on your location, time of day, and Earth's orbital position, making it easy to find your way.

Highlights
  • Points to Sagittarius A*
  • Dynamic direction calculation
  • Location-based guidance
  • Time-of-day adjustment
  • Earth orbit consideration
Features
Read full description

Galactic Compass presents you with a floating arrow with one purpose: to point the direction of the central supermassive black hole of the Milky Way galaxy, known as Sagittarius A*. The middle of the galaxy is 26,000 light years.. but which way? The direction depends on: - the time of day - your location - the position of the Earth in its orbit It's hard to figure out in your head. Well now the answer is in your pocket. If you're ever lost, Galactic Compass can show you the way.

About

HELBoard

Read full description

HELBoard is a personal arrivals and departures board for airports operated by Finavia. It is a native iOS app, not a website in a shell, not a flight tracker, and not Finavia’s app. HELBoard is free. An optional tip jar is available. Nothing is locked behind payment. There are no ads, accounts, or tracking. Choose an airport to see official public board data: flight times, status, gates, check-in desks, and baggage areas. HELBoard does not add unofficial airport data. Open the app and you are on the board. Search by flight number or city, including the codeshare number on your ticket. Pin a flight for pickup, drop-off, or your own journey. For flights you care about, add a personal flight with its date, airport, direction, and an optional note. Upcoming and past flights stay organized in My Flights. You can optionally keep these personal flight details in your private iCloud account so they can return after reinstalling or be available on your other devices. Follow a pinned flight for a glanceable Live Activity and optional alerts around its public flight time. Updates can be late, missed, or out of date. Never rely on HELBoard alone and confirm important times and status with Finavia or your airline. HELBoard is built for privacy. No telemetry, profiling, analytics, advertising, or user account. Pins, follows, Live Activities, alerts, and board settings stay on your device. Personal flights and notes use private iCloud only when you choose to enable it. Accessibility is part of the work. Common tasks support VoiceOver, Dark Mode, Reduce Motion, and sufficient contrast. Dense flight lists remain difficult at the largest text sizes. What you get: • Arrivals and departures for 19 Finnish airports, starting with Helsinki • A board centered around now, with a quick return to Now • Search by flight number or city, including codeshares • Flight details when provided by the public feed: scheduled, expected, and actual times, via airports, gate and previous gate, departure calls, and aircraft • Pin up to five flights • Optional Live Activity from roughly two hours before the public flight time • Optional alerts for meaningful flight changes • My Flights for upcoming and past personal flights • Optional notes for your personal flights • Optional private iCloud sync for personal flights and notes • Calendar event sharing • English, Finnish, and Swedish

Screenshots

Galactic Compass3 screens
HELBoard4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Galactic Compass at none against HELBoard's 3. Galactic Compass also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.0). HELBoard's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. HELBoard sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Galactic Compass asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Galactic Compass ships an update every 3 weeks, HELBoard every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Galactic Compass versus HELBoard: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGalactic CompassHELBoard
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (68 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews91.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings68 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.4 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperActs Not Facts LtdYoji Hirabayashi

Bugs and requests

Galactic Compass

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Shows wrong direction on iPad in landscape
  • Arrows pointing in opposite directions on iPhone and iPad simultaneously

Requested features

12 requests
  • Camera feed as background
  • Premium version with no new features
  • Dark mode for night viewing
  • Option to change arrow color
  • Update for non-flat phone orientation
Show 7 more
  • Crosshair overlay for precise pointing
  • ARKit for augmented reality option
  • Show speed relative to galaxy center
  • Show velocity vector using AR
  • Compass for other celestial objects (Pluto, JWST, Voyager 1)
  • Direction Earth is heading relative to galaxy center
  • Direction Sun is heading

HELBoard

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Galactic Compass

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

HELBoard

One-time3
  • Espresso$1.99
  • Flat White$3.99
  • Iced Pumpkin Spice Mocha$8.99

Questions

Is Galactic Compass free?
Galactic Compass is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is HELBoard free?
HELBoard is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Galactic Compass or HELBoard have ads?
Neither Galactic Compass nor HELBoard shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Galactic Compass or HELBoard?
Galactic Compass ships an update every 3 weeks, and HELBoard every 4 days. Most recently, Galactic Compass was updated on October 14, 2026 and HELBoard on October 9, 2026.

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