P vs OrbitSmith
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
P
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Your world. From orbit. Follow the ISS and Tiangong around an interactive 3D Earth. Find upcoming satellite passes, explore the sky above you, and take a closer look at spacecraft, the Sun and the Moon. START WITH THE SPACE STATIONS Track ISS and Tiangong for free. See their orbital tracks and coverage footprints, find your observing location, and open flight details for altitude, speed, range and elevation. Catalog information is free to browse. KNOW WHEN AND WHERE TO LOOK See upcoming overhead passes and separate estimates of naked-eye visibility. Use Sky View's radar and expandable satellite list, or open the camera-optional Sky Finder for direction and tilt guidance. Pass mode shows a countdown and where to look. Above the horizon does not necessarily mean visible to the eye. PASS REMINDERS AND CLOUD FORECASTS Enable reminders for supported satellites at saved observing places. New basic reminders cover overhead passes, including daylight and low passes, 15 minutes before predicted rise. Optional cloud forecasts from MET Norway describe conditions near the predicted pass peak. Weather is an estimate and never cancels a pass reminder. Alerts are scheduled locally; open P-Track regularly to extend coverage. iOS controls notification delivery and background refresh. EXPLORE EARTH, SPACECRAFT, SUN AND MOON Rotate and zoom the globe, inspect a larger spacecraft model, and open information about supported components. Read dimensions, mass and other available satellite facts with source links. Explore the Sun and Moon with familiar rotation and zoom controls, then return to Earth. Spacecraft illustrations and models are representative artwork, not engineering drawings or live configuration telemetry. SEE THE IONOSPHERE Explore global vertical total electron content using CODE maps from the Astronomical Institute, University of Bern. Forecast and analysis maps are labeled with their valid times. Adjust opacity, inspect contours, and learn what electron content means through the interactive guide. Missing or stale data is identified. ON iPHONE, iPAD AND APPLE WATCH Use the larger globe and adaptable radar/list layout on iPad. The Apple Watch companion shows pass countdowns, north-up direction guidance, available cloud forecasts and reminder controls from your paired iPhone. Watch data depends on iPhone synchronization; it is not an independent satellite predictor or compass. Widgets and Live Activities are available on supported devices. P-TRACK PRO ISS and Tiangong observing, basic reminders at one editable place, and station widgets are free. Pro adds tracking and observing for supported GPS, Starlink and Other satellites, additional saved places, custom reminder windows and numerical brightness filters. Monthly and six-month auto-renewable plans provide the same Pro access. Prices and billing periods appear before purchase. Restore Purchases is available in the app. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled in your Apple account settings. Satellite availability and forecast coverage depend on the data feeds. Positions, passes, brightness and weather are estimates for education and exploration, not navigation or safety-critical use. Optional location, camera and notification permissions support the corresponding features. Camera frames are not recorded or uploaded by P-Track. Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy: https://ptrackapp.com/privacy-policy/ Subscription information: https://ptrackapp.com/eula/
OrbitSmith
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OrbitSmith is a free, open-source space situational awareness toolkit that puts the orbital environment at your fingertips. REAL-TIME 3D TRACKER Visualize 30,000+ objects orbiting Earth โ active satellites, rocket bodies, and debris โ rendered in real-time 3D with Blue Marble Earth textures. Tap any object to see its orbital details, search by name or NORAD ID, and track conjunction events from Space-Track CDM data. VISIBLE PASS PREDICTIONS Know exactly when to look up. OrbitSmith predicts visible passes of ISS, Tiangong, Starlink, and hundreds of bright satellites using SGP4 orbital propagation with real TLE data. Interactive sky charts with 44 reference stars help you find the satellite in the sky. NOTIFICATIONS & WIDGETS Never miss a bright pass. Receive push notifications before ISS and other satellites become visible, and check your next pass at a glance with lock screen and home screen widgets. MISSION DESIGNER Design satellite missions with a 5-step wizard. Choose from 7 mission templates, configure orbital parameters, run power/link/thermal/mass/orbit decay analysis, and find compatible launch vehicles from a database of 10 rockets. SATELLITE IMAGERY Browse 21 layers of satellite imagery from NASA, ESA, and ESRI โ including MODIS true color, VIIRS night lights, sea surface temperature, vegetation health, and Sentinel-2 cloudless. All orbital data sourced from the U.S. Space Force via Space-Track.org.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: OrbitSmith at none against P's 2. P's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. P sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. OrbitSmith asks for nothing beyond the download.
P ships an update every 4 days, OrbitSmith every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | P | OrbitSmith |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days โ better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No โ better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch โ better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 228 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ClassyBits L.L.C. | Seita Iizuka |
In-app purchases
P
- P-Track Pro Monthly$0.991 Month
- P-Track Pro 6 Months$3.996 Months
OrbitSmith
No in-app purchases









