Comparison

StarCat vs Parasocial

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

Head to head
About

StarCat

Stay updated on global rocket launches with real-time information and detailed mission specifics. Receive launch reminders and access a dedicated news section for spaceflight updates. Features Dynamic Island integration for live tracking.

Highlights
  • Live Activity tracking on Dynamic Island
  • Detailed mission information
  • Launch reminders and notifications
  • Spaceflight news section
  • Starship development updates
  • Reusable rocket landing info
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Track your favorite rockets with StarCat - your ultimate companion for staying in the loop on rocket launches worldwide. Whether you're a seasoned space enthusiast or just curious about the wonders of space exploration, StarCat brings you real-time information and comprehensive details about upcoming rocket launches. 1. Live Activity - Track every launch leveraging your Dynamic Island, best way to receive latest updates on tracked launch, regardless if it's a scrub or delay. 2. Mission Details - Dive deep into the specifics of each mission. Learn about the payload, launch vehicle, mission objectives, orbit information, location of the launch pad and landing information of reusable rockets, such as Falcon 9. 3. Launch Reminders - Never miss a launch again! Get notified before every launch with push notifications (customizable notifications coming in the future). 4. News Section - Get access to latest and featured articles about world of spaceflight with option to save articles you liked. 5. Starship Section - Latest news about Starship and Starbase with specially selected articles about development of our favorite spacecraft. Discover list of all prototypes developed at Starbase and list of all launches up to date - both orbital and sub-orbital - with respective information about their outcomes.

About

Parasocial

A fast and intuitive podcast player offering advanced playback features like gap trimming and sound enhancement. Organize, share, and discover podcasts with smart playlists and curated collections. Enjoy instant episode updates and seamless cross-device syncing.

Highlights
  • Instant episode syncing
  • Trim gaps and enhance audio
  • Create and share podcast collections
  • Smart and manual playlists
  • Bookmark and tag episodes
  • Podcast clip sharing
  • Weekly/monthly listening stats
Features
Read full description

The free, feature-rich, blazing-fast podcast player. The optional support subscription adds only a Supporter badge. No ads from us, ever. No invasive tracking. Native for iPhone, iPad, macOS, and now iPhone Duo. Sync across devices and get new episodes, not hours or days after they are released, but nearly instantly. Turn Trim Gaps on and remove nearly 15 minutes of dead air in a 2-hour podcast. Studio Sound makes even archival podcasts sound buttery smooth. *NEW* Level Ads turns down the volume on ads that are significantly louder than the shows they support. Dry your tears and save your ears. *NEW* Listen, Curate, Share Gather shows or episodes into a collection and share the set as one link; followers get the shows, not a snapshot, so it never goes out of date. The Curate tab holds everything you follow and share, with Discover underneath: public playlists and collections from Parasocial listeners from across the globe. *NEW* Native iPhone Duo support from v1.8 on! Wildly intuitive search. Find shows, episodes, or guests in your library or on any network. Sharing and superlatives. Forget Collections; you can share podcast clips right to Instagram stories or through the share sheet. Bookmarks. We've never understood the idea of favorites. Sometimes I just want to save an episode and tag it, so I know what it's about, and I can listen or share it again later. That's why we built bookmarks and tags. No more favorites. Bookmarks and tags. PLUS: Everything else you'd expect from an expensive player, but for free. Smart playlists from rules: every show, only the ones you pick, or all but a few; unplayed, in progress, or both; newest or oldest first; grouped by show. Per-show priorities, ranked in your order. Force a single episode in or out without breaking the rule that built the list. Auto-download per playlist. New matches queue themselves. Manual "Dumb" playlists, a built-in queue, Play Next, and pinning. Chapters when the show publishes them, tap to jump. Transcripts one swipe from the artwork, cached so reading never interrupts playback. Sleep timer by minutes or at the end of the episode. AirPlay, Bluetooth, lock screen, Control Center, background audio. Share This Moment: the last 30 seconds as a story card or a short video, made for Instagram stories. Widgets for the home and lock screen. INSANE IMPORTING OPML import, including extended exports with playlists, priorities, bookmarks, played state, and progress. The only player with a Spotify importer. AND ONE MORE THING Weekly and monthly Wrapped and Superlatives. Share your unhealthy relationship with friends and enemies. Optional support: $2.99/month or $14.99/year; renews until canceled. Every feature above is free forever. Support: support@parasocial.fm Terms https://parasocial.fm/terms Privacy https://parasocial.fm/privacy

Screenshots

StarCat4 screens
Parasocial4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Parasocial at Free against StarCat's $1.99. Parasocial also leads on rating (4.8 vs 1.0) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 weeks). StarCat's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and chart position (#107 vs unranked). On 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

Parasocial is free to download; StarCat costs $1.99 up front. Parasocial sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. StarCat asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Parasocial holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Parasocial has 10 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StarCat ships an update every 5 weeks, Parasocial every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
StarCat versus Parasocial: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarCatParasocial
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)4.8 (10 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—85.7% of reviews
Number of ratings110 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#107 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS12.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHubert JozwiakDialect Agency Inc.

Customer experience

StarCat

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Parasocial

All ratings10 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral14.3%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

StarCat

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Parasocial

Subscriptions2
  • Optional Support, Monthly14 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Optional Support, Yearly14 Days trial$14.991 Year

Questions

Is StarCat free?
StarCat costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Parasocial free?
Parasocial is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, StarCat or Parasocial?
Parasocial is rated higher. StarCat averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Parasocial averages 4.8 from 10 ratings.
Do StarCat or Parasocial have ads?
Neither StarCat nor Parasocial shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StarCat or Parasocial?
StarCat ships an update every 5 weeks, and Parasocial every 2 days. Most recently, StarCat was updated on October 30, 2026 and Parasocial on November 1, 2026.

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