# CelestialGuide vs Portable Planetarium

The clearest difference is price: Portable Planetarium at Free against CelestialGuide's $0.99. Portable Planetarium also leads on update cadence (every 4 months vs every 17 months) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Portable Planetarium is free to download; CelestialGuide costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

CelestialGuide ships an update every 17 months, Portable Planetarium every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on June 10, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | CelestialGuide | Portable Planetarium |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[1.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/celestialguide/id649358382/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **1** | — |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 17 months | **Every 4 months** |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Size | 17 MB | 85 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **16.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Geoffrey Domm](https://appshunter.io/developer/373378724) | [Masaya Nagaoka](https://appshunter.io/developer/1698240335) |

## What reviewers say

### CelestialGuide

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/celestialguide/id649358382)

Explore the cosmos with an interactive sky map that displays stars, planets, and celestial events. Point your device at the sky to see a real-time representation of your surroundings, with adjustable visibility settings for stars.

**Highlights:** Interactive sky map, Real-time celestial tracking, Adjustable star visibility, Planet and comet locations, Eclipse and transit rendering, Messier Object database, Virtual Orrery

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Portable Planetarium

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/portable-planetarium/id6477368609)

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is CelestialGuide free?

CelestialGuide costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Portable Planetarium free?

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

### Do CelestialGuide or Portable Planetarium have ads?

Neither CelestialGuide nor Portable Planetarium shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, CelestialGuide or Portable Planetarium?

CelestialGuide ships an update every 17 months, and Portable Planetarium every 4 months. Most recently, CelestialGuide was updated on June 10, 2026 and Portable Planetarium on September 15, 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.*