Comparison

Astral Star vs ProgramU

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

Head to head
About

Astral Star

Features
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Astral Star is the companion app for the Light Mandalas Astral Star projector. Explore light symbols and choose colors and timing for creative sessions, reflective practice or time with friends. FREE FEATURES Project every library symbol, play all 42 basic programs, use Mandala Scan app features and save its results as playlists, and create and edit your own playlists from the symbol library. Set each step's color and time, reorder or rename playlists, and play them. Import symbols, libraries and playlists shared by others, and keep playing content you already have. Mandala Scan features in the app, including saving scan results as playlists, are free. A Mandala Scan device is required for scanning and must be purchased separately; it is not included with the app or Premium. OPTIONAL ASTRAL STAR PREMIUM Monthly and yearly subscriptions unlock the same seven features: • AI playlist assistant: describe what you need in an everyday message. Receive a 5–10 minute playlist with selected symbols, colors and timings; loop it for a longer session. Up to 20 completed AI playlists per day. • Draw and save your own symbols. • Customize library symbols. • Create and share your own symbol libraries. • Share your playlists with a share code or file. • Turn pictures into symbols with local picture tracing. • Add spin, zoom and movement to symbol playback. Premium subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled through your Apple account. The price and billing period are shown before purchase. Restore Purchases is available in the app. Existing lifetime activation-code access remains separate from subscriptions. Before using the AI assistant, you choose whether to share your request with Light Mandalas and its AI service provider. You can turn this permission off in Settings. See the Privacy Policy for details about data processing. A compatible Astral Star projector is required for physical light projection. Avoid direct laser exposure and follow the device's safety instructions. Astral Star is for creative and general wellbeing use and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://privacy.light-mandalas.com/mandalaastralstar/index.html

About

ProgramU

Create personalized hypnosis, meditation, and subliminal audio sessions using your own words. Features an AI guide for identity work, a library of pre-made sessions, and a structured 90-day program. Includes daily practice tools and community sessions.

Highlights
  • Custom subliminal audio creation
  • Guided meditation and hypnosis sessions
  • AI-powered identity work guide
  • Extensive library of pre-made sessions
  • Structured 90-day personal development program
  • Daily practice tools and affirmations
  • Live community sessions
Features
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Type what you want to change. ProgramU builds the session. Most subliminal apps hand you a fixed library. ProgramU is a studio: sessions written from your exact words, voiced, and ready in minutes. WHAT YOU CAN MAKE • Subliminals — affirmations beneath music, running quietly under your day. Layer them under your own music, a podcast, even a show. • Guided Meditation — identity work, visualization, sleep, nervous-system calm. • Guided Hypnosis — the deepest single session, induction through return. • EFT Tapping — guided rounds that move what's stuck in the body. Every session is written for your focus, in your words. And you see every line of the script before you press play — nothing enters your subconscious that you haven't read first. WHAT ELSE IS INSIDE • ReflectU — talk with Kaion, by voice or text: ProgramU's AI identity-shifting support system. Tell him what's going on in your life and he helps you understand the beliefs that may be underneath it — then helps you reprogram them: a session built around that belief, a technique or journal prompt for the same day, or a Rehearsal. He can design your next session with you right in the conversation, and you approve every line before it generates. • The Archive — a full library of ready-to-play sessions across all four modalities. • The 90-Day Program — a personalized identity arc in three phases: Foundation, Embodiment, Integration. Daily practice built around your exact focus. • CollectiveU — free live sessions the whole community moves through together, at the same moment, twice a day. • Return to Self — instant spoken resets for the moments doubt rises up. • Time Capsule — write a letter to your future self; ProgramU delivers it on the day you choose. • Daily practice — evening identity reflections, streaks, and a home-screen widget that keeps your affirmations in front of you. HOW IT WORKS Your words go in. Precise audio comes out. Sessions are voiced by a cast of studio-quality voices — or your own cloned voice on subliminals, because no voice reaches your subconscious like yours. One membership includes everything: monthly credits that power the sessions you create and your conversations with Kaion, the full Archive, and the 90-day program. Your first session is free, any type. Full Access starts with a 3-day free trial with 10 credits, so you can build real sessions before you're charged. ProgramU is for adults (18+). It is a personal-development tool, not medical or mental-health treatment. Precise adjustments. Courtesy of ProgramU. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://programu.app/privacy Terms of Service: https://programu.app/terms

Screenshots

Astral Star4 screens
ProgramU4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: ProgramU at weekly against Astral Star's every 3 weeks. ProgramU also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.5). On price, ads, 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. Astral Star sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month and ProgramU sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Astral Star ships an update every 3 weeks, ProgramU weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Astral Star versus ProgramU: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAstral StarProgramU
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—8 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.515.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size59 MB236 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperLight Mandalas Company LimitedProgramU LLC

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Astral Star

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$17.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly$179.991 Year
15 purchases

ProgramU

Subscriptions9
  • Shift7 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Shift (Instant Start)$14.991 Month
  • Full Access3 Days trial$19.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • Rewire$29.991 Month
  • Transform$49.991 Month
  • Shift — Annual$149.991 Year
  • Full Access (Annual)$199.991 Year
  • Rewire — Annual$299.991 Year
  • Transform — Annual$499.991 Year
One-time6
  • 5 Credits$4.99
  • 12 Credits$9.99
  • 25 Credits$12.99
Show 3 more
  • 25 Credits$19.99
  • 50 Credits$24.99
  • 100 Credits$39.99

Questions

Is Astral Star free?
Astral Star is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ProgramU free?
ProgramU is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Astral Star or ProgramU have ads?
Neither Astral Star nor ProgramU shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Astral Star or ProgramU?
Astral Star ships an update every 3 weeks, and ProgramU weekly. Most recently, Astral Star was updated on October 30, 2026 and ProgramU on October 28, 2026.

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