Zenith vs OrbitSmith
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Zenith
Explore Earth in a 3D simulation and track the International Space Station's real-time orbit. Experience a rotating planet with dynamic soundscapes and see the current number of astronauts on board.
- 3D Earth simulation
- Real-time ISS orbit tracking
- Live astronaut count
- Dynamic soundscapes
- Earth rotation view
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Zenith shows the International Space Station live on a 3D globe, and tells you when to see it with your own eyes. • Live position, altitude, speed, day or night — updated every 5 seconds • The camera follows the station; spin the Earth with a finger • Upcoming visible passes over you: time, direction, height • A free alert before the best pass of the week • The crew on board: photos, agencies, days in orbit • Ambient space soundscape ZENITH+ • An alert before every visible pass • Full 10-day forecast • Choose your alert time: 2, 5, 10 or 15 minutes • Predicted orbit on the globe Zenith+ is available as a monthly or yearly subscription (7-day free trial on yearly), or as a one-time lifetime purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period; manage them in Settings › Apple ID › Subscriptions. Your location stays on your iPhone. No ads. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
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 — active satellites, rocket bodies, and debris — 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 — 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 update cadence: OrbitSmith at every 3 weeks against Zenith's every 13 months. 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Zenith ships an update every 13 months, OrbitSmith every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Zenith | OrbitSmith |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (5 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 13 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Aurelien Grifasi | Seita Iizuka |
In-app purchases
Zenith
No in-app purchases
OrbitSmith
No in-app purchases









