Comparison

EXPLORE scientific vs Planet Pointer

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

Head to head
About

EXPLORE scientific

This application provides professional scientific instruments and resources to inspire exploration and broaden understanding of scientific wonders. It aims to make scientific discoveries accessible to everyone, encouraging a deeper engagement with the world around us.

Highlights
  • Professional scientific instruments
  • Educational resources
  • Inspires spirit of exploration
  • Experience scientific miracles
  • Broaden cognitive boundaries
Features
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Explore Scientific is committed to providing professional scientific instruments and resources, inspiring the spirit of exploration, allowing everyone to experience scientific miracles and broaden their cognitive boundaries.

About

Planet Pointer

Features
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Planet Pointer turns your phone into a pocket sky guide. Pick one target — a planet, a star, a constellation, a satellite or a deep-sky object — and an on-screen arrow, a dashed guide line, or both, lead you until your phone is aimed right at it. Or point the camera at something you don't recognise and let the app tell you what it is. Simple, focused, and accurate. POINT AT THE SKY Choose what you want to find and follow the guide. When you're locked on target, the phone confirms with a gentle vibration. If your target is below the horizon, the app tells you what time it rises. The live camera view helps you line up the guide with the real sky. WHAT'S THAT? IDENTIFY MODE Point the camera at anything in the sky and tap it to identify it. A phone compass is only accurate to about 5°, so the app never hands you a confident answer it cannot back up: you get the most likely object with a match percentage, plus anything else near enough to be a real possibility. Turn on constellation lines if you like them, or keep the stars bare. Ask which star that is and get an honest answer instead of a guess. TONIGHT, FREE See what is actually up right now: the Moon and its phase, which planets are visible and until what time, and the next satellite pass you could genuinely see with your own eyes. No purchase and no setup. WHAT YOU CAN FIND - The Sun, the Moon and all 7 planets - 33 of the brightest named stars - All 88 constellations, drawn as connect-the-dots figures over the live sky - Deep sky: nebulae, galaxies and star clusters — Orion, Andromeda, the Pleiades and more - Live satellites — including the ISS, Hubble, Starlink and more — tracked in real time, with upcoming passes and how easy each one will be to see - Rise, transit and set times for every object, in your location's own time zone ACCURATE & OFFLINE Positions are calculated on your device using a precise astronomy engine, with true-north correction from the World Magnetic Model. No internet needed for the core features. MORE TO EXPLORE - Sky Events: eclipses, meteor showers, equinoxes and solstices, supermoons, planet oppositions and the next visible ISS pass — tap one to jump there. Moon phases are always free, and so are the two nearest events. - A Moon phase view, with the crescent tilted the way it really looks from where you are, and the whole month to scroll through - Time Travel (Pro): shift the sky forward or back in time to see where everything will be - Info cards with facts, figures and mythology for every body and constellation - Favourites, brightness/magnitude data, and a search you can filter to "visible now" SPEAKS YOUR LANGUAGE 13 languages built in, and 66 more available to download with Pro — 79 in all, with translated planet, star and constellation names. BUILT FOR STARGAZING - Night-vision red mode to protect your dark-adapted eyes - Spoken sky: hear your target and aim guidance read aloud - Choose km or miles, set your location manually, and more FREE & PRO Free, forever: the camera pointer, the Sun, the Moon and all 7 planets, the Tonight view, rise and set times, the Moon phase view, and a few famous stars, constellations, deep-sky objects and satellites to try — everything that is free in the lists is free in identify mode too. Planet Pointer Pro is a single one-time purchase — no subscription — that unlocks every star, constellation, deep-sky object and satellite, Time Travel, the full Sky Events list, unlimited favourites, the full night-vision options and every language download. PRIVACY FIRST No account. No ads. No trackers. Your location and camera are used only on your device to point you at the sky — they're never recorded or sent anywhere. Look up. Point. Find it.

Screenshots

EXPLORE scientific4 screens
Planet Pointer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: EXPLORE scientific at none against Planet Pointer's 1. EXPLORE scientific also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). Planet Pointer's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 9 days). On price and ads 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. Planet Pointer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. EXPLORE scientific asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

EXPLORE scientific ships an update every 9 days, Planet Pointer every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
EXPLORE scientific versus Planet Pointer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEXPLORE scientificPlanet Pointer
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size222 MB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJOCHaviv Tarazi

In-app purchases

None

EXPLORE scientific

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Planet Pointer

One-time1
  • Planet Pointer Pro$4.99

Questions

Is EXPLORE scientific free?
EXPLORE scientific is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Planet Pointer free?
Planet Pointer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do EXPLORE scientific or Planet Pointer have ads?
Neither EXPLORE scientific nor Planet Pointer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, EXPLORE scientific or Planet Pointer?
EXPLORE scientific ships an update every 9 days, and Planet Pointer every 4 days. Most recently, EXPLORE scientific was updated on October 9, 2026 and Planet Pointer on October 24, 2026.

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