Comparison

AstroStacker vs PlanetEdit

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

Head to head
About

AstroStacker

Enhance your night sky photos by stacking multiple exposures into a single, detailed image. This app automatically aligns stars, reduces noise, and offers tools to refine your astrophotography results directly on your iPhone or iPad.

Highlights
  • Stack multiple night sky photos
  • Automatic star alignment
  • Noise reduction for clearer images
  • Advanced editing tools
  • Support for calibration frames (Pro)
  • On-device processing
Features
Read full description

Stack your night-sky photos into one cleaner, more detailed image, right on your iPhone or iPad. Astrophotography stacking combines many exposures of the same sky. Astro Stacker finds the stars in every frame, lines them up and combines them, so random noise falls away and faint stars, the Milky Way and deep-sky targets come through. HOW IT WORKS 1. Take several separate photos of the same patch of sky from a tripod or stable surface. 2. Import them from Photos or Files into a Deep Sky Studio project. 3. Pick a stack mode and tap Stack. 4. Finish the result with Auto Stretch, styles and colour tools, then save or export. THREE SIMPLE STACK MODES - Quick: averages every frame for a fast first look. - Quality (default): rejects outliers such as plane and satellite trails, and leaves out the weakest frames. - Max Detail: the slowest and most selective mode, with finer alignment. AUTOMATIC STAR ALIGNMENT Stars are detected and matched in every frame, with sub-pixel alignment and a quality check for each frame. Stacking needs clear stars in your photos to line them up. CALIBRATION FRAMES (PRO) Add darks, flats, dark-flats and bias frames to correct hot pixels, thermal noise, vignetting and dust. Astro Stacker sorts frames by file name and exposure, so files named "dark" or "flat" are picked up for you. FINISH IN THE SAME APP - Auto Stretch to bring faint signal into view - Gradient removal for light pollution and uneven skies - Local contrast, vibrance, levels and per-channel colour balance - Styles: Natural, Nebula Pop, Cosmic Drama and Scientific, each with a strength slider - Before-and-after comparison - Quick Enhance for a single photo you've already taken FILES IN AND OUT - Import: photos from your library on Free; camera RAW, Apple ProRAW and FITS on Pro - Export: JPG, PNG, TIFF and FITS, with 16-bit export on Pro ON-DEVICE Stacking and editing run on your iPhone or iPad. You don't need a computer, and your source frames are not uploaded to stack them. An optional account backs up finished results. FREE AND PRO Free: 1 free stack with up to 10 light frames, and 3 saved results. Pro: unlimited frames and stacks, RAW, ProRAW and FITS import, calibration frames, 16-bit export and unlimited history. Choose monthly, annual or a one-time lifetime purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period, and you can manage them in your App Store account settings. GOOD TO KNOW - Moon, planet and solar stacking (Planet Lab) is coming soon. Today's stacking needs stars to align on. - Colour FITS files from one-shot-colour cameras are not debayered yet. - Star-trail stacking isn't supported, because every stack is aligned on the stars. Guides to capturing and stacking: https://astrostacker.co/guides Privacy Policy: https://astrostacker.co/privacy Terms of Use: https://astrostacker.co/terms Apple Standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

PlanetEdit

This app simplifies planetary video processing by integrating four desktop software functions into one mobile application. It automatically crops, centers, and stacks planetary footage, offering features like real-time stacking results, RGB alignment, and wavelet sharpening.

Highlights
  • Automatic video cropping and centering
  • Frame alignment for stacking
  • Lucky stacking slider
  • Real-time stacking results
  • RGB alignment
  • Wavelet sharpening with 5 layers
  • Basic image processing (saturation, contrast)
Features
Read full description

AstroEdit Planet is a very simple 4in1 app to stack planetary video. It will automatically crop the video and center the planet. It works on video that has planet moving across the view or planet centred in the view. When you open the app, it auto loads a sample Saturn video. Tap Stack button to begin! PlanetEdit integrates the four legacy desktop software into a single delicate mobile app. Traditionally, astronomer has to install 4 different programs to process planetary video. They are (in process sequence): 1. PPIP for cropping video 2. AutoStakkert! for stacking frames 3. Registax for wavelet sharpening 4. Photoshop for RGB alignment and coloring Features: - Open video or image. Accept all format recognised by the Photo app. In addition, it open .ser files. First, copy them to the Files app. Then tap Open button in PlanetEdit app. Choose Open Files App. Tested for a 3.5Gb .ser file. Now for .avi file, copy to your the Photo app or the Files app. The .avi has to be the standard accepted by the Photo app. If it is accepted by the Photo app, it will be visible in the Photo app. - Auto crop video and center frame. - Auto set alignment points for stacking. - Lucky stacking slider. - Real time update of stacking result. - Use 2 finger to pinch zoom, 1 finger to drag and 1 finger to long press to compare a frame(best quality). - RGB alignment. - Basic image processing like saturation, bright, contrast and hue. - 5 wavelet layers to extract detail and denoise. - Save edited image to photo. - Stack surface too. eg Moon surface. PlanetEdit has been tested for video capture in seestar S30, S50 smart telescope, ZWO camera, refractive telescope 80mm and Dobson 200mm telescope. Email me at ustransit74@gmail.com if you need any assistance. Attached a short planet video file if necessary. Privacy policy and term of use (EULA) is at https://deepskycolor.blogspot.com/2018/12/privacy-policy-for-deep-sky-color-app.html

Screenshots

AstroStacker4 screens
PlanetEdit2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PlanetEdit at 50% against AstroStacker's 0%. PlanetEdit also leads on rating (4.5 vs 1.1). AstroStacker's advantage is ratings volume (7 vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. AstroStacker sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month and PlanetEdit sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PlanetEdit holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 1.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of AstroStacker's written reviews are positive against 50% of PlanetEdit's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AstroStacker ships an update every 2 weeks, PlanetEdit weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
AstroStacker versus PlanetEdit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAstroStackerPlanetEdit
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.1 (7 ratings)4.5 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB53 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAhmed Al-Mahmudyong chong loh

Customer experience

AstroStacker

All ratings7 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral18.2%
Negative81.8%

PlanetEdit

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

AstroStacker

Subscriptions2
  • AstroStacker app3 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • AstroStacker app3 Days trial$99.991 Year
One-time1
  • AstroStacker app$219.00
1 purchases

PlanetEdit

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month

Questions

Is AstroStacker free?
AstroStacker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PlanetEdit free?
PlanetEdit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, AstroStacker or PlanetEdit?
PlanetEdit is rated higher. AstroStacker averages 1.1 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while PlanetEdit averages 4.5 from 2 ratings.
Do AstroStacker or PlanetEdit have ads?
Neither AstroStacker nor PlanetEdit shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AstroStacker or PlanetEdit?
AstroStacker ships an update every 2 weeks, and PlanetEdit weekly. Most recently, AstroStacker was updated on November 12, 2026 and PlanetEdit on November 13, 2026.

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