# Messier Journal vs Night Sky Planner

The clearest difference is price: Night Sky Planner at Free against Messier Journal's $0.99. Night Sky Planner also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). Messier Journal's advantage is ratings volume (3 vs 1). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Night Sky Planner is free to download; Messier Journal costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Messier Journal against 5.0 for Night Sky Planner. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively.

Messier Journal ships an update every 3 months, Night Sky Planner monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Messier Journal | Night Sky Planner |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [5.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/messier-journal/id6753959873/reviews) | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/night-sky-planner/id6786410221/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **3** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Size | 158 MB | 4 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Damon Degner](https://appshunter.io/developer/1845946345) | [Bryson Loughmiller](https://appshunter.io/developer/6783925494) |

## What reviewers say

### Messier Journal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/messier-journal/id6753959873)

This app helps Northern Hemisphere astronomers and astrophotographers discover, locate, and journal all 110 Messier objects. It provides detailed information, star maps, and tools to record observations and upload photos.

**Highlights:** Learn about 110 Messier objects, Locate objects with star maps, Filter objects by constellation and type, Record observation details, Upload astrophotography, Track spotted object statistics, Generate object collages

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Night Sky Planner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/night-sky-planner/id6786410221)

This app helps amateur astronomers find celestial objects to observe. It provides detailed information on when and how to best view planets, stars, and deep-sky objects from your specific location, even without an internet connection.

**Highlights:** Night strip timeline, Gantt view of targets, Best Nights ranking, Point Me directional guide, Printable finder rose, Object sky-survey plates, Offline functionality

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Messier Journal free?

Messier Journal costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Night Sky Planner free?

Night Sky Planner is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Messier Journal or Night Sky Planner?

Messier Journal and Night Sky Planner are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 1 ratings respectively.

### Do Messier Journal or Night Sky Planner have ads?

Neither Messier Journal nor Night Sky Planner shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Messier Journal or Night Sky Planner?

Messier Journal ships an update every 3 months, and Night Sky Planner monthly. Most recently, Messier Journal was updated on October 28, 2026 and Night Sky Planner on October 11, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*