Comparison

Heliosphere vs Planet

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

Head to head
About

Heliosphere

Explore a real-time 3D simulation of the solar system, planets, moons, and spacecraft using accurate astronomical data. Learn about celestial bodies and space missions with educational content and quizzes.

Highlights
  • Real-time 3D solar system simulation
  • Live spacecraft tracking
  • Deep sky exploration
  • Comprehensive astronomy education
  • Time travel from 1900 to 2100
  • Planet-centric viewing mode
Features
Read full description

Explore the solar system at your fingertips. Heliosphere is a real-time 3D solar system simulation powered by NASA JPL Horizons data. It accurately recreates the orbits of planets, moons, comets, and dwarf planets while tracking the real positions of active spacecraft. * Real-time 3D Solar System Simulation — 8 planets, 5 dwarf planets, 10+ moons, and 4 comets — Precise Keplerian orbit calculations based on real astronomical data — Time travel from 1900 to 2100 — Pan, zoom, and rotate for a free-roaming perspective — Switch to planet-centric viewing mode * Live Spacecraft Tracking — Voyager 1, 2 | Pioneer 10, 11 — Cassini | Juno | New Horizons | Parker Solar Probe — Real position data from NASA JPL Horizons API * Deep Sky Exploration — Over 150 bright stars — 530 Milky Way stars — 124 deep-sky objects (Messier, NGC/IC catalogs) * Comprehensive Astronomy Education — 6 difficulty levels from middle school to graduate — Core concepts: Kepler's Laws, gravity, escape velocity, and more — Mission timelines for Voyager, Cassini, New Horizons, and others — 60+ quiz questions to test your knowledge — Historical space event date-guessing challenges * Free for Everyone — All content available at no cost — No ads — 11 languages supported Experience the beauty of the cosmos and the wonder of science through scientifically accurate data and intuitive interaction.

About

Planet

Features
Read full description

Planet turns the solar system into something you can hold, spin, and poke at. Built for curious minds of all ages, it trades walls of text for things you can actually touch: drag through the orbits, tap a world to open it up, and see the real numbers behind it. EXPLORE THE SOLAR SYSTEM Pinch to zoom and drag to pan across the planets in their orbits. Tap any planet — or the Sun — to open its details: diameter, distance from the Sun, day length, and a short description. Then open it as an interactive 3D model you can turn in your hands. BROWSE AND SEARCH Every planet, the Sun, 20 notable moons, and a full overview of the solar system itself — how it formed, what's in it, and where we sit in the Milky Way. Search across all of it: type "Olympus" and you'll land on Mars. MOONS Titan's lakes of liquid methane. Enceladus firing geysers of water into space. Io, the most volcanic world we know. Ganymede, bigger than Mercury. Triton, orbiting backwards because Neptune caught it. COMPARE Put two worlds side by side and watch the scale land. Diameter, distance, day length, year length, gravity, and moons — drawn to their true relative size. Line Earth up against the Sun and see what 109 times wider actually looks like. TEST YOURSELF 135 questions, ten per round, drawn fresh every time. Every answer comes with a one-line explanation of why it's right, so a wrong guess teaches you something. Miss a few and you'll get them back at the end, with the reasons, to review. WEIGH IN, ANYWHERE Enter your weight and see what you'd weigh on every other planet — in kilograms or pounds. Enter your age and find out how many laps of the Sun you'd have made on Mars, or Neptune. SEE THEM IN 3D Load a detailed 3D model of any planet, spin it, and get close. ENGLISH AND PERSIAN Fully translated, including every article and quiz question. Switch language any time in Settings. No accounts. No ads. No data collected. Just the solar system.

Screenshots

Heliosphere4 screens
Planet4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Planet at none against Heliosphere's 3. Heliosphere's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs weekly). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Heliosphere sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Planet asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Heliosphere ships an update every 3 days, Planet weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Heliosphere versus Planet: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHeliospherePlanet
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB25 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperCHUNGKIL KIMAhmad khaled Samim

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Heliosphere

One-time3
  • 1 Coffee$2.99
  • 3 Coffees$8.99
  • 5 Coffees$14.99
None

Planet

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Heliosphere free?
Heliosphere is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Planet free?
Planet is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Heliosphere or Planet have ads?
Neither Heliosphere nor Planet shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Heliosphere or Planet?
Heliosphere ships an update every 3 days, and Planet weekly. Most recently, Heliosphere was updated on October 24, 2026 and Planet on October 20, 2026.

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