Comparison

Cipher vs SatellitePlus

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

Head to head
About

Cipher

Features
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What is it? Who designed it? What's it worth? Cipher answers all three. Point your camera at a chair, a lamp, a vase, a watch, an antique โ€” anything with deliberate design โ€” and Cipher names the piece, the designer behind it, and what comparable pieces are listing for right now. IDENTIFY Cipher reads form and detail to name the specific piece โ€” an Eames Lounge Chair, a Poul Henningsen lamp โ€” and the style it belongs to. Not just "a chair." WHAT IT'S WORTH See an estimated price range based on real, current market listings โ€” not a made-up number. Compare similar pieces for sale so you know where you stand before you buy, sell, or walk past it. THE DESIGNER AND THE STORY Find out who designed it, and explore more of their work in open museum collections. Cipher draws on design history and international archives to explain where a piece comes from, how it was made, and why it lasts. LISTEN INSTEAD OF READING Every result can be narrated aloud, start to finish โ€” so you can put the phone down and keep looking at the piece in front of you. SCAN AND WALK AWAY Analysis keeps running after you leave the app. Cipher notifies you the moment a result is ready. HONEST BY DESIGN When a photo can't establish what something is, Cipher says so โ€” and shows no result rather than a confident-sounding guess. Identifying a design is not the same as authenticating an object, and Cipher never pretends otherwise. WHAT YOU CAN SCAN - Furniture, lighting & design objects โ€” chairs, lamps, tables, ceramics - Antiques & collectibles โ€” pottery, glass, silver, metalware, jewellery - Patterns & textiles โ€” prints, rugs, wallpaper - Architecture & ornament โ€” facades, tilework, columns MUSEUM-QUALITY SOURCES Results are enriched with open-access works from the Met Museum, the V&A, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Smithsonian, Harvard Art Museums, the Rijksmuseum, the Getty, Europeana and Wikimedia. HOW IT WORKS Snap or select a photo. Cipher analyses it with advanced AI. Get the identification, the value, the designer and the full story in seconds. Your first scan is free. Cipher Pro is then free for 7 days, billed yearly after that, and you can cancel any time. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.cipherscanner.com/privacy-policy#top

About

SatellitePlus

Features
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Where is the ISS now? When will your next satellite pass begin? SatellitePlus brings a 3D Earth, polar radar and pass predictions together in a tactile, metal-and-glass observation console. FIND YOUR SATELLITE Rotate Earth, select an orbit, or search by satellite name and NORAD ID. Filter by group, country or orbit type. Keep a followed list so your favorite targets are easy to find again. PLAN YOUR NEXT PASS Check direction, elevation and distance on the radar. The pass dossier brings together rise, peak and set times, maximum elevation and orbit-data age. One active local reminder is included free. Following a satellite does not turn on notifications. TAKE YOUR TARGETS WITH YOU In-app following and phone console controls are free. Pro is a one-time purchase for Home Screen widgets, Apple Watch, and Dynamic Island with its Lock Screen Live Activity. No subscription. Restore your purchase from the in-app store. On Apple Watch, view your followed list and a wrist-aligned polar trajectory. Sync with iPhone to store the next 48 hours of trajectories locally, including positions below the horizon. The cache works offline within its saved period and needs a new sync to refresh. Start an orbit session yourself to see it on the Lock Screen and, on supported iPhones, Dynamic Island. System update timing applies; these surfaces are not continuous background tracking. READY FOR EXPLORATION No app account is required. Location access is optional; without it, a default observer is used. A bundled catalog and local cache keep basic exploration available when a network update is unavailable. iPad gives your instruments more room in portrait and landscape. Predictions use public orbital data. A pass above the horizon does not guarantee naked-eye visibility: illumination, weather, obstacles and data age matter. SatellitePlus is for personal observation and learning, not navigation or safety-critical use. PLAN, LOOK AND LISTEN Plan geometric passes or optical visibility windows at a manual or GPS observing site. Sky guidance shows azimuth, elevation and calibrated compass direction, with an optional camera backdrop; it does not detect satellites in images. Request Apple Weather cloud and precipitation forecasts when needed. Checking weather sends the selected coordinates to Apple. Browse Starlink groups by launch designator. Explore attributed SatNOGS amateur-radio transmitter references, modes, frequencies and Doppler estimates. Reception needs compatible radio equipment; listed transmitters are not guaranteed active. Optional SSTV app links and ARISS references help you explore scheduled events. Add the selected pass to Calendar or share it, with precise coordinates omitted by default. Lite plans one day ahead and saves one observing site. The existing lifetime Pro unlock adds 3/7-day planning, multiple saved sites and elevation/twilight filters, alongside widgets, Apple Watch and Live Activities.

Screenshots

Cipher4 screens
SatellitePlus3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: SatellitePlus at none against Cipher's shown. SatellitePlus also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 11 days) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, in-app purchases and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Cipher sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days and SatellitePlus sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cipher ships an update every 11 days, SatellitePlus every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
Cipher versus SatellitePlus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCipherSatellitePlus
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 5 days โ€” better
AdsYesNo โ€” better
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch โ€” better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size43 MB115 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerlouis currieๆ–นๅฎ‡ ๅ‘จ

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Cipher

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly$2.997 Days
  • Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
1 purchases

SatellitePlus

One-time1
  • Pro Console$2.99

Questions

Is Cipher free?
Cipher is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SatellitePlus free?
SatellitePlus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Cipher or SatellitePlus have ads?
Cipher shows ads; SatellitePlus does not.
Which is updated more often, Cipher or SatellitePlus?
Cipher ships an update every 11 days, and SatellitePlus every 5 days. Most recently, Cipher was updated on November 5, 2026 and SatellitePlus on November 2, 2026.

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