Comparison

Satellite Tracker 3D vs Orbital Traffic

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

Head to head
About

Satellite Tracker 3D

Explore thousands of satellites orbiting Earth in real-time on an interactive 3D globe. Track their precise locations, predict upcoming passes over your area, and receive alerts for visible satellite trains and the ISS. View satellite paths overlaid on the real sky using AR.

Highlights
  • Real-time 3D satellite tracking
  • Predict upcoming satellite passes
  • AR Sky Mode for live viewing
  • Track over 20,000 active satellites
  • Alerts for ISS and satellite trains
  • View internet mega-constellations
Features
Read full description

Basic functions are free, one time in-app purchase to unlock all features. Find and identify the thousands of satellites that orbit Earth in real time on an interactive 3D globe. Monitor Internet constellation growth. The NEW companion app for the satellitemap.space website Satellite Tracker 3D shows you exactly where satellites are right now — and when they'll pass over your location next. Get alerts for potentially visible satellite trains, ISS passes and more. Recent features include offline mode, and an Apple Watch app. Internet Mega-constellations Keep up to date on the growth, re-entries and design of the new internet in space mega constellations. Real-Time 3D Globe Track satellites as they orbit with smooth, accurate positions updated at 60fps. Zoom from a full Earth view down to city level. Near Me What was that I saw last night? see nearby satellite trains, re-entries, the ISS and more replayed from your POV. Find upcoming events and preview them with cloud cover forecast. Sky Mode with AR Point your phone at the sky and see and identify satellites and even aircraft, overlaid on the real sky through your camera. What You Can Track 20,000+ active satellites including communications constellations, the two International Space Stations, weather satellites, debris, satellite "trains", re-entries, Amateur (Ham) Radio tool, Celestial transits, and more. Pinpoint precision. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://satellitemap.space/info/privacy

About

Orbital Traffic

Visualize the real-time positions of thousands of satellites, space stations, and NEOs on a 3D globe. Discover what's currently overhead, search for specific objects, and learn about their missions and telemetry.

Highlights
  • Real-time 3D globe display
  • Track over 19,000 objects
  • See what's overhead now
  • Search object telemetry
  • Object profiles and history
  • Watchlist and favorites
  • Shareable orbital cards
Features
Read full description

Space has traffic. Watch it move. Orbital Traffic puts more than 19,000 tracked objects on a live 3D globe: the International Space Station, crewed capsules, fresh Starlink trains, navigation and communications satellites, debris and near-Earth asteroids. Every position is computed on your phone from the latest orbital data. No ads. No account. Nothing about you leaves your device. PASS ALERTS Get a heads-up 10 minutes before the ISS or a Starlink train crosses your sky. Alerts fire only for passes worth stepping outside for: high in the sky, in sunlight, and never in the middle of the night. One a day at most. Tap the bell on any pass to make sure you get that one. SEE IT FROM THE GROUND Open the ISS or a train and find out when it passes over you next: what time, where to look, how high it climbs, and a sky chart of its path. STARLINK TRAINS Freshly launched batches are spotted automatically and lit up on the globe while they're still flying in a line, with their length, spacing and next good pass from where you are. TODAY IN SPACE Launches as they happen, dockings and undockings, re-entries and crew changes, all in one feed. Been away a while? Orbital Traffic shows you what you missed. YOUR SKY Tap once to see what's above you right now. The notable ones are named and explained, and the big constellations are folded into a line each. THE CREW AND THE FLEET See who's living aboard the ISS and China's Tiangong station, and follow Dragon, Soyuz, Shenzhou, Progress, Cygnus and Tianzhou from launch through docking to landing. THOUSANDS OF OBJECTS, EXPLAINED Search the catalog for hand-written profiles on 2,800+ notable objects: who built it and why it's up there. Live telemetry on everything: altitude, speed, orbit and the ground below it. BEYOND EARTH ORBIT 77 near-Earth asteroids on their real orbits around the Sun, with their next close approach. Ask where Voyager or New Horizons is and get its distance right now. SAVE AND SHARE Star favorites, keep a watchlist, and make a shareable card of anything in orbit.

Screenshots

Satellite Tracker 3D4 screens
Orbital Traffic4 screens

Verdict

The call

Satellite Tracker 3D and Orbital Traffic both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 87% of Satellite Tracker 3D's written reviews are positive against 0% of Orbital Traffic's. Satellite Tracker 3D also leads on ratings volume (71 vs 17). Orbital Traffic's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, rating, update cadence 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. Satellite Tracker 3D sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Orbital Traffic asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Satellite Tracker 3D against 4.8 for Orbital Traffic. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 71 and 17 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 87% of Satellite Tracker 3D's written reviews are positive against 0% of Orbital Traffic's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Satellite Tracker 3D ships an update every 4 days, Orbital Traffic every 6 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Satellite Tracker 3D versus Orbital Traffic: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSatellite Tracker 3DOrbital Traffic
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (71 ratings)4.8 (17 ratings) — better
Positive reviews86.7% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings71 — better17
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 6 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerjustin beechIAN HUNTER LEWIS

Customer experience

Satellite Tracker 3D

All ratings58 ratings
Positive93.1%
Neutral3.4%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive86.7%
Neutral13.3%
Negative0.0%

Orbital Traffic

All ratings11 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral9.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Satellite Tracker 3D

Subscriptions2
  • Supporter$2.991 Month
  • Supporter$29.991 Year
One-time2
  • Core Unlock$1.99
  • Pro Unlock$9.99
None

Orbital Traffic

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Satellite Tracker 3D free?
Satellite Tracker 3D is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Orbital Traffic free?
Orbital Traffic is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Satellite Tracker 3D or Orbital Traffic?
Orbital Traffic is rated higher. Satellite Tracker 3D averages 4.7 out of 5 from 71 ratings, while Orbital Traffic averages 4.8 from 17 ratings.
Do Satellite Tracker 3D or Orbital Traffic have ads?
Neither Satellite Tracker 3D nor Orbital Traffic shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Satellite Tracker 3D or Orbital Traffic?
Satellite Tracker 3D ships an update every 4 days, and Orbital Traffic every 6 days. Most recently, Satellite Tracker 3D was updated on October 31, 2026 and Orbital Traffic on October 31, 2026.

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