Orbitarium Solar System vs Planet Pointer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Orbitarium Solar System
Read full descriptionHide full description
Orbitarium is an interactive solar system app for families, learners, and anyone who wants to discover space in a playful way. Everything can be controlled with touch gestures on iPhone and iPad. On Mac, control works with the mouse or, if available, the trackpad. If you do not know all the planet names yet: no problem! Simply tap the buttons with the planet names, and they will move into the center. This makes it easy to discover the names of the celestial bodies. You can also tap directly on the Sun, Earth, Moon, and planets to select them and bring them into focus. With touch gestures, you can interact with the objects almost as if touching them with your hands, zoom in, zoom out, move the view, and explore the solar system freely. You can also speed up or slow down time and observe how the celestial bodies move faster or slower along their orbits. The change of perspective is especially fascinating: when you view the motion from the Sun, the Moon, or a planet, the visible paths of the celestial bodies change. This makes it easy to understand that motion in space always depends on the point of view. The app is intentionally calm and clear. Planets, distances, and motion can be discovered step by step while the solar system is explained in a visual and accessible way. Orbitarium is ideal for exploring together at home, for first conversations about space, and for anyone who wants to know how planets move around the Sun.
Planet Pointer
This app transforms your phone into a portable celestial guide. Easily locate planets, stars, constellations, and satellites with on-screen directional cues. Identify unknown celestial objects by pointing your camera and receiving detailed information.
- Identify planets, stars, and constellations
- Locate satellites in real-time
- Camera-based object identification
- Offline celestial calculations
- Night-vision red mode
- Multi-language support
Read full descriptionHide full description
Planet Pointer turns your phone into a pocket sky guide. Pick one target — a planet, a star, a constellation, a satellite or a deep-sky object — and an on-screen arrow, a dashed guide line, or both, lead you until your phone is aimed right at it. Or point the camera at something you don't recognise and let the app tell you what it is. Simple, focused, and accurate. POINT AT THE SKY Choose what you want to find and follow the guide. When you're locked on target, the phone confirms with a gentle vibration. If your target is below the horizon, the app tells you what time it rises. The live camera view helps you line up the guide with the real sky. WHAT'S THAT? IDENTIFY MODE Point the camera at anything in the sky and tap it to identify it. A phone compass is only accurate to about 5°, so the app never hands you a confident answer it cannot back up: you get the most likely object with a match percentage, plus anything else near enough to be a real possibility. Turn on constellation lines if you like them, or keep the stars bare. Ask which star that is and get an honest answer instead of a guess. TONIGHT, FREE See what is actually up right now: the Moon and its phase, which planets are visible and until what time, and the next satellite pass you could genuinely see with your own eyes. No purchase and no setup. WHAT YOU CAN FIND - The Sun, the Moon and all 7 planets - 33 of the brightest named stars - All 88 constellations, drawn as connect-the-dots figures over the live sky - Deep sky: nebulae, galaxies and star clusters — Orion, Andromeda, the Pleiades and more - Live satellites — including the ISS, Hubble, Starlink and more — tracked in real time, with upcoming passes and how easy each one will be to see - Rise, transit and set times for every object, in your location's own time zone ACCURATE & OFFLINE Positions are calculated on your device using a precise astronomy engine, with true-north correction from the World Magnetic Model. No internet needed for the core features. MORE TO EXPLORE - Sky Events: eclipses, meteor showers, equinoxes and solstices, supermoons, planet oppositions and the next visible ISS pass — tap one to jump there. Moon phases are always free, and so are the two nearest events. - A Moon phase view, with the crescent tilted the way it really looks from where you are, and the whole month to scroll through - Time Travel (Pro): shift the sky forward or back in time to see where everything will be - Info cards with facts, figures and mythology for every body and constellation - Favourites, brightness/magnitude data, and a search you can filter to "visible now" SPEAKS YOUR LANGUAGE 13 languages built in, and 66 more available to download with Pro — 79 in all, with translated planet, star and constellation names. BUILT FOR STARGAZING - Night-vision red mode to protect your dark-adapted eyes - Spoken sky: hear your target and aim guidance read aloud - Choose km or miles, set your location manually, and more FREE & PRO Free, forever: the camera pointer, the Sun, the Moon and all 7 planets, the Tonight view, rise and set times, the Moon phase view, and a few famous stars, constellations, deep-sky objects and satellites to try — everything that is free in the lists is free in identify mode too. Planet Pointer Pro is a single one-time purchase — no subscription — that unlocks every star, constellation, deep-sky object and satellite, Time Travel, the full Sky Events list, unlimited favourites, the full night-vision options and every language download. PRIVACY FIRST No account. No ads. No trackers. Your location and camera are used only on your device to point you at the sky — they're never recorded or sent anywhere. Look up. Point. Find it.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Planet Pointer at 16.4 against Orbitarium Solar System's 26.4. 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
Both are free to download. Orbitarium Solar System sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Planet Pointer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Orbitarium Solar System ships an update every 3 days, Planet Pointer every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Orbitarium Solar System | Planet Pointer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Every 4 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.4 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 55 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Marcus Faas | Haviv Tarazi |
In-app purchases
Orbitarium Solar System
- Small Coffee$1.99
- Big Coffee$3.99
- Lunch$8.99
Planet Pointer
- Planet Pointer Pro$4.99
Questions
Is Orbitarium Solar System free?
Is Planet Pointer free?
Do Orbitarium Solar System or Planet Pointer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Orbitarium Solar System or Planet Pointer?
Other comparisons















