Comparison

SOTERA UAP vs Live Orbit

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

Head to head
About

SOTERA UAP

This app helps skywatchers identify overhead satellites in real-time. It displays the positions of thousands of known objects, allowing users to distinguish them from potential anomalous aerial phenomena. Empowering users with data to find their own answers.

Highlights
  • Real-time satellite positioning
  • Map, Sky, and AR views
  • Detailed satellite information
  • Upcoming visible passes
  • Offline data computation
  • 13 satellite catalogues
Features
Read full description

Imagine this. You're out at a UFO skywatch with a few people. Someone points and says they see a moving orb of light in the sky. Everyone goes quiet. Some people are thinking it's truly an anomalous UFO while others are wondering if it's a satellite catching the sun. Here's the thing: nobody wants to hear "that's not a UFO." Say it out loud and you're the person who killed the moment. People stop pointing things out to you. The vibe is destroyed. The reality is this is not a scenario you just have to imagine. This is a real concern in the community. SOTERA solves this by putting the answer in each user's hands instead. They hold the phone up at the sky and see for themselves whether it's a known object passing over such as a Starlink train or the ISS catching the sun. No buzzkill. Just a quiet check each person can do on their own. That's how we empower the community to find the answers for themselves. This is the whole idea. The community wants the truth and they want to know which objects in the sky are truly anomalous. They only care about what's left over once you've accounted for all the known objects in the sky. SOTERA rules out the catalogued objects so the genuine unknowns actually stand out. There are thousands of objects crossing the sky at any moment, and you can't pick out a real unknown until you've cleared the known ones overhead. WHAT IT ACTUALLY DOES SOTERA shows the real-time position of every major satellite above your horizon. Positions are computed on your device from public CelesTrak orbital data using SGP4/SDP4, the same propagation NORAD uses. The TLE catalogue refreshes hourly in the background and there's nothing rendered on a remote server. It ships with 13 catalogues: the ISS, Starlink, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, Iridium NEXT, Globalstar, weather sats, science sats (including Hubble and Chandra), the Chinese Tiangong station, and a curated list of the bright visible ones. FOUR WAYS TO LOOK • Map: every tracked satellite plotted at its sub-satellite point on a world map. Tap a satellite for live altitude, range, velocity, and elevation from where you're standing. • Sky: a dome view of everything above the horizon. Center is straight up, the edge is the horizon, and the compass tracks your heading. Tap to lock North up. • AR: hold the phone up outside and satellites appear at their real angular positions in the sky. If a known object is sitting right where you're looking, you'll see it. If nothing is there, you've just ruled out the easy explanation yourself. Grab a screenshot or a short video. • Passes: upcoming visible passes of the brightest satellites WHERE THIS IS GOING This is the start of bringing the UFO and UAP community together. Tracking known objects is step one. The goal is an all-in-one app for the UFO and UAP community, and future versions are aimed at the unknowns. Ruling out the knowns is how you get there. SOTERA comes from ELDÆON INC., which is building the world's first tactical UAP-detection network: dual-use multimodal sensor tech for UAP tracking and identification. Same mission, empowering humanity with the tools to make the invisible, visible. PRIVACY Your location stays on your device. There's no account server. Sign in with Apple or Google, and that identity is stored only on your device. Crash diagnostics go through Sentry, anonymized. No ads or third-party tracking. Privacy policy: https://eldaeon.com/sotera/privacy Support: support@eldaeon.com

About

Live Orbit

Explore orbital space with a beautiful 3D globe, plan satellite passes, and use AR mode to identify objects in the sky. Access detailed satellite data, space weather, launch information, and more. Designed for both casual users and space enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Live 3D satellite tracking
  • Visible pass planning
  • Augmented Reality (AR) mode
  • Space weather and launch tracking
  • Radio observation recordings
  • Moon, Sun, and Mars spacecraft modes
Read full description

Look up. There’s a lot going on. Live Orbit is a satellite tracker for iPhone and iPad. Explore Earth on a 3D globe, find the International Space Station and other satellites, and plan your next chance to look up. TAKE CONTROL OF TIME Explore calculated satellite positions up to a week backward or forward. Scrub through orbital motion, then glide back to live tracking. TRACK SATELLITES Follow satellite positions and orbit paths. Search by name or NORAD ID, explore satellite details, and save favorites for later. PLAN YOUR NEXT PASS See predicted passes for your location, with timing and viewing direction. Check the information you need before heading outside. POINT YOUR PHONE Use Sky Mode to explore nearby sky directions, identify a satellite marker, and return to its details. Switch to the camera background when you want AR guidance. Pointing depends on your device's sensors and tracking conditions; satellite positions are calculated from orbital data. GO BEYOND EARTH ORBIT Explore Moon, Sun, and Mars views, spacecraft information, launches, space weather, and space news in one place. LISTEN TO SPACE Play available SatNOGS ground-station recordings with playback controls and signal imagery. KEEP AN OBSERVING LOG Use Radio Toolkit to plan sessions, save observations, and work through radio and antenna calculations. Receiving satellite radio signals requires external equipment; your iPhone is not a satellite radio receiver. Location is optional. Enable it for local passes and pointing. No Live Orbit account is required. Some features require Live Orbit Pro, available as an auto-renewable subscription. The purchase screen shows the current price, duration, and any eligible trial before you subscribe. You can restore purchases in the app and manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple account settings. Privacy Policy: https://www.liveorbitapp.com/privacy/ Terms of Use: https://www.liveorbitapp.com/terms/ Apple Standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

SOTERA UAP4 screens
Live Orbit4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SOTERA UAP at none against Live Orbit's 2. SOTERA UAP also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). Live Orbit's advantage is ratings volume (6 vs 1). On price, rating, ads and device support 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. Live Orbit sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. SOTERA UAP asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for SOTERA UAP against 5.0 for Live Orbit. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Live Orbit has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
SOTERA UAP versus Live Orbit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSOTERA UAPLive Orbit
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings16 — better
Update frequency—Every 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB179 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperELDAEON INC.Apps Made Better

In-app purchases

None

SOTERA UAP

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Live Orbit

Subscriptions2
  • Live Orbit Pro Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Live Orbit Pro Yearly7 Days trial$14.991 Year

Questions

Is SOTERA UAP free?
SOTERA UAP is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Live Orbit free?
Live Orbit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SOTERA UAP or Live Orbit?
SOTERA UAP and Live Orbit are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 6 ratings respectively.
Do SOTERA UAP or Live Orbit have ads?
Neither SOTERA UAP nor Live Orbit shows ads.

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