Comparison

Moon Atlas vs Skyla

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

Head to head
About

Moon Atlas

Features
Read full description

The Moon changes every night. As sunlight moves across its surface, crater walls, mountain ridges and valleys emerge from the shadows. Moon Atlas helps you put names and stories to the places you see. Explore on iPhone and iPad, with the interface, descriptions, search and narration available in English and Japanese. START WITH TONIGHT'S MOON See the Moon's phase and age, illumination, altitude and direction. Step through dates to plan an observing session, and check moonrise, moonset and transit for your current location or a site you choose. The astronomical calculations run on your device. GET TO KNOW 434 FEATURES Tap a label to read a description, key facts and observing tips. Browse craters, lunar seas, mountain ranges, valleys, rilles, scarps and observing phenomena. Search by feature name, alias or mission name. Voice search uses your selected app language where speech recognition is available. LOOK CLOSER Detailed image views cover 355 features. The image tiles are included in the app, so there is no separate image download. Resolution varies by target; most close-ups are around 100 meters per pixel. These are photographs with the lighting recorded at capture time, so their shadows may differ from tonight's Moon. SEE THE SHAPE OF A CRATER All 266 craters have illustrative cross-section charts to help you compare depth, rim shape and central peaks. These are representative profiles based on recorded dimensions, rather than measured terrain scans. FOLLOW LUNAR EXPLORATION Discover 15 spacecraft arrival and landing sites, from Luna and Surveyor to Apollo, Chang'e, Chandrayaan-3, SLIM and commercial missions. Read about the missions and the terrain around each site. The sites include both crewed and robotic missions, and Luna 2's impact arrival. KEEP YOUR EYE AT THE TELESCOPE Listen to the descriptions in English with Christopher or Michelle, or choose an available device voice. Download narration in advance for offline listening. Japanese narration is also available. Match the map to an upright, inverted or mirrored telescope view. Adjust label density and text size, use the lunar coordinate grid and direction indicators, or switch to the red interface for observing in the dark. Dynamic Type, VoiceOver and Reduce Motion are supported. PREPARE FOR A NIGHT OFFLINE The map, descriptions, bundled close-up images and astronomical calculations work offline. Downloaded narration can also play offline. Audio downloads, external source links, speech recognition when required by your device, and App Store purchases or restoration may need an internet connection. TRY FIVE FEATURES FREE Open the details for five different features free. You can return to those same features without using another free entry. A single in-app purchase unlocks all feature details, observing tips, available close-ups and narration. Buy once: there is no subscription or recurring charge. Restore an existing purchase from Settings or the purchase screen. SOURCES YOU CAN CHECK Names and coordinates draw on the USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature and IAU-approved names. Descriptions are original summaries based on cited sources. Lunar imagery draws on NASA SVS and LROC/PDS material. Source information and credits are available in the app. Moon Atlas is an independent app and is not endorsed by NASA, USGS, IAU or JAXA. Find one more place you know on tonight's Moon.

About

Skyla

Features
Read full description

Ever looked up and wondered what you're seeing? Hold Skyla up to the sky and the real stars, planets, constellations and satellites above you come to life โ€” placed exactly for where you are, right now. WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT โ€ข Point your phone at the sky and it lines up with the real view (AR) โ€ข Tap anything to instantly learn what it is and how to find it โ€ข See Saturn's rings, Jupiter's moons, the Moon's craters, comets and the Milky Way in beautiful detail โ€ข Travel through time to see the sky on any night, past or future โ€ข No ads. No subscriptions. No account. Just the sky above you. PLAN THE PERFECT NIGHT โ€ข Tonight's Targets โ€” a ranked checklist of the best things to see right now; tap to fly straight to each one โ€ข Darkness Tonight โ€” sunset, the twilights and the exact hours of true, Moon-free darkness โ€ข Sky Conditions โ€” a live darkness score tells you at a glance if tonight is worth it โ€ข Satellite Passes โ€” every visible ISS, Tiangong and Hubble flyover this week, with reminders โ€ข Planets Tonight, Comets, an interactive Moon Calendar and an agenda of upcoming meteor showers, conjunctions and Moon phases MAKE IT YOURS โ€ข Keep a personal observing log โ€” rate what you see, add notes and track your Messier progress โ€ข Save favourites, set your sky's darkness (Bortle) for tailored advice, and get a gentle nightly reminder โ€ข A pocket Sky Guide with dozens of short reads, home-screen widgets and an Apple Watch app From total beginners to seasoned skywatchers, Skyla makes the night sky make sense.

Screenshots

Moon Atlas4 screens
Skyla4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Moon Atlas at Free against Skyla's $34.99. Moon Atlas also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs fortnightly). Skyla's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads, device support 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

Moon Atlas is free to download; Skyla costs $34.99 up front. Moon Atlas sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Skyla asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Moon Atlas ships an update every 5 days, Skyla fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
Moon Atlas versus Skyla: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMoon AtlasSkyla
PriceFree โ€” better$34.99
Update frequencyEvery 5 days โ€” betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size468 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSOICHIRO NISHIBirkan Aksoy

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Moon Atlas

One-time1
  • Full Access$9.99
None

Skyla

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Moon Atlas free?
Moon Atlas is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Skyla free?
Skyla costs $34.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Moon Atlas or Skyla have ads?
Neither Moon Atlas nor Skyla shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Moon Atlas or Skyla?
Moon Atlas ships an update every 5 days, and Skyla fortnightly. Most recently, Moon Atlas was updated on October 28, 2026 and Skyla on October 25, 2026.

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