# MessierMate vs Night Sky Planner

The clearest difference is ratings volume: MessierMate at 3 against Night Sky Planner's 1. On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for MessierMate against 5.0 for Night Sky Planner. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | MessierMate | Night Sky Planner |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [5.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/messiermate-night-sky-tracker/id6782169332/reviews) | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/night-sky-planner/id6786410221/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **3** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 70 MB | 4 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.4** | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [CosmicFlow Labs LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1882544353) | [Bryson Loughmiller](https://appshunter.io/developer/6783925494) |

## What reviewers say

### MessierMate

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/messiermate-night-sky-tracker/id6782169332)

This free astronomy app helps deep-sky observers track celestial objects. It shows what's visible in your sky tonight, sorted by urgency, and allows you to plan future observing sessions and log your observations. It features a dark theme and red night mode for preserving night vision.

**Highlights:** Track 110 Messier objects, Real-time altitude and azimuth, Urgency-based object sorting, Monthly planning calendar, Session logging with notes and photos, Offline functionality, Red Night mode

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Night Sky Planner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/night-sky-planner/id6786410221)

This app helps amateur astronomers find celestial objects to observe. It provides detailed information on when and how to best view planets, stars, and deep-sky objects from your specific location, even without an internet connection.

**Highlights:** Night strip timeline, Gantt view of targets, Best Nights ranking, Point Me directional guide, Printable finder rose, Object sky-survey plates, Offline functionality

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is MessierMate free?

MessierMate is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Night Sky Planner free?

Night Sky Planner is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, MessierMate or Night Sky Planner?

MessierMate and Night Sky Planner are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 1 ratings respectively.

### Do MessierMate or Night Sky Planner have ads?

Neither MessierMate nor Night Sky Planner shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, MessierMate or Night Sky Planner?

MessierMate ships an update monthly, and Night Sky Planner monthly. Most recently, MessierMate was updated on October 28, 2026 and Night Sky Planner on October 11, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*