Comparison

Orbiting Sky vs Skyla

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

Head to head
About

Orbiting Sky

Visualize celestial movements and shadows on an interactive map. Explore daylight, moonlight, twilight, and eclipses by moving through time and location. Understand solar and lunar positions, shadow lengths, and lunar phases.

Highlights
  • Interactive sky map
  • Daylight and twilight visualization
  • Sun and Moon elevation/azimuth
  • Shadow projection and length
  • Lunar phase and illumination
  • Eclipse browser and visualization
  • Time travel control
Read full description

A new window onto Sky & Earth. • See the sky above an interactive map, with full-screen Sun, Moon and horizon observations. • Designed for iPhone Duo: fold along the horizontal hinge to place the sky upright and the map on your desk. See the sky’s rhythm on the map. Orbiting Sky turns any place and time into a clear, interactive view of daylight, moonlight, shadows, twilight, and eclipses. Move across the map, travel through time, and watch the geometry of the Sun and Moon change instantly. EXPLORE DAYLIGHT • See the moving day-and-night boundary • Distinguish civil, nautical, and astronomical twilight • Follow the subsolar point around Earth • Show sunlight and moonlight direction vectors UNDERSTAND YOUR SKY • View Sun and Moon elevation and true-north azimuth • Trace projected daily arcs above the local horizon • Estimate the direction and length of a vertical object’s shadow • Inspect lunar phase and illumination DISCOVER ECLIPSES • Browse solar and lunar eclipses visible from the selected location • Filter partial, annular, total, penumbral, and lunar events • Jump directly to each event’s local maximum • Visualize eclipse shadows on the world map CONTROL TIME • Choose any date and time • Play time forward or backward at multiple speeds • Use the selected location’s civil time zone • Search all IANA time zones or switch to UTC Orbiting Sky works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, supports eight languages, and requires no account. Optional rewarded ads unlock 30 minutes of Pro access; a Pro purchase removes ads. Astronomical and shadow results are educational estimates. Do not use Orbiting Sky for navigation, eye-safety decisions, or professional eclipse-contact timing.

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 — placed exactly for where you are, right now. FREE TO START • Point your phone at the sky and it lines up with the real view (AR) • Tap anything to instantly learn what it is and how to find it • See Saturn's rings, Jupiter's moons, the Moon's craters and the Milky Way • A night-vision mode and a steady compass, right out of the box UNLOCK SKYLA PRO — ONE TIME, NO SUBSCRIPTION Buy Skyla Pro once and keep it forever. No subscriptions. No ads. No account. PLAN THE PERFECT NIGHT • Tonight's Targets — a ranked checklist of the best things to see right now; tap to fly straight to each one • Darkness Tonight — sunset, the twilights and the exact hours of true, Moon-free darkness • Sky Conditions — a live darkness score tells you at a glance if tonight is worth it • Satellite Passes — every visible ISS, Tiangong and Hubble flyover this week, with reminders • Planets Tonight, Comets, an interactive Moon Calendar and an agenda of upcoming meteor showers, conjunctions and Moon phases • Travel through time to see the sky on any night, past or future, and search for any object MAKE IT YOURS • Keep a personal observing log — rate what you see, add notes and track your Messier progress • Save favourites, set your sky's darkness (Bortle) for tailored advice, and get a gentle nightly reminder • 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

Orbiting Sky4 screens
Skyla4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Skyla at none against Orbiting Sky's shown. Orbiting Sky's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs fortnightly). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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. Orbiting Sky sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Skyla sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Orbiting Sky ships an update every 5 days, Skyla fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Orbiting Sky versus Skyla: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOrbiting SkySkyla
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterFortnightly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPrairieSoft LLCBirkan Aksoy

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Orbiting Sky

One-time1
  • Orbiting Sky Pro Lifetime$7.99
1 purchases

Skyla

One-time1
  • Skyla Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Orbiting Sky free?
Orbiting Sky is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Skyla free?
Skyla is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Orbiting Sky or Skyla have ads?
Orbiting Sky shows ads; Skyla does not.
Which is updated more often, Orbiting Sky or Skyla?
Orbiting Sky ships an update every 5 days, and Skyla fortnightly. Most recently, Orbiting Sky was updated on October 31, 2026 and Skyla on November 6, 2026.

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