Comparison

Star Map Night Sky vs Planet Pointer

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

Head to head
About

Star Map Night Sky

Features
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SpaceUtil is a star map with AR that helps you find constellations, explore a 3D solar system, follow the ISS tracker live and see where Voyager is right now. The whole night sky in one astronomy app, with no account, and almost everything computed on your device without an internet connection. ■ AR STAR MAP AND SKY VIEWER • Point your phone at the sky to see the stars and constellations in that direction. • 120,000 stars and all 88 constellations with lines, names and artwork. • AR mode overlays the sky chart on your camera view. • Red night mode for comfortable stargazing in the dark. • Search for a star, planet or constellation and an arrow guides you to it. • Rewind or fast-forward time to see the sky on any date. ■ 3D SOLAR SYSTEM • An orrery with the Sun, the eight planets and major moons in their real positions. • Rotate and zoom with your fingers, and tap a planet for its story. • Live distances to each planet, Jupiter's four big moons and Saturn's rings. • Follow conjunctions and planet alignments. ■ LIVE ISS TRACKER • See where the International Space Station is right now on a 3D globe and a world map, updated every second. • Visible pass predictions for your location with time, direction and altitude. • A sky-path view of each pass. ■ WHERE ARE VOYAGER 1 AND 2? • Follow the two farthest human-made objects on a 3D map of the solar system. • See their current distance from Earth, computed on your device from public space-agency reference data. ■ TONIGHT • A briefing on tonight's observing conditions based on the moon phase and twilight times. • 5 objects worth looking at right now. • Sun, moon and planet rise and set times. • Civil, nautical and astronomical twilight. ■ MOON, ECLIPSES, METEOR SHOWERS • Moon phase calendar and lunar age. • Upcoming solar and lunar eclipses. • Every major meteor shower with its peak night and how bright the moon will be. ■ ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY HELPERS • 500-rule exposure calculator. • Milky Way planner. • Golden hour, blue hour and moonrise direction. ■ LEARN AND PLAY • Constellation myths and a space quiz. • The sky on your birthday and light travel time. • Light-year, AU and parsec converter. • An exoplanet catalog. • An observation log with badges. ■ GETTING STARTED • Open the star map and hold your phone up toward the sky. • Switch on AR mode to see constellation lines over the camera image. • Turn on red mode once you are outside in the dark. • Search for a planet or star and follow the arrow. • Check Tonight before heading out. ■ WHO IS IT FOR? • Stargazers identifying stars and constellations with AR. • Space fans tracking the ISS, the Voyager probes and planetary alignments. • Astrophotographers planning Milky Way shots. • Anyone learning about exoplanets, myths and moon phases. ■ TIPS • Use time controls to preview the sky on an eclipse date. • Check how bright the moon will be before a meteor shower peak night. • Log what you observe to collect badges. ■ FAQ • Do I need an account? No. There is no account and no cloud. • Does it work offline? Almost everything is computed on your device. • Is the camera image saved? No, never. • Are there ads? A single banner ad at the bottom of the screen supports development. No full-screen or video ads. ■ PRIVACY AND PERMISSIONS • Location is used only on the device to align the sky map. • The camera powers the AR view, and its image is never captured, stored or sent anywhere. Data sources: an open star catalog (CC BY-SA) and public satellite, space-weather and planetary data. SpaceUtil is not affiliated with or endorsed by the data providers. Clear skies from SpaceUtil.

About

Planet Pointer

Features
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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

Star Map Night Sky4 screens
Planet Pointer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Star Map Night Sky at none against Planet Pointer's 1. Planet Pointer's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly). On price, 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. Planet Pointer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Star Map Night Sky asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Star Map Night Sky ships an update fortnightly, Planet Pointer every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 3 level
Star Map Night Sky versus Planet Pointer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStar Map Night SkyPlanet Pointer
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DevelopertanzsoftHaviv Tarazi

In-app purchases

None

Star Map Night Sky

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Planet Pointer

One-time1
  • Planet Pointer Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Star Map Night Sky free?
Star Map Night Sky is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Planet Pointer free?
Planet Pointer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Star Map Night Sky or Planet Pointer have ads?
Star Map Night Sky shows ads; Planet Pointer does not.
Which is updated more often, Star Map Night Sky or Planet Pointer?
Star Map Night Sky ships an update fortnightly, and Planet Pointer every 4 days. Most recently, Star Map Night Sky was updated on October 17, 2026 and Planet Pointer on October 24, 2026.

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