SkyView® Satellite Guide vs SkySafari 7 Plus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SkyView® Satellite Guide
Identify satellites in the sky by pointing your device upwards. Explore Earth mode to discover and view satellites over distant locations, with detailed information and shareable photos. Schedule reminders for upcoming visible passes.
- Identify satellites by pointing device at the sky
- Explore Earth mode with interactive satellite discovery
- View detailed satellite information and images
- Schedule sighting reminders
- Capture and share satellite photos
- Includes space junk and rocket bodies
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From the makers of the award winning SkyView® app comes a stunning new way to discover over 20,000 satellites day or night. Satellite spotting is now for everyone. Just point your iPhone at the sky to identify the International Space Station, Hubble, GPS satellites, and thousands more as they soar above your location. Discover new and interesting satellites in Earth mode. Pan around the Earth, touch satellites over distant countries, zoom-in for a close-up view, and take wonderful photos to share with friends. Features: • Simple: Point your iPhone at the sky to identify satellites passing overhead at your location. • Interactive: Pan around Earth to discover new satellites and zoom-in for a beautiful 3D close-up view. • Customizable: Build a list of your favorite satellites and filter other satellites from your view. • Sighting reminders: Quickly schedule reminders to notify you when a visible satellite will be in the sky above your location. • Night friendly: Preserve your night vision with two easy-access night modes (red or green filters). • Social: Capture and share beautiful images with friends and family on social networks. • Space Junk: Uncover thousands of rocket bodies and other space debris that orbit Earth. • Mobile: Does not require a data signal or GPS to function, take it anywhere. • Comprehensive: Includes 20,000 satellites with thousands of facts, descriptions, tidbits, and satellite images.
SkySafari 7 Plus
Explore the cosmos with a powerful space simulator and telescope control. Discover astronomical events, track celestial objects, and plan your stargazing sessions with real-time data and historical simulations.
- Full-featured space simulator
- Telescope control (ASCOM Alpaca, INDI)
- Events Finder for astronomical occurrences
- Real-time user observation tracking (OneSky)
- Guided stargazing sessions (SkyCast)
- Observation planning and recording tools
- Home and Lock Screen widgets
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SkySafari 7 Plus goes beyond most basic stargazing apps by providing you with a full-featured space simulator with telescope control. If you are looking to dive deeper into astronomy, start your journey with the #1 recommend app for amateur astronomers since 2009. Note that there is no discount upgrade path from SkySafari 7 Plus to SkySafari 7 Pro. Choose carefully! Here's what’s new in version 7: + Complete support for iOS 15 and iPhone 13. Version 7 brings a new and immersive stargazing experience. + Events Finder - go to the new Events section to unlock a powerful search engine that finds astronomical events visible tonight and far into the future. The finder dynamically generates a listing of moon phases, eclipses, planetary moon events, meteor showers and planetary phenomenon such as conjunctions, elongations and oppositions. + Notifications - the notifications section has been completely revamped to allow you to customize and manage which events trigger an alert notification on your device. + Telescope Support - telescope control is at the heart of SkySafari. Version 7 takes a giant leap forward by supporting ASCOM Alpaca and INDI. These next generation control protocols allow you to effortlessly connect to hundreds of compatible astronomical devices. + OneSky - allows you to see what other users are observing, in real time. This feature highlights objects in the sky chart and indicates with a number how many users are observing a particular object. + SkyCast - allows you to guide a friend or group around the night sky through their own copy of SkySafari. After initiating SkyCast, you can generate a link and conveniently share it with other SkySafari users via text message, apps or social media accounts. + Sky Tonight - jump to the new Tonight section to see what’s visible in your sky tonight. Expanded information has been designed to help plan your night and includes Moon & Sun info, calendar curations, events and the best positioned deep sky and solar system objects. + Improved Observation Tools - SkySafari is the perfect tool to help you plan, record and organize your observations. New workflows make it easier to add, search, filter and sort data. + Home Screen and Lock Screen Widgets keep your favorite astro information at your fingertips. The Small Touches: + You can now edit the Jupiter GRS Longitude Value in the Settings. + Better Moon Age calculation. + New grid & reference options allow you to display Solstice and Equinox markers, Orbit Node markers for all solar system objects, and tick marks and labels for the Ecliptic, Meridian, and Equator reference lines. + Previous In-app Purchases are Now Free - this includes the H-R diagram and 3D Galaxy view. Enjoy. + Many more. If you haven't used SkySafari 7 Plus before, here's what you can do with it: + Hold your device up, and SkySafari 7 Plus will find comets, stars, constellations, planets, and more! + Simulate the night sky up to 10,000 years in the past or future! Animate meteor showers, conjunctions, eclipses, and other celestial events. + Learn the history, mythology, and science of astronomy! Browse over 1500 object descriptions and astronomical images. Stay up-to-date with the Calendar for all major sky events every day! + Control your telescope, log and plan your observations. + Night Vision – Preserve your eyesight after dark. + Orbit Mode. Leave the Earth’s surface behind, and fly through our solar system. + Time Flow – Follow the motion of sky objects as days, months, and years are compressed into a few seconds. + Advanced Search – Find objects using properties other than their name. + Much more! For even more features, and a gigantic database aimed at the most dedicated amateur or professional astronomer, check out SkySafari 7 Pro! https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SkySafari 7 Plus at 4.7 against SkyView® Satellite Guide's 4.2. SkySafari 7 Plus also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 7 months). SkyView® Satellite Guide's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and price ($3.99 vs $9.99). On ratings volume, 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
SkyView® Satellite Guide costs $3.99 and SkySafari 7 Plus $9.99 up front. SkySafari 7 Plus sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. SkyView® Satellite Guide asks for nothing beyond the download.
SkySafari 7 Plus holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 598 and 1.7K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 55% of SkyView® Satellite Guide's written reviews are positive against 46% of SkySafari 7 Plus's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
SkyView® Satellite Guide ships an update every 7 months, SkySafari 7 Plus monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SkyView® Satellite Guide | SkySafari 7 Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 4.2 (598 ratings) | 4.7 (1.7K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 55.2% of reviews — better | 45.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 598 | 1.7K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #31 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 14.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 81 MB | 1.1 GB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Terminal Eleven LLC | Simulation Curriculum Corp. |
Customer experience
SkyView® Satellite Guide
SkySafari 7 Plus
User reviews
SkyView® Satellite Guide
From 598 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Detailed satellite information
- 👍 Helpful for identifying satellites
- 👍 Great for stargazing and tracking satellites
- 👍 Informative and concise interface
- 👍 Wonderful app for space enthusiasts
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy zoom and navigation
- 🐛 Outdated satellite data
- 🐛 Inconsistent performance across devices
- 🔍 Limited search and filtering options
- 🤔 Confusing to use for some users
SkySafari 7 Plus
From 1.7K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great app, preferred over Stellarium
- 👍 Intuitive and clean interface
- 👍 Useful 'Tonight' tab
- 👍 Accurate and precise for telescope use
- 👍 Impressive data and functionality
Room to improve
- 🙄 Constant upgrade spam and notifications
- 🐛 'Tonight' feature crashes on iPad
- 💰 Paid features hidden behind paywall
- 🐛 Crashes when using 'Tonight' feature
- 🐛 Syncing and connectivity issues
Bugs and requests
SkyView® Satellite Guide
Reported bugs
4 issues- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- Compass/orientation not working correctly in AR mode
- Satellite data not updating in a timely manner
- Unpredictable behavior when zooming and panning
Requested features
5 requests- Add more satellite data, including newer launches
- Improve AR mode to show all visible satellites
- Allow selecting multiple satellite categories at once
- Add option to save favorite satellites or locations
- Provide more detailed satellite information and predictions
SkySafari 7 Plus
Reported bugs
4 issues- 'Tonight' feature crashes
- App crashes on launch or when using certain features
- Connectivity issues with telescopes
- Syncing problems between devices
Requested features
5 requests- Add more telescope brands and models
- Improve notification settings to only show relevant events
- Allow hiding of menu bar for cleaner viewing
- Improve font sizes and readability
- Add ability to import observation records from previous versions
In-app purchases
SkyView® Satellite Guide
No in-app purchases
SkySafari 7 Plus
- SkySafari Premium Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- SkySafari Premium7 Days trial$34.991 Year
- Apollo Lunar MissionsFree
Questions
Is SkyView® Satellite Guide free?
Is SkySafari 7 Plus free?
Which has better reviews, SkyView® Satellite Guide or SkySafari 7 Plus?
Do SkyView® Satellite Guide or SkySafari 7 Plus have ads?
Which is updated more often, SkyView® Satellite Guide or SkySafari 7 Plus?
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