Comparison

Universal Zoom vs Interactive Solar System

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

Head to head
About

Universal Zoom

Explore the universe's vastness and intricacy through interactive visual comparisons. Seamlessly zoom from subatomic particles to the observable universe, gaining intuition about scale and size with stunning imagery and clear explanations.

Highlights
  • Seamless zooming across scales
  • Visual comparisons of objects
  • Jargon-free scientific explanations
  • Audio narration
  • Over 270 objects presented to scale
  • Multi-language support
Features
Read full description

The universe is endlessly vast. A single atom is impossibly small. And somewhere between those two extremes lies everything that has ever existed. We believe that feeling — the electric, spine-tingling sense of scale — belongs to everyone. Not just scientists. Not just students. Everyone. That's why we built Universal Zoom. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Zoom seamlessly from the Planck length to the edge of the observable universe — about 300 objects presented to perfect scale. • Compare any two objects side by side: how many Earths fit inside Jupiter? How does a virus measure up against a skyscraper? Instant, visual, intuitive. (No other scale app lets you do this.) • Go deeper with audio narration and short, accessible explanations — the facts that matter, in plain language. WHAT YOU'LL EXPLORE • Elementary particles — quarks, leptons, and bosons. Atomic nuclei, atoms, and DNA. Living cells. Animals and landmarks. Planets, stars, and galaxies. A deep dive into physics, biology, and astronomy — with short, plain-language articles that make even particle physics easy to grasp — in 40 languages, with metric, imperial, or powers-of-ten units. • Real high-resolution photos and electron microscope images, where possible. Original artwork for things that can't be photographed — like elementary particles and DNA structures. • No ads. No in-app purchases. Pure discovery. BUILT WITH YOU We're a team of two (Andrey and Oksana) from Canada who have poured a decade into this app because we genuinely love science. Most objects come from community suggestions — carefully fact-checked and updated with every new discovery. Over 200 more are already in the queue. FOR EDUCATORS Used by teachers worldwide to visualize scale, build measurement intuition, and turn abstract numbers into "aha" moments. Available at 50% off for schools via Apple School Manager (20+ copies). FOLLOW THE JOURNEY Sneak peeks and upcoming additions: @gamifyitapps on X, YouTube, and TikTok. Feedback and ideas: gamifyitapps.com/contact

About

Interactive Solar System

Features
Read full description

Take a thrilling tour of the Solar System with the Interactive Solar System Explorer. Select the planet that you wish to explore and then hit the power button to zoom off to your destination. When you arrive a myriad of interesting facts await you. Tap a button access interesting data about each of the planets, the asteroids and the Earth's moon. Facts include distance from the sun, diameter, mass, and orbital and rotational periods -- all presented in an interactive format. Tap the info button to read interesting facts about each important object in the solar system. Teachers will really like this app. After students have read about the planets, they can tap the quiz button to measure their reading comprehension. In addition to the quiz there is also a word game that helps students review the information presented. Charts and graphs are used to present comparison information about the planets. Interactive Solar System Explorer is available for iOS and tvOS devices. It is just beautiful on a big screen TV and would be a wonderfully exciting tool in any science classroom.

Screenshots

Universal Zoom4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Interactive Solar System at fortnightly against Universal Zoom's every 4 months. Interactive Solar System also leads on price ($1.99 vs $5.99) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.5). Universal Zoom's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On ads and in-app purchases 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

Universal Zoom costs $5.99 and Interactive Solar System $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Universal Zoom ships an update every 4 months, Interactive Solar System fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Universal Zoom versus Interactive Solar System: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUniversal ZoomInteractive Solar System
Price$5.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.8 (356 ratings) — better
Positive reviews96.6% of reviews
Number of ratings356 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPad, Apple TV
Requires iOS15.512.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size175 MB52 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGamifyItVentura Educational Systems

Bugs and requests

Universal Zoom

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Incorrect information for some objects
  • Compatibility issues on older devices
  • Typos and minor errors in text

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more objects and comparisons
  • Customizable object feature
  • Support for more languages
  • Ability to toggle between metric and imperial units
  • Search and filtering options

Interactive Solar System

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Universal Zoom

No in-app purchases

None

Interactive Solar System

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Universal Zoom free?
Universal Zoom costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Interactive Solar System free?
Interactive Solar System costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Universal Zoom or Interactive Solar System have ads?
Neither Universal Zoom nor Interactive Solar System shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Universal Zoom or Interactive Solar System?
Universal Zoom ships an update every 4 months, and Interactive Solar System fortnightly. Most recently, Universal Zoom was updated on September 24, 2026 and Interactive Solar System on September 18, 2026.

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