Comparison

Solar System Scope vs Polar Explorer

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

Head to head
About

Solar System Scope

Explore and discover the solar system and outer space with realistic 3D visualizations and detailed celestial simulations. This app offers an educational and engaging experience for all ages, featuring a comprehensive encyclopedia and a night sky observatory.

Highlights
  • 3D Encyclopedia of celestial bodies
  • Realistic 3D visualizations
  • Night sky observatory with time simulation
  • Accurate orbital parameter calculations
  • High-quality planetary and moon maps
  • Multilingual support
Features
Read full description

Solar System Scope is a fun way of Exploring, Discovering and Playing with the Solar System and Outer Space. Solar System Scope (or just Solar) contains many views and celestial simulations, but most of all - it brings you closer to the furthest reaches of our world and lets you experience lots of fantastic space sceneries. It aspires to be the most illustrative, easy to understand and simple to use space model. - 3D Encyclopedia In Solar’s unique encyclopedia you will find the most interesting facts about every planet, dwarf planet, every major moon and more – and everything is accompanied by realistic 3D visualizations. Solar’s encyclopedia is available in 10 languages: English, Spanish, German, Russian, Italian, Korean and Slovak. More languages are coming soon! - Nightsky Observatory Enjoy Stars and constellation of the night sky as viewed from any given location on Earth. You can point your device at the sky to see all objects in their proper place, but you can also simulate Night sky in the past or in the future. Now with advanced options that let you simulate ecliptic, equatorial and azimuthal line, or grid (among other things). - Scientific Instrument Solar System Scope calculations are based on up-to-date orbital parameters published by NASA and let you simulate celestial positions at any given time. - For Everyone Solar System Scope is well suited for all audiences and ages: It is enjoyed by space enthusiasts, teachers, scientists, but Solar is successfully used even by children of 4+ years of age! - Unique Maps We are proud to present a very unique set of planetary and moon maps, that let you experience a true-color space as never before. These accurate maps are based on NASA elevation and imagery data. Colors and shades of the textures are tuned according to true-color photos made by Messenger, Viking, Cassini and New Horizon spacecrafts, and the Hubble Space Telescope. Basic resolution of these maps is for free – but if you would like the best experience, you can check out the highest quality, which is available with In-App purchase. - Join our vision Our vision is to build the ultimate space model and bring you the deepest space experience. And you can help - try Solar System Scope and if you like it, spread the word! And don’t forget to join the community and vote for new features on our homepage.

About

Polar Explorer

Explore historical, current, and future sea levels through interactive maps and images. This educational app uses text and audio guidance to cover over 100 topics, engaging users with questions to deepen their understanding of climate science.

Highlights
  • Interactive sea level maps
  • Historical and future projections
  • Text and audio guidance
  • Over 100 exploration topics
  • Question-based learning
Read full description

Polar Explorer is an education app. It educates the user about past, present and future sea level. Education is achieved by exploring maps and images created with real data. The user can be guided by text and audio. There are more than 100 topics that can be explored. The user is guided through the app by responding to questions. The app is funded by NSF.

Screenshots

Solar System Scope4 screens
Polar Explorer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Polar Explorer at none against Solar System Scope's 1. Polar Explorer also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 80%). Solar System Scope's advantage is ratings volume (895 vs 10). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Solar System Scope sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Polar Explorer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Polar Explorer holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Solar System Scope has 895 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Solar System Scope's written reviews are positive against 100% of Polar Explorer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Solar System Scope ships an update every 4 months, Polar Explorer every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Solar System Scope versus Polar Explorer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSolar System ScopePolar Explorer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (895 ratings)4.6 (10 ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings895 — better10
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.06.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size154 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperINOVE, s.r.o.Columbia University

Customer experience

Solar System Scope

All ratings895 ratings
Positive83.7%
Neutral4.5%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews545 reviews
Positive79.8%
Neutral5.7%
Negative14.5%

Polar Explorer

All ratings10 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Solar System Scope

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when dragging Jupiter
  • Upside-down orientation on tablets
  • Unable to restore purchases
  • Freezes and crashes on launch

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more celestial bodies (Messier objects, Planet 9/10, black holes, etc.)
  • Enable exploration of other galaxies and deep space objects
  • Improve telescope/zoom functionality
  • Add more moons and irregular satellites
  • Implement continental drift and solar system evolution

Polar Explorer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Solar System Scope

One-time1
  • HQ Textures / No Ads$5.99
None

Polar Explorer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Solar System Scope free?
Solar System Scope is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Polar Explorer free?
Polar Explorer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Solar System Scope or Polar Explorer?
Polar Explorer is rated higher. Solar System Scope averages 4.4 out of 5 from 895 ratings, while Polar Explorer averages 4.6 from 10 ratings.
Do Solar System Scope or Polar Explorer have ads?
Neither Solar System Scope nor Polar Explorer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Solar System Scope or Polar Explorer?
Solar System Scope ships an update every 4 months, and Polar Explorer every 2 weeks. Most recently, Solar System Scope was updated on November 1, 2026 and Polar Explorer on October 24, 2026.

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