Comparison

Solar System Scope vs Celestia

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

Celestia

Explore the universe in real-time 3D. Visit planets, moons, star clusters, and galaxies, viewing them from any point in space and time. Customize your experience with expandable content and detailed simulations.

Highlights
  • Real-time 3D space visualization
  • Explore planets, moons, stars, galaxies
  • Accurate solar system object positions
  • Interactive planetarium mode
  • Expandable content with add-ons
  • Customizable celestial databases
Features
Read full description

Celestia — real-time 3D visualization of space 3D Space Simulator | Celestia lets you explore our universe in three dimensions. Celestia simulates many different types of celestial objects. From planets and moons to star clusters and galaxies, you can visit every object in the expandable database and view it from any point in space and time. The position and movement of solar system objects is calculated accurately in real time at any rate desired. Interactive Planetarium | Celestia serves as a planetarium – for an observer on any celestial object. You can easily navigate to any world and land on its surface. When used as a planetarium, Celestia shows accurate positions of solar system objects in the sky. You can switch labels and other supporting features on and off with hotkeys, or zoom in and out on an object of interest, for example Jupiter’s system of moons. Expandable Content | Customize Celestia according to your needs. Celestia’s catalogues can be easily expanded. There are many different add-ons available containing new objects like comets or stars, high-resolution textures of Earth and other well mapped solar system bodies, as well as 3D models for asteroids and spacecraft on precise trajectories. Even fictional objects from well-known sci-fi franchises can be found. EULA(End User License Agreement): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Solar System Scope4 screens
Celestia4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Celestia at every 2 weeks against Solar System Scope's every 4 months. Solar System Scope's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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 and Celestia sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Solar System Scope against 4.4 for Celestia. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 882 and 324 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of Solar System Scope's written reviews are positive against 78% of Celestia's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Solar System Scope ships an update every 4 months, Celestia every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Solar System Scope versus Celestia: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSolar System ScopeCelestia
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (882 ratings)4.4 (324 ratings)
Positive reviews76.4% of reviews78.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings882 — better324
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size154 MB545 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperINOVE, s.r.o.林峰 李

Customer experience

Solar System Scope

All ratings882 ratings
Positive83.7%
Neutral4.5%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews237 reviews
Positive76.4%
Neutral6.3%
Negative17.3%

Celestia

All ratings324 ratings
Positive83.0%
Neutral4.3%
Negative12.7%
Written reviews249 reviews
Positive78.3%
Neutral5.6%
Negative16.1%

User reviews

Solar System Scope

From 882 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Amazing app
  • 👍 Great for learning about space
  • 🌟 Beautifully created
  • 🔭 Realistic and detailed
  • 🎓 Excellent for education

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes frequently
  • 🔀 Orientation issues
  • 🔒 Upgrade required for full functionality
  • 🕰️ Difficulty pinpointing specific dates

Celestia

From 324 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ⭐ Realistic space simulation
  • 🌌 Ability to explore galaxies and star systems
  • 🔍 Detailed planet and moon textures
  • 📷 Great for taking screenshots
  • 🤖 Reminds users of Space Engine

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and glitches
  • 🌌 Limited exploration beyond Milky Way and Andromeda
  • 🌍 Flat terrain on planets
  • 🔍 Lack of detail on some celestial objects
  • 🔒 Paywall for some features

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

Celestia

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Milky Way and other galaxy textures not loading properly
  • Crashes when using certain add-ons
  • Issues with planet and moon orbits not being accurate

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more exoplanets and distant star systems
  • Implement terrain generation for planets
  • Expand to include more galaxies and the overall universe structure
  • Add support for black holes, pulsars, and other exotic objects
  • Improve controls and camera movement

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Solar System Scope

One-time1
  • HQ Textures / No Ads$5.99
4 purchases

Celestia

Subscriptions3
  • Celestia PLUS (Weekly)7 Days trial$0.997 Days
  • Celestia PLUS (Monthly)$1.991 Month
  • Celestia PLUS (Yearly)$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Celestia PLUS (Lifetime)$79.99

Questions

Is Solar System Scope free?
Solar System Scope is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Celestia free?
Celestia is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Solar System Scope or Celestia?
Solar System Scope and Celestia are both rated 4.4 out of 5 on the App Store, from 882 and 324 ratings respectively.
Do Solar System Scope or Celestia have ads?
Neither Solar System Scope nor Celestia shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Solar System Scope or Celestia?
Solar System Scope ships an update every 4 months, and Celestia every 2 weeks. Most recently, Solar System Scope was updated on September 22, 2026 and Celestia on September 21, 2026.

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