# Star Hoppers vs Starry Map

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Star Hoppers at none against Starry Map's 7. Star Hoppers also leads on ads (none vs shown). Starry Map's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 25 months) and ratings volume (248 vs 4). On price, rating, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Starry Map sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Star Hoppers asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Star Hoppers against 4.5 for Starry Map. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Starry Map has 248 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of Star Hoppers's written reviews are positive against 62% of Starry Map's.

Star Hoppers ships an update every 25 months, Starry Map every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Star Hoppers | Starry Map |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/star-hoppers/id865064592/reviews) | **[4.5 (248 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/starry-map/id1176591850/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 4 | **248** |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | **62.4% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 25 months | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 59 MB | 104 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [HKSPM](https://appshunter.io/developer/865064595) | [にゃんこソフトウェア](https://appshunter.io/developer/1843663669) |

## What reviewers say

### Star Hoppers

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/star-hoppers/id865064592)

Explore the cosmos with interactive star charts, blending ancient Chinese and Western astronomy. Discover constellations through engaging audio stories and augmented reality.

**Highlights:** Interactive digital star chart, Ancient Chinese and Western star charts, Augmented Reality (AR) mode, Bilingual audio recordings of constellation stories, Astronomical event calendar, Stargazing basics

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Starry Map

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/starry-map/id1176591850)

Identify stars, constellations, and satellites by pointing your phone at the night sky. Augmented reality overlays display celestial names in real-time. Receive notifications for upcoming satellite passes and meteor showers.

**Highlights:** AR celestial identification, Constellation and star catalog, Satellite tracking and alerts, Meteor shower notifications, Offline functionality

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock Features | $0.99 | per month |
| Unlock Features | $0.99 | per month |
| Unlock Features | $3.99 | per year |
| Unlock Features | $3.99 | per year |
| Unlock Features (Lifetime) | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use and understand
- ✨ Beautiful and visually appealing interface
- 🔭 AR feature for real-time sky viewing
- 🛰️ Useful for tracking satellites (ISS, Starlink)
- 💡 Informative with links to Wikipedia

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Many features are paid/locked
- 💸 Increased monetization and paid features
- 📉 Some users feel it was better before monetization
- 🤔 Unclear how to use certain features
- 📱 Inconsistent performance across devices/OS versions

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on launch after updates
- Date/time setting resets to 1970
- Black screen upon opening the app
- Ads not disappearing even after purchase
- App closes when selecting specific objects (e.g., Comet Neowise)

**Requested features**

- Reflect weather and light pollution in star visibility
- Include stories/episodes related to constellations
- Separate 1st to 3rd magnitude stars in display options
- Simplify solar system display for beginners
- Option to hide background stars or make them less prominent


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Star Hoppers free?

Star Hoppers is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Starry Map free?

Starry Map is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Star Hoppers or Starry Map?

Starry Map is rated higher. Star Hoppers averages 4.5 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Starry Map averages 4.5 from 248 ratings.

### Do Star Hoppers or Starry Map have ads?

Starry Map shows ads; Star Hoppers does not.

### Which is updated more often, Star Hoppers or Starry Map?

Star Hoppers ships an update every 25 months, and Starry Map every 2 weeks. Most recently, Star Hoppers was updated on October 6, 2026 and Starry Map on October 26, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*