Comparison

Celestron SkyPortal vs MeteorActive

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

Head to head
About

Celestron SkyPortal

Explore the cosmos with a comprehensive astronomy suite. Discover stars, planets, and celestial events, and enhance your stargazing with detailed information and audio narration. Connect to compatible telescopes for automatic object location.

Highlights
  • Explore 120,000 stars and celestial objects
  • Simulate night sky past/future
  • Real-time sky synchronization
  • Control compatible WiFi telescopes
  • Animate celestial events
  • Audio narration and object descriptions
  • Night Vision mode
Features
Read full description

Celestron’s newest planetarium app is an astronomy suite that redefines how you experience the night sky. Explore the Solar System, 120,000 stars, over 200 star clusters, nebulae, galaxies, and dozens of asteroids, comets, and satellites—including the ISS. SkyPortal includes everything you need to experience the night sky in an exciting new way. When connected to a compatible Celestron WiFi telescope, you can automatically point the telescope to any object in the database and view it with great detail. Planetarium Features Simulate the night sky and plan your observing session with a custom list of tonight’s best objects based on your exact time and location. Look ahead to see when Jupiter’s Great Red Spot will be visible, animate transits, eclipses, and other celestial events. View hundreds of photos or listen to more than four hours of audio narration to enhance your stargazing experience. •Simulate the night sky from anywhere on planet Earth, up to 100 years in the past or future. •Compass Mode (with compatible devices): Hold your device up to the sky for a real-time synchronized display of celestial objects – from star names, constellations, planets, to nebulae and galaxies. •Control compatible Celestron WiFi telescopes with sophisticated mount modeling for quick and accurate go-to alignment. •Animate transits, conjunctions, eclipses, and other events with SkyPortal's Time controls. •Explore the sky with Night Vision turned on, and preserve your eyesight after dark. •Learn the history, mythology, and science of the heavens with SkyPortal's hundreds of object descriptions. •Browse hundreds of astronomical photographs and NASA spacecraft images •Access over 4 hours of audio commentary to guide you through the best celestial objects. Computerized Telescope Control Pair your device to your compatible Celestron WiFi telescope, align with Celestron’s patented SkyAlign™ technology, and you’re ready to explore! Identify objects instantly. Tap any object and your telescope automatically centers it in the eyepiece. SkyPortal’s telescope alignment incorporates advanced mount modeling, providing better pointing accuracy than other telescope systems which rely on a dedicated computer.

About

MeteorActive

Get accurate meteor shower forecasts based on your location, moon phase, and light pollution. Discover major events, upcoming nights, and hourly estimates for the best viewing opportunities.

Highlights
  • Major events calendar
  • Upcoming nights predictions
  • Hour-by-hour estimates
  • Meteor showers reference
  • Location-based accuracy
  • Moon interference calculation
  • Light pollution consideration
Features
Read full description

The most accurate meteor activity forecast • Major events calendar • Upcoming nights predictions • Hour-by-hour estimates • Meteor showers reference Meteor activity varies greatly from one night to another. Most of the time you can expect to see 3-15 meteors per hour, but several times per year this number could rise to 90, or even more! The MeteorActive app uses the latest scientific findings and cutting edge technology to calculate how many meteors you can see at given time. It takes into account your geographical location, meteoroid stream orbits, moon interference and light pollution to find the most spectacular events for you. Clear skies!

Screenshots

Celestron SkyPortal4 screens
MeteorActive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: MeteorActive at 89% against Celestron SkyPortal's 32%. MeteorActive also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.6) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MeteorActive holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MeteorActive has 2.4K ratings behind it against 354, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 32% of Celestron SkyPortal's written reviews are positive against 89% of MeteorActive's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Celestron SkyPortal ships an update every 3 months, MeteorActive every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Celestron SkyPortal versus MeteorActive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCelestron SkyPortalMeteorActive
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (354 ratings)4.8 (2.4K ratings) — better
Positive reviews31.9% of reviews88.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3542.4K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size709 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCelestron, LLCAlexander Vasenin

Customer experience

Celestron SkyPortal

All ratings354 ratings
Positive62.7%
Neutral11.9%
Negative25.4%
Written reviews188 reviews
Positive31.9%
Neutral17.0%
Negative51.1%

MeteorActive

All ratings2,310 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral2.1%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews90 reviews
Positive88.9%
Neutral5.6%
Negative5.6%

User reviews

Celestron SkyPortal

From 354 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great app
  • 🚀 Transforms stargazing
  • 💡 Wonderful features
  • 👍 Convenient control
  • 👍 Incredible for free

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Alignment issues
  • 🐛 Connectivity problems
  • 🐛 Laggy controls
  • 🐛 Inaccurate compass
  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes

MeteorActive

From 2.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Amazing app with great features
  • 👍 User-friendly and intuitive interface
  • 🔭 Detailed and accurate information on meteor showers
  • 💫 Stunning visualizations and animations
  • 🆓 Free and ad-free app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🕰️ Missing notifications for upcoming events
  • 🗺️ Lacking location-based features
  • 🔍 Could use more detailed instructions and explanations

Bugs and requests

Celestron SkyPortal

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Fails to align telescope
  • Telescope points in wrong direction
  • Disconnects frequently
  • Doesn't show deep sky objects
  • Crashes on startup
Show 1 more
  • Incompatible with iOS 14

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add red night mode
  • Improve focus motor control
  • Integrate weather data
  • Provide RA/DEC coordinates
  • Add more celestial objects
Show 2 more
  • Improve video streaming
  • Enhance user interface

MeteorActive

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes when trying to access certain features
  • Charts and visualizations not updating correctly
  • Inconsistent performance on older devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add notification system for meteor showers
  • Integrate with calendar app for easy scheduling
  • Provide more location-specific data and recommendations
  • Expand coverage to include more minor meteor showers

In-app purchases

None

Celestron SkyPortal

No in-app purchases

None

MeteorActive

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Celestron SkyPortal free?
Celestron SkyPortal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MeteorActive free?
MeteorActive is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Celestron SkyPortal or MeteorActive?
MeteorActive is rated higher. Celestron SkyPortal averages 3.6 out of 5 from 354 ratings, while MeteorActive averages 4.8 from 2.4K ratings.
Do Celestron SkyPortal or MeteorActive have ads?
Neither Celestron SkyPortal nor MeteorActive shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Celestron SkyPortal or MeteorActive?
Celestron SkyPortal ships an update every 3 months, and MeteorActive every 6 weeks. Most recently, Celestron SkyPortal was updated on November 1, 2026 and MeteorActive on November 2, 2026.

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