Celestron SkyPortal vs MeteorActive
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
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.
- Major events calendar
- Upcoming nights predictions
- Hour-by-hour estimates
- Meteor showers reference
- Location-based accuracy
- Moon interference calculation
- Light pollution consideration
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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
Verdict
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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
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.
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.
| Parameter | Celestron SkyPortal | MeteorActive |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (354 ratings) | 4.8 (2.4K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 31.9% of reviews | 88.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 354 | 2.4K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 709 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Celestron, LLC | Alexander Vasenin |
Customer experience
Celestron SkyPortal
MeteorActive
User reviews
Celestron SkyPortal
From 354 App Store ratingsWhat 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 ratingsWhat 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 moreShow fewer
- 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 moreShow fewer
- 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
Celestron SkyPortal
No in-app purchases
MeteorActive
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Celestron SkyPortal free?
Is MeteorActive free?
Which has better reviews, Celestron SkyPortal or MeteorActive?
Do Celestron SkyPortal or MeteorActive have ads?
Which is updated more often, Celestron SkyPortal or MeteorActive?
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