Comparison

星座早見 / Planisphere vs Starry Map

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

Head to head
About

星座早見 / Planisphere

This app simulates the night sky, displaying stars, planets, and the moon. It functions like a traditional planisphere but with added digital features, allowing users to easily view celestial positions and predict sunrise/sunset times.

Highlights
  • Real-time sky display
  • Planet and moon tracking
  • Interactive sky map
  • Sunrise/sunset prediction
  • Zoomable interface
  • Dark-friendly screen
Read full description

The planetarium curators of Nagoya City Science Museum have originally designed the Planisphere app. Many people know how to use the planisphere, because we learn it at elementary school. This is the planisphere of the era of IT which added the advantage as an app, with the plain usage of the planisphere printed on paper and plastic. Please look up at the real starry sky with this Planisphere app. The Planisphere app shows the sky of the current time at the start-up. To check the sky at other time, you drag around the date scale with your fingertips to set the date and time. You can use pinch gestures to manipulate a map of the sky. It attends you to enjoy the star watching by glowing in dark place. It is the exceptional planisphere app, because it’s displayed up to the planet positions of the night that is impossible with the printed planisphere! 【Features of the Planisphere application】 ・ Anytime, anywhere: When you look up at the night sky, it stands by in your smartphone or tablet. ・ Very easy usage: The usage of planisphere is exactry same as you learned. Just touch and rotate the board. ・ Quick access : The Planisphere shows the night sky when you start the app. It is easier than a printed planisphere. ・ Prominent planets: The planets always stand out in the night sky. However, the planet positions change day by day, so it is not possible to display on the printed planisphere. The Planisphere app calculates the positions in the night of the 5 planets and the Moon that are seen by the naked eye and displays them as icons on the board. ・ Good at dark places : When we look up at the starry sky, we are of course in a dark place. We needed a torch when using a printed planisphere. But the Planisphere app can be used in the darkness because of the screen light. A tip when using the app is to reduce the screen brightness not to be dazzling. ・ Friendly to any ages: It is difficult to see small letters in a dark place. You can freely zoom in and out with the fingertips on the Planisphere app. Furthermore, it is easier to see than a printed planisphere, since the screen of smart phone or tablet have a light. ・ Sunrise and sunset : You can find the sunrise time by setting a target object to the eastern horizon and the sunset time by setting it to the western horizon on the board. On the Planisphere app, you can find the rough time and direction of sunrise or sunset, because it shows not only stars but also the planets and the Moon. ・ For education : In schools, science museums, planetariums and public astronomical observatories, there are occasions that to explain how to use a planisphere. It is small letters and hard to show to people when explaining the usage. For now, you can connect a smart phone or a tablet to a projector or a big monitor to make the planisphere image larger. There is also a more sophisticated computer version (for Windows and Macintosh) of the Planisphere app. If your school provides tablets to the students, you can use the Planisphere app instead of a printed planisphere. ・ Planetarium of Nagoya City Science Museum opened in 1962. It is the planisphere which contains a lot of curator's experience and know-how. We have made it as an application that we use printed planispheres for the citizen observation party, educational programs, astronomical exhibition room of Nagoya City Science Museum and sell at the museum shop. Bright famous stars, Moon and planets are visible even in the town. Please look up at the real starry sky with this Planisphere app. ・ Astronomical information of Nagoya City Science Museum introduces various astronomical phenomena and events. Please also click here if you would like to know more about the Planisphere app. >Astronomical information http://www.ncsm.city.nagoya.jp/study/astro/ >Planisphere http://www.ncsm.city.nagoya.jp/study/astro/hayami.html

About

Starry Map

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
Read full description

Point your smartphone at the night sky to instantly identify constellations, stars, and satellites. AR overlays show celestial names on the live camera view, and you can swipe to explore any direction. Get alerts for visible ISS passes and meteor showers. Includes: ・88 constellations (with Hevelius illustrations) ・Solar system planets, dwarf planets, asteroids ・Stars up to magnitude 12 ・About 100 Messier objects (nebulae and clusters) ・Over 10,000 satellites ・More than 300 comets ・Meteor showers and asterisms (Summer/Winter Triangle, Big Dipper, etc.) ・Satellite pass alerts (ISS, Hubble) ・Meteor shower peak notifications Works offline (satellite data won't update). Terms of Service https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

星座早見 / Planisphere4 screens
Starry Map4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Starry Map at 62% against 星座早見 / Planisphere's 0%. Starry Map also leads on rating (4.5 vs 1.0) and ratings volume (246 vs 1). 星座早見 / Planisphere's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and ads (none vs shown). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Starry Map sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. 星座早見 / Planisphere asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Starry Map holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Starry Map has 246 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of 星座早見 / Planisphere's written reviews are positive against 62% of Starry Map's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

星座早見 / Planisphere ships an update every 5 weeks, Starry Map every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on June 24, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
星座早見 / Planisphere versus Starry Map: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter星座早見 / PlanisphereStarry Map
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)4.5 (246 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews62.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1246 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size277 MB103 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIMAGE FACTORY CO., LTD.にゃんこソフトウェア

Customer experience

星座早見 / Planisphere

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Starry Map

All ratings246 ratings
Positive87.8%
Neutral5.3%
Negative6.9%
Written reviews125 reviews
Positive62.4%
Neutral6.4%
Negative31.2%

In-app purchases

None

星座早見 / Planisphere

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Starry Map

Subscriptions4
  • Unlock Features2 variants$0.991 Month
  • Unlock Features7 Days trial2 variants$0.991 Month
  • Unlock Features$3.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Unlock Features7 Days trial$3.991 Year
One-time1
  • Unlock Features (Lifetime)$9.99

Questions

Is 星座早見 / Planisphere free?
星座早見 / Planisphere 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, 星座早見 / Planisphere or Starry Map?
Starry Map is rated higher. 星座早見 / Planisphere averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Starry Map averages 4.5 from 246 ratings.
Do 星座早見 / Planisphere or Starry Map have ads?
Starry Map shows ads; 星座早見 / Planisphere does not.
Which is updated more often, 星座早見 / Planisphere or Starry Map?
星座早見 / Planisphere ships an update every 5 weeks, and Starry Map every 2 weeks. Most recently, 星座早見 / Planisphere was updated on June 24, 2026 and Starry Map on September 25, 2026.

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