ShowSky vs Pocket Planets
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ShowSky
Explore the night sky with this astronomy app. It provides detailed views of stars, constellations, and deep space objects, helping you understand their positions and identify them in real-time by pointing your device.
- 180-degree sky map with flat horizon
- 360-degree visible sky map
- Real-time sky tracking view
- Detailed views of stars, constellations, and deep space objects
- Planet identification
Read full descriptionHide full description
ShowSky is an astronomy app for everyone. It is designed to let you easily understand and learn the sky in front of you. It gives you a complete view including stars, constellations and deep space objets including photos. The 180 deg map shows you the whole sky in front of you with a flat horizon just as you see it. The 360 deg map shows you the whole visible sky at this moment and the "track" view allows you to point your device towards the sky and see in details what is there. Just turn around to see all currently visible constellation and objects. ShowSky's maps shows you not one or a small number of constellations, but the whole sky allowing you to understand their relative positions in the sky. Planet are also included.
Pocket Planets
Explore our solar system with detailed information on planets, moons, and astronauts. Track who is currently in space and receive notifications for new launches. Access NASA images and compare celestial body characteristics.
- Detailed planet and moon data
- Astronaut information and missions
- Real-time space occupancy
- Launch notifications
- NASA image gallery
- Celestial body comparisons
Read full descriptionHide full description
Pocket Planets gives you all the information you need about our solar system and human activity in space. Learn more about all 565 astronauts who been to space. What was their mission? How long had they been up there? See who is in space now! Get notified when somebody goes into space. Get up to date information about every planet and moon in the solar system. Including: - Physical characteristics: mass, radius, density, gravity, escape velocity - Orbital characteristics: real-time distance from the Sun and Earth, orbital period, orbital speed, eccentricity, apsis, periapsis, visualise orbit - Atmosphere: pressure, atmospheric composition - Images from Nasa - Moons: compare their size and distance
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Pocket Planets at 4.6 against ShowSky's 3.8. Pocket Planets also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 48 months) and ratings volume (22 vs 5). ShowSky's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (100% vs 67%). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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.
Pocket Planets holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 22 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of ShowSky's written reviews are positive against 67% of Pocket Planets's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
ShowSky ships an update every 48 months, Pocket Planets every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ShowSky | Pocket Planets |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (5 ratings) | 4.6 (22 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5 | 22 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 48 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.2 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 80 MB | 66 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Steven Suckow | Ad Lunam Kereskedelmi es Szolgaltato Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag |
Customer experience
ShowSky
Pocket Planets
In-app purchases
ShowSky
No in-app purchases
Pocket Planets
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is ShowSky free?
Is Pocket Planets free?
Which has better reviews, ShowSky or Pocket Planets?
Do ShowSky or Pocket Planets have ads?
Which is updated more often, ShowSky or Pocket Planets?
Other comparisons
