Comparison

Polar Scope Align Pro vs POLARIE U

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

Head to head
About

Polar Scope Align Pro

This app assists astronomers with precise polar alignment for telescopes, offering tools for various reticles and low-latitude accuracy. It also includes a comprehensive suite of astro tools, from object databases to calculators and weather reports.

Highlights
  • Accurate polar alignment calculation
  • Support for numerous polar scope reticles
  • Daytime/no polarscope alignment tool
  • Deep Space Object database
  • Astrophotography calculators
  • World astro-weather report
Features
Read full description

Polar Scope Align Pro is a complete toolkit for amateur astronomers: accurate polar alignment, deep-sky observing, astro weather, push-to/manual GoTo, iOptron mount WiFi control, widgets and more. All features and updates are free forever. Optional in-app purchases are just tips to support development. POLAR ALIGNMENT • Calculates Polaris or σ Octantis position for 30+ reticle types: iOptron, Astro-Physics, Takahashi, Skywatcher, Vixen, Celestron, Orion, Astrotrac and others* • Atmospheric refraction correction for accuracy at any latitude • Works with or without a polar scope ALIGNMENT WITHOUT A POLAR SCOPE • Daytime / No Polar Scope Alignment: works day and night with just your phone's gyro • Camera Azimuth Calibration: use sun/moon/stars to calibrate gyro and align accurately without a compass, immune to magnetic interference • Laser / Hop Align: nighttime alignment for maximum accuracy with a laser or a scope with no view of Polaris • Live sky map guides you to the celestial pole in real time • Sun Finder helps you point your filtered telescope/telephoto to the Sun PUSH TO (MANUAL GOTO) • Attach your phone to any scope and convert it to manual/push GoTo • Select from a large database and use direct push or more accurate hop-to mode DEEP SKY OBJECT DATABASE • 22,000+ objects with altitude graphs, rise/set times and more info • Save and manage curated observing lists • Filter, search, sort and push to any target XASTERIA ASTRO WEATHER • Hourly astronomy forecasts from 7Timer, OpenWeather, MET Norway and Apple Weather, plus a configurable Multi-source forecast • Animated satellite Cloud Map with recent EUMETSAT and NASA infrared imagery • Aurora forecasts • ISS and bright satellite passes with an All Sky night chart, individual sky charts, live map tracking, and Tiangong and Hubble views • Solar eclipse tool with past and future eclipses, live mode with audio cues • Experimental eclipse camera for automated photoshoots of partial phase, diamond ring, Baily's beads, totality bracketing • Interactive light pollution map using World Atlas and recent VIIRS data CALCULATORS & TOOLS • 30+ calculators for observing and astrophotography • Moon phase calendar with altitude graphs • Solar eclipse calculator and simulator • Bubble level & Compass IOPTRON WIFI MOUNT CONTROL • Connect to WiFi-enabled iOptron mounts (HAE, HAZ, HEM, CEM, GEM and more) • Automatic date/time/location setup • Switch between Equatorial and Alt-Az on mounts that support both • Move & Sync: directional control with a live sky map • Point GoTo: aim your phone at a patch of sky and send the mount there • Current Point Query: find out what the mount is pointing at • GoTo any object from the DSO Database NIGHT-FRIENDLY • Red, green or white night mode with dimmer WIDGETS • Configurable Tonight and Multi astronomy weather forecasts • Upcoming bright satellite passes • Aurora probability, activity forecast and NOAA aurora map * Full list of supported reticles: Astro-Physics RAPAS & PASILL, iOptron, the latest Orion / Skywatcher, the Classic Skywatcher / Orion / Celestron / Meade / EXOS2 / Bresser / MSM, various versions of Takahashi EM-10/11/200/400/500, NJP, PM-1, P2-Z, the Telrad, Rigel QuikFinder, a couple for Astrotrac / Losmandy / Kenko / Avalon, the Vixen PF-L/Atlux/SX/SXD/SXP/AXD/GP/GP-DX/Polarie Polar Axis Scopes, a Konus and several Polar Finders: Tuthill, Explore Scientific 8x50, Meade 9x60, Vixen Polaris, Celestron 7x50, Carton Optical. PoleMaster help view for South Hemisphere users.

About

POLARIE U

This app enhances night sky photography by controlling a star tracker. It offers various rotation speeds, camera shutter control, and advanced imaging modes for creating stunning time-lapses and HDR images of celestial objects.

Highlights
  • Variable rotation speeds
  • Custom rotation speed settings
  • Camera shutter control
  • Shoot-move-shoot function
  • Accurate star tracking
  • Bracketed imaging for HDR
  • Night vision light
Features
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The POLARIE U app is an app dedicated to the POLARIE U star tracker offered by Vixen. Shooting night skies is easy if only the POLARIE U. With the use of this app, however, you will enjoy creating a time-lapse movie of a higher level. Major features - Various speeds of rotations. (10x of the sidereal tracking rate at the maximum.) - The rotation speeds are available to set in the Custom Mode. - Control a camera shutter with an optionally available shutter release cable. - The motion of a POLARIE U can be linked with the shutter control (Shoot-move-shoot function). - Tracks the motion of stars accurately and the stars appear no trails in long exposures. - The bracketed imaging mode is available. It is effective in capturing fainter celestial objects such as diffuse and emission nebulae and it allows for creating HDR images using a stack of different exposures. A photo with a dynamic range wider than by a single shot will be a result. - The night vision light is available to use with either red light color or incandescent light color. - The screen colors are available for daytime use and nighttime use.

Screenshots

Polar Scope Align Pro4 screens
POLARIE U3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: POLARIE U at Free against Polar Scope Align Pro's $4.99. POLARIE U also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). Polar Scope Align Pro's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (310 vs 1). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

POLARIE U is free to download; Polar Scope Align Pro costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Polar Scope Align Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Polar Scope Align Pro has 310 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 97% of Polar Scope Align Pro's written reviews are positive against 100% of POLARIE U's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Polar Scope Align Pro versus POLARIE U: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPolar Scope Align ProPOLARIE U
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.9 (310 ratings) — better4.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews96.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings310 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDimitrios KechagiasVixen Co.,Ltd.

Customer experience

Polar Scope Align Pro

All ratings309 ratings
Positive99.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews272 reviews
Positive96.7%
Neutral0.7%
Negative2.6%

POLARIE U

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Polar Scope Align Pro

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Weather Updates Not Working
  • Compass Deflected by Mount

Requested features

2 requests
  • Add Observation Recording Feature
  • Add Push To Option for DSO Objects

POLARIE U

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Polar Scope Align Pro

No in-app purchases

None

POLARIE U

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Polar Scope Align Pro free?
Polar Scope Align Pro costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is POLARIE U free?
POLARIE U is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Polar Scope Align Pro or POLARIE U?
Polar Scope Align Pro is rated higher. Polar Scope Align Pro averages 4.9 out of 5 from 310 ratings, while POLARIE U averages 4.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Polar Scope Align Pro or POLARIE U have ads?
Neither Polar Scope Align Pro nor POLARIE U shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Polar Scope Align Pro or POLARIE U?
Polar Scope Align Pro ships an update every 2 months, and POLARIE U every 2 months. Most recently, Polar Scope Align Pro was updated on November 6, 2026 and POLARIE U on November 3, 2026.

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