Comparison

3D Solar System vs Stellar Tour

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

Head to head
About

3D Solar System

Explore the solar system in 3D and augmented reality. Learn about planets, moons, stars, and constellations through interactive models, scientific facts, and engaging quizzes. Create your own planets with AI.

Highlights
  • 3D & AR Solar System models
  • Scientific facts about celestial bodies
  • Interactive star map
  • Engaging educational tasks and quizzes
  • AI-powered planet creation
Features
Read full description

Have you ever wanted to hold the Solar System in your hands? Now you can. 3D Solar System turns your device into a window to the planets, constellations, and stars beyond. Solar System in 3D and AR Travel from the Sun to the icy edge of deep space — a planetary journey of nearly 15 billion kilometers through our cosmic backyard. Study planets, moons, dwarf planets, and two major asteroid fields: the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter, and the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune. See how tiny Earth looks next to Jupiter. Zoom in on planets' craters, spin Saturn's rings, and realize just how vast the universe really is. Interactive star map for passionate stargazers A complete map of the night sky with gyroscope support. Tilt your device toward the ceiling and explore constellations like a true space explorer — as if you were standing under a real night sky. Learn each constellation's name, its ancient stories, and the astronomy behind them. Learn to identify Orion, Ursa Major, Cassiopeia and discover dozens more. What you can do: ► Study planets — from scorched Mercury to icy Neptune — along with moons, dwarf planets, and bright constellations like a real astronomer. ► Test your knowledge with quizzes, planet order challenges, "True or False", and mythology questions. Learn who the planets are named after, how long a day lasts on Pluto, and what makes a star shine. ► Create your own planet using AI — design it, name it, and explore it. 714,000+ people have downloaded our app. To put that in perspective: that's 79 times more than all the stars you can see in the night sky with your own eyes. Some features may require a subscription. Free version includes: basic planet info, part of the constellation catalog, some quizzes and tests, star map, and AI planet generation (up to 2 planets). Subscription unlocks: full content about the Solar System, full constellation catalog, all quizzes and tests, planet cross-sections, unlimited AI planet generation. Every planet is different. Each constellation has a story. The universe is waiting — and it's bigger than you ever imagined. Explore all planets, learn every constellation, and become the space explorer you've always wanted to be. Start your journey through space today. Privacy Policy: http://educationterra.com/privacy Terms Of Use: https://educationterra.com/tos

About

Stellar Tour

Explore the cosmos with an augmented reality stargazing app guided by an astrophysicist. Discover exoplanets, solar system bodies, and deep-sky objects with scientifically accurate narratives and detailed visuals.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality stargazing
  • Astrophysicist-guided tours
  • Detailed exoplanet information
  • High-resolution solar system visuals
  • Exploration of galaxies and nebulae
  • Interactive 3D planet and moon models
Features
Read full description

Stellar Tour is the only AR stargazing app written by an astrophysicist. Point your phone at the night sky and get a guided tour of everything up there: 1.7 billion real stars, every planet and major moon, eclipses, meteor showers, 13,000 deep-sky objects, and a course in astronomy that starts with the sky over your head and ends at the edge of the universe. Astrophysicist Dr. Aaron Day wrote every word. Instead of the standard flood of random facts, Stellar Tour tells the scientifically accurate story of each world: what it is like on the ground, in the seas, or floating through the clouds. THE NIGHT SKY, FOR REAL • 1.7 billion stars from ESA's Gaia survey, each in its true position. Pinch to zoom from your backyard to the galactic core. • The Milky Way as it actually looks, drawn from every star Gaia measured, with constellations, planets, and satellites overlaid on your live sky. • A sky that looks like the time it is: dawn, daylight, twilight, and full dark, with a real atmosphere and hazy ridges on the horizon. The Moon shows its earthshine, and Earth's night side its city lights. • Night Vision mode keeps your eyes dark-adapted with a pure red display. LEARN THE SKY • Sixteen short lessons, from the sky over your head to the edge of the universe. Every stop is a live visit: the lesson flies you to the star, steps the clock, or opens the tool it is talking about. The first three lessons are free. • Three reference books inside the app, How We Know, The Sky, and The Whole Story, with a glossary and dozens of labeled diagrams. SEVEN SKIES • See the stars the way Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, India, and the Arabian desert saw them: their star figures and folk names drawn on your sky, their stories on each star's page, and their lunar festivals on the calendar. PLAN YOUR NIGHT • Sky Calendar: every eclipse, meteor shower, conjunction, and full moon, filtered by type. The week ahead is free; the full year comes with the expansion. • Night Planner: the best targets for your sky tonight, hour by hour. Sky Forecast: the cloud cover over your spot, hour by hour. • Reminders that fire only when something is worth stepping outside for, including ISS and Tiangong passes with a live countdown. • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets for rise and set times and the next sky event. Ask Siri what is visible tonight. ECLIPSE EXPLORER Simulate any solar or lunar eclipse from any place on Earth: local timings, a disc animation of the Moon crossing the Sun, and a live countdown. The next solar eclipse at your own location is free: its times, what you will see there, and a reminder. GO DEEPER • Telescope Catalog: 13,000 NGC, IC, and Messier objects, searchable and shown on your sky. • Exoplanets: nearly every known world, in its actual position on the sky, with sizes, temperatures, and orbits. • The Solar System up close: planets and major moons in NASA probe imagery, in visible light, ultraviolet, infrared, and radar. Rotate them to any angle. • Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope pictures, on the pages of the objects they show. FOR EVERYONE • Kid Mode rewrites the whole tour for explorers aged five to seven. • Birthday Sky: a shareable card of the sky on the night you were born. • Smart search: ask for exactly what you want. • Fifteen languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, Vietnamese, and Icelandic. Dates in your own calendar. • VoiceOver and Dynamic Type throughout. ONE PURCHASE, NO SUBSCRIPTION Cosmic Expansion adds the 1.7 billion stars, black holes up close, the exoplanets, the galaxies, the eclipses, the planner, the catalog, and the whole course in a single purchase that is yours forever. Take the Stellar Tour!

Screenshots

3D Solar System4 screens
Stellar Tour4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Stellar Tour at 84% against 3D Solar System's 29%. Stellar Tour also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). 3D Solar System's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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

Both are free to download. 3D Solar System sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days and Stellar Tour sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Stellar Tour holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.7K and 1.7K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 29% of 3D Solar System's written reviews are positive against 84% of Stellar Tour's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

3D Solar System ships an update fortnightly, Stellar Tour every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
3D Solar System versus Stellar Tour: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter3D Solar SystemStellar Tour
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (1.7K ratings)4.7 (1.7K ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.8% of reviews83.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.7K — better1.7K
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size351 MB582 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEducation TerraAaron Day

Customer experience

3D Solar System

All ratings1,730 ratings
Positive85.0%
Neutral4.8%
Negative10.2%
Written reviews156 reviews
Positive28.8%
Neutral5.1%
Negative66.0%

Stellar Tour

All ratings1,699 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral3.7%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews91 reviews
Positive83.5%
Neutral5.5%
Negative11.0%

User reviews

3D Solar System

From 1.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Informative and educational
  • 🔍 Detailed solar system information
  • 🎨 Cool visuals and graphics

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
  • 🔒 Difficult to cancel subscription
  • 🤔 Misleading 'free' claims
  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches
  • 🤯 Confusing user interface

Stellar Tour

From 1.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Amazing app
  • 👍 Excellent for stargazing and learning
  • 🔭 Helpful for identifying stars and constellations
  • 🌌 Detailed information on planets and exoplanets
  • 🎓 Great educational tool for all ages

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and glitches
  • 🤔 Some features not intuitive or user-friendly
  • 💰 Wish it was completely free without in-app purchases
  • 🌍 Language localization could be improved

Bugs and requests

3D Solar System

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Planets displayed incorrectly
  • Subscription charges without consent
  • Inability to cancel subscription

Requested features

4 requests
  • More free content and features
  • Realistic planet models and animations
  • Expanded content beyond the solar system
  • Improved accessibility and usability

Stellar Tour

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • Videos not playing offline as expected

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for viewing comets and other celestial events
  • Improve AR functionality and integration
  • Provide more detailed information on exoplanets
  • Introduce a dark mode option for better visibility at night

In-app purchases

12 purchases

3D Solar System

Subscriptions10
  • 1 Week Subscription$7.997 Days
  • 1 Month PRO3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • 1 month Sale2 Months trial$10.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • 12 months sale3 Days trial$14.991 Year
  • 6 months$19.996 Months
  • Astronomy guide - Sky atlas$19.991 Month
  • 12 months3 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Astronomy guide - Sky atlas3 Days trial$29.993 Months
  • 2 Month Subscription3 Days trial$39.992 Months
  • 2 Months Subscription3 Days trial$39.992 Months
One-time2
  • Disable Ads Sale$9.99
  • Disable Ads$19.99
5 purchases

Stellar Tour

One-time5
  • Remove Ads 1$2.99
  • Upgrade: Lessons & Sky Tools$3.99
  • Cosmic Expansion2 variants$9.99
Show 2 more
  • Remove Ads 2$9.99
  • Remove Ads 3$14.99

Questions

Is 3D Solar System free?
3D Solar System is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Stellar Tour free?
Stellar Tour is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, 3D Solar System or Stellar Tour?
Stellar Tour is rated higher. 3D Solar System averages 4.4 out of 5 from 1.7K ratings, while Stellar Tour averages 4.7 from 1.7K ratings.
Do 3D Solar System or Stellar Tour have ads?
3D Solar System shows ads; Stellar Tour does not.
Which is updated more often, 3D Solar System or Stellar Tour?
3D Solar System ships an update fortnightly, and Stellar Tour every 3 weeks. Most recently, 3D Solar System was updated on October 29, 2026 and Stellar Tour on October 26, 2026.

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