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Best Stargazing Apps for iPhone (2026)

20 apps ranked S through F · · Ranked by AppTierList, computed, never sold · JSON

Night Sky is the top-ranked of 20 stargazing apps on iPhone, at S tier with 4.7/5 from 497,307 ratings.

  1. 1
    Night SkyS
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 497,307 ratings · score 98
  2. 2
    Sky GuideS
    Free download · ★ 4.8 · 377,350 ratings · score 98
  3. 3
    Stellarium Mobile - Star MapS
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 38,664 ratings · score 96
  4. 4
    Star Walk 2 Plus: Live Sky MapS
    Free download · ★ 4.6 · 95,884 ratings · score 94
  5. 5
    Sky Tonight - Stargazing GuideS
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 76,165 ratings · score 94

What belongs in this list

Look at the night sky and find stars, planets and constellations from where they are.

Not here: astronomy news or facts alone; astrology horoscopes alone; a space wallpaper pack alone; a planet encyclopedia alone

More lists: Best stargazing apps free to download · Best Star Identification Apps

How we pick

For this list we ask the App Store the same searches a person would, in several countries, and keep every app it returns. A model reads each app's listing and rejects the ones that only mention the use case. Every app that stays is scored out of 100 from four parts, each 0 to 100 and averaged with no weights: its App Store rating, how many people rated it, where the App Store itself ranks it for this list's searches, and how recently its current version shipped. An app showing Apple's Editors' Choice badge gets a fifth part of 100, which can only lift its score. Tiers follow fixed score bands: S from 90, A from 80, B from 70, C from 60, D from 50, F below. The list's leader is S if it scores 80 or more. On a list of 20 or more ranked apps, a tier from S to D takes in new apps only up to a quarter of the top 40: an app pushed out of a full tier falls to the next tier with room, and F takes the rest. An app already in a tier keeps its place while the tier is at most 2 apps over a quarter; past that, only the apps over that margin go down, lowest score first. Equal scores share a tier, and no app has a better tier than an app ranked above it. An app keeps its tier until its score passes the band edge by more than 1 point, or a full tier or the order above moves it. Only the top 40 of a list get a tier. Read the full method →

S
Night SkySky GuideStellariumStar Walk 2 PlusSky TonightStar WalkStar Walk 2 Pro
A
Constellatio…Star GuideSkySafariStarMap 3D
B
SkyView® LiteOSR StarThe Constell…SkyView®Classic Sky
C
SkySafari 7Star ChartSky Live
D
GoSkyWatch
F
None at F yet

Compare every app

  1. 1
    Night SkyS
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 497,307 ratings · score 98 · best in class
  2. 2
    Sky GuideS
    Free download · ★ 4.8 · 377,350 ratings · score 98 · best in class
  3. 3
    Stellarium Mobile - Star MapS
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 38,664 ratings · score 96 · best in class
  4. 4
    Star Walk 2 Plus: Live Sky MapS
    Free download · ★ 4.6 · 95,884 ratings · score 94 · best in class
  5. 5
    Sky Tonight - Stargazing GuideS
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 76,165 ratings · score 94 · best in class
  6. 6
    Star Walk:Find Stars & PlanetsS
    Free download · ★ 4.7 · 25,021 ratings · score 93 · best in class
  7. 7
    Star Walk 2 Pro: Sky Map LiveS
    $2.99 + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 67,287 ratings · score 92 · best in class
  8. 8
    Constellation Map mobileA
    Free download · ★ 4.7 · 4,603 ratings · score 89 · excellent
  9. 9
    Star Guide: Night Sky MapA
    Free download · ★ 4.5 · 4,338 ratings · score 87 · excellent
  10. 10
    SkySafariA
    $4.99 + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 17,913 ratings · score 86 · excellent
  11. 11
    StarMap 3D+ PlusA
    $2.99 · ★ 4.8 · 6,877 ratings · score 81 · excellent
  12. 12
    SkyView® LiteB
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.5 · 18,794 ratings · score 80 · good
  13. 13
    OSR Star FinderB
    Free download · ★ 4.6 · 4,834 ratings · score 75 · good
  14. 14
    The Constellation Star FinderB
    Free download · ★ 4.7 · 4,351 ratings · score 72 · good
  15. 15
    SkyView®B
    $2.99 · ★ 4.6 · 7,704 ratings · score 71 · good
  16. 16
    Classic Sky Map 2B
    Free download · ★ 4.7 · 9,823 ratings · score 70 · good
  17. 17
    SkySafari 7 ProC
    $17.99 · ★ 4.6 · 5,502 ratings · score 70 · situational
  18. 18
    Star ChartC
    Free download · ★ 4.6 · 24,835 ratings · score 68 · situational
  19. 19
    Sky Live: Heavens Above ViewerC
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 14,794 ratings · score 65 · situational
  20. 20
    GoSkyWatch PlanetariumD
    $3.99 · ★ 4.8 · 10,256 ratings · score 56 · weak

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Questions people ask

What is the best stargazing app for iPhone?
Night Sky, S tier, ranked #1 of 20, rated 4.7 by 497,307 people.
Which stargazing apps are free?
14 of 20 are free to download: Night Sky (S), Sky Guide (S), Stellarium Mobile - Star Map (S), Star Walk 2 Plus: Live Sky Map (S) and more. 5 of them sell in-app purchases.
Which stargazing app has the best App Store rating?
Stellarium Mobile - Star Map at 4.8 from 38,664 ratings.
How many stargazing apps reach S or A tier?
11 of 20. Tiers follow fixed score bands: S from 90, A from 80, B from 70, C from 60, D from 50, F below. The list's leader is S if it scores 80 or more. On a list of 20 or more ranked apps, a tier from S to D takes in new apps only up to a quarter of the top 40: an app pushed out of a full tier falls to the next tier with room, and F takes the rest. An app already in a tier keeps its place while the tier is at most 2 apps over a quarter; past that, only the apps over that margin go down, lowest score first. Equal scores share a tier, and no app has a better tier than an app ranked above it. An app keeps its tier until its score passes the band edge by more than 1 point, or a full tier or the order above moves it. Only the top 40 of a list get a tier.

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