Solar Walk vs Everdust
Is Solar Walk or Everdust better for exploring the solar system? For learning about the planets, Solar Walk is better: Vito Technology's 3D model of the solar system puts planets, moons, comets and spacecraft in their real positions, with facts, internal structure, a time machine and, in Solar Walk 2, the history of space missions, on iPhone, iPad and Android; Solar Walk Lite is free. Everdust is better if you want to feel the scale and the physics: on Apple Vision Pro, Solar System to Scale walks you from the Sun to Neptune at true sizes and distances, and every world is a live simulation you reach into. Everdust is free on Apple Vision Pro, Apple TV, Android phones and tablets, iPhone, iPad and Meta Quest 3 and 3S, but it has no encyclopedia of moons and spacecraft.
- Pick Solar Walk to learn the solar system: facts, structure and real photos for each body, a time machine, educational movies, and space missions in Solar Walk 2.
- Pick Everdust to stand inside space on Apple Vision Pro: walk out to Neptune at true scale, fly to the planets in Night Sky, collide galaxies, for free.
- On an old iPhone or iPad, Solar Walk needs only iOS 15 (Solar Walk 2, iOS 12); Everdust needs iOS 17.
- On Meta Quest, Vito's listings name no Solar Walk version. Everdust is free there, with space worlds and games for your hands.
Side by side
| Feature | Solar Walk | Everdust |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A 3D model of the solar system: planets, moons, comets and spacecraft in their real-time positions, with facts and an encyclopedia[1][2] | Live particle simulations, physics games and narrated science Stories; on Vision Pro, Night Sky and Solar System to Scale[3][4][5] |
| Best at | Learning: each body's internal structure, facts and photos, a time machine, and the history of space missions[1][6][2] | Scale and physics you feel: galaxies colliding, light bending round a black hole, worlds you reach into[3][4] |
| Platforms | iPhone and iPad (Solar Walk, Solar Walk 2, Solar Walk Lite); Solar Walk 2 also on Apple TV; Android (all three). The iPad apps are listed for Apple silicon Macs and Vision Pro ("Designed for iPad")[1][2][6][7][8][9] | Out now: Apple Vision Pro, Apple TV, Android phones and tablets, iPhone, iPad and Meta Quest 3 and 3S. Mac: a free download from everdust.ai/mac (Mac App Store version in review).[3][4] |
| Price and free tier | App Store: Solar Walk $4.99, Solar Walk 2 $2.99, each with in-app purchases. Google Play: both $2.99. Solar Walk Lite is free with no in-app purchases (with ads on Android); free Ads+ versions too[1][2][6][7][8][9][10][11] | Free. Everdust Plus is optional: $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year or $79.99 once (US). The whole Story of Everything, every world and each game's first levels are free[3][4] |
| VR and AR | No headset app on its listings (on Vision Pro, the iPad app runs in a window); an anaglyph 3D mode for red-cyan glasses[1][6] | Apple Vision Pro: full immersion, or worlds resting in your room, and you reach in with your hands. Meta Quest 3 and 3S: the worlds and games with hand tracking or Touch controllers, in passthrough or fully immersed.[3][12] |
| Offline | Solar Walk Lite: no internet connection needed, except for the gallery and Wikipedia[9][6] | Mostly: the simulations, games and touch toys run on the device; narrated Stories, the streamed Mixes and Tonight's Sky's cloud forecast need a connection[13] |
| True scale | Orrery mode on or off: schematic, or realistic sizes and distances[6][1] | Solar System to Scale on Vision Pro: walk from the Sun to Neptune with every size and distance true, from NASA's fact sheets; choose how big the Sun is[3][5] |
| Spacecraft and missions | Solar Walk 2: 3D spacecraft and real mission trajectories, such as Voyager 1 and Cassini (Premium), and an astronomy calendar[2] | No[3][4] |
| Beyond the solar system | Zoom out to see the solar system's place in the Milky Way[1][6] | Galaxy collisions of up to about a million stars, black holes bending light, and Night Sky's 29 nebulae, galaxies and star clusters on Vision Pro[3][4][5] |
Each app as its own store listing or website describes it, checked November 4, 2026; US prices. Numbers in brackets are the sources below.
Where Solar Walk is the better pick
- An encyclopedia of the solar system: structure, facts and real photos for every body.
- Space missions and spacecraft in 3D (Solar Walk 2).
- A free version with no in-app purchases that works without internet (Solar Walk Lite).
- It runs on older iPhones and iPads: iOS 15 for Solar Walk, iOS 12 for Solar Walk 2.
Where Everdust is the better pick
- Built for headsets: the solar system at true scale around you on Vision Pro, and worlds you reach into with your hands on Vision Pro and Meta Quest.
- Live physics, not a model you watch: galaxies, black holes and nebulae made of moving particles.
- Games with levels and narrated Stories, as well as things to look at.
Where Everdust fits
I make Everdust, so weigh that. Everdust is not a solar system encyclopedia: you won't find a page of facts for each moon or a spacecraft's flight path. It's for feeling how big and how strange space is.
On Apple Vision Pro, Solar System to Scale lets you choose how big the Sun is, from a marble to a person, and walk out to Neptune with every other size and distance following. Night Sky flies you to the planets from the real sky over where you are.
The free version covers every world and toy, The Story of Everything in full, and each game's first 3 levels or more and its daily level; Everdust Plus unlocks the rest.
Everdust is free on Apple Vision Pro, Apple TV, Android phones and tablets, iPhone, iPad and Meta Quest. On Mac, it’s a free download; the Mac App Store version is in review.
Everdust on the App Store for Apple Vision ProGet it on Google PlayEverdust on the App Store for iPhoneEverdust on the App Store for iPadEverdust on the App Store for Meta Quest
Questions people ask
What is the best solar system app for Vision Pro? Solar Walk's iPad apps run on Vision Pro in a window. Everdust (free, made by me) is built for Vision Pro: Solar System to Scale walks you from the Sun to Neptune at true sizes and distances, and Night Sky flies you to the planets. For the sky itself, see astronomy apps for Vision Pro.
Is Solar Walk free? Solar Walk Lite is free with no in-app purchases (its Android version shows ads), and Solar Walk Ads+ is free with ads. Solar Walk costs $4.99 on the App Store ($2.99 on Google Play) and Solar Walk 2 costs $2.99, each with in-app purchases.
Is there an app like Solar Walk for Meta Quest? Vito Technology's listings name no Meta Quest version of Solar Walk. Everdust (free, made by me) is on Meta Quest 3 and 3S, with space worlds and physics games you play with your hands, though not a solar system encyclopedia.
Does Solar Walk work offline? Solar Walk Lite does: its listings say it needs no internet connection, except for its photo gallery and Wikipedia. Everdust's simulations and games run on the device too; its narrated Stories need a connection.
What is the difference between Solar Walk and Solar Walk 2? Solar Walk is the 3D solar system model, with a time machine, educational movies and an orrery or true-to-scale view. Solar Walk 2 adds space missions and 3D spacecraft, an astronomy calendar and panoramic images, and is also on Apple TV. Solar Walk Lite is the free, smaller version.
Sources
- Solar Walk: Space Simulator 3D on the App Store
- Solar Walk 2 on the App Store
- Everdust on the App Store
- Everdust on Google Play
- Everdust 1.1 for Apple Vision Pro: Night Sky (what's in it, and what's a model)
- Solar Walk Lite on the App Store
- Solar Walk on Google Play
- Solar Walk 2 on Google Play
- Solar Walk Lite on Google Play
- Solar Walk Ads+ on the App Store
- Solar Walk Ads+ on Google Play
- Everdust on the Meta Horizon Store
- Everdust on Google Play: does it work offline?
Checked November 4, 2026. Prices and features change; the store listing is always the final word. I make Everdust, and I’ve tried to describe the other apps as fairly as their makers do.