--- title: "Night Sky vs PhotoPills: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Night Sky or PhotoPills more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Star gazing apps set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/night-sky-vs-photopills" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Night Sky vs PhotoPills: Which is searched more? Is Night Sky or PhotoPills more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Star gazing apps set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Night Sky and PhotoPills - **Competitive set**: Star gazing apps - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Night Sky Share of Search**: 35% - **PhotoPills Share of Search**: 2% ## Is Night Sky or PhotoPills more popular in search? - In September 2026, Night Sky had more branded searches than PhotoPills among star gazing apps worldwide. Night Sky had about 170,000 branded searches, while PhotoPills had 9,900. Night Sky made up 35% of all star gazing app searches we track, and PhotoPills accounted for 2%. - Night Sky was ahead of PhotoPills in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Night Sky’s share of searches among star gazing apps worldwide moved from 37.6% to 35%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 211K to 170K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, PhotoPills’ share of searches among star gazing apps worldwide moved from 1.8% to 2%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 9.9K. ## Top star gazing apps in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Night Sky was mentioned in three out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. PhotoPills was mentioned in two out of five: in one of the three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Night Sky and PhotoPills were each listed first in two of the four answers that named either. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Stellarium | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Star Walk | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | SkySafari | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Sky Guide | 4th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Sky Tonight | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Night Sky | 6th | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | PhotoPills | 7th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | SkyView | 8th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about star gazing apps - Asked ChatGPT "Which star gazing app should I use?": 1. Stellarium, 2. Star Walk, 3. SkySafari, 4. Sky Guide, 5. Night Sky - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best star gazing apps?": 1. Stellarium, 2. Star Walk, 3. SkySafari, 4. Sky Tonight, 5. PhotoPills, 6. Night Sky - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best star gazing app for the night sky?": 1. Stellarium, 2. Sky Guide, 3. Sky Tonight, 4. Star Walk, 5. Night Sky - Searched Google, AI Overview "star gazing apps": 1. Stellarium, 2. SkySafari, 3. Star Walk, 4. Sky Guide, 5. PhotoPills - Searched Google, AI Overview "star map app": 1. SkySafari, 2. Stellarium, 3. Star Walk, 4. Sky Guide, 5. SkyView Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 21, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for star gazing apps worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, Night Sky gained share of searches among star gazing apps worldwide, from 29.5% to 35%. - In September 2026, PhotoPills lost share of searches among star gazing apps worldwide, from 3.7% to 2%. ## Month by month | Month | Night Sky estimated searches | Night Sky Share of Search | Night Sky rank | PhotoPills estimated searches | PhotoPills Share of Search | PhotoPills rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 211K | 37.6% | 2 | 9.9K | 1.8% | 6 | | Nov 2025 | 209K | 41.8% | 1 | 9.9K | 2% | 6 | | Dec 2025 | 211K | 45.1% | 1 | 9.9K | 2.1% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | 209K | 42.2% | 1 | 9.9K | 2% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | 177K | 37.9% | 2 | 8.1K | 1.7% | 7 | | Mar 2026 | 211K | 38.9% | 2 | 9.9K | 1.8% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | 175K | 28% | 2 | 9.9K | 1.6% | 6 | | May 2026 | 177K | 38.7% | 2 | 9.9K | 2.2% | 6 | | Jun 2026 | 192K | 39.9% | 2 | 9.9K | 2.1% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | 145K | 38.1% | 2 | 9.9K | 2.6% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | 175K | 29.5% | 2 | 22.2K | 3.7% | 5 | | Sep 2026 | 170K | 35% | 2 | 9.9K | 2% | 6 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Night Sky’s and PhotoPills’ names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Night Sky**: Measured on the search terms “night sky” and “night sky app”, summed into one figure. - **PhotoPills**: Measured on the search term “photopills”. - [Night Sky profile](/demand/global-en/brands/night-sky) - [PhotoPills profile](/demand/global-en/brands/photopills) - [All star gazing apps worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/star-gazing-apps): The set both shares are measured inside, 8 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Night Sky or PhotoPills more popular in search? In September 2026, Night Sky had more branded searches than PhotoPills among star gazing apps worldwide. Night Sky had about 170,000 branded searches, while PhotoPills had 9,900. Night Sky made up 35% of all star gazing app searches we track, and PhotoPills accounted for 2%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Night Sky vs PhotoPills: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/night-sky-vs-photopills This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/night-sky-vs-photopills. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.