Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Celestia VS Star Citizen

Compare Celestia VS Star Citizen and see what are their differences

Celestia logo Celestia

Real-time 3D visualization of space

Star Citizen logo Star Citizen

1, 966, 341. Active citizen. Help us make Star Citizen a reality! Become a backer of the next-generation of Space-man. Reserve your ship.
  • Celestia Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-19

The expandable free and open-source real-time space simulator that lets you explore our universe in three dimensions.

  • Star Citizen Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-27

Celestia videos

Celestia Review - with Tom Vasel

More videos:

  • Review - Celestia - Shut Up & Sit Down Review
  • Review - Celestia Review with the Game Boy Geek

Star Citizen videos

STAR CITIZEN ► 2020 Buyer's Guide and Review!

More videos:

  • Review - What is STAR CITIZEN in 2020?
  • Review - A New Players Review of Star Citizen 2020 - First Look

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Celestia and Star Citizen)
Universe Simulator
68 68%
32% 32
Space Simulator
60 60%
40% 40
Virtual Universe
100 100%
0% 0
Cloud Computing
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Celestia and Star Citizen. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Celestia might be a bit more popular than Star Citizen. We know about 26 links to it since March 2021 and only 23 links to Star Citizen. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Celestia mentions (26)

  • My 9 year old nephews drawing of stars
    I think Celestia could be a good one. I also thought about SpaceEngine, but AFAIK it was kind of terrible at generating realistic planetary systems, among other things (pricey, huge, etc.). Source: over 1 year ago
  • What are the best resources to explore space from my computer?
    Celestia was something I played with before. Pretty interesting. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Lunar Occultation of Mars
    Celestia looks as though it would do it. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Tips to visualize Apollo 17 trajectory
    I'm looking for data and software to visualize the Apollo 17 trajectory (especially the "powered descent", lunar rendezvous and entry). I'm thinking of using celestia. I'm look for a data tables as well (time stamp, position for each part of the stack). Any tips are appreciated. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Help rediscovering a certain night sky exploration program?
    Yes, that's Celestia most likely. I'm not sure it is still maintained though. Source: over 1 year ago
View more

Star Citizen mentions (23)

  • Getting old is hard
    For all intents and purposes the game is already released. They are basically advertising it as a released game (see if you can find the single reference to "alpha" here: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/star-citizen), in game purchases have been live for years, you can grind and save your progress etc etc. It's a live service game just like any other, practically speaking. Source: 11 months ago
  • I love this game so much. My only wish is that it was an easier sell.
    Open a incognito browser window and follow the experience of a new potential player. Here's the first page you'll land on: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/star-citizen. Source: 11 months ago
  • STAR-DP7P-GD4P for 5,000 UEC [+More, see post]
    There are two components to Cloud Imperium Games' (CIG) project. Star Citizen is the MMO component, a first-person experience in a simulated 30th-century universe. Squadron 42 is the single-player component, a story-driven campaign where you enlist as a UEE Navy combat pilot. Our current understanding is you will be given the option of having your Squadron 42 character, who musters out of the Navy at the... Source: about 1 year ago
  • Can we stop and clarify what "alpha" means real quick?
    Just go to https://robertsspaceindustries.com/star-citizen and it's clear as day. The whole thing is written in the present tense, with big play now buttons and like 2 small disclaimers saying "Note: Star Citizen Alpha 3.18 is currently available to download and play. Additional features and updates will be released as they are developed." as the only disclaimer. Literally anybody not intimately familiar with Star... Source: about 1 year ago
  • Website unusable
    Https://robertsspaceindustries.com/star-citizen is broken for some reason, did not spent the time debugging. Page just will freeze at some point, possibly some js error. Source: about 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Celestia and Star Citizen, you can also consider the following products

Space Engine - Space Engine is a realistic virtual Universe you can explore on your computer.

EVE Online - Player-created empires, player-driven markets, and endless ways to embark on your personal sci-fi adventure.

Stellarium - Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer.

Elite Dangerous - Elite Dangerous is a 2015 Trading, Action, Sci-fi, Exploration, Open World and Space Simulation by Frontier Developments.

Universe Sandbox - Universe Sandbox ² is a physics-based space simulator where you can simulate Events and even break physics and friction with certain features.

Star Conflict - Star Conflict is a free MMO action game and space simulator that was introduced in 2012.