Education · alternatives
Alternatives to SkySafari
19 education tools sit alongside SkySafari in this directory. Below is what separates each from SkySafari on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 19
- With a free tier
- 17
- Cheaper to start
- -
- SkySafari starts at
- On request
Why people look past SkySafari
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the SkySafari entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is no free tier
The record for SkySafari carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 17 of the 19 alternatives below can be used without paying.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Freemium stargazing app with a low-cost ad-free upgrade, aimed at casual sky watchers
- Can be used without paying; SkySafari cannot.
- Sold on a Freemium, low-cost ad-free subscription upgrade model rather than One-time purchase per tier.
- 2 tiers to SkySafari's 3.
Free open source desktop planetarium software, distinct from the paid Stellarium Mobile Plus app
- Can be used without paying; SkySafari cannot.
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee model rather than One-time purchase per tier.
- 1 tier to SkySafari's 3.
iOS astronomy app that moved from a one-time purchase to a free-to-download, subscription-tiered model
- Can be used without paying; SkySafari cannot.
- Sold on a Free download with Plus and Pro subscription upgrades model rather than One-time purchase per tier.
Vocabulary and spaced repetition language app built around video clips of native speakers
- Can be used without paying; SkySafari cannot.
- Sold on a Free with a Pro subscription model rather than One-time purchase per tier.
- 1 tier to SkySafari's 3.
Camera based maths solver that shows step by step working, owned by Google since 2022
- Can be used without paying; SkySafari cannot.
- Sold on a Free with a Plus subscription model rather than One-time purchase per tier.
- 1 tier to SkySafari's 3.
Piano-only learning app from JoyTunes using microphone listening, no MIDI keyboard required
- Can be used without paying; SkySafari cannot.
- Publishes an entry price of $119.99/year, where SkySafari does not.
- Sold on a Per user per year or month model rather than One-time purchase per tier.
- 2 tiers to SkySafari's 3.
Every SkySafari alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkySafari (this page) | On request | One-time purchase per tier | 3 | |
| Star Walk 2If you want a much cheaper casual sky map without telescope control | Free | Freemium, low-cost ad-free subscription upgrade | 2 | vs SkySafari |
| StellariumIf you want free, open source planetarium software for desktop instead | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs SkySafari |
| Sky GuideIf you want an iOS-specific astronomy app with light pollution and meteor forecasting | Free | Free download with Plus and Pro subscription upgrades | 3 | vs SkySafari |
| Memrise | Free | Free with a Pro subscription | 1 | vs SkySafari |
| Photomath | Free | Free with a Plus subscription | 1 | vs SkySafari |
| Simply Piano | Free, then $119.99/year | Per user per year or month | 2 | vs SkySafari |
| Elevate | Free | Free with a Pro subscription | 1 | vs SkySafari |
| Seek by iNaturalist | Free | Free, no ads and no in-app purchases | 1 | vs SkySafari |
| Merlin Bird ID | Free | Free, no ads and no in-app purchases | 1 | vs SkySafari |
| Flowkey | Free, then $119.99/year | Per user per year or month | 2 | vs SkySafari |
| Lumosity | Free | Free with a subscription | 1 | vs SkySafari |
| Busuu | Free | Free with a Premium subscription | 1 | vs SkySafari |
| Pl@ntNet | Free | Free, no ads and no in-app purchases | 1 | vs SkySafari |
| Yousician | Free, then $9.99/month | Per user per month or year | 2 | vs SkySafari |
| Melodics | Free, then $9.99/month | Per user per month or year | 2 | vs SkySafari |
| eBird | Free | Free, no ads and no in-app purchases | 1 | vs SkySafari |
| Anki | Free | Open source, no licence fee except a paid iOS app | 1 | vs SkySafari |
| PictureThis | On request | Per year, sold via a short free trial that auto-renews | 1 | vs SkySafari |
| Jackrabbit Class | $49/month | Per month by student count | 6 | vs SkySafari |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the SkySafari badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (17)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Star Walk 2 , Free
- Stellarium , Free
- Sky Guide , Free
- Memrise , Free
- Photomath , Free
- Simply Piano , Free, then $119.99/year
- Elevate , Free
- Seek by iNaturalist , Free
What you would be giving up
SkySafari is most often brought in for an amateur astronomer with a motorised telescope mount who needs live control from a phone or tablet, a serious hobbyist who wants a deep-sky catalogue far larger than a casual sky map app provides, someone planning an observing session who wants an event finder for conjunctions and eclipses, a buyer choosing basic first as a cheap star chart with no intention of telescope control. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If SkySafari is broadly right and the question is cost, the SkySafari pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Education category lists everything the directory holds, and best education tools ranks them.
SkySafari runs on ios, android, macos. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about SkySafari alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to SkySafari?
- 19 other education tools are listed in this directory, led by Star Walk 2, Stellarium, Sky Guide, Memrise. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to SkySafari?
- 17 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Star Walk 2, Stellarium, Sky Guide, Memrise, Photomath.
- Why do people look for an alternative to SkySafari?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from SkySafari?
- SkySafari is most often brought in for an amateur astronomer with a motorised telescope mount who needs live control from a phone or tablet, a serious hobbyist who wants a deep-sky catalogue far larger than a casual sky map app provides, someone planning an observing session who wants an event finder for conjunctions and eclipses, a buyer choosing basic first as a cheap star chart with no intention of telescope control. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to SkySafari?
- None of the education tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these SkySafari alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Education, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare SkySafari against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against SkySafari covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every education tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Education category, 19 tools beside SkySafari. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.