Education · alternatives
Alternatives to Star Walk 2
19 education tools sit alongside Star Walk 2 in this directory. Below is what separates each from Star Walk 2 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
- 16
- Cheaper to start
- -
- Star Walk 2 starts at
- Free
Why people look past Star Walk 2
Nothing on the record flags a reason to move. Star Walk 2 has a free tier. People still switch over fit and workflow, and those are not things a catalogue entry can measure, which is what the comparisons below are for.
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.
Astronomy app sold in three tiered editions, from a cheap star chart to telescope control
- No free tier, where Star Walk 2 has one.
- Sold on a One-time purchase per tier model rather than Freemium, low-cost ad-free subscription upgrade.
- 3 tiers to Star Walk 2's 2.
iOS astronomy app that moved from a one-time purchase to a free-to-download, subscription-tiered model
- Sold on a Free download with Plus and Pro subscription upgrades model rather than Freemium, low-cost ad-free subscription upgrade.
- 3 tiers to Star Walk 2's 2.
Free open source desktop planetarium software, distinct from the paid Stellarium Mobile Plus app
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee model rather than Freemium, low-cost ad-free subscription upgrade.
- 1 tier to Star Walk 2's 2.
Vocabulary and spaced repetition language app built around video clips of native speakers
- Sold on a Free with a Pro subscription model rather than Freemium, low-cost ad-free subscription upgrade.
- 1 tier to Star Walk 2's 2.
Camera based maths solver that shows step by step working, owned by Google since 2022
- Sold on a Free with a Plus subscription model rather than Freemium, low-cost ad-free subscription upgrade.
- 1 tier to Star Walk 2's 2.
Piano-only learning app from JoyTunes using microphone listening, no MIDI keyboard required
- Publishes an entry price of $119.99/year, where Star Walk 2 does not.
- Sold on a Per user per year or month model rather than Freemium, low-cost ad-free subscription upgrade.
Every Star Walk 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star Walk 2 (this page) | Free | Freemium, low-cost ad-free subscription upgrade | 2 | |
| SkySafariIf you want telescope control and a much larger deep-sky object catalogue | On request | One-time purchase per tier | 3 | vs Star Walk 2 |
| Sky GuideIf you want a bigger star catalogue with light pollution and meteor forecasting on iOS | Free | Free download with Plus and Pro subscription upgrades | 3 | vs Star Walk 2 |
| StellariumIf you want a free, open source desktop planetarium instead of a phone app | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Star Walk 2 |
| Memrise | Free | Free with a Pro subscription | 1 | vs Star Walk 2 |
| Photomath | Free | Free with a Plus subscription | 1 | vs Star Walk 2 |
| Simply Piano | Free, then $119.99/year | Per user per year or month | 2 | vs Star Walk 2 |
| Elevate | Free | Free with a Pro subscription | 1 | vs Star Walk 2 |
| Seek by iNaturalist | Free | Free, no ads and no in-app purchases | 1 | vs Star Walk 2 |
| Merlin Bird ID | Free | Free, no ads and no in-app purchases | 1 | vs Star Walk 2 |
| Flowkey | Free, then $119.99/year | Per user per year or month | 2 | vs Star Walk 2 |
| Lumosity | Free | Free with a subscription | 1 | vs Star Walk 2 |
| Busuu | Free | Free with a Premium subscription | 1 | vs Star Walk 2 |
| Pl@ntNet | Free | Free, no ads and no in-app purchases | 1 | vs Star Walk 2 |
| Yousician | Free, then $9.99/month | Per user per month or year | 2 | vs Star Walk 2 |
| Melodics | Free, then $9.99/month | Per user per month or year | 2 | vs Star Walk 2 |
| eBird | Free | Free, no ads and no in-app purchases | 1 | vs Star Walk 2 |
| Anki | Free | Open source, no licence fee except a paid iOS app | 1 | vs Star Walk 2 |
| PictureThis | On request | Per year, sold via a short free trial that auto-renews | 1 | vs Star Walk 2 |
| Jackrabbit Class | $49/month | Per month by student count | 6 | vs Star Walk 2 |
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 Star Walk 2 badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (16)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Sky Guide , Free
- Stellarium , Free
- Memrise , Free
- Photomath , Free
- Simply Piano , Free, then $119.99/year
- Elevate , Free
- Seek by iNaturalist , Free
- Merlin Bird ID , Free
What you would be giving up
Star Walk 2 is most often brought in for a parent wanting a cheap, simple app to show a child the night sky, a traveller who wants to identify stars and planets without a big subscription commitment, a casual stargazer who does not need telescope control or a deep-sky catalogue, someone wanting satellite pass tracking including the iss on a budget. 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 Star Walk 2 is broadly right and the question is cost, the Star Walk 2 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.
Star Walk 2 runs on ios, android, macos, windows. 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 Star Walk 2 alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Star Walk 2?
- 19 other education tools are listed in this directory, led by SkySafari, Sky Guide, Stellarium, Memrise. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Star Walk 2?
- 16 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Sky Guide, Stellarium, Memrise, Photomath, Simply Piano.
- Is there a reason to switch away from Star Walk 2?
- Nothing in the data flags one. Star Walk 2 has a free tier. Fit and workflow are the usual reasons to move, and those are not things this record can measure.
- What would I give up by switching from Star Walk 2?
- Star Walk 2 is most often brought in for a parent wanting a cheap, simple app to show a child the night sky, a traveller who wants to identify stars and planets without a big subscription commitment, a casual stargazer who does not need telescope control or a deep-sky catalogue, someone wanting satellite pass tracking including the iss on a budget. 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 Star Walk 2?
- 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 Star Walk 2 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 Star Walk 2 against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Star Walk 2 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 Star Walk 2. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.