Education · head to head
Bark for Schools vs Stellarium
Bark for Schools
Education
Free content monitoring of school Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 accounts
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Stellarium
Education
Free open source desktop planetarium software, distinct from the paid Stellarium Mobile Plus app
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Bark for Schools it is free, which means the school has no commercial leverage: support response, feature requests and continued availability all depend on a consumer business the school does not pay into.; Stellarium it is desktop-only software, so it has no native touch-optimised phone interface; the similarly named mobile app is a different paid product from a different company.
- They diverge on capability: Bark for Schools covers Google Workspace monitoring, Stellarium covers Photorealistic sky rendering.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Bark for Schools and Stellarium actually diverge.
| Attribute | Bark for Schools | Stellarium |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free to US K-12 schools, funded by the consumer product | Open source, no licence fee |
| Platforms | Web, Chrome OS, Windows, macOS | Windows, macOS, Linux |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Education).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Bark for Schools
- Google Workspace monitoring
- Microsoft 365 monitoring
- Alerting with context
- Chrome and Edge web filtering
- DNS filtering
- Severity categories
- Bark for Schools+
- No seat cap
Only in Stellarium
- Photorealistic sky rendering
- Large object catalogue
- Telescope control
- Scripting engine
- Free and open source
- Plugin ecosystem
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Bark for Schools
- A district with no safeguarding budget at all that needs content-level alerting on pupil email and documents without a purchase order.not Stellarium
- A school that already runs a CIPA filter and wants to add detection of what pupils write, which a URL filter cannot see, at no additional cost.not Stellarium
- A small independent school whose entire technology function is one part-time member of staff and which cannot run a procurement for a paid alerting platform.not Stellarium
- A district piloting content monitoring before committing budget, wanting real alert volumes from its own pupil population before comparing paid alternatives.not Stellarium
Stellarium
- A student or educator wanting a serious, scriptable planetarium tool without a budget line itemnot Bark for Schools
- An amateur astronomer wanting telescope control from desktop software they can inspect and modifynot Bark for Schools
- Someone running a planetarium display or public astronomy event on a scripted shownot Bark for Schools
- A hobbyist who wants a large object catalogue without paying a subscription, and does not need a phone appnot Bark for Schools
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Bark for Schools
- It is free, which means the school has no commercial leverage: support response, feature requests and continued availability all depend on a consumer business the school does not pay into.
- It monitors content inside the school Google or Microsoft tenant, not general web browsing, so it does not meet a CIPA filtering requirement on its own and a district still needs a filter.
- Alert volume in a large district is substantial and the free tier gives you no triage, so schools without a rostered safeguarding responder accumulate unread alerts that are worse than no alerts in an incident review.
- Detection works on language patterns and produces false positives on legitimate coursework about difficult topics while missing coded or image-based content entirely.
- The offer is scoped to US K-12 schools, so schools elsewhere cannot rely on it, and any school outside that scope should assume the terms could change with the consumer business that funds it.
Stellarium
- It is desktop-only software, so it has no native touch-optimised phone interface; the similarly named mobile app is a different paid product from a different company.
- As a volunteer-maintained open source project, support is community-based rather than a guaranteed commercial help desk.
- The interface, while capable, is less immediately intuitive for a first-time user than a polished commercial phone app.
- Telescope control and some advanced plugins require additional setup that a non-technical user may find fiddly.
- Because it shares a name with the unrelated paid Stellarium Mobile Plus app, buyers researching pricing online can easily conflate the two products.
Pricing, plan by plan
Bark for Schools
Free- Bark for SchoolsFree
- No cost to K-12 schools in the United States
- No per-pupil charge and no seat cap
- Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 content monitoring
- Bark for Schools+$undefined/year
- Trained specialists triage urgent alerts
- Escalation by phone, text and email 24/7
- Quoted per school or district
Stellarium
Free- Stellarium DesktopFree
- Full software, GPL licensed
- No account, ads or subscription
- Community-developed plugins
Which should you pick?
Choose Bark for Schools if
- You need google workspace monitoring.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Chrome OS, Windows, macOS.
- You also want microsoft 365 monitoring.
Choose Stellarium if
- You need photorealistic sky rendering.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
- You also want large object catalogue.
Questions people ask
- Is Bark for Schools or Stellarium better?
- Neither clearly leads. Bark for Schools starts at Free and Stellarium at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Bark for Schools or Stellarium?
- Bark for Schools starts at Free and Stellarium at Free.
- Does Bark for Schools or Stellarium run on more platforms?
- Bark for Schools runs on Web, Chrome OS, Windows, macOS. Stellarium runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
- Can I use Bark for Schools for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Bark for Schools best used for?
- Bark for Schools is most often used for a district with no safeguarding budget at all that needs content-level alerting on pupil email and documents without a purchase order., a school that already runs a cipa filter and wants to add detection of what pupils write, which a url filter cannot see, at no additional cost., a small independent school whose entire technology function is one part-time member of staff and which cannot run a procurement for a paid alerting platform., a district piloting content monitoring before committing budget, wanting real alert volumes from its own pupil population before comparing paid alternatives.. Of those, a district with no safeguarding budget at all that needs content-level alerting on pupil email and documents without a purchase order. and a school that already runs a cipa filter and wants to add detection of what pupils write, which a url filter cannot see, at no additional cost. are not what Stellarium is typically brought in for.
- What can Bark for Schools do that Stellarium cannot?
- Bark for Schools covers Google Workspace monitoring, Microsoft 365 monitoring, Alerting with context, Chrome and Edge web filtering. Stellarium covers Photorealistic sky rendering, Large object catalogue, Telescope control, Scripting engine.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Bark for Schools: Is Bark for Schools genuinely free?
Yes, the core monitoring is free to K-12 schools in the United States with no seat cap. It is funded by the paid consumer Bark subscription and Bark Phone.
Stellarium: Is Stellarium really free?
The desktop software is free and open source under the GPL licence. The separate mobile app, Stellarium Mobile Plus, is a different paid product.
Bark for Schools: Does it satisfy CIPA on its own?
No. It monitors content in your Google or Microsoft tenant. You still need a web filter, though Bark offers a filtering component alongside it.
Stellarium: Is the mobile app made by the same team?
No. Stellarium Mobile Plus is built by Noctua Software, a different company, and is sold on subscription.
Bark for Schools: What is Bark for Schools+?
A paid tier where trained specialists triage urgent alerts and contact the school by phone, text and email around the clock.
Stellarium: What platforms does the free version run on?
Windows, macOS and Linux desktop.
Bark for Schools: Does it monitor personal accounts?
No. It sees content in the school-owned tenant. A pupil using a personal Gmail account on the same device is not covered.
Bark for Schools: What happens if the consumer business changes strategy?
The school offer depends on that business. Any school treating Bark as its only safeguarding alerting should have a documented alternative.
Related pages
More on Bark for Schools
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