Education · head to head
ClassLink vs Sky Guide
ClassLink
Education
Single sign-on, rostering and usage analytics for school districts
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
Sky Guide
Education
iOS astronomy app that moved from a one-time purchase to a free-to-download, subscription-tiered model
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Sky Guide has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: ClassLink it is a single point of failure by design; a ClassLink outage locks pupils out of every application at once, which is a worse day than any individual product failing.; Sky Guide it is iOS-only, unlike SkySafari which also covers Android and desktop.
- They diverge on capability: ClassLink covers LaunchPad, Sky Guide covers Light pollution forecasting.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which ClassLink and Sky Guide actually diverge.
Identical on both: 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 ClassLink
- LaunchPad
- Roster Server
- Analytics
- MyFiles
- QuickCards and badge sign-in
- ClassLink Extension
- Multi-factor and conditional access
- OneSync
Only in Sky Guide
- Light pollution forecasting
- Meteor shower prediction
- Camera and gyroscope sky view
- Deep-sky object catalogue
- Extreme zoom
- Satellite tracking
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
ClassLink
- A district that has bought dozens of edtech products and cannot answer the board question of which ones are actually being used before renewal season.not Sky Guide
- A primary school where five and six year olds cannot type passwords, needing badge or QR sign-in that still resolves to a real identity behind the scenes.not Sky Guide
- A technology team spending each August rekeying class lists into a dozen vendor portals, wanting OneRoster provisioning to do it from the SIS instead.not Sky Guide
- A district running a mix of Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 that needs one portal over both rather than telling pupils which login to use for which tool.not Sky Guide
Sky Guide
- An iOS stargazer who wants light pollution forecasting to plan a dark-sky observing tripnot ClassLink
- Someone tracking meteor showers and wanting a forecast of viewing conditionsnot ClassLink
- A user who wants extreme zoom into deep-sky objects without owning a telescopenot ClassLink
- A buyer comparing subscription astronomy apps on iOS specifically, rather than cross-platform toolsnot ClassLink
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
ClassLink
- It is a single point of failure by design; a ClassLink outage locks pupils out of every application at once, which is a worse day than any individual product failing.
- Pricing is entirely quote-based and per student, so a district cannot budget for it without a sales cycle, and comparisons against Clever come down to negotiated rates rather than list prices.
- Rostering accuracy is only as good as the SIS data behind it, and districts with messy enrolment or course records find ClassLink faithfully propagates that mess to every downstream vendor.
- Applications that do not support SAML or OIDC are handled by a browser extension that replays stored credentials, which works but breaks whenever the vendor changes its login page and is a weaker security posture than real federation.
- Analytics measures logins and session activity, not learning or engagement, so a product that pupils open and abandon still looks used; districts that treat the numbers as proof of value draw the wrong conclusion.
Sky Guide
- It is iOS-only, unlike SkySafari which also covers Android and desktop.
- It has moved from one-time purchase to a subscription model, and long-time users who paid once for earlier versions have criticised the change publicly.
- Pro tier pricing is high relative to Star Walk 2 for broadly similar core stargazing functionality.
- It has no telescope control, unlike SkySafari Plus and Pro, which limits it to naked-eye and camera-based observing.
- Its relationship to other apps under the same distribution platform is not clearly documented, which makes long-term support commitments harder to assess.
Pricing, plan by plan
ClassLink
On request- ClassLink$undefined/year
- Priced per student, with rates varying by district size and module mix
- LaunchPad, Roster Server and Analytics are licensed separately or bundled
- Annual district agreements, multi-year discounts negotiated
Sky Guide
Free- Sky GuideFree
- Base sky map and object labelling
- Sky Guide Plus$19.99/year
- Larger star and satellite catalogue
- Light pollution forecasting
- Meteor shower prediction
- Sky Guide Pro$39.99/year
- Very large deep-sky object catalogue
- Exoplanet data
- Extreme zoom
Which should you pick?
Choose ClassLink if
- You need launchpad.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, Windows.
- You also want roster server.
Choose Sky Guide if
- You need light pollution forecasting.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on iOS.
- You also want meteor shower prediction.
Questions people ask
- Is ClassLink or Sky Guide better?
- Neither clearly leads. ClassLink starts at On request and Sky Guide at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, ClassLink or Sky Guide?
- Sky Guide has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for ClassLink and Free for Sky Guide.
- Does ClassLink or Sky Guide run on more platforms?
- ClassLink runs on Web, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, Windows. Sky Guide runs on iOS.
- Can I use Sky Guide for free?
- Yes. Sky Guide has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ClassLink starts at On request.
- What is ClassLink best used for?
- ClassLink is most often used for a district that has bought dozens of edtech products and cannot answer the board question of which ones are actually being used before renewal season., a primary school where five and six year olds cannot type passwords, needing badge or qr sign-in that still resolves to a real identity behind the scenes., a technology team spending each august rekeying class lists into a dozen vendor portals, wanting oneroster provisioning to do it from the sis instead., a district running a mix of google workspace and microsoft 365 that needs one portal over both rather than telling pupils which login to use for which tool.. Of those, a district that has bought dozens of edtech products and cannot answer the board question of which ones are actually being used before renewal season. and a primary school where five and six year olds cannot type passwords, needing badge or qr sign-in that still resolves to a real identity behind the scenes. are not what Sky Guide is typically brought in for.
- What can ClassLink do that Sky Guide cannot?
- ClassLink covers LaunchPad, Roster Server, Analytics, MyFiles. Sky Guide covers Light pollution forecasting, Meteor shower prediction, Camera and gyroscope sky view, Deep-sky object catalogue.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
ClassLink: How is ClassLink different from Clever?
Both do SSO and OneRoster provisioning to schools. ClassLink leans harder on usage analytics and on access to on-premise network file shares; Clever leans on its application marketplace. Vendor support is broadly comparable.
Sky Guide: Is Sky Guide free?
The base app is free to download; Plus and Pro are subscription upgrades for a larger catalogue and forecasting features.
ClassLink: Does it replace Google or Microsoft accounts?
No. It sits over them. Pupils still have an underlying Google Workspace or Entra ID identity and ClassLink federates to it.
Sky Guide: Did Sky Guide used to be a one-time purchase?
Yes, earlier versions were sold as a one-time purchase before it moved to the current free-plus-subscription model.
ClassLink: Is pricing published?
No. It is quoted per student and varies with district size and which of LaunchPad, Roster Server and Analytics you licence.
Sky Guide: Does Sky Guide support telescope control?
No. For telescope control, SkySafari Plus or Pro is the better choice.
ClassLink: Does it work outside the United States?
Yes, but the OneRoster ecosystem and the SIS integrations are strongest for US K-12; international deployments get less of the prebuilt vendor coverage.
ClassLink: Can Analytics prove a product is worth renewing?
It proves whether people log in. It cannot tell you whether the time spent was useful, so treat low usage as a firm signal and high usage as a weak one.
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