Education · head to head
Clever vs Sky Guide
Clever
Education
Single sign-on and roster synchronisation between district student records and classroom applications
- From
- Free
- 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
- Each has a real cost: Clever coverage is built around United States district data models and state reporting patterns, so schools outside the United States often find their student information system unsupported and their local identity conventions unrepresented.; Sky Guide it is iOS-only, unlike SkySafari which also covers Android and desktop.
- They diverge on capability: Clever covers Secure Sync, 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 Clever and Sky Guide actually diverge.
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 Clever
- Secure Sync
- Clever portal
- Clever Badges
- Instant Login
- Clever IDM
- Application analytics
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.
Clever
- A district that has bought forty classroom applications and wants pupils to reach all of them without forty passwordsnot Sky Guide
- Primary schools where pupils cannot yet type a password reliably and need badge loginnot Sky Guide
- District IT that needs accounts created and revoked automatically as pupils enrol and leavenot Sky Guide
- Evidencing to a board which licensed applications are used enough to justify renewalnot Sky Guide
Sky Guide
- An iOS stargazer who wants light pollution forecasting to plan a dark-sky observing tripnot Clever
- Someone tracking meteor showers and wanting a forecast of viewing conditionsnot Clever
- A user who wants extreme zoom into deep-sky objects without owning a telescopenot Clever
- A buyer comparing subscription astronomy apps on iOS specifically, rather than cross-platform toolsnot Clever
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Clever
- Coverage is built around United States district data models and state reporting patterns, so schools outside the United States often find their student information system unsupported and their local identity conventions unrepresented.
- Because application vendors pay and districts do not, a district has no commercial leverage when a sync breaks, and support priority follows the paying side of the market.
- Rostering is a single point of failure. One bad field mapping propagates wrong class lists to every connected application at once, and unpicking it means correcting the source system and waiting for the next sync cycle.
- Sync is scheduled rather than immediate for many connections, so a pupil who transfers mid week can sit in the wrong class in several applications for a day or more.
- Ownership moved to Kahoot! in 2021 and then to a private equity consortium in 2023, so a district is now depending on infrastructure whose long term roadmap is set by investor timelines rather than by education procurement cycles.
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
Clever
Free- Clever core rostering and single sign-on$undefined/year
- Free to United States districts
- Funded by application vendors rather than the district
- Secure Sync, portal and Badges included
- Clever paid district products$undefined/year
- Identity management and account provisioning
- Multi-factor authentication for staff
- Pricing quoted per district, not published
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 Clever if
- You need secure sync.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android, ChromeOS.
- You also want clever portal.
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 Clever or Sky Guide better?
- Neither clearly leads. Clever starts at Free and Sky Guide at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Clever or Sky Guide?
- Clever starts at Free and Sky Guide at Free.
- Does Clever or Sky Guide run on more platforms?
- Clever runs on Web, iOS, Android, ChromeOS. Sky Guide runs on iOS.
- Can I use Clever for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Clever best used for?
- Clever is most often used for a district that has bought forty classroom applications and wants pupils to reach all of them without forty passwords, primary schools where pupils cannot yet type a password reliably and need badge login, district it that needs accounts created and revoked automatically as pupils enrol and leave, evidencing to a board which licensed applications are used enough to justify renewal. Of those, a district that has bought forty classroom applications and wants pupils to reach all of them without forty passwords and primary schools where pupils cannot yet type a password reliably and need badge login are not what Sky Guide is typically brought in for.
- What can Clever do that Sky Guide cannot?
- Clever covers Secure Sync, Clever portal, Clever Badges, Instant Login. Sky Guide covers Light pollution forecasting, Meteor shower prediction, Camera and gyroscope sky view, Deep-sky object catalogue.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Clever: Does Clever really cost a district nothing?
The core rostering and single sign-on service is free to districts. Application vendors pay for the connection and build that cost into what they charge the district, so the money reaches Clever through the software bill instead of a direct invoice.
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.
Clever: Is Clever FERPA and COPPA compliant?
Clever operates as a school official under FERPA, acting on district instruction, and relies on district consent rather than parental consent for COPPA. It has signed the Student Privacy Pledge.
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.
Clever: What happens if we leave Clever?
Every connected application loses its roster feed and needs a replacement method, either a competing rostering service or manual CSV uploads per application. That is why districts rarely switch once more than a handful of applications depend on it.
Sky Guide: Does Sky Guide support telescope control?
No. For telescope control, SkySafari Plus or Pro is the better choice.
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