Education · head to head
GoGuardian vs Sky Guide
GoGuardian
Education
Web filtering, classroom screen monitoring and self-harm alerting for school-issued devices
- 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: GoGuardian beacon generates alerts that a human must act on, often outside school hours, and districts that buy it without agreeing who responds at 11pm have created a liability rather than resolved one.; Sky Guide it is iOS-only, unlike SkySafari which also covers Android and desktop.
- They diverge on capability: GoGuardian covers Admin, 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 GoGuardian and Sky Guide actually diverge.
| Attribute | GoGuardian | Sky Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | On request | Free |
| Pricing model | quote | Free download with Plus and Pro subscription upgrades |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Chrome OS, Windows, macOS, iOS, Web | iOS |
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 GoGuardian
- Admin
- Teacher
- Beacon
- Beacon 24/7
- Scenes and sessions
- Smart Alerts
- Off-campus filtering
- Reporting
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.
GoGuardian
- A US district that must demonstrate CIPA-compliant filtering on federally subsidised broadband and wants the activity logs to survive an audit.not Sky Guide
- A one-to-one Chromebook programme where devices go home and the district needs the filtering policy to travel with the device rather than stop at the school gate.not Sky Guide
- A school with a documented safeguarding concern about self-harm that needs flagged language escalated to a named counsellor with a timestamped record.not Sky Guide
- A teacher running an online assessment who needs pupil browsers locked to a single site for the duration without provisioning a separate lockdown browser.not Sky Guide
Sky Guide
- An iOS stargazer who wants light pollution forecasting to plan a dark-sky observing tripnot GoGuardian
- Someone tracking meteor showers and wanting a forecast of viewing conditionsnot GoGuardian
- A user who wants extreme zoom into deep-sky objects without owning a telescopenot GoGuardian
- A buyer comparing subscription astronomy apps on iOS specifically, rather than cross-platform toolsnot GoGuardian
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
GoGuardian
- Beacon generates alerts that a human must act on, often outside school hours, and districts that buy it without agreeing who responds at 11pm have created a liability rather than resolved one.
- Detection is language-pattern based, so it produces false positives on coursework about difficult subjects and misses coded or oblique expressions, meaning it should never be presented to parents as a safety net.
- Filtering on school-issued devices follows pupils home, which surveils domestic internet use on a household's own connection, and districts have faced public objections when this was not disclosed clearly in advance.
- No pricing is published, and the multi-year reseller bundles make it hard to compare against a filtering-only competitor without running a full procurement.
- Coverage is strongest on Chrome OS and thinner on Windows, macOS and iOS, so mixed-device districts get uneven enforcement and end up running a second filtering product for the non-Chromebook estate.
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
GoGuardian
On request- GoGuardian Suite$undefined/year
- Priced per student or per device, quoted by district
- Admin, Teacher and Beacon licensed individually or as a bundle
- Sold heavily through education resellers as three, four and five year terms
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 GoGuardian if
- You need admin.
- You work on Chrome OS, Windows, macOS, iOS, Web.
- You also want teacher.
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 GoGuardian or Sky Guide better?
- Neither clearly leads. GoGuardian 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, GoGuardian or Sky Guide?
- Sky Guide has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for GoGuardian and Free for Sky Guide.
- Does GoGuardian or Sky Guide run on more platforms?
- GoGuardian runs on Chrome OS, Windows, macOS, iOS, Web. 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. GoGuardian starts at On request.
- What is GoGuardian best used for?
- GoGuardian is most often used for a us district that must demonstrate cipa-compliant filtering on federally subsidised broadband and wants the activity logs to survive an audit., a one-to-one chromebook programme where devices go home and the district needs the filtering policy to travel with the device rather than stop at the school gate., a school with a documented safeguarding concern about self-harm that needs flagged language escalated to a named counsellor with a timestamped record., a teacher running an online assessment who needs pupil browsers locked to a single site for the duration without provisioning a separate lockdown browser.. Of those, a us district that must demonstrate cipa-compliant filtering on federally subsidised broadband and wants the activity logs to survive an audit. and a one-to-one chromebook programme where devices go home and the district needs the filtering policy to travel with the device rather than stop at the school gate. are not what Sky Guide is typically brought in for.
- What can GoGuardian do that Sky Guide cannot?
- GoGuardian covers Admin, Teacher, Beacon, Beacon 24/7. Sky Guide covers Light pollution forecasting, Meteor shower prediction, Camera and gyroscope sky view, Deep-sky object catalogue.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
GoGuardian: Is GoGuardian required for CIPA compliance?
No. CIPA requires a filtering policy and technology, not a specific vendor. GoGuardian is one of several products that satisfy it.
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.
GoGuardian: Does Beacon monitor pupils at home?
On a school-issued managed device, yes, including outside school hours, unless the district explicitly limits the policy. This should be disclosed to families.
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.
GoGuardian: Is Beacon included with Admin?
A starter level of Beacon is included with an Admin subscription. The 24/7 human triage service is a separate paid tier.
Sky Guide: Does Sky Guide support telescope control?
No. For telescope control, SkySafari Plus or Pro is the better choice.
GoGuardian: Is Pear Deck part of the same licence?
No. Pear Deck Learning products are sold separately from the Admin, Teacher and Beacon suite even though the same company owns both.
GoGuardian: Can teachers view screens outside lesson time?
That depends on how the district configures sessions. Leaving screen viewing available at all hours is a configuration choice, not a product limitation, and it is the setting most worth reviewing.
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