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Education · head to head

GoGuardian vs Star Walk 2

GoGuardian logo

GoGuardian

Education

Web filtering, classroom screen monitoring and self-harm alerting for school-issued devices

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Star Walk 2 logo

Star Walk 2

Education

Freemium stargazing app with a low-cost ad-free upgrade, aimed at casual sky watchers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Star Walk 2 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.; Star Walk 2 its object catalogue is far smaller than SkySafari Pro, so it has little to offer once someone wants to go beyond naked-eye stargazing.
  • They diverge on capability: GoGuardian covers Admin, Star Walk 2 covers Augmented reality sky view.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which GoGuardian and Star Walk 2 actually diverge.

Attributes where GoGuardian and Star Walk 2 differ
AttributeGoGuardianStar Walk 2
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteFreemium, low-cost ad-free subscription upgrade
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsChrome OS, Windows, macOS, iOS, WebiOS, Android, macOS, Windows

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 Star Walk 2

  • Augmented reality sky view
  • Time travel mode
  • Satellite tracking
  • Night mode
  • Meteor shower and event alerts
  • Ad-free Plus tier

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 Star Walk 2
  • 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 Star Walk 2
  • A school with a documented safeguarding concern about self-harm that needs flagged language escalated to a named counsellor with a timestamped record.not Star Walk 2
  • 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 Star Walk 2

Star Walk 2

  • A parent wanting a cheap, simple app to show a child the night skynot GoGuardian
  • A traveller who wants to identify stars and planets without a big subscription commitmentnot GoGuardian
  • A casual stargazer who does not need telescope control or a deep-sky cataloguenot GoGuardian
  • Someone wanting satellite pass tracking including the ISS on a budgetnot 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.

Star Walk 2

  • Its object catalogue is far smaller than SkySafari Pro, so it has little to offer once someone wants to go beyond naked-eye stargazing.
  • It has no telescope control, unlike SkySafari Plus and Pro, so it cannot drive a motorised mount.
  • The free tier carries ads, which some users find intrusive during a stargazing session.
  • It shares a visual style with many similar AR sky map apps, so its differentiation beyond price is limited.
  • Content depth for deep-sky objects and satellite catalogues lags noticeably behind Sky Guide Pro and SkySafari Pro.

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

Star Walk 2

Free
  • Star Walk 2Free
    • Core sky map and AR view
    • Ad-supported
  • Star Walk 2 Plus$5.99/year
    • Ads removed
    • Additional sky content

Which should you pick?

Choose GoGuardian if

  • You need admin.
  • You work on Chrome OS, Windows, macOS, iOS, Web.
  • You also want teacher.
GoGuardian review

Choose Star Walk 2 if

  • You need augmented reality sky view.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want time travel mode.
Star Walk 2 review

Questions people ask

Is GoGuardian or Star Walk 2 better?
Neither clearly leads. GoGuardian starts at On request and Star Walk 2 at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GoGuardian or Star Walk 2?
Star Walk 2 has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for GoGuardian and Free for Star Walk 2.
Does GoGuardian or Star Walk 2 run on more platforms?
GoGuardian runs on Chrome OS, Windows, macOS, iOS, Web. Star Walk 2 runs on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Star Walk 2 for free?
Yes. Star Walk 2 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 Star Walk 2 is typically brought in for.
What can GoGuardian do that Star Walk 2 cannot?
GoGuardian covers Admin, Teacher, Beacon, Beacon 24/7. Star Walk 2 covers Augmented reality sky view, Time travel mode, Satellite tracking, Night mode.

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.

Star Walk 2: Is Star Walk 2 free?

A free ad-supported version exists; Star Walk 2 Plus removes ads and adds content for a low annual or monthly fee.

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.

Star Walk 2: Does it support telescope control?

No. For telescope control, SkySafari Plus or Pro is the better choice.

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.

Star Walk 2: How does it compare to SkySafari on price?

It is substantially cheaper, but with a much smaller star and deep-sky object catalogue.

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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