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Education · head to head

Infinite Campus vs Stellarium

Infinite Campus logo

Infinite Campus

Education

K-12 student information system sold direct to districts and state education agencies

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Stellarium logo

Stellarium

Education

Free open source desktop planetarium software, distinct from the paid Stellarium Mobile Plus app

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Stellarium has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Infinite Campus no pricing is published anywhere, so the only way to know what it costs is a sales conversation against your certified enrolment, and districts routinely discover the quoted rate differs from a neighbouring district of similar size.; 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: Infinite Campus covers Per-student single licence, Stellarium covers Photorealistic sky rendering.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Infinite Campus and Stellarium actually diverge.

Attributes where Infinite Campus and Stellarium differ
AttributeInfinite CampusStellarium
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWindows, macOS, Linux

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 Infinite Campus

  • Per-student single licence
  • State reporting
  • Campus Parent and Campus Student
  • Scheduling engine
  • Special education
  • Food service
  • Campus Digital Repository
  • Ad hoc reporting

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.

Infinite Campus

  • A district leaving a private-equity-owned SIS after a repricing or a support quality drop, and specifically wanting an owner whose roadmap is not on an exit clock.not Stellarium
  • A state education agency standardising every district on one SIS and one reporting extract so state submissions stop being a per-district reconciliation exercise.not Stellarium
  • A secondary school with complicated timetabling, block schedules, dual enrolment and weighted GPA rules that a simpler SIS cannot model without workarounds.not Stellarium
  • A district that wants meal accounts, fee payments, health records and special education in the same record as attendance and grades rather than integrated across four vendors.not Stellarium

Stellarium

  • A student or educator wanting a serious, scriptable planetarium tool without a budget line itemnot Infinite Campus
  • An amateur astronomer wanting telescope control from desktop software they can inspect and modifynot Infinite Campus
  • Someone running a planetarium display or public astronomy event on a scripted shownot Infinite Campus
  • A hobbyist who wants a large object catalogue without paying a subscription, and does not need a phone appnot Infinite Campus

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Infinite Campus

  • No pricing is published anywhere, so the only way to know what it costs is a sales conversation against your certified enrolment, and districts routinely discover the quoted rate differs from a neighbouring district of similar size.
  • The interface is dense and inherited from an earlier era of web software; staff who use it occasionally, such as substitute teachers or front office cover, need retraining each time rather than working it out.
  • Implementation is a data conversion project, not an install, and districts that underestimate historic transcript and special education record migration end up running two systems in parallel for a year.
  • Getting real value out of it requires at least one dedicated district-level Campus administrator, which is a salaried post smaller districts often cannot justify and which becomes a single point of failure when that person leaves.
  • It is overwhelmingly a US product tuned to US state reporting; international schools and non-US systems get little of the compliance value that justifies the price, and the grading and enrolment models assume American conventions.

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

Infinite Campus

On request
  • Infinite Campus SIS$undefined/year
    • Priced per enrolled student against a certified enrolment snapshot
    • Licence, hosting, support and training bundled rather than sold as modules
    • Volume tiers reduce the per-student rate as enrolment rises

Stellarium

Free
  • Stellarium DesktopFree
    • Full software, GPL licensed
    • No account, ads or subscription
    • Community-developed plugins

Which should you pick?

Choose Infinite Campus if

  • You need per-student single licence.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want state reporting.
Infinite Campus review

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.
Stellarium review

Questions people ask

Is Infinite Campus or Stellarium better?
Neither clearly leads. Infinite Campus starts at On request and Stellarium at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Infinite Campus or Stellarium?
Stellarium has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Infinite Campus and Free for Stellarium.
Does Infinite Campus or Stellarium run on more platforms?
Infinite Campus runs on Web, iOS, Android. Stellarium runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
Can I use Stellarium for free?
Yes. Stellarium has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Infinite Campus starts at On request.
What is Infinite Campus best used for?
Infinite Campus is most often used for a district leaving a private-equity-owned sis after a repricing or a support quality drop, and specifically wanting an owner whose roadmap is not on an exit clock., a state education agency standardising every district on one sis and one reporting extract so state submissions stop being a per-district reconciliation exercise., a secondary school with complicated timetabling, block schedules, dual enrolment and weighted gpa rules that a simpler sis cannot model without workarounds., a district that wants meal accounts, fee payments, health records and special education in the same record as attendance and grades rather than integrated across four vendors.. Of those, a district leaving a private-equity-owned sis after a repricing or a support quality drop, and specifically wanting an owner whose roadmap is not on an exit clock. and a state education agency standardising every district on one sis and one reporting extract so state submissions stop being a per-district reconciliation exercise. are not what Stellarium is typically brought in for.
What can Infinite Campus do that Stellarium cannot?
Infinite Campus covers Per-student single licence, State reporting, Campus Parent and Campus Student, Scheduling engine. Stellarium covers Photorealistic sky rendering, Large object catalogue, Telescope control, Scripting engine.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Infinite Campus: Does Infinite Campus publish its per-student price?

No. Every quote is negotiated against your certified enrolment, and public procurement records are the only reliable way to see what comparable districts actually paid.

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.

Infinite Campus: Is it owned by a private equity firm?

No. It is privately held and founder-controlled, and has taken no venture or private equity investment, which distinguishes it from PowerSchool under Bain Capital.

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.

Infinite Campus: Can it replace a separate LMS?

Partly. It has assignment and gradebook tools, but districts running Canvas, Schoology or Google Classroom keep them and integrate rostering rather than dropping them.

Stellarium: What platforms does the free version run on?

Windows, macOS and Linux desktop.

Infinite Campus: How long is a typical contract?

Multi-year. Annual-only terms are unusual because the implementation cost is front-loaded and neither side wants to repeat it.

Infinite Campus: What happens to the price when enrolment falls?

It is tied to the enrolment snapshot, so declining districts should confirm the contract reprices downward rather than holding a floor.

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