Softwr

Education · head to head

Linewize vs Star Walk 2

Linewize logo

Linewize

Education

School web filtering, classroom control and student wellbeing alerting from the Qoria group

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: Linewize automated wellbeing flagging produces false positives on ordinary adolescent language, and each false positive is a recorded concern about a named child that the school must then handle and retain.; 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: Linewize covers Filtering on and off network, 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 Linewize and Star Walk 2 actually diverge.

Attributes where Linewize and Star Walk 2 differ
AttributeLinewizeStar Walk 2
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteFreemium, low-cost ad-free subscription upgrade
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, ChromeOS, Windows, macOS, iOS, AndroidiOS, 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 Linewize

  • Filtering on and off network
  • Classwize
  • Wellbeing alerting
  • Pulse reporting
  • School to home
  • Multi-platform agents

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.

Linewize

  • A United Kingdom school evidencing Keeping Children Safe in Education monitoring expectations at inspectionnot Star Walk 2
  • Districts with take home devices that need policy applied off the school networknot Star Walk 2
  • Schools that want teachers to control lesson browsing without raising a ticket with the network managernot Star Walk 2
  • Safeguarding teams that need a documented trail of flags raised and actions takennot Star Walk 2

Star Walk 2

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

Where each one falls short

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

Linewize

  • Automated wellbeing flagging produces false positives on ordinary adolescent language, and each false positive is a recorded concern about a named child that the school must then handle and retain.
  • Buying alerting without staffing it is a liability. If nobody reads the queue, the school has created evidence that it was told and did not act.
  • Off site monitoring of school devices extends school visibility into the home, and unless the school publishes the hours and scope, families discover it after the fact rather than at the point of consent.
  • The group sells both the school monitoring platform and a consumer parental control product to the same families, which is a commercial incentive to widen monitoring that the sales conversation will not surface.
  • Consolidation through acquisition means overlapping products from different codebases inside one group, and schools that bought a now acquired product face migration onto the group platform at renewal.

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

Linewize

On request
  • Linewize$undefined/year
    • Quoted per pupil per year
    • Filtering, classroom and wellbeing modules priced separately
    • Multi-year school and district agreements

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 Linewize if

  • You need filtering on and off network.
  • You work on Web, ChromeOS, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
  • You also want classwize.
Linewize 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 Linewize or Star Walk 2 better?
Neither clearly leads. Linewize 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, Linewize or Star Walk 2?
Star Walk 2 has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Linewize and Free for Star Walk 2.
Does Linewize or Star Walk 2 run on more platforms?
Linewize runs on Web, ChromeOS, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android. 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. Linewize starts at On request.
What is Linewize best used for?
Linewize is most often used for a united kingdom school evidencing keeping children safe in education monitoring expectations at inspection, districts with take home devices that need policy applied off the school network, schools that want teachers to control lesson browsing without raising a ticket with the network manager, safeguarding teams that need a documented trail of flags raised and actions taken. Of those, a united kingdom school evidencing keeping children safe in education monitoring expectations at inspection and districts with take home devices that need policy applied off the school network are not what Star Walk 2 is typically brought in for.
What can Linewize do that Star Walk 2 cannot?
Linewize covers Filtering on and off network, Classwize, Wellbeing alerting, Pulse reporting. Star Walk 2 covers Augmented reality sky view, Time travel mode, Satellite tracking, Night mode.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Linewize: Is Linewize the same company as Smoothwall and Qustodio?

They are all part of Qoria, the group formerly known as Family Zone Cyber Safety. Product roadmaps and renewals are coordinated at group level.

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.

Linewize: Does it monitor pupils outside school hours?

On school managed devices it can, and the school decides the scope. Define the hours and the data retention period in policy and tell families, because the software will not decide proportionality for you.

Star Walk 2: Does it support telescope control?

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

Linewize: Is it FERPA and COPPA aligned?

For United States deployments it contracts as a school official under FERPA with COPPA consent handled by the district. In the United Kingdom the relevant frameworks are UK GDPR and Keeping Children Safe in Education, which impose different retention and review duties.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on Linewize

More on Star Walk 2

Keep looking

Other head to heads