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Education · head to head

Linewize vs Stellarium

Linewize logo

Linewize

Education

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

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: 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.; 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: Linewize covers Filtering on and off network, Stellarium covers Photorealistic sky rendering.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Linewize and Stellarium actually diverge.

Attributes where Linewize and Stellarium differ
AttributeLinewizeStellarium
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, ChromeOS, Windows, macOS, 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 Linewize

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

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.

Linewize

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

Stellarium

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

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

Linewize

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

Stellarium

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

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 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 Linewize or Stellarium better?
Neither clearly leads. Linewize 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, Linewize or Stellarium?
Stellarium has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Linewize and Free for Stellarium.
Does Linewize or Stellarium run on more platforms?
Linewize runs on Web, ChromeOS, Windows, macOS, 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. 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 Stellarium is typically brought in for.
What can Linewize do that Stellarium cannot?
Linewize covers Filtering on and off network, Classwize, Wellbeing alerting, Pulse reporting. Stellarium covers Photorealistic sky rendering, Large object catalogue, Telescope control, Scripting engine.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Stellarium: What platforms does the free version run on?

Windows, macOS and Linux desktop.

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