Productivity · head to head
Microsoft OneNote vs Stellarium
Microsoft OneNote
Productivity
Microsoft's free-form notebook, free with a Microsoft account and synced through OneDrive
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Stellarium
Education
Free open source desktop planetarium software, distinct from the paid Stellarium Mobile Plus app
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Microsoft OneNote notes live in a proprietary notebook format on OneDrive or SharePoint and the only exports are a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document, produced section by section, so a large notebook is effectively unmovable to any other tool.; 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: Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas, Stellarium covers Photorealistic sky rendering.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Microsoft OneNote and Stellarium actually diverge.
| Attribute | Microsoft OneNote | Stellarium |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | freemium | Open source, no licence fee |
| Platforms | Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Category | Productivity | Education |
| Founded | 1975 | Unknown |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).
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 Microsoft OneNote
- Free-form page canvas
- Notebook hierarchy
- Indexed handwriting
- Audio recording
- Web clipper and Outlook capture
- Shared notebooks
- Cross-platform clients
- Tags and cross-notebook search
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.
Microsoft OneNote
- Handwritten notes on a pen tablet that you still need to find months later by searching for a word you wrote.not Stellarium
- Lecture or meeting notes where a recording needs to line up with what you were typing at the time.not Stellarium
- A team already inside Microsoft 365 that needs a shared notebook without buying anything or seeking approval.not Stellarium
- Collecting mixed material such as screenshots, clippings and sketches on one page, where a document editor would force a linear structure.not Stellarium
Stellarium
- A student or educator wanting a serious, scriptable planetarium tool without a budget line itemnot Microsoft OneNote
- An amateur astronomer wanting telescope control from desktop software they can inspect and modifynot Microsoft OneNote
- Someone running a planetarium display or public astronomy event on a scripted shownot Microsoft OneNote
- A hobbyist who wants a large object catalogue without paying a subscription, and does not need a phone appnot Microsoft OneNote
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Microsoft OneNote
- Notes live in a proprietary notebook format on OneDrive or SharePoint and the only exports are a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document, produced section by section, so a large notebook is effectively unmovable to any other tool.
- Personal notebooks consume OneDrive quota, which is 5 GB on a free Microsoft account, so a notebook full of scans, images and recordings quietly exhausts the whole account including the space Outlook needs for mail.
- Sync happens at section level and conflicts are resolved by placing both versions on the page, so simultaneous edits to a large or media-heavy section produce duplicated content that somebody has to merge by hand.
- Search behaves differently across clients, so what the Windows desktop app finds inside handwriting, images and attachments is not necessarily what the browser or mobile version finds, and the same query gives different answers on different devices.
- There is no relational structure, no database and no properties, so anything that needs a table of records with fields has to be maintained by hand or moved elsewhere, and OneNote's own tables cannot be queried or filtered.
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
Microsoft OneNote
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Microsoft OneNote review.
Stellarium
Free- Stellarium DesktopFree
- Full software, GPL licensed
- No account, ads or subscription
- Community-developed plugins
Which should you pick?
Choose Microsoft OneNote if
- You need free-form page canvas.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows.
- You also want notebook hierarchy.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Microsoft OneNote or Stellarium better?
- Neither clearly leads. Microsoft OneNote starts at Free and Stellarium at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Microsoft OneNote or Stellarium?
- Microsoft OneNote starts at Free and Stellarium at Free.
- Does Microsoft OneNote or Stellarium run on more platforms?
- Microsoft OneNote runs on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows. Stellarium runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
- Can I use Microsoft OneNote for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Microsoft OneNote best used for?
- Microsoft OneNote is most often used for handwritten notes on a pen tablet that you still need to find months later by searching for a word you wrote., lecture or meeting notes where a recording needs to line up with what you were typing at the time., a team already inside microsoft 365 that needs a shared notebook without buying anything or seeking approval., collecting mixed material such as screenshots, clippings and sketches on one page, where a document editor would force a linear structure.. Of those, handwritten notes on a pen tablet that you still need to find months later by searching for a word you wrote. and lecture or meeting notes where a recording needs to line up with what you were typing at the time. are not what Stellarium is typically brought in for.
- What can Microsoft OneNote do that Stellarium cannot?
- Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas, Notebook hierarchy, Indexed handwriting, Audio recording. Stellarium covers Photorealistic sky rendering, Large object catalogue, Telescope control, Scripting engine.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Microsoft OneNote: Is OneNote really free?
Yes. The application is free with a Microsoft account, with no time limit and no feature gate. What you may end up paying for is the OneDrive storage the notebooks consume.
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.
Microsoft OneNote: Can I keep notebooks off Microsoft's cloud?
The Windows desktop app can keep local notebooks, but they will not sync to other devices and any shared access requires OneDrive or SharePoint.
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.
Microsoft OneNote: How do I get my notes out?
Section by section as a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document. A OneNote package preserves a whole notebook but only for another copy of OneNote. Third-party converters exist and the page layout usually does not survive them.
Stellarium: What platforms does the free version run on?
Windows, macOS and Linux desktop.
Microsoft OneNote: Which version should I install?
Microsoft consolidated onto a single OneNote application on Windows after retiring the Store version, so install the one distributed with Microsoft 365 rather than looking for an alternative.
Related pages
More on Microsoft OneNote
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