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Education · head to head

Panorama Education vs Sky Guide

Panorama Education logo

Panorama Education

Education

Student survey, wellbeing screening and multi-tiered support tracking for school districts

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sky Guide logo

Sky Guide

Education

iOS astronomy app that moved from a one-time purchase to a free-to-download, subscription-tiered model

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Sky Guide has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Panorama Education social and emotional survey responses about named children are more sensitive than grades, and districts that adopt without an explicit consent, retention and access policy have found themselves defending the programme to parents after the fact.; Sky Guide it is iOS-only, unlike SkySafari which also covers Android and desktop.
  • They diverge on capability: Panorama Education covers Validated surveys, Sky Guide covers Light pollution forecasting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Panorama Education and Sky Guide actually diverge.

Attributes where Panorama Education and Sky Guide differ
AttributePanorama EducationSky Guide
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteFree download with Plus and Pro subscription upgrades
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebiOS

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 Panorama Education

  • Validated surveys
  • National comparison data
  • Student Success
  • Early warning indicators
  • Playbook of strategies
  • Role based dashboards

Only in Sky Guide

  • Light pollution forecasting
  • Meteor shower prediction
  • Camera and gyroscope sky view
  • Deep-sky object catalogue
  • Extreme zoom
  • Satellite tracking

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Panorama Education

  • A district required to report on school climate and needing an instrument it can defend methodologicallynot Sky Guide
  • Multi-tiered support teams that currently track interventions in spreadsheets with no record of what was triednot Sky Guide
  • Districts wanting to test whether an attendance intervention actually moved attendance for the pupils who received itnot Sky Guide
  • Boards asking for evidence on staff retention and school climate rather than anecdotenot Sky Guide

Sky Guide

  • An iOS stargazer who wants light pollution forecasting to plan a dark-sky observing tripnot Panorama Education
  • Someone tracking meteor showers and wanting a forecast of viewing conditionsnot Panorama Education
  • A user who wants extreme zoom into deep-sky objects without owning a telescopenot Panorama Education
  • A buyer comparing subscription astronomy apps on iOS specifically, rather than cross-platform toolsnot Panorama Education

Where each one falls short

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

Panorama Education

  • Social and emotional survey responses about named children are more sensitive than grades, and districts that adopt without an explicit consent, retention and access policy have found themselves defending the programme to parents after the fact.
  • Measurement without intervention capacity produces documented problems and no change, and the annual renewal then has to be justified on data the district could not act on.
  • Survey fatigue is real. Pupils who are surveyed repeatedly answer less carefully, which degrades the comparison the district paid for.
  • The platform depends on clean feeds from the student information system, so districts with poor data hygiene get risk flags built on wrong enrolment and attendance data.
  • Comparison against a national set invites league table thinking inside a district, and school leaders whose climate scores are compared publicly start managing the survey rather than the climate.

Sky Guide

  • It is iOS-only, unlike SkySafari which also covers Android and desktop.
  • It has moved from one-time purchase to a subscription model, and long-time users who paid once for earlier versions have criticised the change publicly.
  • Pro tier pricing is high relative to Star Walk 2 for broadly similar core stargazing functionality.
  • It has no telescope control, unlike SkySafari Plus and Pro, which limits it to naked-eye and camera-based observing.
  • Its relationship to other apps under the same distribution platform is not clearly documented, which makes long-term support commitments harder to assess.

Pricing, plan by plan

Panorama Education

On request
  • Panorama Education$undefined/year
    • Quoted per pupil or per district
    • Survey administration and Student Success priced separately
    • Multi-year district agreements typical

Sky Guide

Free
  • Sky GuideFree
    • Base sky map and object labelling
  • Sky Guide Plus$19.99/year
    • Larger star and satellite catalogue
    • Light pollution forecasting
    • Meteor shower prediction
  • Sky Guide Pro$39.99/year
    • Very large deep-sky object catalogue
    • Exoplanet data
    • Extreme zoom

Which should you pick?

Choose Panorama Education if

  • You need validated surveys.
  • You also want national comparison data.
Panorama Education review

Choose Sky Guide if

  • You need light pollution forecasting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS.
  • You also want meteor shower prediction.
Sky Guide review

Questions people ask

Is Panorama Education or Sky Guide better?
Neither clearly leads. Panorama Education starts at On request and Sky Guide at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Panorama Education or Sky Guide?
Sky Guide has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Panorama Education and Free for Sky Guide.
Does Panorama Education or Sky Guide run on more platforms?
Panorama Education runs on Web. Sky Guide runs on iOS.
Can I use Sky Guide for free?
Yes. Sky Guide has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Panorama Education starts at On request.
What is Panorama Education best used for?
Panorama Education is most often used for a district required to report on school climate and needing an instrument it can defend methodologically, multi-tiered support teams that currently track interventions in spreadsheets with no record of what was tried, districts wanting to test whether an attendance intervention actually moved attendance for the pupils who received it, boards asking for evidence on staff retention and school climate rather than anecdote. Of those, a district required to report on school climate and needing an instrument it can defend methodologically and multi-tiered support teams that currently track interventions in spreadsheets with no record of what was tried are not what Sky Guide is typically brought in for.
What can Panorama Education do that Sky Guide cannot?
Panorama Education covers Validated surveys, National comparison data, Student Success, Early warning indicators. Sky Guide covers Light pollution forecasting, Meteor shower prediction, Camera and gyroscope sky view, Deep-sky object catalogue.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Panorama Education: Do parents have to consent to SEL surveys?

Under FERPA and COPPA the district can consent as the school official, but several states and many districts require parental notification or opt out for social and emotional screening. Decide the local position before the first administration, not after the first complaint.

Sky Guide: Is Sky Guide free?

The base app is free to download; Plus and Pro are subscription upgrades for a larger catalogue and forecasting features.

Panorama Education: Is Panorama a student information system?

No. It reads from one. It is a measurement and intervention tracking layer and does not hold the official education record.

Sky Guide: Did Sky Guide used to be a one-time purchase?

Yes, earlier versions were sold as a one-time purchase before it moved to the current free-plus-subscription model.

Panorama Education: Has it signed the Student Privacy Pledge?

Yes. That commits it on data use and retention. It does not answer the separate question of whether your district should screen pupils on social and emotional measures at all.

Sky Guide: Does Sky Guide support telescope control?

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

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