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Education · head to head

Panorama Education vs Star Walk 2

Panorama Education logo

Panorama Education

Education

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

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: 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.; 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: Panorama Education covers Validated surveys, 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 Panorama Education and Star Walk 2 actually diverge.

Attributes where Panorama Education and Star Walk 2 differ
AttributePanorama EducationStar Walk 2
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteFreemium, low-cost ad-free subscription upgrade
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebiOS, 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 Panorama Education

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

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.

Panorama Education

  • A district required to report on school climate and needing an instrument it can defend methodologicallynot Star Walk 2
  • Multi-tiered support teams that currently track interventions in spreadsheets with no record of what was triednot Star Walk 2
  • Districts wanting to test whether an attendance intervention actually moved attendance for the pupils who received itnot Star Walk 2
  • Boards asking for evidence on staff retention and school climate rather than anecdotenot Star Walk 2

Star Walk 2

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

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

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

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 Panorama Education if

  • You need validated surveys.
  • You also want national comparison data.
Panorama Education 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 Panorama Education or Star Walk 2 better?
Neither clearly leads. Panorama Education 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, Panorama Education or Star Walk 2?
Star Walk 2 has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Panorama Education and Free for Star Walk 2.
Does Panorama Education or Star Walk 2 run on more platforms?
Panorama Education runs on Web. 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. 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 Star Walk 2 is typically brought in for.
What can Panorama Education do that Star Walk 2 cannot?
Panorama Education covers Validated surveys, National comparison data, Student Success, Early warning indicators. Star Walk 2 covers Augmented reality sky view, Time travel mode, Satellite tracking, Night mode.

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.

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.

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.

Star Walk 2: Does it support telescope control?

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

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.

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.

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